The next morning was something of a nightmare, for me. When I woke up, everyone else in the house was getting ready or already finished and I was woken up in the worst possible way. I was happily tucked away under the blankets of the enormous bed I'd been gifted for the evening when Emmett rushed into the room and literally pulled me from my slumber. I felt an icy grasp on my ankles and before I knew what was happening I was perched over his massive shoulders length wise. One of his arms laced behind my knees and the other roped my shoulders, keeping my arms pushed out above my head.
The room blurred around me and I was standing in front of three mirrors. I hadn't had a chance to scream before I was reaching out to balance myself. "Jesus Christ," I huffed, my hand rushing to sooth my shaken head. "What was that about, man?!" I yelled, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He was already dressed with the exception of his blazer. He was smirking, as always, his large arms folded over themselves.
"Time to get ready." He returned, his voice giving away how amused with himself he was.
"A simple, 'Hey, EJ, time to get up, we gotta get ready' wouldn't have sufficed?" I asked, still trying to process my current position.
"My way's more effective," He promised. He moved again, leaving the room and returning before I blinked, and hung my tuxedo on one of the mirrors. "And make sure you change your boxers, dude. Alice will freak out if she sees your banana panties." He winked and he was gone again.
I looked at my own reflection and felt the blood rush into my face. Immediately my hands moved to cover myself even though he was already gone. "They're not panties!" I yelled out to him, needing that one victory for the sake of dignity.
Shutting the door to the room I was in, I let go of a long breath through my nose. I looked around the large room and it appeared to be set up specifically for getting ready. There large mirrors sat adjacent to each other, giving me a 180-degree view of myself. In the reflection, I could see an open door that lead to a bathroom.
I showered quickly and was in the middle of drying myself off when my aunt pushed through the door of the next room. "EJ!" She sang, her voice was lyrical and her movement was more elegant than a trained ballet dancer. The sound of her heels echoed as she started toward the bathroom. I scrambled to throw the towel from my hair and pressed it against my waist to hide what was not meant for her eyes.
"Dude!" I called out the warning for her to stop but the clack of her heels continued until she was standing in front of me. Her short brown hair looked as beautiful as it always did though today she had styled it different for the wedding. Her nimble legs were caped in heels that would have led me to a neck brace and her dress was simple, yet beautiful. Alice had a way of everything she wore looking like it custom made just for her. She could buy a "World's Best Grandma" t-shirt at any gas station in Washington and make it couture.
"Oh please," She scoffed, leaning in the door frame. "Nothing I have seen before." She chirped, blatantly teasing me. I know I blushed which only made her giggle again. I was about to ask for a little privacy, but she spoke before I could. "You never showed me your tux last night! I need to see it. So hurry up!" She turned on her heels and pranced out of the room again, leaving the door wide open.
"Oh my god," I mouthed to myself. Had I even whispered it, someone would have heard. I wrapped the towel around my waist and shut the door to the room. I managed to get the underwear and shirt on easy enough, but when it came to the pants, I was a bit lost. Were they just normal pants? Of course not! Why would they be? What in my life was normal? Excuse the fact I'm a two-year-old vampire human hybrid about to enter high school and look at the fact I'm getting ready to attend the wedding of a thousand-year-old vampire to a Revolutionary War veteran who only met because an Italian monarchy came to kill my family for my parents conceiving me and question their relationship to a pack of werewolves. But whatever. Average in EJ Land.
The suspenders on the pants were my obstacle. Every piece of this tux, save the shirt, was the same shade of black and everything was blending together. I couldn't figure out what clipped where, what went over what, or anything. I was about to give up and wear jeans when I heard a light knock at the door. I exhaled, no doubt audibly to whoever waited on the other side. "Come in."
The door opened and my dad stepped in. His tux was in place perfectly, no visible sign of struggle. "Need a hand?" He asked, very obviously trying not to laugh at me.
I didn't say anything, simply tugged on the suspenders. He stepped to my side and effortless untangled the mess I'd made of them. I felt the smack of the elastic and he patted me on the shoulder. "Thanks." I offered, relieved that was finally over with.
"What are dads for?" He asked, holding my blazer over his arm.
"This one," I took the jacket. "I can do alone." That may have been a lie, I didn't know. I definitely thought I could put my own pants on but I was corrected this morning.
He smiled at me as I buttoned the suit jacket and smoothed my hands over the front. "It looks nice." He informed me, his hand moving to my shoulder again. His face cracked into a quiet smile and he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. "So nice you should brace yourself."
