smitten [s. clearwater]

the making of lifelong memories

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-CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE MAKING OF LIFELONG MEMORIES-

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Forks had returned to its threat-free and gloomy bliss in the months following the confrontation with the Volturi. Graduation was in a month, prom was in less than five hours, and Delilah couldn't be happier.

Well, in that moment she couldn't be more nervous, but she was happy underneath all the nerves and jitters. She stood in a floor length satin dress of a deep green color with her hair pinned up in an elaborate bun Jillian had spent the morning doing, with a flower pinned just behind her hairline.

Delilah felt like a princess whose knight in shining armor had been banished to the downstairs so he wouldn't ruin the shock of seeing her all dressed up for the first time. He was there early and dressed because in the middle of him getting ready, Delilah called him while freaking out in her bathrobe about whether or not they should even go to prom in the first place.

Now, Delilah was pacing in her strappy heels nervously. "What if I trip on the hem of the dress?"

"That's why you've got the tall shoes, babe," Jillian told her.

"He's not going to like how I look."

Jillian looked at her with her head cocked to the side. "This is the same boy that came to check on you and is now patiently waiting downstairs to see how pretty you look," she soothed. "Plus, it's Seth. That boy doesn't have a bad bone in his body, let alone one that could ever hate you or think you look bad."

As she paced, she put a cool hand on her forehead. "You're right, I'm being irrational. It's Seth. I love him and he loves me, so everything will be fine."

"Everything will be blissful, hon. Now go downstairs and get on the road before you're late to the prom you planned half of."

Smoothing her hands on the skirt of her dress, Delilah nodded. "Yeah, we do need to go. I have to make sure everything is set up and check in with Gabs," she said, pressing a kiss to Jillian's cheek. "Wait, you have to come down and take pictures."

The two went downstairs and Seth stood as he heard their voices get closer and Delilah's feet click on the stairs. When he saw her, he held his breath. She looked so gorgeous that he almost pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't in some cruel dream in which he had everything he wanted that would be taken away from him when he awoke.

When Delilah crossed the room and kissed him as Jillian snapped a picture, he knew he wasn't dreaming. He had done something extremely right at some point to be able to stand in the Albright's living room with his arms around Delilah Albright's waist with her lips on his. This wasn't something that happened in dreams.

The teenage couple posed a few different ways and even fell into a light banter that made for good candid photos that Jillian quickly snapped. After pictures, they were out in the driveway under the cover of a large black umbrella. Seth held a steadying hand on Delilah's arm to prevent the accident-prone girl from slipping.

An hour and a half later they got out of the car at the prom location: a country club that Delilah's grandparents were members of. There wasn't a lucrative hobby of golfing among the residents of Port Angeles due to the lack of sunlight and dryness, but there were indoor pools, and multiple banquet halls where lavish events were commonly held.

Delilah walked in with her arm looped in Seth's, showing her school ID to the woman at the table in front of the banquet hall they would spend the evening in. After crossing her name off the student council list, the pair were walking into the banquet hall.