Cause sooner or later
This is bound to stop
Come on, let's savor
What we're falling for
Apartment ~ Young The Giant
Troye
I stood in front of the mirror, restyling my hair for the hundredth time. I had woken up far earlier than normal. It was painful, but I wanted to looked perfect - for the bride, of course. Tim had told me she could get angry very quickly if things didn't go her way. I didn't want to make her mad because I didn't look exactly as she wanted.
Tyler going had nothing to do with the effort I put into my appearance, obviously.
There was a knock on my door. Sage popped her head around, and frowned. "Troye, aren't you meant to be there at eleven?"
"Yeah."
"You do know it's ten to eleven, right?"
I glanced at the clock on the wall. Sage was right. I was running late. "Shit," I said, covering my mouth instantly. I wasn't meant to swear at home. Sage's eyes widened, but didn't say anything. She backed out of my room as I darted round, pocketing my phone. I sprayed myself with cologne one last time, even though I definitely had enough on already. Chucking my black cooking jacket into my bag, I dashed out my bedroom. I ran down the stairs, slipping on the way. I shoved my platform converses on clumsily, before rushing out the house, and slamming the door behind me.
I walked as fast as I could to the venue without working up a sweat. The idea of walking in drenched in sweat and red in the face was not at all appealing. It was lucky that the venue was so close to my home, otherwise that might've happened.
Faint music could be heard a few roads away from the destination, sounding extremely similar to the orchestra I was used to hearing at the weddings. I walked in the direction of the noise, hoping it'd lead me to the proper location.
Passing row upon row of houses, I finally reached a gated field. It was clear I was in the right place by the streamers and balloons. Plus, a massive picture of the couple was covering the noticeboard. Although a little off-putting, the idea was sweet.
I pushed open the wooden gate, and trudged across the pathway, towards the building. I didn't make it far along before I encountered someone.
"Troye!" A small girl yelled, running up the path towards me. It took me a moment to realise it was Zoe, Tyler's friend.
"Hi?" I said hesitantly. We'd never really spoken to one another. She was unfazed by my awkward manner, and pulled me into a hug. After a moment I hugged her back, still unsure on what was going on. "Are you helping out here?"
"Oh no, I'm a guest. Miranda, the bride, used to give me singing lessons, until I figured I didn't want to be a singer. She was a little offensive about my singing sometimes, because of my accent, and because I couldn't get sounds right or whatever. She kept in contact with our family though, and she actually met her husband through my uncle. That's why she invited us all. Anyways I sent out to find you. I was about to turn back when I spotted someone opening the gate."
Wow that girl could talk. It wasn't too bad though, seeing as I had no idea what to say most of the time, and she seemed nice enough.
"How'd you know I was coming?"
"Tyler not-so-casually mentioned you were catering today, during one of his rambles. He mentions you a lot actually."
"He does?"
She rolled her eyes at me. "Don't act like you don't know. You're all he ever talks about now. He still talks about food. He loves talking about food. Did you know-"
I had to stop her from rambling again. "Where is Tyler?"
"Outside the reception, with my brother and Caspar."
"Caspar? Are you sure?" Caspar had previously said he was going to spend his weekend with his great aunt.
She nodded gaily. Skipping ahead of me, he led me to them. I saw the building ahead. It was old-fashioned, painted in white. There were many windows, with gold gilded frames. Music poured out the building, putting me at ease. Fairy lights were strung along the trees, directing us towards the building. Although they hadn't been turned on yet, because it was still light, I could tell it would look beautiful later on. Some rose petals were scattered along the path, as well as confetti. The couple must've passed this way earlier, when they arrived.
I sighted the trio of friends gathered in a circle, where Zoe said they'd be. Caspar and Joe gave the impression of being the happiest people on earth. Tyler had his back to me, and was currently doubling over with laughter.
