As promised, hello again! This one is about twice the length of the last one (both pre-edit) and hopefully a little more enjoyable. I realised that one of the things that I'd neglected to give River back was her life, so I'm probably going to give her another chapter or two just getting her shit back on track, the gym, jobs, all that stuff. I'm also leaning kinda heavily on wanting her tribe from Utah to have wolves, possibly a dormant gene in her family etc etc, so we'll see. Until then, enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen

River parked her truck near all of the other cars, patting down her shirt a little as she took a moment to ready herself.

Brooke, unlike her sister, didn't need a moment. She simply slung herself from her sister's cab and all but ran over to where their parents were getting out of Alma's car. Coming in two cars may have seemed excessive, but River really hadn't wanted to sit in her mom's car and listen to their dad talk about how strange this whole affair was.

Now, it wasn't that she didn't agree. After all, she and Bella Swan had known one another as kids, they were practically the same age, so what the hell was the girl doing getting married? Well, River simply couldn't wrap her head around that, but still. Maybe she would have understood more if Swan had seemed like some kind of money hungry girl, especially since she marrying into such a wealthy family, but River hadn't ever really gotten that vibe from her.

Admittedly, she was shocked that they'd been invited. Sure, their fathers had worked together for a long time, but River and Bella, other than polite nods on the street, hadn't spoken since they were early teens at the latest. So yeah, getting that initiation was a shock. River hadn't even expected her dad to be invited, so it was sweet that they'd invited the whole family.

Thinking back, River wasn't even entirely sure that she'd spoken to one of the Cullens before other than Doctor Cullen. She'd heard that his wife, not that she knew her name, was a lovely but quiet woman. Of course, she knew that they were all other-worldly beautiful, but further than that she really knew nothing about them. She heard gossip from her dad about Bella and Edward, her soon to be husband, but she didn't even know what the kid looked like.

Still, when she finally climbed out of the truck and made her way over to her parents, she decided that it didn't matter that she and Bella weren't close. They'd been friendly enough as kids, so she was more than happy to support a childhood friend on their wedding day.

She heard her dad grumping about "Who the hell gets married in their own backyard", as if that wasn't exactly what he and Alma had done, as she got closer. River simply rolled her eyes and donned her jacket.

She'd chosen a nice enough suit. Simple, light grey pants, a white button-down, a slim, black tie, a jacket to match the pants and regular black shoes. Brooke had, obviously, laughed and called her a "raging homo" when she'd exited her room, but Dick and Alma were quick to shut that down. River had to laugh, that was simply how she and Brooke spoke to one another but their parents didn't seem to know quite where to draw the line on that kind of talk.

Through everything though, every second of every day, she had something in the back of her head. Paul. God, no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't get him out of her mind.

Still, he wasn't there. He was doing an exemplary job of giving her the space that she'd asked for and for that she was thankful. She'd needed this time to really come to terms with what she'd seen. When they were together, everything seemed to just happen with no rhyme or reason, so she'd known that she needed space away from him if she wanted to truly wrap her head around things.

She managed to focus on literally anything else, anything but thoughts of Paul, as they headed inside. That was, of course, until she remembered the party that she'd been to in this very house. All it took was a glance at the doorframe that she and Paul had caught one another in and she found herself breathless.

"Fond memories?" Came a familiar, teasing voice. Skylar.

River, turning and seeing the pale girl, stopped. She smiled widely. "Fond? I think I got alcohol poisoning that night." She joked in response, glad that her folks kept on walking. Skylar's friends, however, stayed a few feet away.

They were on good terms again, so it wasn't a shock when Skylar stepped in for a hug, though it didn't exactly feel right. Still, she wrapped her arms around the other girl and held her tight for a second. "You look lovely." River added when they parted. Truly, the blonde looked stunning. She was wearing some kind of royal blue dress that showed just enough skin to be ravishing while still respectful, a cute pair of matching heels and a modest amount of jewellery.

