CHAPTER TWENTY | I'LL WED YOU IN THE GOLDEN SUMMERTIME
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THE DAY OF JO AND ALARIC'S WEDDING HAD ARRIVED SOONER THAN ANYONE ANTICIPATED. With Lily locked up in the cell in the basement, Evelyn pushed last night's drama to the back of her mind and had every intention of enjoying her day. After all, it was her last in Mystic Falls. Neither she nor Damon wanted anything to get in the way of their last day with the people they loved, but of course, it was Mystic Falls and nothing ever went straight forward.
"Crap." Jo frantically paced the room back and forth with her eyes full of worry and exhaustion. Evelyn wandered into the room and noticed the dark-haired witch seemed panicked. "They're not here."
"What's wrong?" Elena looked up, then turned her head to Jo who started to wave her hands around her head with an exasperated sigh.
"My shoes." The bride-to-be turned on her heels glared at the three girls in the room. "My gorgeous, expensive, wear-them-once-and-then-never-again shoes. They are missing!"
"Okay, let's just calm—" Evelyn began to try and calm the situation, however, the Bennett witch suddenly cut her off with a suggestion.
"Do you want me to do a locator spell on them?"
Jo raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "On my shoes?"
"I've heard of a lot of things in my time, but a locator spell on shoes? Does that even exist?" Evelyn also turned around to look at her best friend with an incredulous look.
"I don't know, actually, I'm just—" Bonnie started to aggressively kick the steamer within her hands. "Hang on. I gotta figure out how to work this stupid thing."
"Good. Break it. Because my wrinkled dress will surely distract everyone from my bare feet." Jo cried out in distress as she watched Bonnie continued to abuse the steamer.
"Hey, hey. Come on, don't waste all your panic now. You still have eight hours until the ceremony." The Gilbert stepped forward with a smile before holding up a glass. "Nonalcoholic mimosa?"
"One: a nonalcoholic mimosa is just juice—"
"Trust me, I know. That's why I prefer regular mimosas, Elena's just being boring since she's human now." Evelyn shrugged before downing her glass and filling it again before she gave the doppelganger a smirk.
Jo raised an eyebrow at Evelyn and then chuckled. "—Two: I can't drink. Somebody should drink with Evelyn. Elena, you should drink."
"I will, eventually. But, I'm not being boring. I have human tolerance now, which is cheaper, but a lot less fun." The ex-vampire pouted before the girls clinked their glasses.
Evelyn and Jo began chatting among themselves while Elena answered Jo's phone for her. She answered in her usual, perky voice but as the phone call progressed, the perkiness disappeared and it was clear there was an issue. "Please, don't tell me that was bad news." Evelyn groaned.
"Danielle's got the flu." The doppelganger tried to break the news gently while Bonnie moved over to hear the problem.
The bride let out a sarcastic chuckle almost like she was in denial. "It sounded like you just said, Danielle has the flu. Which is impossible because Danielle is my wedding coordinator." Jo finally took the news into realization. "Well, how sick is she? Can she still work?"
"It depends on how much vomit you want to have at the wedding."
"To be honest, maybe this is a good thing." Caroline's perky voice echoed through the room which drew everyone's attention to her sudden entrance. "Because no matter how good Danielle was, I'm pretty sure I'm better."
"Caroline!" Evelyn ran over to the blonde and pulled her into her embrace."It's so good to see you. I've missed you so much!"
"Thank you all for getting me back." She sent the three girls an appreciative smile until she got straight down to business. "Okay, now we got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it."
"Ooh, this is gonna be fun." Evelyn rolled her eyes sarcastically, then downed another drink in the hopes that it would help her with what was to come.
"Elena, just have a drink. You're not going to pass out." Caroline ordered the doppelganger who nodded and headed straight for the drinks. "Evelyn, stop drinking. You probably will pass out." Evelyn groaned when Caroline then targeted Bonnie. "Bonnie, the switch is on the left-hand side on the back. And Jo, I can see your shoes under the couch. Okay, now who's dealing with the boys?"
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Once the females had finished making the preparations, Evelyn headed upstairs to start her make-up. Part of her wondered if today was what her wedding would be like, full of chaos and malfunctions, but she wouldn't have it any other way. As she grabbed her mascara wand and gently coated her lashes, she felt the presence of Caroline Forbes in the doorway of Damon's en-suite bathroom.
"Evelyn, can we talk?" Caroline's voice was soft and fragile, almost as if she was worried about what the brunette vampire might respond with.
"Sure." Evelyn screwed the wand back onto her mascara wand and set it down on the marble countertop before she spun around to face the blonde. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to say that I am so, so sorry about everything that I said and did to you when my humanity was off. You're one of my best friends, and I was trying to hurt you when I said that it would never be possible that you and Damon couldn't be happy. I'm just—"
"Care, I said some crappy, unforgivable things to you when my humanity was off, too. There's no need for an apology because I forgave you even after you said it. Yeah, don't get me wrong, it hurt. But, it wasn't you." Evelyn tilted her head as a sympathetic smile crept across her lips. "But, I'm really glad you're back."
"Oh, thank God. I kind of wanted to start with an easy one." Caroline chuckled softly as she extended her arm and placed her hand on Evelyn's shoulder. "So, Elena's human, huh? You didn't want that?"
"Absolutely not," Evelyn answered back as she turned toward the mirror to continue her make-up. "Damon and I are happy the way that we are. Why change it?"
Caroline's brow furrowed when she noticed an unreadable expression spread across Evelyn's face like a wildfire. "Okay. What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That face." Caroline pointed with her index finger. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Okay, but if I tell you, you cannot tell anyone. I mean it, Caroline!" Evelyn gave her a pointed look whilst the blonde vampire nodded vigorously. The Austin girl turned the bathroom tap on to prevent anyone from overhearing their conversation. "Damon and I were talking and we've decided that after Ric and Jo's wedding, we're gonna disappear."
