Romeo and Juliet

c h a p t e r f i f t e e n

=2 weeks later=

River ran through the house in a rushed manner as she attempted to collect all her things that morning. Jonas was currently getting ready at Rickys house whilst Joseph and their daughter were getting ready at opposite sides of their home, one more stressed than the other. The girl made her way back into her room where Gina and Nini were both sat. Since opening night, they had all gotten closer as a trio and she had invited them over to help her get ready. Nini was sat in a short emerald dress that had little flowers sewn into it whilst Gina wore a dark pink dress that had sleeves down to her elbows. The girls started helping River tend to her makeup and hair which they pulled into a waterfall braid with a golden leaf crown. She had chosen to have golden eye shadow with some eyeliner to help draw attention to her eyes.
"Riv, please tell me that you are planning on wearing heels instead of trainers today" Nini says as she looks at the collection of shoes lying on the floor.
"It's a garden wedding, I'll probably just have bare feet" she says making Gina laugh as Nini tells her she can't do that.
"No absolutely not, I'm going to get you a pair from my house, I'll be back" she says leaving the room making the other two burst into a fit of laughter.
"I'm assuming you're excited for tonight" Gina asks the smaller girl who has now stood up to get her dress which was a long royal blue gown.
"Of course, I've been waiting for my dads to tie the knot for years and now they're going to and all my friends are going to be there with me" she starts before she walks behind the changing screen in her room and pulling on her dress.
She steps out after a minute and asks her best friend to help her zip up the back of it which she agrees to. As she feels the younger girls hands reach the zip, she pulls her hair over her shoulder as to not let it get caught.
"Did you ask EJ to be your date tonight?" River pipes up, a smirk present on her face.
"He asked me actually so yes and technically I didn't"
"Things must be going well with you two then" she laughs as she turns back around and throws her hair over her back.
"Suppose we've both gotten lucky in the romance department this year" they laugh.

•••

After ten minutes, Nini makes her way into the room with a pair of black heels that weren't too high but also not short enough that the girl would get them caught in her dress.
"Thank you Neen, I suppose we should start heading downstairs, the guests will be arriving soon and I don't want to look like a terrible host"
"You're really doing it all today huh?" Gina says as they realise how much she actually has to do.
"I am, so Nini is going to have to be emotional support again" she laughs.
"Fine by me, we will see you out there, good luck!!" They smile as they head to the back garden which had been set up with a flower arch and garden chairs painted white.
Rose petals lined the floor that her parents would walk on and they had lanterns set up for when it would grow dark. Her dads had planned to leave for their honeymoon straight after the ceremony and the reception would be left for a celebration amongst River and her friends.
The girl made her way to the front garden and opened the side gate so that she could direct her guests as to where they were supposed to go. Within twenty minutes, most of her parents guests had arrived including her friends parents and Mr Mazzara who was invited due to how much he had done to help their family.
EJ, Big Red and Ashlyn all showed up together followed by Kourtney and Howie. Antoine showed up soon after and gave his girlfriend a kiss, admiring how beautiful she looked before he went through to find his seat. Carlos and Seb came together followed by her aunts and uncles. Natalie also made an appearance which made the girl smile until eventually her favourite guests showed up. Mike, Jonas and Ricky all got out of the car and made their way over to the girl. Ricky immediately pulled her into a hug making her sigh happily into his shoulder as she looked behind him and saw her dad stood there in his white suit, a nervous  look on his face.
Ricky lets go after a minute and him and his dad make their way through, followed by Jonas.
His daughter grabs his hand making him look over at her. She attaches herself to his arm and decided that she will walk down the aisle with him. The pair make their way into the garden and start walking along the petals before leaves him at the alter, taking a step back to be stood at the side.
After a few minutes, they hear the instrumental version of 'I've been waiting for you' start playing and the guests stand as they see Joseph start walking down the aisle making the man at the alter smile brightly and let a few tears slip out of his eyes. The men come to stand together in front of all their friends and family and smile at each other giddily, shaking slightly as the official starts making his speech. Joseph spoke his vows first before Jonas pulled out his and started to speak.
"Joey, you came into my life almost seventeen years ago and from that day on, I knew I had been blessed. You took me in when I had a child on the way and promised my late wife that you would care for her as your own. For the past sixteen years I have watched you be the best father to our daughter and that is truly how I knew that we were in this for life. I have loved you since day one and I promise to love you until my last day" he finishes and River has to wipe away the tears that are pouring down her face.
"In that case, if anyone wishes for these pair to not be married for whatever reason, please speak now or forever keep you peace"
He pauses for a minute.
"Okay good, that would've been awkward, by the power vested in me by the power of.."
he looks down at the card that Jonas has given him.
"Am I really meant to say this?"
"Yes"
"By the power of Freddie Mercury, the reason for both of these awakenings, I pronounce you Mr and Mr Maxwell, you may kiss the groom" he smiles and everyone cheers as the pair kiss before pulling away and lifting their joined hands up into the air proudly.
They then turn to their daughter and pull her into a tight hug, kissing her head and thanking her for helping make a beautiful ceremony before they started going around the guests to thank them for coming before everyone followed them to the front garden to watch them drive off for their honeymoon.
Once they were out of sight, the guests started to disperse whilst the teens made their way to the back garden. River followed after them and opened up the doors to the kitchen so they could help themselves to snacks and drinks before she went upstairs to change into a short blue dress with a twirly skirt. Once she was happy with how it was sitting, she made her way back downstairs and was thankful that Gina had put on the music and her guests had started dancing with each other. She ran over to join her friends and spun them around before she felt herself being lifted off of her feet by her boyfriend smiling happily.