Skylar smiled almost shyly. "Thanks. You too." She replied, a light blush on her cheeks, reminding River that Skylar still had some feelings for her that weren't at all bad. She had to remember not to do or say anything that could be seen as flirting. While they were on friendly terms, she didn't want to push anything or give any wrong impressions. It was strange to her, especially at the time, how quickly her feelings for Skylar had dissipated once Paul's weird magic had kicked in. Part of her felt resentful, as though the choice had been taken away from her. Still, now wasn't the time for those thoughts.

They exchanged a few pleasantries, then River went off and found her folks again.

The wedding, once everyone was seated, kicked off fairly quickly. It was undoubtedly a stunning service to say the least, but something felt off. Through the whole thing, as River found her eyes scanning, something just didn't feel right. Scanning. What a stupid thing to do. Why? Well, because that's when she noticed him. Not him. Seth.

She spent the last half of the service with cold sweat on her back, gently dabbing any from her brow as it appeared.

When the vows were all said and done, the groom and the bride had kissed, everyone had cheered, they were all politely asked to take a brief intermission before rounding the enormous house to find yet another spectacular venue, this time for a meal.

Everything was fine until Alma caught sight of Sue and Seth. As everyone was milling about aimlessly, Alma all but raced over to Sue, immediately gushing about the service and thanking her loudly for "letting River stay over so often". Oh yeah, that was a whole thing. The thing being that whenever River wanted a little space, she went down to the cliffs and into the cave. That, of course, was not what she told her parents. Instead, she told them that she and Leah were simply becoming great friends and hanging out all the time. Brooke was even convinced that they were a couple, not that River had ever given her than impression.

The issue with speaking to Sue? The over-six-foot giant that was following her around, looking at River through guilty eyes.

Okay. This was it. She knew that she couldn't avoid all of them for forever. So, breathing in a deep breath, pulling on her big girl pants, she followed a few steps behind her folks, keeping Seth's gaze the entire time. When she reached them, without thinking too hard, she simply walked almost into him, pulling him into a hug that had her heart racing. She could feel the thrum of his own against the top of her shoulder, confused, fluttering. "We're good." She assured him quietly, feeling him relax almost immediately.

She pulled away as quickly as she'd drawn him in, proud of herself. When they parted, looking up at him, she smiled. He really was just a kid. She'd come to that realisation in her cave, only now she was feeling brave enough to let him know. She was still scared, sure, but not specifically of him, more just of the uncertainty around what exactly he was and what he could do.

There were a few confused looked, mostly from her family, so she cleared her throat and stepped back in line. "Uh, Seth accidentally saw me changing. Forgot to lock the bathroom door. At Sue's. You know, when I was there." She couldn't help but look apologetically at Sue as she finished speaking, seeing a glint of amusement in the older woman's eyes at her clear inability to lie on the spot.

"Right!" Seth piped up, cheerier now than River had seen him before. "I just, you know, walk in. Teenage boy. No consideration." His grin, weirdly, made it more believable. River, feeling a little better, almost laughed.

They moved more as a group of six after that, following one another and finding other members of the tribe, including Billy Black, as they made their way to their tables for speeches, food and the rest of the evening.

Somehow, through it all, River found herself seated next to Seth. Granted, they were still close to everyone, but a few feet away was more than enough to talk with all of the noise coming from elsewhere. "How is he?" She asked quietly, feeling immediately guilty as something in her chest tugged, telling her to leave and run through the woods until she found him.

Seth smiled softly, looking at her through gentle, non-judgemental eyes. "He's okay." He supplied honestly, though his lack of enthusiasm gave him away. Paul, it seemed, wasn't doing too well. "He's... empty? I mean, he's still Paul, you know, but he hasn't threatened anyone in weeks." River would have been amused by the fact that Paul not threatening anyone seemed to make Seth sad, if not for the fact that it also kind of hurt her, too. She knew what he meant. They all seemed like siblings, so in the same way that she and Brooke constantly threatened to kick one another's asses, it would worry her if Brooke one day just stopped being Brooke.