"Oi, look who's turned up," Zoe said loudly, to make us known. Caspar's head shot up. His face drained of colour. Evidently he had forgotten I was going to the wedding, and would see him. He gave me a shaky nod, looking uncertain. Joe was oblivious to his behavior, and said his hello cheerily. Tyler took a while to turn around. When he was finally facing me, I had one thought.
Oh hot damn.
It looked as if he had re-dyed his hair a slightly more vibrant blue. His quiff was on point. Even though he was wearing the standard waiters uniform, he pulled it off, and inexplicably looked... sexy? Something told me he'd got up as early as I, in order to look that immaculate. I might've hoped one of the reasons was to impress me. If it was, then he'd done well.
When his eyes locked with mine, I saw his demeanor change. He grinned, seemingly thrilled at my arrival. I think his pupils dilated too. "Oh hey!"
His smile was contagious, and I found my mouth pulling upwards. "Hi."
Somehow, his smile appeared to grow after I spoke. He opened his arms up and wiggled his fingers. "Come, embrace."
Unlike with Zoe, I didn't hesitate going towards him, despite his weird words. I wasn't even wary about our friends seeing. I held him close to me, grateful that I hadn't had to wait until we were alone. Automatically his arms tightened around me, protecting me from harm. His warm embrace made my heart beat erratically, and I was beginning to understand why.
"Guys, you've literally been away from each other for less than day, yet you're hugging like you've been apart for months. How is this not a thing?" I glared at Caspar as I pulled out the hug.
Tyler was still smiling though, unaffected by Caspar's words. "I like your hair today by the way. Not that I usually don't, it's just looks a lot different. It's a good different-"
I laughed softly at his words, seeing his face begin to redden. "Thank you Tilly. I like yours too. The colour really brings out your eyes." As his eyes hone brighter I was encaptured by the different shades I saw in his eyes.
"Please make babies," Zoe said randomly, breaking our stares.
"Okay, someone wasn't paying attention in biology," Tyler said, his face remaining red.
"You're more than welcome to teach me Tyler. You two can give me an example as well."
Tyler groaned, but was laughing at the same time, which resulted in a very weird noise. "You know, giving an example sounds tempting."
"Tylah!" My accent came out strongly as I hit his arm. My face was warming up by the second. "This wedding will be the end of me."
"You never know, this could be the last Elemental wedding we go to, if the government's new policies come into play. We'll all be sent to those confinements and die alone, probably."
Everyone stopped to stare at Joe.
Zoe was the first to speak. "Don't say that Joe. I'm determined to see a Troyler wedding."
"What's a Troyler?" Tyler asked.
"Wait, have you come up with a ship name for me and Ty?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep," she giggled hysterically.
"She's mental, I'm telling you," Tyler whispered to me, but the adoration for his friend was clear in his voice. Talking louder whilst looping arms with Zoe, he said "Come on Zo, I'll go get you a drink. See you later Troyeboy." And with that he and Zoe walked into the tent.
I was left alone with Caspar and Joe. Caspar was pulling awkwardly on his shirt, while Joe smiled on. I decided that time was as good as any to get answers from the two. "So... gatecrashing Cas?"
Joe answered for him. "He's my plus one, actually."
I raised both my eyebrows, in mock shock. "Oh really? What happened to your great aunt that you were meant to be seeing today?"
"She uh, she was too busy knitting," Caspar said, not looking up at me. He knew how bad a liar he was when he had to look at someone.
"Woah. It is such a coincidence that she's "busy" on the exact same day Joe here just so happened to be going to a wedding."
Joe looked thoroughly confused. "What?"
"Joe, you invited him to a wedding. The most romantic event possible. You're together, aren't you?"
They shared a look with one another, and burst out laughed. "No, no, definitely not... no," Caspar said.
"You said no too many times in that sentence."
"We're just bros," Joe said, gaining a nod from Caspar.
I doubted that very much. I gave Caspar a hard glare. "Then why have you been wearing so much cologne recently?"
"He's trying to woo the ladies," Joe said without hesitating. I doubted what he said was true, but he was good liar. Unlike his boyfriend.
