The next day, from early in the morning to the climax of the day's event—the exchange of bride and groom's vow—everything went by like a blur.
A chaotic, happy kind of blur.
For the whole day, the two teenage girls stuck with both boys since they knew only both of them and Erik's family. Jessica might be okay with it since she had Hana by her side almost all the time. At least she did not stick with Maddox the whole day. Although she wished she had.
However, to Tiffany's fluttering agony, she had to stay with Erik. For the whole agonising time. Tiffany would have went somewhere else on her own but it was Erik's hometown, Cornwall, a place she never knew existed on the map of Britain. At some points during the event, she felt as if Erik was her designated boyfriend, in which horrified her yet at the same time, spread tingling feelings all over her body.
"Erik!"
Tiffany almost choked on her drink hearing the loud boisterous voice calling the said boy. She was curious, wanting to know whom that voice belonged to, but it seemed as if Erik was forbidding her from peeking over his shoulder. Irritated, Tiffany resorted to pinch Erik's sides lightly as she stepped by his side. Erik yelped, although not too loudly, then turned to her with a frown on his face as if asking her what was the pain worth about.
"Oh, hey there, pretty girl! What are you doing back there?"
There in front of them, Tiffany saw another boy, which was taller than Erik was and had a build that was definitely bigger than Erik. Bigger as in more in mass muscle. He had a boyish face, sort of looking like a teenage boy. Tiffany would have ogled over him if it were not for his obviously wandering eyes. It irritated her.
Is this the guy that Erik told me about last night?
"Buck." Tiffany heard Erik said. It finally dawned on her at that moment on why Erik looked so crossed. "You're too close. Please, step back." Erik's tone was clipped, but Tiffany saluted him for being polite.
The boy grinned, showing off his perfectly lined teeth—too perfectly—and looked at Erik with an amused expression. "Wow, easy there, boy." He chuckled and winked at Tiffany. "I mean no harm, really. I just want to get to know this beautiful lady behind you since last night but it seems to me that your short ass keeps taking her away from the scene."
If looks could kill, Tiffany knew that the other male would have drowned in a pool of his own blood after being killed by Erik's intense glare. As scary as Erik looked when he was mad, Tiffany found her inner-self ogling over Erik's side-profile, with his jaw clenching and unclenching in anger.
"My name's Buck. So rude of Erik for not introducing me to a beautiful lady like you." Buck seemed to ignore Erik and proceeded to held out his hand to be taken by Tiffany.
"Tiffany." Tiffany said, ignoring the taller boy's hand. She set down her drink and pulled Erik's sleeve. The girl grew more uncomfortable under Buck's gaze but she tried acted unfazed. Catching onto her discomfort, Erik threw a last glare at Buck and turned to her.
"Let's go to mother." He said forcing a smile at Tiffany then turned to Buck. "See you when I feel like seeing you, Buck. Please, enjoy the party." Erik then took Tiffany's hand in his grasp and pulled her gently towards him as they made their way to his family.
On the way to Madame Kim, Tiffany looked back and saw Buck still looking at their way, or more specifically—Tiffany assumed—her buttocks. She made a face in disgust secretly and quickly pulled his arm to get to the spot where his family gathered, faster.
"I never knew he's that…hate-able." Tiffany said her hand hooked onto Erik's elbow as the crowd made it hard for them to move.
Erik laughed and turned to Tiffany. "Glad you realised that. The girls attracted to him because he's the bad-boy type. One that would talk in a brazen manner and flirt shamelessly." He said and then sighed. "It looks like mother is busy talking with people. Let's go somewhere else."
As they walked out of the canopy's shield, their steps slowed and gradually gained composure. "He's always been like that?" Tiffany asked.
"Unfortunately, yes." Erik nodded, shrugged as he confirmed her question. "Part of me still think that he might be such a good friend, or even a role model, if he wasn't like that." He said then unbuttoned the two buttons of his coat.
Tiffany stayed silent and just walked beside the quiet boy until they were far away from the canopies. "Buck's…had a problem or anything against you or what?" she asked, looking at Erik for an answer. "He seemed like he does…"
Erik shrugged. "I would give the last of my quid just to know what it was but it seemed like he's pissing me off deliberately." Erik sighed and weakly laughed. "It's flattering if he thought that I'm his rival in getting girls but look at me," he exclaimed, chuckling and then shook his head, "I think he's aware that he's a lot more good-looking than me."
