As promised, this is the final one-shot. For all you Chlerek people, I think you'll enjoy it-but it's not too lemony for those who those types of stories don't float their boat. It switches POV'S and starts off with Chloe's. Thanks a million for all the support!
*This is so not M-rated, but the word sex is mentioned in here. Just mentioned! I'm probably being paranoid, but I just wanted to mention it, just in case.
The first day of the rest of my life
CPOV
I looked at myself objectively in the full-length mirror, eyes narrowed in self-inspection. I turned to the right, then to the left, and finally, all the way around, my eyes never straying from the dress.
The dress itself was beautiful and, like with everything else associated with today, I had Tori to thank for it. Not only had she come shopping with me, but she had also picked out the dress, her eyes landing on it almost immediately and insisting I try it on.
It ended up being the only one I tried on.
It was strapless, white lace with a sweetheart neckline and tight bodice that flared out and ended in a small, humble train. Its finishing touch was the minute, cloth-covered buttons that lined me from lower back to the top of the dress. All in all, it made me feel pretty and after staring at myself for a few more moments, I nodded to myself in approval, deciding that I looked pretty too.
I moved to sit on the couch in the dressing chamber, giving myself a break from all the standing I've done since eight in the morning, satisfied with my appearance and having decided and accepted that this was probably the best I'd ever look. It's not as if I schlepped around everyday, looking messy and frazzled. I just don't put too much thought into my appearance. Mascara, chapstick, jeans and a tee were my daily routine, my uniform, and I only deviated from it when I went to work. I didn't have the time or the patience for much else, unlike Tori, who thinks the world is her own personal runway.
I smiled to myself at the thought of her. She was my best friend, the sister I never had. And very shortly, she legally would be… My mind flashed back to the day Kit had told Simon and Tori they were related. After a lot of screaming, a few knock-back spells and binding spells, and one emotionally charged energy bolt, Tori's defenses had finally cracked under all the emotion and she had calmed down, defeated, and listened as Kit explained what had happened with her mother and him. Amidst some very unwanted tears and a bit more screaming, she had finally accepted the truth, though it took her a while to adjust to the thought and call Kit 'Dad'. When she had though, the smile couldn't be wiped off his face and now, she was the apple of his eye.
The revelation to Simon, although a lot less dramatic, still entailed some screaming, though more in disbelief-and disgust, when Kit had mentioned the words petri dish. He had, however, accepted it a lot more calmly and quickly than Tori and had managed to instigate their first sibling fight within the next twenty-four hours.
And Derek, aside from being mildly surprised, took it in stride and mumbled gruffly that 'she's already in the pack anyway, so this doesn't change much, really'.
They were all siblings, regardless of the blood they did-or didn't-share and they even referred to each other as so. And Kit was the glue that held them all together, composed of a bit of each of them: Derek's rationality, Simon's boyish mischievousness, and Tori's strength of character.
My heart fluttered in anticipation at the thought of the family that I would soon officially become a part of.
If it were anyone other than Derek, I'd be nervous just at the thought of what I was about to do. But because it was Derek, all I could feel was happiness, pure elation, and excitement. I loved him with all I had and I always would and I've known since the second month into our relationship that it was inevitable that we'd one day reach this milestone. And at twenty-one, we finally had.
At first, I hadn't wanted a big wedding. As a full time student at UCLA and a part time secretary at a small production company, I had thought that I wouldn't have the time to plan it. There was also the fact that Derek-even though he was only twenty-two, he was still Derek-was in the middle of completing his doctorate in molecular and cellular biology at Stanford. I had worried that right now wasn't the ideal time to be getting married for him, either.
But he had wanted to and stubbornly refused my suggestion of remaining engaged for a while until things settled down. When I had reminded him that we weren't even living together because of the distance between our schools-he would spend three days at my place, I would spend three days at his-he questioned whether or not I really did want to get married. Hurt by his insinuations, I had called him irrational and stupid, which resulted in a huge fight that ended in great make up sex. Needless to say, at the end of the night, I was back to being ecstatic about getting married. And after a phone call to Tori, everything had been set. Even though she was at MIT for computer sciences and software design-along with Simon, who was there for graphic design-she had, in lack of better terms, informed me that she would take care of everything and left no room for questioning. She would relay all the details to me, which I, in turn, excitedly passed on to Derek, who was a good sport most of the time and only mumbled about all this 'nonsense' occasionally.
