Queen of My Heart || Taylor Swift

Speak Now

The preacher gave a few short words detailing the sanctity of their soon-to-be marriage and vows as Rose got to the altar. Her father handed her off and nodded. The time came faster than you thought it would. The time where you'll have to stand up and potentially embarrass yourself in front of this many people.

The time when the preacher says, "Speak now or forever hold your peace."

There comes the deafening silence. Your last chance. Even as your knees were threatening to buckle underneath you, you found the strength to keep yourself up straight. You wiped your sweaty hands against the sides of your dress as they shook with fear, then slowly went to stand in the middle of the aisle. Nothing was less helpful at the moment than the voices in your head telling you to bolt before you make a fool out of yourself.

People exchanged horrified looks and whispered to the person next to them. Everyone was shocked, but Rose was purely aghast as her mouth fell agape. You could see the color draining from her pink-ish skin before she started incoherently yelling loud enough to make her face flush with color again. Taylor, however, hadn't moved. You kept your eyes on her the entire time, and she did the same. But her expression was unreadable, unpredictable, and left you a world of foreboding.

"Taylor, you need to hear me out."

Your voice projected above the countless who chattered in disbelief. Tears of uncertainty began to well up in your eyes, yet you blinked them back.

"I still love you. Nothing will change that." You shook your head, nervously fidgeting with the fabric of your dress. "You're not the kind of person who deserves to be marrying the wrong girl."

You stepped towards the altar, close enough to see Taylor stressed enough to bite down on her lip. People's eyes darted between you, Taylor, and Rose.

Please feel the same, you prayed. Please.

Time slowed until hours, minutes, and seconds were indistinguishable. You didn't need to save her, of course you knew that, but you wanted to run away with her. And it flashed by so quickly that you almost missed it, she mouthed something.

I'll meet you when I'm out of my dress at the back door.

A collective gasp of surprise erupted around you. This was the only time you didn't mind being the epicenter of drama, and the focus of attention. It didn't feel like reality, more like a dream with the perfect outcome.

But that didn't stop you from grabbing your bag and running out the chapel. You only glanced behind yourself once, to see Taylor making her way to one of the rooms in the back. Once you hit the fresh air outside, it felt like a weight had been lifted from your chest and you could finally fill your lungs.

You quickly went around in search of Taylor. A stone staircase lead up to the back door of the building that you sat on as you waited for her to get changed. Many of the people from the wedding were walking out of the front doors. You tried your best to stay out of their sight as they crossed onto the gravel parking lot, looking disappointed while in their best attire.

The wooden doors creaked open behind you. Taylor was now wearing black shorts and an oversized tee as she stepped down the stairway. Instantly, you stood up and turned around to meet her.

"I just ran away. From my wedding!" She said in disbelief.

You took a deep breath. "Do you regret it?"

"No, I'm so glad you were around." Taylor paused, then raised her eyebrows. "And how did you find me? Rose made it very clear that she had no intentions on sending you an invite."

"I had some last second help from our friends. They gave me the address."

"I'll make sure to thank them later." She brought your hand up to her lips and laid a gentle kiss to the back. "But for now, let's get out of here."

She intertwined your fingers with hers and kept you close. Most of the guests had cleared out by now but a few were just leaving. Taylor walked you over to her Porsche, the gravel shifting underneath you, and opened the passenger door for you. She sat in the driver's side and placed her hand on your thigh.

So glad you were around when they said "speak now".

~~
A/N
unedited, not read.
finished at ~1.4k words