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WEDDING BELLS
THE DAY OF BELLA AND EDWARD'S WEDDING ROLLED AROUND, AND AUGUSTINE STILL HADN'T ASKED PAUL TO BE HER PLUS ONE.
As much as she wanted to, how could she? It would be like throwing him into the lion's den, if the den was swarming with people from Forks and their closest vampire friends. And given that she hadn't invited him, she was extremely surprised to see him in the reflection of her mirror as she put her lipgloss on. He was leaning against the doorway with a smirk, one that screamed trouble.
Spinning around in her seat, bridesmaids dress already on, she couldn't help but take him in. He was wearing a simple black suit, and on anyone else she wouldn't have found it extraordinary— but on him? "What are you doing here?" she asked as she cleared her throat, trying to stop herself from literally foaming at the mouth.
He took that as his chance to enter her space, glancing around as though he was cataloguing her room before his gaze settled back onto her. "Got invited by the bride," he supplied, and Augustine was mentally yelling at Bella's meddling. "Said something about being someone's plus one. Any idea who that someone might be?"
She knew he wanted her to spell it out, say it out loud that he was meant to be her plus one before she chickened out. She had had two months to ask, and evidently, she didn't. "No idea, Paulie," she shrugged, a smirk tugging at her own mouth as he stopped in front of her. "But, I just so happen to be lacking a plus one."
"Oh really?" he questioned as she stood from her desk chair. His hands migrated to her waist, simply holding her, feeling the fabric of the dress beneath his fingertips. "What a coincidence."
The air was humid with something, but Augustine couldn't find it in her to move. "You look nice," she responded truthfully, allowing her eyes to rake over his form once more despite their close proximity. "I've never seen you wearing anything other than those cargo sh—"
"You're beautiful, Auggie."
Her shoulders deflated, the lingering tension of the day's ongoing festivities leaving her body. Her eyes crinkled as she smiled up at him, and her mind failed to think of the last time someone had called her that. Beautiful.
"You're obsessed with me," she deflected with a joking smile, and had she been human she knew her cheeks would've been flushed. Even after all this time, the girl still didn't know how to take a compliment.
Paul only nodded, undeterred. "I am."
Augustine blinked up at him, his face seeming closer than it was before, until there was a knock on her doorframe. The two pulled away, Paul's hands leaving her entirely as the pair made eye contact with Rosalie.
The annoyance in her eyes was there, sure, but it was minimal. Where her gaze locked onto the pair's intertwined pinkies, something Augustine hadn't even registered that she did, her amber eyes softened significantly.
"Come on you two, it's show time."
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The wedding itself was a complete success, and soon, Bella was an official member of the Cullen family. Augustine had latched herself onto Paul for the duration of the evening, only stepping aside to complete her bridesmaid duties and rush back.
It was still early in the reception when she saw the warm face of Carmen headed her way, Eleazar close behind. The woman's arms were immediately outstretched, happy to see the younger girl that she didn't pay attention to the boy at her side yet. Augustine threw herself into her arms, relaxing in the familiarity of her embrace. "I've missed you guys," she said in greeting, pulling away when Carmen held her at arms length to kiss her forehead.
"And we've missed you, Augustine," Eleazar supplied on behalf of his mate— his mate who was too busy breathing in Augustine's presence. Only, the ravenette was quick to catch the older vampire observe her plus one. "You certainly keep interesting company when you're here."
This made her quickly step beside Paul, her arm practically shoved against the side of his body. "This is Paul," she said, gesturing to the boy. "Paul, this is Carmen, and her mate Eleazar."
She caught Paul's eyes flash with recognition at the woman's name, undoubtedly recollecting the story she told him of the night she was turned. He didn't get a chance to say anything, really, before Carmen gasped and pointed a finger in his direction. "He's the wolf boy?!"
Augustine shushed her, the woman's loud tone carrying away to a nearby couple who looked on in inquisition for a moment, before being pulled elsewhere. Paul's nose scrunched up, though. "Wolf boy?"
"You're a wolf, and a boy," she explained with a deadpan look, before she switched her gaze back to Carmen and Eleazar sheepishly, "but yes... he is."
She'd been in constant communication with the Denalis, and although they always tried to pry more information from the girl, they only knew her mate as the "wolf boy", given his shifter nature. "So, you two are pursuing the bond, then?" Carmen asked curiously, having known that Augustine and her mate were usually on the outs but only recently came to an understanding.
Augustine's eyes widened because they hadn't really talked about their bond; it was like this unspoken thing in their friendship. She started shaking her head, "well, I don't—"
"Yeah, we are."
Her eyes instantly flashed to his, finding he was already looking in her direction. "We are?" she parroted back, unsure if she had heard him correctly.
"Unless you don't want to," he backtracked, brown eyes swimming with one emotion: uncertainty.
"I do," she admitted, arms going to wrap themselves around her torso, "but I thought you didn't... y'know."
"I do." It was paired with a small smile, one that was usually reserved for the girl in front of him.
Now that was certainly new information. Augustine had come to the conclusion that she'd always liked Paul in that way, even though she hated him at many points in time. It was clear that he hated her along the way too, but his statement was nothing short of a confessional.
Even in his hatred, Paul had never once lied to her; so she believed his word to be true.
Yet that hatred seemed to be gone, now. Oh, how far they'd come. And all Augustine could do was nod, tacking on a quiet, "okay then."
They'd talk about this later, she'd make sure of it.