Tiffany shrugged, "I personally think you're better than him." She said, and then horrified when she realised that she had just blurted out her thought. "I…I mean, figure-wise." Tiffany quickly added.
Fortunately, Erik did not seemed to notice Tiffany being flustered beside him, so it was a good one for Tiffany. However, when she saw the thoughtful look on the boy's face, she frowned. Tiffany was very curious on what was in Erik's train of thought and was about to ask him but she stopped herself.
Why am I curious? She thought, her mind conflicted, and she looked at Erik again.
Just why am I suddenly interested in what he's thinking?
…
Erik sure looked like a romantic lover with his coat draped around her shoulders and her heels hanging in his hand.
Heels? In his hand?
Tiffany giggled silently as she followed Erik from behind. The boy was whistling, chin up as he looked around. There was not much to see, except for the buildings around them, but Tiffany liked the view. The old buildings around them had the aesthetic value that was close to ones in the streets in France.
Tiffany looked down on herself and grinned. Her dress was very beautiful. Red knee-length dress, not too revealing and not too long. Madame Kim told her it was her dress that she never wore outside of them house. It fitted her just right that it surprised Tiffany. Madame Kim sure was a wonderful woman in her youth. On the contrary to the dress that she wore, Tiffany donned a pink flip-flop. The girl almost laughed again.
Tiffany's eyes landed on the heels in Erik's hand again for the nth time that day. Because of the one hole she stepped on, one of the heels was stuck and ended up ripping the sole. Of course, she panicked. Tiffany whined and whimpered, mostly on how she would walk with bare feet along the street. When Erik left her to go somewhere, she cursed him, and then instantly regretted it when he came back with a pair of flip-flops.
"You're too slow. Are you, by chance, a turtle?"
Tiffany snapped her head to Erik and glared at him. "I'm just enjoying the view." She grumbled. "Besides, I'm still mourning over my heels. You don't know how precious those babies to me." Tiffany then picked up her pace and went over to Erik's side.
The boy laughed and shook his head. "I never knew you gave birth to heels." Erik jokingly said, and further teased her. "Can you give birth to trainers for me?" he said, grinning.
"Trainers?" Tiffany questioned, looking up at the boy who was looking at her with the same confused expression.
"You know…what do you usually called it again…" Erik racked his brain, and beamed when he found the right words. "Ah! Sneakers!" he exclaimed.
"Ah, that… Why are you calling it that? It sounds so different!" Tiffany laughed. "Alright, tell me. What are the phrases that sounds very different but meant the same in our dialect?"
Erik nodded and hummed. "For an example, we don't say pants, we say trousers. Pants are—boxers..? Brief..?—in your dialect." He said.
"Oh there's this one," she paused to giggle. "You said fairy-cakes instead of cupcakes." Tiffany laughed; her hands clung onto Erik's arm. "It sounded as if you made cakes out of fairies."
Erik laughed too when she heard her logic. "You're unbelievable…" he shook his head, smiling at the sight of the girl laughing heartily although he himself did not know what was so funny in that. "I don't know why we called it fairy-cakes but yes, it's fairy-cakes. Sometimes we called it muffins too but I just preferred cupcakes, though. I said fairy-cakes the other day just because."
Tiffany hummed. For a moment, they walked in silence and basked in the sound of the busy streets. She did not even realised that their arms were linking together until she saw a teenage couple held hands walking in front of them. Tiffany loathed the view, but surprised herself when she liked the way his arm fit snuggly in her hold. She did not even have the intention to pull her arms to her sides.
Since when did she became so comfortable to Erik, it was a complete mystery. Tiffany hated to admit that it felt quite nice to have someone walking with her through a busy street in a place where she did not have a clue around. The people around were surprisingly friendly too and it seemed that Erik's family was quite well known.
Well, of course, since Professor Kim is one of the famous lecturer in the most prestigious university in London years ago.
As they passed a bakery shop, the sweet smelling aroma of freshly baked cake induced a loud grumble from within Tiffany's stomach. Her face was beet red in embarrassment and Tiffany prayed hard that they boy beside her did not hear it. However, the vibration of his body and the sound of his laughter crushed her hope and Tiffany could huffed in annoyance.