As the last syllable fell from his lips, the door was open again and Alice was standing in a state of awe. She made a high pitched squeak I couldn't decipher as words and moved quicker than my arms could follow to wrap her arms around me. "You look so cute!" She announced loud enough for the entire state to take notice. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness," She fluttered her hands. I'm convinced if she had the ability to cry she would have. "Don't. Move." She demanded and she flew out of the room, returning with her phone in hand. "Smile!" I heard my dad's quiet laugh again and I did my best to smile like it wasn't fake. I'm not sure how well I did.
The rest of the morning was easy enough. Alice did what she could to make my hair look presentable and we left the house in a caravan of three cars. Alice had apparently been back and forth all night to the venue with the boys, getting it ready for today and when she'd finally finished, she exiled the boys to the house so she and the girls could get ready together at their second home. We took a bevy of back roads I don't think the state of Alaska knows about and went deeper and deeper into the forest until we could no further by car.
It was only a short run through the trees to the venue. The path had been cleared of snow and it led up a large hillside to a flat patch of land that overlooked the mountains. It was breathtaking, the view. I believe it's impossible to understand the vastness of Alaska until you're standing on top of it looking down.
Alice's hand was obvious here. What was once a desolate flat space was no free from all evidence of snow and decorated beyond belief. White flowers lined the path between the chairs and ended at an arch made of branches and twigs, peppered with more white flowers. There were more people here than I expected but they apparently hadn't been staying with the Denalis. The only two in the mix that I recognized were Mary, a tall woman with thick, curly hair, and Randall, a younger man with a striking jaw line. They'd both come to testify for me and, from their attachment, started a relationship of their own. Great. Another couple to be around.
I stood awkwardly, almost hiding behind my dad. Being around so many people wasn't necessarily my favorite thing in the world and many of them kept glancing my direction. Surely a full vampire could make out the conversations going on, but I couldn't. I could hear every conversation, but I couldn't hear any one well enough to follow. The word hybrid came up several times in several conversations which wasn't helping. After a moment, my mother appeared at my side, her eyes almost as wide as Alice's were earlier.
"She wasn't kidding," She gasped, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "You look fantastic, EJ."
"Me?" I asked, eyeing her. My mom was simple. Hoodies, jeans, a jacket and she always looked good. Today, though, she looked like true divinity. Her hair was curled and swooped to one side and her dress, the same color as Alice's, draped like a conscious waterfall down to her feet. "Look at you!"
"Rosalie." She motioned to herself. If even I noticed how beautiful my family was, I can't imagine being an outsider looking in.
My parents embraced for a moment, exchanged compliments, and we stood in conversation with ourselves. I was happy to have both of them now, distracting attention away from just me. As we stood, Rosalie & Emmett came to join us, an unfamiliar couple following them.
"Edward, EJ," She beamed, her hair straight and flat against her head. "You both look lovely." We could play a game on how much I was going to hear that today. "Have you met Tobias & Antonia?"
"I don't believe so," My dad answered.
"Well now you have," The woman answered, her voice holding a heavy accent I didn't immediately recognize. Her hair was long, reaching just passed her shoulders and the palest blonde I'd ever seen. "Antonia." She made every letter of her name important as she offered her hand to my dad. "This is my husband, Tobias."
Tobias had dark hair and darker features. You know the kind of image you immediately conjure when you hear Dracula's name? That's exactly what he looked like. "Örvendek." He greeted and I established they were from somewhere in central Europe.
"Edward," He replied, releasing her hand. "and this is my family." He motioned to my mother and I, his arm lacing around her waist. "My wife Bella," She greeted them and then the introductions moved to me. In perfect union their eyes fell on me, each set a striking crimson tone that shimmer in the cold light. "And this is our son, EJ."
"We've definitely heard about you." Antonia spoke. It sounded like she meant it as a compliment.
"It's, uh, nice to meet you." I managed, offering a toothless smile.
"No need to be shy, child." Tobias's English was heavily accented, more so than Antonia's. "You are among friends." It was odd that his comment actually comforted me.
"You're much taller than we expected," Antonia admitted. "When we heard claims of a hybrid that looked like an immortal child," Her tone shifted, realizing she'd mentioned something that maybe shouldn't have been brought up, but she continued. "You can imagine what we expected." Tobias nodded in agreement.
"All the details must not have reached you," Rosalie piped in. "You spend so much time moving around it's amazing we were able to find you to invite you."
Antonia explained she and Tobias were nomads in Europe they'd met Tanya, Kate, & Irina during their journeys to find a better life. Antonia was a granddaughter of a Holy Roman Emperor during a period of widespread poverty. She lived a lavish lifestyle and wanted for nothing which rubbed the commoners around her the wrong way. When they rioted and planned to kill her to send a message, Tobias saved her and they haven't parted since. Tobias wasn't as forthcoming with his origins, but he did hint that he had spent some time with Stefan & Vladimir, the Romanians.