That was two months ago and now here I was. Twenty minutes away from marrying, as clichéd as it sounded, my soulmate in front of a group of seventy-five. I had a few friends from school here, Derek had none-shocking, I know. Even though he was more approachable now-he didn't scowl as much-than he used to be, he couldn't exactly be called a social butterfly and still only spoke to people he didn't know well only when strictly necessary. At school, he only willingly talked to his professors.
The other seventy guests were all supernaturals. Ones we'd rescued form other labs, ones we'd fought alongside to take down the Cabal and the St. Cloud organization-the mother ship of the Edison Group-and ones we'd picked up along the way, righteous people, who, when informed of what was being done to their own kind, had eagerly joined the fight. There were a few Pack members here too, those who held a special place in my heart: Jeremy and Jaime and Elena and Clayton- who, once you got to know them, weren't as scary as they seemed. We had, out of moral obligation, approached the Pack when Tori had hacked a file pertaining to a clandestine experiment that dealt solely with werewolves. Once we had introduced our cause and ourselves and presented the problem, they had been outraged and had gladly joined our crusade.
The whole gang was here. Well, almost. My dad couldn't make it; he unexpectedly got tied up in Australia for business and, according to him, it was impossible to leave. Ha had paid for the wedding and was paying for the honeymoon to compensate for his absence, but it didn't matter. The monetary support didn't make up for anything.
Our final struggle against the Cabal and the St. Cloud organization hadn't been over quickly. It had taken us a while to gather supporters, find information and rescue other subjects. When it was all over, two and a half years of our lives had disappeared along with the danger and threats we had grown accustomed to. But when we were finally safe, I was allowed to see my dad for the first time in three years. I had contacted him shortly after we had defeated the Edison Group, but the conversation had been short, only long enough for me to tell him that I was safe and that the price on my head needed to be removed.
When we had been reunited, though he looked older and worn, he had also looked so happy and so relieved that I had allowed myself to hope. To hope that things would be different. That he would be different and we'd have a chance at a relationship. And for a while, things were different. Although I had moved to California for school, he called me everyday and we had gotten to know each other. I had no longer loved him just because he was my dad, but also because of the person I had grown to know.
But, old habits die hard and after six months, the calls came less frequently. It had gotten to the point where, now, he called once a month, if I was lucky, bimonthly. Aunt Lauren would never forgive him for this stunt, as she had put it, but I… I don't know. After originally being disappointed, I couldn't say that I was surprised. My dad hadn't been a part of my life for a long time and, over the years, I had grown to accept and become almost indifferent to his absence. I had also realized, after all the fighting and the lives lost, that life was like that. You lose some, you gain some. You can't have everything you want.
A knock on the door snapped me out of my reverie.
"Come in," I called.
Tori stepped through the door, looking gorgeous as ever in her short-though not scandalous-gold, sequined dress. My wedding colours, as Tori had told me a month and three weeks ago were black, white and gold. I really hadn't had much say in the matter.
"How-" she began to say, but stopped abruptly when she caught sight of me, eyes widening.
"What's wrong?" I asked anxiously, jumping up. "Is it stained? Is there a rip? Does it look terrible?" My questions were being asked more frantically by the second and thankfully, Tori silenced me, cutting of my babbling by placing two fingers over my mouth.
"Chloe, calm down. Nothing is wrong." she said, punctuating every word. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's just... you look so beautiful, like an angel."
In the six years since my life had been completely turned upside down, I had changed. Although still shy, I was assertive and had grown four inches, gained twelve pounds, developed, and lost my nervous stutter-well, except when Derek was being a tease. However, my easy blushing came back with a vengeance whenever I was angry, upset or embarrassed, almost as if to recompense for everything I had lost.
At Tori's comment, I blushed an attractive shade of tomato red.
"Thanks, Tor." I said quietly, looking down.
"Of course we can count on you to be the blushing bride." she said wryly.
I just smiled and rolled my eyes.
"Okay," she said, suddenly sounding professional, while slowly walking around me once and nodding to herself. "Let's go over the checklist: Something old?"
I lifted up my dress to reveal my tried and true white converse, striking a pose just to get on her nerves. She scrunched up her nose in disdain.
"I still cannot believe that you insisted on wearing those things on you wedding day! I should have burned them when I had the chance."