"Let's go inside that shop," Erik said, pointing at the same bakery shop, "I'll buy you one of their delicious Red Velvet Cheesecake." The boy did not even waited for Tiffany to answer and dragged her into the shop.
Soon as the door open, despite the annoying ring of the bell above their head, nothing could top the enticing fragrance of cakes and cookies. Tiffany's stomach grumbled again, and this time, she did not even care about how it embarrassed her. Her eyes glued to all kinds of cakes, cookies, and breads that were on display. The girl did not even realised that the baker had come out of his workplace to greet them.
"Tiffany, choose one." Erik said, smiling as the girl was still looking around the shop, amazed by the colourful delights. He followed her closely from behind, taking in the adorable view of her admiring and salivating over the sweet treats. When Charlie, the baker, greeted them, Erik turned to the old man and smiled. "Tiffany, come. I'll show you this one famous baker in Cornwall."
The sudden hand wrapped around her small forearm startled her, and she snapped her head to look at Erik who was smiling wide. All of a sudden, in a not comical way, Tiffany saw Erik as the enticing, inviting, sweet tasted cupcake. One that Tiffany could actually be in a dilemma on whether to eat it and never see it again, or to let it stay on her table and let it spoil.
It sounded funny, but that was what she thought for a good few seconds.
"Erik! Fancy seeing you here! How are you, young lad?" The old baker's voice was loud but it was pleasantly welcoming. Tiffany noticed that the old man's eyes twinkled in mirth as the two male talked. Then she turned to Erik who was happily conversing with the old man, making her wonder what their relationship was. "And who is this beautiful young lass? May I know your name, dear lady?"
Tiffany turned to look at the old man and smiled. "My name's Tiffany." She said, introducing herself to the baker. Seeing him smiling so wide made Tiffany felt warm.
"Young Erik's woman?" he asked. Tiffany would have thought that he was just teasing her but the look of pure curiosity on his face told her otherwise.
Before Tiffany could answer him, the boy beside her laughed and shook his head. "She's not. Tiffany is just a friend of mine. We studied in the same university in London." Erik said, and then turned to Tiffany to throw her a smile.
"Oh London!" the old man exclaimed. "Pity…I thought you two youths are in love." He chuckled, "Well then, come, come! There are plenty of cakes I want you to have a taste! Hopefully the charm of my delis would help you two get together!"
Just when Tiffany thought the old man would not say something nonsense as Erik's mother would, there he was, babbling about whatnots that caused Tiffany to be red all over.
Again.
…
When they went back to the wedding venue, there were lesser people around. In fact, all had gone back into the Kim's residence. Erik and Tiffany laughed when they saw that they were the one of the only people left at the venue so they immediately went to his house.
Soon as they arrived, both Erik and Tiffany were dragged to the living room where the crowds at. Their father was standing near the grand piano, raising his glass to the people in the room.
"All are here? Good, now I won't make it long…" he said, and then looked at both of his son. "This is to my two boys and now, two girls, even though it's Josef and Mary-Ann's day today." The silent room filled with chuckles from the guests and even Erik and Josef themselves.
Sir Kim was true to his words when he said that the toast was not long. Once he finished, Josef and Erik immediately engulfed their father in a tight hug. As Tiffany watched the scene, she became envier each passing seconds with Erik's family's closeness to each other.
Tiffany was never as close as Erik was to his siblings and never as respectful and affectionate to her father as was Erik to his parents. There was a sense of guilt when she thought how she sometimes took her own father for granted.
As the guests slowly decrease, things were not as chaotic and noisy as before and Tiffany could finally breathe normally again. Being in the crowd was really taking all of her energy, either it was a smaller or bigger. As she was helping the family to clean up the house, she saw Erik standing near his family's grand piano.
The boy had long changed from his formal attire into something more comfortable like his white V-neck long-sleeved top and a pair of black denims. I never knew he'd look this good with those lame ass outfit, Tiffany thought. Then she blushed, cursing herself for even complimenting him in her thought.
Tiffany wanted to walk away and leave him alone, but the sight of him gliding his hand on the notes of the piano tempted her. That was not the only reason, though. While no one was there, Tiffany took the chance to openly gawk at Erik's backside complexion. His shirt hugged his torso nicely, giving Tiffany a perfect view of his muscular, and very broad shoulders, and the dimples of it defined how well built the boy was.