She nodded, mulling things over. "You must all think I'm a monster." She decided to say, knowing that they couldn't have been okay with what she was putting Paul through.

Quickly, Seth shook his head. "No!" He assured her loudly, almost too loudly. "Are you kidding? River, some of our own families didn't take it well. It's... it's a huge thing, you know? No one's mad or anything. It just sucks having Paul's sad butt in our heads." She could tell, looking at him, that he really meant it. That last part though?

"In your heads?" Alas, it was time for food.

She knew that they'd get another chance to speak, but that one comment had really thrown her.

The food was exquisite. She wasn't even too sure what she was eating at times, nor did she care. Whatever it was, she knew she wouldn't taste anything like it again, so she savoured each mouthful. Brooke made a few snide, sisterly comments about eating too many carbs, never getting back into fighting shape, crap like that, but River settled for subtly giving her the finger a few times and simply enjoyed the food.

Course after course came flying out, each seemingly better than the last. She was thankful to have what felt like a bottomless pit for a stomach, though she did find that she was full before too long, unable to hold back a laugh at Seth who was more than happy to finish everyone's plates.

Her favourite part about the food though, topping everything else, was seeing her parents enjoying such lavish things. They were such hard working people. They may not have always seen eye to eye, River may have been quick to fall out with her father, too quick to judge her wild mother, but they were good people. They never took vacations, never treated themselves to nights away. Hell, they never even went back to Utah to see their own families, all because they wanted to save what they could for River and Brooke's futures. She decided, watching her mother gush over something doused in truffle oil, seeing her father grinning down at his wife, that she would be a better daughter for them.

The rest of the day and evening was much of a muchness. Beautiful, of course, but near enough the same.

River managed to get close to Bella and Edward, congratulating them both profusely, pushing down the slight nausea she felt when she shook Edward's hand.

Much later on, when the floor was cleared for dancing, everyone was off doing their own thing, Skylar came over. River had been sitting with Brooke, all but ignoring one another, bored out of her brains. So, when Skylar asked, "Dance with me?" she simply couldn't say no.

She took the blonde's outstretched hand and followed her to the dancefloor, already feeling not only the eyes of Skylar's friends and Brooke, but also her family and a couple of others. Clearly people knew that they had dated. Weddings were notorious for bringing people together. Was that what people thought they were witnessing, the rekindling of an old flame?

The song was gentle and slow, soft and mellow. It was awkward, River found, drawing Skylar in, having her hands on her waist, the blonde's arms up and around her neck. She expected it to be a little weird, but it wasn't, it was just nice.

They swayed back and forth, careful not to dance into anyone else. River realised, with almost the length of their bodies touching, just how much her life hand changed in the last few months alone. Even six months ago, she would have killed to be dancing like this with Skylar, to be going to a wedding together, to be holding her close and swaying all night, but now? Well, it was nice, sure, but there really wasn't anything else there. She thought about it more as they swayed. She could have kissed the blonde, just leaned in and caught her lips, but for what? There wasn't the desire to do so anymore, just the emotionless realisation that she could have done.

"Why are you so good to me?" She asked lowly, Skylar's temple resting against her jaw. She knew it wasn't an entirely fair question, knowing that the blonde still had some feelings for her, but she couldn't wrap her head around just how absolutely fine the blonde was with her. After all, River had cheated on her. She'd done the one thing that she never thought she'd be capable of doing to anyone.

Chuckling against the larger girl, Skylar shook head gentle. "You know how I feel about you." Skylar spoke easily, pulling back a little to look up into the the brunette's eyes. Her thoughts were confirmed as she saw beautiful but ultimately platonic love looking back down at her. "I love you, River." She smiled a little sadly, then putting her head back where it had been, not letting them both freeze in awkwardness. "Our bond means more, though. Our friendship means more to me than my feelings. I know they'll fade, but I've missed us. The gym sucks without you. So, yeah, it's a stupid situation, but I just want to go back to how we were. Minus the sex."