Carmen seemed to coo, diving for the girl once more. "Come with us to greet Bella and tell them this spectacular news!"
She was already pulling the girl away from where Paul stood, Augustine throwing him a grimace before he shook his head, understanding. She turned to Carmen with a groan, Eleazar just behind them. "It's tacky to announce things at someone else's wedding, Carmen," she told the woman— the woman who evidently hadn't been to a human wedding in a long time.
But Carmen wasn't swayed otherwise, pulling the girl as the trio approached the newlyweds. Two other presences joined them, and Augustine had to pause to turn and greet two familiar faces she also missed before they saw the brunette vampire give Bella a few kisses on her cheeks.
"These are our cousins from Alaska," she heard Edward explain to his new wife, "s'where August was before she came to us."
At the mention of her name, Augustine broke away from her final embrace with Kate and went closer, the two blondes following. Kate was the one to speak first, offering Bella a smile. "We've heard so much about you," she said warmly, before going to pinch the ravenette's arm, "our little Augustine sings your praises."
Bella turned her gaze to her friend, whose eyes were wandering around. "I think Kate exaggerates," she said, though she saw the human girl give her a playful eye roll.
Then, Carmen turned her head to look at something in the distance. "Irina, come meet Bella."
Augustine turned and saw the final Denali coven member, standing in the distance before she skeptically walked closer to the group that formed. Out of all the Denalis, Irina was the one that she was the least closest with. She was rarely home, and whenever she was, she seemed to want nothing to do with Augustine; so, she faded into the background in the younger girl's eyes, and simply didn't bother.
"I can't do this," she whispered to Carmen, and it made Augustine's eyebrows furrow.
"You promised," Tanya responded on Carmen's behalf, almost sharply, as she looked at her sister.
Irina didn't like this answer, merely looking into the distance behind them. "They invited two of them," she said, her voice wavering with something akin to anger— raging disdain.
Augustine, like the others, followed her gaze, only to settle on the figures of Paul and Seth; two shifters she particularly liked the most. The ravenette instantly frowned, wondering why Irina was so upset at them being here when the others clearly didn't mind much.
She felt Edward's eyes lock onto the side of her head, and heard him speak up. "Irina, they're our friends," he told her, matter-of-factly. "One of them is Augustine's mate, or have you forgotten?"
"They killed Laurent," she fought back, almost pleading for Edward to realize what they'd done.
But the Cullens knew the wolves killed Laurent, and knew why, and Augustine didn't realize until that moment that perhaps Irina didn't know why, either. "He tried to kill Bella," was Edward's reply, justifying the actions of the wolves.
"I don't believe that," she all but snapped, leaning into Edward's space. "He wanted to be like us; to live in peace with humans, with me."
Augustine could practically feel her lips curl into a snarl. "The wolves wouldn't lie, Irina," she told the blonde, amber eyes locking onto each other. "You just don't wanna believe that Laurent was a bad guy."
Irina took a step away. "You're only saying that because you're with one," she retorted, face pinched in what the younger girl thought was disgust, "it's unnatural. I can't do this."
Then, she stormed away, leaving the rest of the Denalis to quickly say their regards to the newlyweds while Augustine sat in her words. It's Unnatural. Her stomach sank, and perhaps it showed on her face, because Carmen was quick to notice. She was always quick to notice.
"Don't listen to her," she told the younger girl, hand clasping hers in a motherly way, "you deserve this happiness, mi vida."
All she could do was murmur out a watery thanks, before the Denalis migrated elsewhere in the reception. She felt another hand on her shoulder, one that belonged to a human. "I think you and Paul are great together," she reassured the girl.
Augustine quirked an eyebrow up. "Is that why you invited him? Without telling me?"
"I know you wouldn't have done it yourself," she shrugged, and that earned a chuckle from Edward at her side.
With a roll of her eyes, the younger vampire scoffed at her meddling. "Yeah, you definitely belong in this family."
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When the reception really ramped up, Bella disappearing for a few minutes as Edward spoke to some of their guests, Paul slipped out of his seat from beside her. It looked like his mind was somewhere else, fist clenching at his side. "I'll be right back," he told her, followed by a small kiss at her temple before he bounded off without another word.
She frowned, wondering where he went off to, but had an inkling it was something pack related given that Seth also sauntered away from Sue Clearwater and into the brush around the side of the house. Augustine didn't have enough time to wonder, really, as she was approached by the stocky vampire she adored.
He sat himself down in the now vacant chair at her side, his face pulled into a smirk. "Where's your loverboy?"
"Off doing whatever loverboys do," she responded, turning a suspicious gaze towards him, "why the sudden interest?"
He shrugged, smirk unrelenting. "Heard you guys almost had a little smooch earlier today," he teased, before his face fell flat. "He's a boy, Augustine Cullen. They're nothing but trouble."
She rolled her eyes. "Em, you've gotta give it a rest," she said in exasperation. "He's harmless for a guy who turns into a dog every once in a while."
"I'm your brother, I can't just give it a rest," was his instantaneous response. "But seriously, I'm more than willing to give him the shovel talk."
She hummed. "You're the best, you know that?"
He gave her a smile, bumping his shoulder against hers. "I love you, Aug."
"Love you too, you big oaf."
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[ wyn's note ]
omg omg it's happening... #it #is #happening! next chap, we get the talk between our two lovebirds!!! EEEEEK!!!
these chaps going forward will be longer ones i'm thinking, but we're officially into breaking dawn part one territory...
also 50k reads?!?! you guys are insane!! all my love xx