"Speaking of cologne, you reek of it," A smirk began to appear on Caspar lips. "And I don't think it's for the ladies."
*
"Can someone pass me the yeast?" I asked, too busy to get it from the cupboard. I was stirring the bread mixture like a madman, desperate to finish the bread on time. I could already hear Miranda's screeches when something did go correctly. One waitress had already been shouted out for trying to give her alcohol. The waitress had been crying her eyes out for the last ten minutes because of it.
My voice was drowned out by other noises in the room. Everyone around me was too busy to help me, stressing out about their own tasks. All except Tyler. He was sitting near me, on his phone.
I stopped stirring for a moment, and leaned over the counter, towards him. "Tilly?" I said, in the sweetest tone I could muster.
Instantaneously he looked up from his phone. "Yes Troye?"
"Could you be a doll and pass me the yeast?" I asked, batting my eyelashes. "Pretty please?"
"I'm sure I could rise to the occasion," he got up off his seat, went to get the yeast from the cupboard. I was careful not to touch his hand when he passed it over to me. If anyone saw the purple smoke, there might've been serious consequences.
"Thank you."
"Anytime babe, it's the yeast I could do." He leaned against the counter, pouting slightly when I dismissed his pun. "Oh come on, that was a good one! It's so boring, waiting."
"You seemed to be having fun on your phone a moment ago."
"I was just going through my tumblr dashboard, nothing that exciting. It get's boring after a while, you know? I feel kinda useless in here while everyone is running about."
Pouring in the yeast, I looked up and said "You can help me if you want."
His eyes lit up, but he kept the rest of his face looking disinterested. "Why should I?"
"You literally just said you were bored."
He rolled his eyes. "Give me an incentive."
"Aren't I a big enough incentive?"
He looked as though he was mentally answering yes, but other words came out his mouth. "Well, what will you give me in return?"
"Food?"
He shook his head. "You've gotta do better than that Troye Sivan."
"How about food and a dance later on?"
Straight away he said "Deal."
I directed him round the table, to make a start on the cake batter I also had to make. He was in his element, cracking puns and eggs left right and centre. When he started stirring the mixture, it began to go everywhere. I told him to fold the mixture instead. "Do you know how to fold?"
"I sure do," Tyler said confidently. After a minute it was clear he didn't.
"Ty, stop. You're doing it all wrong. Let me show you how to fold it," I walked up to him, and I brought my arms up from behind him. With the left hand I held the bowl, to keep it steady. I placed my right hand over his, gripping onto the spoon. I motioned the spoon in the correct figure-eight formation. "See?"
"Ye-ye-yep." Tyler stuttered. His ears, I noticed, had turned pink. I was befuddled by his change in demeanor. I was going to ask what was wrong, until I realised what position we were in. I had him pushed against the counter, pressed firmly against me.
When I was about to step back, he messed it up again. I helped him once more, leaning over his shoulder to get a better look at what was going on. Very close to his ear, I advised him how to do it. "You have to cut through the mixture carefully, with the edge of the spoon." I felt him shiver slightly, as I spoke. I guessed it was because of the heat radiating from me. I resigned myself to staying behind him for another few minutes. It was because I was unsure whether he'd do it properly by himself, not because I was relishing the heat between us.
It was a while later that I realised he never tried to get me to move, meaning he might've liked having me that close to him, meaning...
What did that mean?
A small voice within me peeped the words I didn't want to acknowledge.
He liked me - in a more than platonic way.
"Troye, dish up the soup, we've got get all the plates out now," Tim said, snapping me out of my sudden realisation. I nodded hastily, still in a haze as I poured thai green chicken soup into the various bowls.
Tyler toddled over, oblivious to my internal turmoil. He watched me with his big blue eyes, until each bowl was filled. He picked up three, shaking slightly. "Don't worry Ty, you'll be brilliant."