River couldn't help but bark out a laugh at the end. "Thank god, I wasn't sure how I was gonna break that to you." She joked, moving with the music. "I do love you, Sky." She spoke into the waterfall of blonde hair, holding the other girl a little closer. "I'm sorry that it's not the same way."

Skylar shook her head again. "Shut up." She hugged River close, sighing into her jacket. "Thank you for dancing with me."

"You don't have to thank me." River smiled. "Hey, maybe I'll come back to the gym. I'm basically all healed up." It was odd, not really having been thinking about fighting for so long. She hadn't gotten fat or anything, but she definitely didn't have the same muscle mass as before, she hadn't kept up with her training, she hadn't been watching her diet.

Skylar nodded. "You should." She decided easily. "I know Jet's secretly missing you. It breaks his heart when you don't beat the crap out of Dante and Owen. They're getting too big for their boots."

River chuckled. "Oh, I'll be back then, even if it's just to kick their asses." That, however, was the end. That was the end of their soft, caring moment, because as the shiver shot up her spine and her breath hitched, she knew that she couldn't possibly keep dancing with Skylar, not when she could feel him. Paul.

She tried not to make it obvious, didn't look over her shoulder like she wanted to, but she saw a hint of sadness in Skylar's eyes. "It's uncanny." The blonde said, her voice a little deflated now. River raised a brow, knowing that her own smile had dropped. "He walks in and you just freeze. It's like you can feel him." She shook her head with a sad smile. "I'm gonna go dance with my friends. Have fun, okay? I'll see you at the gym."

With a quick peck on River's cheek, Skylar was gone, leaving her alone in the middle of the dance floor.

Her heart raced, beating a mile a minute. What was strange though was that, even feeling that he was there, she could tell that he wasn't coming closer. He wasn't approaching her, he wasn't flashing that cocky grin and asking her for a dance, he wasn't taking her chin in one of his hands and tilting her head up for a soft kiss. No. He was keeping his distance, just as she'd asked.

Fuck.

She needed to end this.

Turning, she saw him immediately.

For a moment, she couldn't breathe as their eyes met. All she could do was drink him in. No one else mattered. Nothing compared to him. He'd even dressed up, wearing a nice pair of black slacks and a crisp, ironed button-down.

When she found her breath, she moved. She didn't notice that Brooke had followed her gaze and was watching with wide eyes, seemingly invested in this real life telenovela as it unfolded before her, drinking it all in with her cell finally discarded. Nor did she notice Seth, a mere few feet away, grinning and giving her the thumbs-up. All she could see was Paul, deep, confused lines on his face.

She slipped through the small groups of people until she finally reached him, standing on the edge of everything. "I'm sorry." He started. "I just wanted to make sure you were-"

She didn't let him finish, instead all but launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest, feeling his arms circle her in an instant, pulling her impossibly tightly into him. "I'm so sorry." She panted into him, moving her face up, closer to his.

That was when, just as she had with Skylar, she noticed how very close they were. She could have simply tilted her head just a little and kissed him. Gods, how she wanted to kiss him. Instead, she spoke again before he could. "Dance with me?" She asked of him, just as Skylar had of her, content when he simply nodded and, hand in hand, followed her back to the dancefloor.

She got a supportive smile from Skylar who was not dancing manically with her friends and, in turn, smiled somewhat guiltily back. She could tell that things would be okay between them once they got through the awkwardness that she knew would come.

So, for the rest of the night, she didn't worry. She spent her time in Paul's arms, ignoring the rest of the world, finally feeling something deep within her settle.

Not super long, but not short, probably one of the better chapters as far as length goes. Anywho, I'd love love love thoughts, feelings, all that jazz on this chapter! I know it wasn't exciting or anything but I'd still love to know what anyone thinks of it and, of course, what you'd like/not like to see later on!

Thank you for reading, have a great day!