Sia - Snowman (Slowed)
It really hits different :)
By the time I got home, it was already nine p.m. The wedding had already started, by now. I felt bad. Kai was probably there, standing alone. I wanted to go, but it would be unbearably embarrassing if I came late to a wedding.
I swallowed and made my way to the lobby of my apartment building.
"Oh! Miss L/n!"
I turned to see a woman running up to me, a red dress in her hand.
"Yes?" I replied, trying to hide my exhaustion.
"Mister Smith left this for you." The middle-aged woman handed me the sparkling red dress. I gawked at it.
"This?" I pointed at the dress, taking it from her.
"Yes, ma'am."
Was this the dress for the wedding? I had told him I wasn't going. I brushed my fingers along the stitches. It was smooth and silky on the inside; much fancier than anything I would have ever worn. Expensive, I could tell.
"Oh, and he also left this for you." The lady handed me a letter in an envelope. I hesitated. What was he doing now?
"Thank you very much." I nodded at her before turning and making my way up to my apartment.
When I arrived, I couldn't help the excitement rising in my throat. It would have taken a lot to push down the giddy smile on my face, so I was grateful no one was around to see it. I tore open the clear packaging, my jaw dropping at the dress. Despite how tired I was, I undressed and slipped it on.
It hugged my body perfectly. I ran my hands over my hips, twirling happily in the mirror. It hung just below my shoulders and stopped right before my knees.
I grinned like a little girl playing dress-up.
"Oh!" I gasped, remembering the note. I ripped the envelope open and took the note out, opening it.
Wasn't sure if this was going to fit you, but if it does, maybe reconsider coming to the wedding?
~ Kai
I threw my head back and laughed, dropping myself onto my bed. I kicked my feet in the air, throwing my hands up and sighing happily. Written at the bottom of the page was the address for the wedding.
Maybe being tired could wait until the morning.
~
I arrived, feeling just a tad bit overwhelmed by all the limousines and fancy dresses. I had put on the amount of makeup I would usually put on, but I felt underdressed, even in this outfit. I was ten minutes late, as the location for the wedding was surprisingly close.
It had already commenced. Butterflies filled my stomach. Late, late, late.
A large man in a tuxedo asked for my name before opening a large gate-like door for me. He directed me towards the place the wedding was taking place. I nodded before thanking them and rushing over.
It was easy to speed-walk there in my flats, and I praised whatever gods made me pick flats over heels.
I caught Kai's eye while sneaking into the room. Luckily, no one else noticed me. With a breath of relief, took up my spot beside Kai.
"Glad to see you could make it," He grinned.
"Glad I did make it. This place is nice."
"Right?"
I twiddled my fingers in my lap. "Um, Kai?"
"Hm?" He looked at me.
"Thank you...for inviting me to this. For inviting me to a lot of things."
"Don't worry about it, m'kay?" He whispered back to me.
"Okay...Who is this wedding for, again?"
"My great aunt is getting married for the third time."
"Why was it so important that you be here if it's...um, your great aunt?" The bride, his aunt, was old, her face wrinkled, and eyes just a little bit discolored. It was easy to tell she had been beautiful once, but years and years of dead marriages had taken away that beauty and replaced it with crow's feet and gray hair.
"She likes knowing that everyone wants to see her get married, despite the fact we have all seen it at least once or twice...or three times. She wants to know that people still want to see her even though she's old."
"Oh, I see."
"If I were to get married, I'd only do it once. If I get divorced, then I refuse to get married to anyone else."
I chuckled awkwardly.
My smile vanished when I turned back to the groom and bride. The entire wedding, I was praying Kai couldn't hear how fast my heart was beating.
~
The wedding lasted for the next two hours. The vows had half an hour to themselves, probably. I had almost fallen asleep twice. Halfway through the ceremony, I had considered bolting out of the room.
I was waiting outside for the rest of the attendees to leave before I took off so none of them saw me and wondered who I was. But mostly so Kai would take the hint to walk me to my car.
It was eleven-thirty at night, I was ready to melt into a puddle on the concrete, but a part of me wanted to wait for Kai.
"Hey."
Kai's fingers brushed against my own. I turned.
"How long had you been standing there?" I asked, grinning a little.
"Not too long." He rocked back and forth on his heels, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Wanna see something cool?"
"Kai." I checked my watch. "It's, like, almost twelve."
He shrugged. "Time passes quickly."
"It does," I agreed.
"Then shouldn't we make the best of it?"
I scoffed. "I know but-"
"Pleaseeee???" He slipped his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers.
Oh, how I loved Kai and his pushy antics. He bats his eyes at me like a wonderful, adorable little puppy dog wanting a treat before actually rolling over on their bellies. "Fine," I snapped, harsher than I had intended it to come out.