They, of course, had questions about me that my family answered. I stood near them, keeping quiet waiting for an opportunity to leave to present itself. Like a beautifully wrapped gift on Christmas, Alice appeared beneath the alter. "Can I have everyone's attention?" She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her and the conversations all fell to silence. "She's ready." The excitement in her voice was clear to everyone and one by one everyone filled into their seats. Antonia & Tobias were a few seats behind us and Randall & Mary were seated on the other side of the aisle. The rest of the seats were filled with people I hadn't met yet. Grandpa Carlisle took his place behind the alter, as he was officiating the wedding. Fred and Eleazar came up the aisle first, each standing on the right of the alter before the music started to play out of speakers they'd hidden fairly well in the mix of flowers. Carmen walked slowly, followed by Kate before everyone stood in unison. As everyone turned, Kate made her appearance. Her dress was a stunning white trumpet gown and her long hair was draped behind her, a thin veil laying on top of it.
The actual ceremony only lasted about thirty minutes. Grandpa Carlisle recited his parts, the couple said their vows, their I dos, and they shared their first kiss. The crowd applauded them and they made their way back down the aisle, the bridesmaids and groomsmen following. The reception took place at a house not far from the wedding venue. It was just as secluded as their other home, but slightly smaller.
For hours on end, people stood around talking and congratulating the new couple. I met almost everyone in attendance, all of them looking at me with the same curious gaze. The only people who seemed to be entirely caught up on everything were Nico & Hestia, a couple from Greece. They were apparently the closest vampires to Volterra that were not actually part of the guard so they kept tabs on the coven to keep themselves safe. They were pleasant enough but I still didn't like the way I felt like a museum exhibit.
The sun had long been gone and it was closing in on 3 AM. I was sat a table with Carmen & Grandma Esme. They were talking about weddings and how they always bring people together and I was bored out of my mind, fighting for consciousness. It hadn't been a taxing day, but it'd been long. I covered my mouth and yawned, trying to be as quiet as I could since it was a noise that would easily draw attention.
"Getting tired?" Carmen asked, her smile warm as it curved around her perfect teeth. She'd been dressed and active longer than I had and there still was no sign of any time lapse on her dress or hair. She could say she just got ready and no one would question her.
"I suppose it's rather late," My grandma added, reaching across to pat my hand. When her fingers connected with mine, I let her see an image of me sprawled out over my bed at home, snoring loud enough to suck the paint off the ceiling. She laughed and it sounded like angels singing. "We can go soon. I'm sure Garrett & Kate around going to need some alone time eventually."
Carmen laughed, shaking her head. "Trust me, they don't mind company around."
"Sounds like another couple I know." Esme's eyes moved to Emmett who had Rosalie perched on his lap. They both laughed again and their unified laughter could have cured any terminal illness.
My dad had apparently been listening in, like he always did, because he and mom came strolling in from the next room hand in hand. "Are you ready?" He asked me, coming to a stop near our table.
I nodded vigorously and stood to join them. I hugged my grandma and then Carmen, thanking her for the bed last night. She assured me it was no problem and we said the rest of our goodbyes. We piled into my dad's Volvo and started the drive back home. I loosened my tie and threw my blazer into the empty seat beside me. I relaxed into the leather seats and watched the scenery pass outside the window before I broke the silence in the car. "Hey, Dad," I started. "What did Aunt Alice see last night?"
"Did Alice see something?" My mom asked, her head turning to him.
"It was nothing." He answered both of us. "She's not sure what it was and I'm not either. It was a man in all black, I didn't recognize him."
"Did you see him at the wedding?" She asked, an apparent concern in her voice.
"No," He exhaled lightly. "But I did check."
"So he's still coming?"
"It's hard to tell. Even if he is, we definitely out number him," I wasn't looking, but I heard his hand move to hers. "Plus, she hasn't seen anything about him since last night."
I heard her thumb move over his and the conversation ended there. As I leaned against the back seat, my head was against the window watching the snow capped trees. Whoever he was, he wasn't at the forefront of my mind. As we drove through the quiet, early morning my mind drifted back to the possibilities of normalcy. I could go to school, I could play sports, I could meet someone. I could experience a full portion of life before I froze in my twenties, as Nahuel & his sisters made it apparent that was when my aging would stop. The same thoughts that crossed my mind the night before were back in different variations and until I found myself against the window.