The question of my footwear was a point on which I would not be dissuaded. I loved these shoes. They were comfortable and I was a lot less likely to break my leg in these than in the four-inch heels Tori had wanted to put me in.
"All's fair in love and war." I said, smiling sweetly.
"Whatever," she mumbled, defeated. "Something new?"
I held out the dress.
"Something borrowed?"
I turned around and motioned to the beautiful opal and crystal hair clip that she had leant me and was currently holding back half of my softly waved hair. She smiled slightly.
"And finally, something blue?"
I fingered my amulet that now hung on a delicate silver chain. It had turned a deep, sapphire blue after we had fought the St. Cloud's and had stayed that way ever since.
She nodded curtly, apparently satisfied.
"How are you doing?" she asked.
"Great." I replied honestly.
"No nerves? No doubts?" The latter was said jokingly. Tori had been asking us after six months together when we would open up our retired savings bond.
"None at all." I said confidently. I've known for so long that I would be spending the rest of my life with Derek. It had always been the inevitable path for us. We were just making it official.
She smiled knowingly, rolling her eyes, no doubt remembering how serious Derek and I had gotten so quickly.
"Speaking of. How is he doing?" I asked, slightly worried about him. I hadn't seen or spoken to him-very unwillingly, on my part-for a day and a bit and I knew how he got when we were separated for long periods of time. I even started feeling empty, lonely, when I didn't see him for long.
She snorted. "Probably pawing at the door he's so anxious to see you."
I gave her a look. Even though her remarks had now become endearing and humorous rather that snide and hurtful, Derek still got the brunt of most of her jokes.
She sighed. "I don't know. I was planning on checking on him after I was done in here with you. Do you need anything before I go?"
"I'm fine."
"Okay. See you soon. You look great." She said, giving me a tight squeeze before turning around and walking out the door.
DPOV
I was anxiously pacing around the room. Not in nervousness, but in anticipation. Tori had whisked Chloe off yesterday after noon and I hadn't seen or heard from her in twenty-six hours and eighteen minutes. I had already almost slipped twice and found myself having to force myself to turn around when I was halfway to the room Chloe was getting ready in. Now that I was so close to seeing her, I was like a kid on Christmas Eve, barely able to wait until the morning.
The wolf was a complete wreck at this point, whining in what could best be described as mourning after having been separated from his other half for so long. And I wasn't faring much better. I was so irrationally worried about her and anxious to see her that I'd probably just be able to control the urge to jog down the aisle when I saw her, scooping her up and nuzzling her neck, reveling in her scent.
And this mental turmoil and emotional upheaval was all Tori's fault.
Chloe had been defenseless against her single-mindedness and had had no choice but to relent to Tori's incessant badgering, to her insistence that we follow tradition and be separated before we got married.
Tori really had gone overboard with the whole wedding thing, too.
I didn't care about any of the details; the guest list, the flowers, the colours, the "venue"-which I still wasn't completely clear on the meaning. All I was concerned about was that my family was there and marrying Chloe. The wolf didn't care for such frivolities. He had claimed her as his a long time ago and knew that we'd be together for the rest of our lives.
But I cared.
It was somewhat hard to explain. I loved her so much and I couldn't imagine not marrying her. I wanted so badly to take this next step with her, to seal the deal and make her mine for the world to see.
The only thing that had kept me from saying anything-well, not much-during all of this planning and fussing was that I could see that it made Chloe happy. And that was one of the few things I truly cared about. As long as she was happy, I could stick it out and listen as interestedly as I was capable of as she described what type of flowers there would be and how many courses we were having. The latter had been the highlight in the hours we had undoubtedly spent talking about this day. Well, not the only highlight. Another thing I enjoyed talking about was what would happen after we were married. I loved listening as Chloe described what kind of house she wanted to live in, what kind of life she wanted to give our children. It was fascinating and exciting.
The door opened abruptly and I stopped pacing, turning to face Tori.
"Okay-" she began, but stopped as she caught sight of me, cheeks turning slightly pink and eyes dropping to the floor. I looked down, wondering what had made her blush.
Oh.
I was shirtless, having discarded the jacket, shirt and tie long ago, discomforted and stifled by the stiff fabric. Anxious as I was, I couldn't-wouldn't-pass up this chance to tease her. I knew for one that she found me attractive, after having listened to her grudgingly admit it during a late night conversation between her and Chloe when we were seventeen. I knew for another that Tori had been deprived of substantial male company for a while now, being surrounded only by stereotypical, socially inept, fellow computer geeks. I did not miss the irony in me calling them socially inept, but I at least knew how to socialize. I just chose not too. This would be fun, nonetheless.