With a shy smile he carried the bowls out. He moved slowly towards the seating area. I noticed his legs shaking. It reminded me of bambi. I found myself walking closer to the archway, watching him in fear he might fall over.
Fortunately, against all odds, he didn't. As he turned round to serve more people, glee was written all over his face. I was relieved that he hadn't made a fool of himself. How odd that a month ago, I would've been willing him to make a mistake.
When every guest had been served, we were ordered to stand against one of the walls, waiting to be dismissed by the bride. I got my first look of the bride then. Her dress was unconventional, to say the least. Instead of being white, it was fluorescent orange. Gems covered the top half, and it had very puffy sleeves that whacked the grooms face whenever she moved. Her bright red lipstick went over the edge of her lips, which I originally thought was because it had been smudged, but it looked too neat to be that. Twigs and flowers lay in her hair, which I also thought was a mistake at first, but I guess it wasn't.
She waved her hand over the soup, trying to smell it. "Mmm it smells so good." He voice was more nasally than I expected. Then again, she wasn't what I expected. She picked up her spoon in an ungainly manner, hitting the groom in the face once again. Opening her mouth dramatically, she took a sip. Within seconds she spat it out. "What is this? It's so spicy!"
She pushed the bowl away from her. It slid off the table, and crashed onto the floor. The green soup spread out, pooling around her feet. She screeched, lashing out at those nearest her. Babies began to cry. Those nearest all stood up abruptly to see waht was going on. A few of the younger people, like Joe, got out their phones to take photos. The groom attempted to cheer up the bride, looking slightly put out by her behaviour.
I wondered how long that marriage would last. They seemed to be complete opposites, but perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. Then I wondered how long I'd be married to someone, and who that someone would be.
Coincidentally, Tyler turned to face me then, beaming despite the chaos. "Well, looks like this won't be a boring reception after all."
I smiled down at him. "I didn't think it would be."
The groom stood up and started making wild hand gestures. A group of waiters headed towards him, and the rest filed out the room. I followed Tyler, happy to leave the bride to her drama.
No one was too stressed out about cooking the rest of the food. We had a while until anything was near finished. I went to bake more bread anyway, wanting to finish early so I got to spend more time with Tyler.
Unexpectedly, he came over to help me. We poured too much flour onto the work surface, resulting in very floury hands.We spoke animatedly to one another as we kneaded the dough. At one comment, he hit my chest, leaving a flour hand print on my black attire. I was going to get him back when Tim came over.
"You nearly finished there Troye?" Tim asked.
"Almost," I replied.
He didn't say anything else for a while. He was studying Tyler and I, as if he was trying to figure us out. "You know, you two make a pretty good team," Tim said finally. With a kind smile he walked away, helping the cook who was burning something behind us.
I looked at Tyler, who was already staring up at me. I tapped Tyler on the noise affectionately. He wrinkled his nose in the most adorable way possible. "I guess we do make a good team."
He looked away, his feet turning inwards. He was blushing heavily and smiling widely. A flour print remained on his nose. He didn't attempt to wipe it off. It was as if he was happy to be marked by me.
Looking at his face, I began to figure out every feeling I'd been suppressing. The feelings aligned into coherent thoughts, filing my mind with ideas I hadn't let myself brood over. Eventually my answer came:
I guessed I liked him - in a more than platonic way - too.
A/N
This is an early update for one simple reason:
THIS STORY HIT 1K AND I CAN'T FUNCTION ANY MORE OH DEAR LORD I NEED TO SIT DOWN AND EAT MORE ROAST POTATOES
So, who's pumped for 2015?
I hope you've all had nice a nice holiday so far, and are happy with whatever you got for christmas and to spend time with loved ones. I can say that London is hella cold, but hella awesome.
This chapter was not too interesting, but I figured I had to have a chapter setting up what I have planned for the next two... hehehe
I've just realised I haven't written the groom's name in this chapter... Feel free to guess the bæ if you wish - cookies and llamas will be given to those who guess correctly.
Anyways, ily, au revoir mon petit pois
Emma x
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