Ex's And Oh's

                                    

                                          
I was going to include some flashbacks, but I thought they would fit the next chapter more so I decided to save them for the next chapter. Have "fun" reading! Let me know what you think and how you feel afterward! - Allie.
                          
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Thea still couldn't believe this was real. It seemed like it'd only been yesterday that she and Celine had been two little girls dreaming of growing up, now here they were, at Celine's wedding. Twelve years had passed like a beautiful daydream.
                          
The ceremony was held by the lake behind their secondary school. On that sultry day in mid-July, the lake was as flat as a giant mirror and the air was pungent with the fragrance of jasmine. The last time Thea had been here was with Harry for their first date, so now she was trying not to think about the events of that night while being surrounded by Celine's and Amala's family.
                          
Before the ceremony, Celine had insisted that she and Thea got ready together. They'd done each other's makeup and put flowers in each other's hair like when they were little. And Thea had cried a lot despite having told herself not to shed a tear before the 'I do's. Celine had tried to comfort her, but in the end, both of them were crying.
                          
Nine-year-old Celine had wanted to become an actress, and nine-year-old Thea had wanted to marry the boy next door. Even though that dream didn't come true for Celine, she had found her new dream in Amala. Now Thea couldn't help but wonder if it would be the same for her. She hoped she was a different case, because she couldn't imagine standing at the altar with anyone else but the boy next door named Harry. 
                          
With wind in her hair and a smile on her face, she looked around, at the dresses and the suits and the faces of the attentive guests. If Harry had been there, he would've been watching her instead of the brides, and she would've motioned him to stop staring, knowing for certain that he wouldn't.
                          
But Harry wasn't there. Instead, she spotted another familiar face at the third row across the aisle. Isaac pressed his lips into a small smile and waved at her as she did the same. With his golden hair pushed back, he shone among the guests, and she thought that blue suit looked great on him. It was a shade darker than the color of his eyes but it helped brighten them, and even from this distance, she could see those eyes sparkle in the last pink light of the day. 
                          
It was hard to tell if he'd been watching her this whole time, or they had just made eye contact by accident. However, she didn't allow herself to overthink. She was just glad that he'd decided to come.
                          
 "...with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I now pronounce you, partners for life."
                          
All the guests got up for a standing ovation, and petals were tossed in the air as everyone was cheering for them. Breaking the kiss, Celine enthusiastically told all the bridesmaids to take a couple of steps back. This was definitely Thea's favorite part of a wedding. Although she wasn't going to participate, she still wanted to see the single ladies fighting each other for a chance to be the next bride. It would be hilarious.
                          
On the count to three, the bouquet was thrown above them, and all the bridesmaids except for Thea rushed forward, attempting to grab it. Ironically, it flew straight toward Thea. She caught it with reflexes so fast that she didn't realize she'd had it in her hand, until one of the girls said, "Theadora is next!" And everyone was clapping and whistling for her.
                          
Holding the flowers and smiling from ear to ear, she turned around, once again, making eye contact with Isaac. Both of them shared another awkward smile before looking away, and didn't exchange a word until the wedding reception.
                          
The night was falling, but the guests hadn't lost their energy. The room which held the wedding reception buzzed with the excited chatter of adults and the laughter of little children running between tables. Soft music was playing while couples were slow dancing near the stage, as were Celine and Amala, who had got lost in their own world with their heads on each other's shoulders. Thea was one of the few who stayed seated, for she didn't have to be on the dance floor to have fun. She was fine here, with a drink in her hand, observing the others and mumbling the lyrics of the song she knew by heart.