Caroline's mouth hung open in surprise. "Sorry. You're doing what? Where are you gonna go?"
"Uh— everywhere. Anywhere." Evelyn shrugged. "Let's be honest, what sort of life can Damon and I have where every single turn we take, we're met with some other supernatural danger that's gonna put a bump in the road. He's been the one since the day that I met him, Caroline, I just don't want to lose him again. I just— I had to tell you because I tell you everything."
"I understand completely. If I had a love like the love that you and Damon have for each other, I'd want to do everything I could to keep hold of it. I just have a few conditions."
"Oh, do tell." Evelyn chuckled softly.
"Okay. So, first: I am insisting that I get an invite to the wedding. We stay in contact, no matter what. And, you come back to visit every once in a while so I don't have to miss my best friend too much." Caroline pouted with tears in her eyes as Evelyn twirled around to face her.
"One-thousand percent yes to every single one of your conditions, Caroline. Come here." Evelyn grabbed hold of the blonde vampire and pulled her into her embrace. There was absolutely no way that Evelyn was going to leave Caroline behind as if she were a memory.
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Evelyn stood inside the wedding venue with her eyes fixed on the decor. The entire place looked beautiful. With her eyes dancing around the room, eventually, her gaze met Damon, who entered wearing a black suit. "Isn't a bridesmaid's dress supposed to make you look like a freak of nature?" Damon admired the girl's beauty with a smile. "You're doin' pretty well."
"Jo went easy on us." Evelyn chuckled softly as she stepped closer to her fiancé and grabbed him by the hand. "I missed you today. Where've you been?"
"Well, you know, brother bonding with Stefan. Boozy-lunch, bloody-dessert, that sort of thing." Damon lifted his hand up to Evelyn's cheek and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
The female vampire nodded understandingly. "Did you tell him?"
"I did, yeah." Damon pursed his lips. "Surprisingly, he gave us his blessing followed by his whole you deserve to be happy, Damon speech."
"I told Caroline, she gave me a list of conditions, which obviously I've agreed to." The Austin vampire smiled as she felt his thumb dance gently against her skin. "She understood immediately. She saw what I was like when I thought you died, she understands that I can't risk anything like that again. But, she made me promise to invite her to the wedding, and visit occasionally."
"Funny. That's exactly what Stefan's conditions were, too." A small chuckle escaped Damon's lips as his hands fell to her waist. "You are sure about this, aren't you? Because, if you wanna stay, Eve, say the word and we'll stay."
"I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life." The brunette leaned towards Damon and gently pressed her lips against his whilst her arm snaked around his neck.
"I love you, Evelyn. And, I will love you until I take my last breath on this Earth." A small chuckle left the brunette's lips before they crashed against Damon's once more.
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One thing had led to another, and Damon and Evelyn had taken a trip into the barn for a little more privacy. After several angry texts from Caroline, letting them know the wedding was about to start, Evelyn and Damon arrived with several stray pieces of hay stuck in their hair and clothes. Once she and Elena caught sight of the couple, they both gave them a pointed look.
"Well, I hope it was worth it." She whispered in a passive-aggressive tone with a look that indicated she knew exactly what they were doing.
Evelyn picked a straw from Damon's hair whilst he smirked and straightened his tie. "Actually—" The brunette vampire rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm whilst he chuckled.
"Gross! Not the time, okay!" The blonde scolded again with a look of displeasure on her face. "Have you seen Bonnie or Matt?"
"Been a little busy, Care." Evelyn awkwardly answered back just as she and Damon heard the music begin to play.
The couple linked arms and slowly made their way down the aisle together. As they got nearly halfway down the aisle, they realized that they were in the wrong order and quickly switched places, hoping that nobody would notice. They finally made it to the altar, where they took their places on each side.
Jo walked, escorted by her father, whilst the wedding guests all stood and watched them meet Alaric and the bridesmaids and groomsmen at the altar. Once everyone was in position, the pastor began his homily. Alaric was stunned and utterly speechless by the sight of Jo, and they both beamed at each other.
"Welcome, family and friends, on this magical evening to the wedding of Alaric Saltzman and Josette Loughlin. Josette and Alaric have prepared their own vows."
"Neither one of us should be here right now. We've spent our life dodging fate, and beating the odds." Alaric spoke toward Jo, though both Damon and Evelyn couldn't keep their eyes off each other. "But, because we did, I got to meet you, the most beautiful, hilarious, and intimidatingly brilliant woman I have ever known. You inspire me, you've shown me that happiness is actually something that I can have in my life. And so—" He grabbed the ring from Tyler. "I promise to be with you, and love you, and to dodge fate with you—" Alaric carefully slid the ring onto Jo's finger. "—for the rest of our lives."
"Josette?" The pastor ushered the woman who was now crying with happiness after Alaric's vows.
"Oh god, that's a tough act to follow." Jo began as the guests laughed with her. "Here it goes: Alaric Saltzman, you are—" Jo suddenly stopped speaking and a loud gasp escaped her lips just as a look of pain fell over her face.
"Jo? Jo? Oh my God, Jo?" Jo started to sway on her feet just as blood poured from the front of her dress, as though she's been stabbed from behind. "Oh, God, no!" The bride fell forward and into Alaric's arms as Kai Parker suddenly appeared behind her with a bloody hunting knife in his hand.
"I was gonna wait 'til the death do us apart bit, but it seemed a little on the nose. Am I right?" Kai let out a venomous smirk just as he held his hand up. Suddenly, a high-pitched noise incapacitated everyone at the ceremony. Whilst they all scream in pain, Kai smiled gleefully.
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