The boy next door

Mrs Hood

I stood at the doors of the church, waiting for them to open as my bridesmaids fixed my veil and made sure it fell correctly. I looked at Luke to see him smiling at me.
"What?" I smiled.
"Dad would have been proud of you." He spoke. I held back the tears as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Thank you." I whispered. I pulled away to see a tear falling from his eye.
"Hey, don't cry, you're about to walk me down the aisle." I chuckled.
"That's why I'm crying. I'm about to give my little sister away to my best friend, that's, like, every guy's worst nightmare." He laughed. I returned it as he linked our arms.
"Let's do this." He smiled. I nodded as the doors opened and the music started to play. Everyone stood up and looked at us as we started to walk. I looked at Calum to see him smiling at me.
"Hey." He mouthed.
"Hey." I returned. I smiled at the guests as we got closer to the altar. Luke looked at Calum.
"Dude, I love you but if you do what Ricky did, I will not hesitate to kill you." Luke warned.
"You know I would never dream of doing that." Calum reassured. Luke nodded and shook his hand before handing me over.
"You look stunning." Calum smiled.
"You don't look too bad yourself." I chuckled. He returned it.
"You've always had a way with words." He mocked.
"Hey." I laughed before we turned to the vicar.
"We're going to start with the vows. I believe you've written your own." He spoke. We nodded as Calum turned to me and got out a piece of paper. He looked down at it, holding it with shaky hands.
"Hey." I spoke gently, placing my hands over his. He smiled at me.
"You got this." I nodded. He took a deep breath before looking back at the paper. He looked back at me.
"You know, I'm not even sure why I wrote a vow, because I knew that nothing I feel about you could be put into words." He spoke as he folded the paper back up and shoved it into his pocket before taking my hands and looking at me.
"Y/N, we've known each other since we were teenagers. Stupid, reckless teenagers. And we went through a lot in those years, but nothing could prepare us for what was to come." He started. I nodded as I felt tears form in my eyes.
"Some people believe that everyone has a soulmate. Someone who they're destined to spend their lives with, someone who they're destined to love and cherish. I didn't believe that at all. I didn't believe it until I met you. I knew it was you the moment I laid eyes on you and I know that sounds unbelievably cliche but it's true." He smiled.
"It's no secret we've been through hell and back together, and for most couples, that would be enough to break them apart. Some of the challenges were enough to break us apart." He spoke, looking at me with watery eyes as a tear rolled down my cheek.
"But that doesn't matter now. Because no matter what happened to the two of us, we were always brought back together. We're meant to be together and I can't think of anyone who I'd rather be destined to be with. I love you so much and I always will." He finished, a tear rolling down his face. I smiled at him.
"That was beautiful." I mouthed. He smiled.
"And now for the rings." The vicar spoke. Calum looked at Ashton, who had stepped forward and placed the rings in the palm of his hand. Calum turned back to me as he handed one over. He took my hand and gently slid the ring onto my finger. I smiled as I took his hand and slid it on.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride." The vicar smiled. Calum returned it before taking my face and pressing our lips together as everyone clapped. I returned it as my arms curled around his waist. We broke the kiss but he kept his lips hovering over mine.
"Hello Mrs Hood." He whispered. I smiled before kissing him again.

Calum and I walked into the hall where the afterparty was being held, hand in hand. Everyone cheered at our entrance. We laughed and I buried my face in the crook of Calum's neck. He chuckled in my ear.
"Come on, babe." He smiled, pulling my hand. I chuckled as we went to greet everyone.
"Luke." I smiled as he kissed my cheek and shook Calum's hand.
"That ceremony was beautiful, I've never been more proud of the two of you." He smiled.
"Aww." I chuckled.
"Shut up." He laughed. We returned it as we sat down at the table. Suddenly, Luke stood up again with a glass of champagne in his hand.
"Attention everyone." He shouted.
"So since I'm not only the best man but also the brother of the bride, I beat Michael and Ash to making the speech." He spoke, causing a few chuckles among the guests.
"So obviously I was born with Y/N, in fact I was born two minutes before her, and I've never let her forget it." He chuckled.
"But we were sixteen when we met Calum. He moved in next door and we sort of became best friends. But for obvious reasons, it took my sister longer to warm to him." He joked.
"Oy!" Calum laughed.
"He knew that was coming. But no, now it's time to get serious. Y/N and Calum quickly became best friends and were soon more than that." He spoke, looking at us. I smiled as I felt Calum place his hand on my thigh.
"Much to my disliking, I wasn't told about their relationship until about six months in, when I caught them in a...compromising position." He chuckled, making a blush form on my cheeks.
"I obviously didn't like the idea at first, a best friend and a sister is a guy's worst nightmare. But I soon saw how happy they made each other. How happy Calum made my baby sister." He spoke. I smiled as I felt tears form in my eyes.
"It's fair to say they've been through a lot together. Everything from arguments, to being torn apart, to being engaged to other people. But they got through it. And I'm bloody glad they did because if they didn't, there would have been no hope for the rest of us." He chuckled. I nodded and smiled, comforted by the feeling of Calum's hand still on my thigh, gently massaging it over the fabric of my wedding dress.
"I'm going to end this shortly. But I am going to say this. I have never been more proud of those two. They're my best friend and my sister and honestly, I love them to bits. So here's to Calum and Y/N." he rose his glass. We rose ours too.
"And one more thing, Y/N." he spoke. I looked at him.
"Dad would have been so proud of you." He spoke with a slight voice crack. I nodded and smiled, biting my lip in a weak attempt to hold back more tears. Luke returned my nod and sat down as our song started to play. Calum smiled at me.
"Looks like it's time for our first dance." He spoke, standing up and extending his hand. I smiled and took it before letting him walk us to the dance floor. He smiled at me as he placed his hand on the small of my back, holding my hand with his other. I smiled gently at it as I rested my head in the crook of his neck, his cheek resting against my head.
"This has been amazing." He mumbled into my hair.
"I agree. It's been the best day of my life." I sighed in bliss.
"What about the day you met me?" He chuckled. I looked up at him to see him smiling cheekily at me.
"Okay, after that then." I laughed. He returned it before spinning me around and then bringing me back into his chest.
"You look stunning, baby girl." He smiled. I returned it and pecked his lips.
"So do you." I spoke gently.
"As much as I love the sound of your voice, enough talking. Let's just dance." He smiled softly. I nodded and returned his smile before closing my eyes and letting myself get lost in the sea of soft music and Calum's arms.