"Wow, Tori. You really like to keep it on the family, don't you? I'm going to be taken in about five minutes, but you could always ask Simon. It might work now that you're both older. And I'm pretty sure it's legal in Jersey." I said, grinning wickedly.
As soon as the implication behind my words sunk in, she snapped her head up, eyes dancing with anger and fingers dangerously glowing with tightly reined in energy. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, poking me in the chest with a force that might have hurt had I not been a werewolf.
"I'm not going to do anything I might regret, but only because you're about to marry my best friend and I love her too much to hurt her. But if that weren't the case, I'd knock you all the way back to your days of puberty smackdown." she said threateningly, voice low, emphasizing her warning with another poke to my chest. I rolled my eyes, unfazed.
"What do you want?" I asked, not rudely, but curiously.
"First, I want you to put your shirt on, because I think it's only proper that you get married fully clothed. Then, I want you to come with me. You need to be out there now and would have been had you not decided to strip tease for the Chloe in your head."
Ignoring her, I focused on putting on my shirt and jacket, handing her the tie. She wordlessly tied it with an expert hand and stepped back, brushing my shoulders and carefully surveying her work.
"What did Dad do to you yesterday? Take you to a doggie day spa? Because if he did, you should definitely make it a monthly occurrence."
Deciding to overlook that jab, because, in her own way, she had just told me that I looked nice, I asked instead, "How is she?"
"Stunning." she replied, with a faraway look in her eyes, as if remembering just how beautiful Chloe looked. I didn't doubt it.
I opened the door and let Tori pass, following her down the hall that would lead us outside. As we were walking, she said, "As her best friend, I feel like it's my duty to tell you not to hurt her, to not break her heart, and that if you do, you'll wish that you'd never been born. But there's really no point in saying that to you, is there?"
"No." I said simply, because she was right, there wasn't. I would never-could never-hurt Chloe. Not only because I loved her too much to even fathom it, but because then, I'd be hurting a part of myself. I already had trouble parting with Chloe for more then thirteen hours, and even that was hard sometimes. I shied away from ever imagining doing something that would cause me to be without her for any longer than that.
We reached the archway and she turned toward me, placing a hand on my arm.
"Derek, you two are so lucky. Don't ever take what you have for granted." she said evenly. Knowing that the use of my name meant that she wanted her words to stick, I replied just as seriously.
"I won't." And I wouldn't. Not ever.
She patted me once on the arm and pushed me forward, toward the front of the aisle where I would wait for my future.
TPOV
As I walked down the aisle, I couldn't help but admire my handiwork. Fall in wine country was breathtaking and my careful planning had only added to the beauty. I surveyed the crowd, only paying close attention to my family. Simon's signature goofy grin was plastered on his face; Dad looked like he was on the brink of bursting with pride; and Lauren, who had accepted Derek and Chloe after a year together, was blinking rapidly, trying to keep her tears at bay, all the while keeping a vise grip on the tissue in her hand.
Reaching the altar, I decided to watch Chloe's descent down the aisle from Derek's eyes. I already knew how amazing she looked. It would be more satisfying to watch as Derek took her in, to watch his eyes light up like they always do when he sees her. Because, all teasing aside, what they have is special. Derek practically worships the ground she walks on-but tries to play it down-and Chloe loves him just as much. Seeing them makes me hopeful that that kind of love really can exist.
As the music starts, Derek, who had been looking down, no doubt unnerved in front of all these people, finally looked up, eyes widening in disbelief, looking as if the wind had just been knocked out of him. Then his eyes focused on her intently, as if she were the only person in the world, as if she were his lifeline and if he looked away, he would disappear. Finally, his eyes softened, revealing love and happiness. And when she came to stand beside him, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck as he simultaneously reached down to tuck her into his chest, they looked like two pieces of a puzzle, made to fit together, molding together perfectly. And as the priest began to speak, Derek started at Chloe in pure adoration, looking like the whipped puppy he was.
Please R&R :)
This was my first time writing Chloe and Tori's POV, so I would really appreciate comments or critiques or suggestions, especially since I might do something in Tori's POV in a bit.
Thanks again to everyone who has supported this story in any way. You guys are the greatest!