Perspicuous (J.HALE)

06

I hadn't expected to cry.

I'd never heard Bella speak so clearly, so loudly, before. She sounded sure and confident, completely focused on the man stood in front of her, eyes never straying from his. It was like the rest of us weren't even there. I wiped the tears leaking from my eyes away carefully with a curved finger, trying not to smudge the makeup Rosalie had worked so hard on.

She didn't even look nervous, anymore. As she'd wobbled her way down the stairs, her face was a greyish green, but as soon as she saw Edward, a rosy blush returned to her cheeks. She'd smiled and straightened her back, squared her shoulders and strode forward, pulling Charlie along with her. I could see him gripping her hand tightly to try and slow her down, so that she kept to the beat of the music, and it made me smile.

Edward looked good in a suit. And he looked happy. It was one of the only times I'd ever seen him smiling since we'd met.

Bella's mother was sniffling and dabbing at her eyes throughout the ceremony and even Charlie's lip was wobbling. Carlisle and Esme were watching with the brightest smiles I'd ever seen, Alice's leg bouncing next to mine in restless glee. Rosalie was cool and still, but even she seemed happier than usual, holding Emmett's hand in her lap.

Jasper was sat on the other side of me.

His hands were resting in his lap, fingers laced together, and his thigh was only a centimetre or so from brushing against mine. We hadn't looked at each other since we'd sat down, but I could feel every movement he made. It was as if each blink of his eyes was a thunderclap.

I knew that he could tell how on edge I was. The stiffness of both of our bodies, locked in place and straight-backed, was uncomfortable, but unavoidable.

Applause broke out when Bella and Edward kissed. She practically threw herself at him, kissing him with such urgency that he had to peel her off when the clapping had dulled down to uncomfortable silence with the odd sniff or cough. Alice grabbed my hand and grinned at me, my smile a little teary, before shooting off to congratulate the couple. I took a breath and shook out my hands, trying to compose myself.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling at Jasper. "I cry all the time at the moment. Hormones."

He smirked a little. "Right."

I ignored him.

"Congratulations," I sang, bouncing toward Bella and throwing my arms around her.

She laughed. "Thank you."

I pulled back and she sighed.

"You said you weren't going to cry."

"Yeah, well, I lied," I said, grinning. "It's your fault. Being all in love and stuff."

She rolled her eyes but gave me an extra squeeze.

Her mother swooped in at that moment and stole her from me, leaving me to stand in front of Edward. We looked at each other for a moment, painfully aware that we hadn't actually had a conversation one-on-one before, and I cleared my throat.

"Congrats," I said, clapping him on the arm and then promptly wanting to be struck down by lightning.

"Thanks," he said, inclining his head.

"You're welcome."

There was a long pause.

"You look nice," he said.

"Thanks. Your sister got to me."

He smiled. "She's persistent."

"Yeah," I scoffed. "Hot take."