Kai smiled like a child on Christmas Day. "Come on." He didn't hesitate to pull me along the instant I agreed to follow him.
"Kai, slow down!" I chuckled, eyeing the guests. "What if someone sees?"
"No one will," he reassured me. "Trust me on this one."
"You always say that."
"I don't." He tugged me around a corner and into a secluded hallway, leading me up a set of creaking, old wooden-plank stairs.
"You always say something like that," I pressed.
He shrugged in acceptance. "I guess I do."
We continued up the winding staircase. I tried to hide the fact that my legs were shaking and my ankles felt as if they were about to snap in my heels. The stairs were creaky and very old; I was almost sure that the points of my heels were going to pop through the wood and I would fall.
"You're okay," Kai smiled.
I looked up. His toothy grin warmed my heart. It was so honest, so genuine. So alive.
"You're not going to murder me with a hatchet up there, are you?"
"I'll only try to kill you with my awful flirting skills," he bashfully admitted, continuing to slowly pull me along.
When we arrived at the top of the tower, a familiar sound filled my ears, but it was so much louder than it ever had been. Tick, Tick, Tock...
"Is that a clock?" I turned to face the front of the packed room.
Kai nodded beside me, but I had already rushed to it. I pressed my hands to the glass, a golden-yellow glow filtering through my fingers. "Wow," I murmured. My eyes drifted from the ticking hands to the architecture of the clock tower. The walls were just as old as the stairs, made of the same old wood. At any moment, the tower could come collapsing on us.
"Dance with me." Kai swept my hands into his, swaying me back and forth.
"What?"
"Dance with me," he repeated.
We swayed throughout the tower in silence, the floorboards groaning beneath my weight.
"Just don't look down."
I looked down. My knees locked at how high off the ground we were. Beneath us, I could see storage crates and other old things that had long been forgotten.
"Just look at me, okay?"
I stumbled backward with another twist of my ankle. "Woah!" I crashed into the railing (which was also wood, surprise surprise). It gave out beneath my weight and I cried out.
Kai snatched my hand, latching his arm around my waist, dipping me just above the broken spot. I gasped, fear shaking my entire body.
"Hey, hey. Just look at me, okay? There's nothing else here. Just you and me, okay?"
I nodded, swallowing hard. I stumbled back to my feet, letting Kai pull me back up. He swept up my legs in his arms, supporting my back with his other arm, carrying me like a bride. I gasped again as he tightened his grip around my waist, treading lightly around the spot that had broken through.
His feet worked nimbly, and before I knew it, he was setting me down in a safer spot, far away from anywhere I could fall. I sighed, relieved. I rested my forehead against his chest.
"You okay there, Y/n?"
"Yeah," I panted. "I'm good."
"Good." He wrapped both arms tightly around me, swaying gently back and forth again, but this time we stayed in the same spot. He hummed softly to a tune I didn't know. Perhaps it was his own.
"Thanks, Kai."
"Well, any logical person wouldn't have let you fall."
"No, I mean thank you for everything you've done for me so far. I thought I wouldn't end up falling for you, but you kind of made me."
"You know I wouldn't force anything on you though, right? If you're ever uncomfortable with something, all you have to do is just tell me, okay Y/n?"
"Of course not. I know you wouldn't ever do anything like that." Appreciation warmed my cheeks.
"Good." He pressed a quick kiss on my forehead before he resumed humming. I honestly could have stayed like that forever. Just swaying, warm and fuzzy with nothing else to bother me. I never wanted his arms to leave me.
We stayed in silence for a long while. The clock even chimes once. I flinched when it did, but Kai's arms supported me. At some point, I had taken off my heels and started staring up at Kai. We just danced and looked at each other.
I rested my head on his chest, breathing in his scent.
"Y/n?" He asked.
"Mm?" I replied, snuggling in my head.
He squeezed me tightly. "I think I'm in love with you."
My head shot up from his chest. "What?"
"I...know it's soon. But I think I- no. I know that I do."
"You...love me?"
"Do you love me?"
I think I do is something I would have wanted to say. No, I desperately wanted to say it. To scream it. But all that came out was a small crack of my voice. His eyes, warm and gorgeous, softened.
"It's okay," He said. This time, he didn't continue dancing with me.
UNEDITED
AHHHH this one bleeds fluff :')
Thanks y'all for being so patient with me. I honestly had the worst writers block ever, but as soon as I got out of my reading slump, I was ready to start writing again :) This chapter is almost one thousand words longer then the usual ones, and I really hope you enjoyed it! :)) Stay beautiful ! Love you guys lots !