Funny, she thought. After a few months of living with him, never had she saw him putting on gym clothes or anything similar. The only thing Tiffany witnessed him doing something were the times when they would argue. So, seeing Erik donning all those muscles were quite a surprise to her. Perhaps, not as shocked as the first time she saw him shirtless, but surprising enough to piqued at her curiosity.
"Have you been standing there long?"
Erik's voice pulled her out of her stupor, and as soon as she realised that Erik was talking to her with his body turned to face her. Tiffany nodded, "Long enough to—"as quick as she could, Tiffany slapped her own mouth before she could let out an embarrassing statement.
Erik's brows cocked upward. He pushed the cover and turned to her with an amused smile. "Long enough to...?"
"Never mind. It's nothing." Tiffany quickly turned around and walked out of the supposed-living room.
"Tiffany!"
The girl turned around, "Yeah?"
Erik rubbed his nape and grinned sheepishly. "Want to go for a one last walk by the beach before we go back to London? Just a short one."
Tiffany shrugged, throwing him a smile and nodded.
Erik did not even know what was wrong with him these few days. One minute he was fine, he could breathe and his heart beat normally, however, the next minute, it would go haywire.
All because of Tiffany.
Why? Erik did not even have the answer to his own question. Just her presence was enough to make everything went out of order.
As they walked along the long coastline, everything was in silent, save for the sound of the calming waves hitting the sand, and the soft wind blowing its breeze ever so gently. Somehow, it made Erik thought of Coldplay's The Scientist. The song surprisingly have a soothing effect on him.
"You know, it's quite weird to not hear some rude words coming out of you."
Erik looked at the girl beside him and grinned for no apparent reason. "So you prefer me calling you names?"
Tiffany laughed and hit him on his arm. "No, you stupid! Of course, not!" she exclaimed in her laughter. "It's just that, we've gone as far as calling each other as something beyond inappropriate before, to the point where I thought it was really your name." She laughed again.
"Okay I was kidding! But I didn't say it's a bad thing. It's just…weird."
"You're weird." Erik chuckled, "never have I met someone who'd care more about being called names instead of wanting it to stop." He said, and laughed when Tiffany attempted to hit him.
"Okay, okay. You're right, though. It's quite strange to not hear you call me 'jerk' or 'asshole'."
Tiffany beamed. "Now you see my point!" she paused, before grinning. "—but! No, we've made a truce and since I'm a person of my words, I won't go back on our treaty." Tiffany smugly announced.
"Not unless you're tempted to." Erik interrupted with a snigger.
"Erik! I'm being serious right now!" Tiffany whine, feigning annoyance. She wanted to hit him again, seeing how his body shook as he laughed. Perhaps, it could actually ease the weird, tingly feelings Tiffany felt at the bottom of her stomach. Maybe just a little, just enough to catch the breath that she lose with every seconds passing. God…this is killing me…
Erik looked at the girl who was slowly falling behind him. Tiffany had a confused expression on her face, and somehow, Erik found himself confused, too. It had not been too long since they finally quit being hostile towards each other. Actually, Erik thought it would take them quite some times to be comfortable with each other and know each other more. Certainly, this was not what he expected.
What a pleasant surprise, he thought, and Erik hid his smile as the girl looked at him again. At that exact moment, the harsh breeze blew over them and Erik found himself stopped breathing. Tiffany literally took his breathe away even though her hair was in a mess and she tried to fix her dishevelled hair, all thanks to the wind. Erik heard her whine, and he could not contain his laughter.
"Don't you dare laugh at me, you—"Tiffany groaned before she could finished her sentence. The wind was still blowing, and trying to fix her hair was a futile attempt so Tiffany could only stand there, wearing a very frustrated expression she could ever give. "Don't laugh, ginger twerp."
Ignoring her remark, Erik laughed, still, before he walked towards Tiffany. "Let's go back. Won't want us to chase around the town for your wig later on." He sniggered, and dodged Tiffany's wild hand as she attempt to hit him again.
"Okay, okay, let's go."
And Tiffany could not hide her smile when Erik thoughtfully shielded her from the strong wind by standing beside her.