•••

It was around an hour later and River was sat down watching some of her friends dance to the song that was playing before it switched to a slower one, nothing romantic but beautiful nonetheless. She saw a hand place itself in front of her and looked up, shocked at who was stood there.
"Do you want to dance with me?" Ricky asks her and she nods as she takes his hand and they make their way over to where her friends are.
She places her hands on his shoulders and he wraps his around her waist. They sway back and forth for a few seconds before she sees him looking at her with an expression she hasn't seen on his face a lot lately.
"What?"
"I'm just really happy for you, with Antoine and everything, I know I've been super awkward but you know, you're my best friend and I would do anything for you but I know he's good for you and he really cares and I just like seeing you this happy" he tells his sister figure and she pulls him into a strong hug.
"Thank you Ricky, I don't think you know how much I love you and just how proud I am of you and I'm so lucky I have you, thank you for being the best brother I could ask for"
"Im so much more proud of you and I'll do what I can for you because you're my family, I love you River" he says as they pull apart and she smiles at him before hearing a cough behind her.
They turn and see Antoine stood there with a sheepish smile on his face.
"Im sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if I could steal my girlfriend away" he asks.
She turns back to the boy and he nods letting her know he'll be alright and she silently thanks him as she walks off with her boyfriend who leads her into the house and up to her room where she sees her window open. He leads her over to it and they step out onto the windowsill as he leads her up to the flat part of her roof that lies in between her room and the spare room.
They sit down together and he wraps his jacket around her shoulders as she leans into him. He slips his arm around her waist and she smiles up at the night sky which has been lit with the stars.
"Do you know what I did when I first met you? After I let you walk away from me with your friends at North High?" He asks and she furrows her eyebrows knowing he had never told her anything about when they met.
She shakes her head in response and he lets out a soft laugh.
"I called my mom, I told her that I had just met the most amazing person I had ever met and she told me not to let you go because she'd never heard me so happy" he tells her and the girl feels her heart melt a little.
"For the past few months all I have done is think about you and about how lucky I am to know you and have you as my girlfriend. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to love you" he says as she sits up to look at him.
"I have never been the person to like people, I have never felt happiness like I do when I am with you and all I can do is say thank you for all of this, this journey and this feeling and for loving me the way I have always secretly wished to be loved" she says to her boyfriend as they make direct eye contact, holding the moment between them so that no can come and snatch it away from the pair.
Antoine slowly pulls his girlfriend in for a kiss and feels the sparks light up in his heart in his stomach as their lips meet. River feels the butterflies flurry about inside her chest and feels the heat rising to her cheeks before they pull away and look at each other.
She places her hand onto the side of his face and he smiles.
"I love you Antoine, truly and deeply"
"I love you River Maxwell, I always will"

•••

A/N: and that's it!! I have had so much fun writing this book!! Thank you so so so much for reading and I hope you have enjoyed it, sending my love to you all <3