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"Your smiles creates that dimple, I tend to use you as a pillow"

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AS THE MORNING sun shines upon my face, I let out a faint smile, my eyes still closed. I had the best sleep in my life last night, and that's saying a lot for a girl who has lived over one hundred years, most of which were spent rotting in a cave. I have a lot to be happy for, a lot to be grateful for. Everything in this very moment is as it should be, how it is supposed to be.

"Morning my love," James grumbles groggily in a soft, raspy voice.

I smile as I turn around, facing James as he lays on his side. "Good morning, fiancé," I say, the words rolling off my tongue in a soothing way. I don't think I've ever enjoyed saying a word so much.

"How are you?" he asks, tucking a strand of my raven black hair behind my ear.

"Amazing." I bite my lip, craving every inch of him. Every time I get close to him I feel an overwhelming power to close the gap between us.

"Still paranoid about finding the mystery suspect from last night? The one that made you walk through the woods in heels?" James teases, referring to the scavenger hunt I went on last night.

"Oh my god." I run my hands down my face, thinking of how scared I was last night. "Why would you do that." I groan. "You don't know how scared I was. I thought something bad was going to happen."

"It took you by surprise, didn't it?" He laughs, and in response I glare at him jokingly. "I knew you would figure it out, seeing as you are Mystic Fall's top detective, plus I know how observant you are, and I didn't want you to see it coming." 

"Well I wasn't expecting it, I'll tell you that," I scoff, drawing circles on his tanned skin, running my fingertips along the outlines of his muscles. "Was everyone in on it? Who knew?" I ask curiously.

"Well, I asked your brothers permission first-"

"You did!" I gape, surprised yet proud all at once. I can't imagine what that conversation must have looked like. I can only imagine that Stefan took the news in with a goofy smile while Damon stood there with his eyes narrowed, taking the information in. 

"Of course," he chuckles, his dimples showing. "I asked them two weeks ago, although I have been planning the whole proposal for a while."

"How long?" I wonder.

"Since I heard you were alive, right after you came out from the tomb." 

"Two years?" I gasp, nudging him in the shoulder. "That's a long time."

"Well, I pretty much knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you the moment I saw you," he smiles.

"Me too." I blush, burying my head in the pillow. "I assume Joel was in on it then too?" I raise a brow, peaking at him through one eye.

"Yes he sure was, he insisted he be," James chuckles. "I made sure to stay away all day, and had Stefan and Caroline distract you. Joel was responsible for making it seem like something was wrong, so you would take it seriously."

"Well he did a pretty damn good job." I laugh.

Suddenly there's a loud knock on our bedroom door, but before we have time to respond the door opens, a trail of females walking through. "Rise and Shine!" Caroline shouts, drawing the curtains.

"Care what are you doing!" I shriek, as I scramble to pull the covers over my body.

"Getting you up; we're going dress shopping." She smiles, standing with her arms crossed at the foot of my bed along with Elena and Bonnie. "Sorry Branson, but you're going to have to stay," Caroline informs him.

"May we borrow Blair for the day?" Elena smirks.

"Be my guest." James chuckles. I know very well that he's laughing at how uncomfortable I am, hiding under the sheets while all my friends stand at the foot of my bed, anxiously waiting to go shopping. I am not the girly type that loves shopping, but I guess shopping for a wedding dress is an exception.

"I'll be right there," I grumble, hiding my face in my pillow as James rubs his hand down my back, urging me to get up.

"You have five minutes!" Caroline shouts as she walks down the hallway.

∆ ∆ ∆

It was a girls day, with Caroline's car jam packed with all us girls who were going dress shopping. Seeing as Elena was engaged yesterday as well, she was planning on buying a dress too. Jo even agreed to come with us, despite our differences as apparently she and Alaric got engaged during the week Caroline and I had our humanity off. It's wedding season apparently. 

Caroline sits in the drivers seat, with me beside her. Elena, Bonnie and Jo all sit in the back, making small conversation. Part of me feels nervous, and I can't stop worrying that I won't find a dress. Caroline insisted that we go to the best and biggest dress shop in Virginia, located in the capital city, Richmond.

"Why so nervous Bee?" Caroline asks, glancing at me quickly before returning her eyes to the road.

"I've never been engaged before," I laugh, causing Caroline to look at me in confusion.

"Well no kidding, Ms. 'I can pull off being 25, but I'm actually a 165 year old lady trapped in the body of a seventeen year old'," Caroline teases.

"Oh shut up." I shake my head, a grin plastered on my face. "I just can't tell if I'm excited or scared to be married, never mind dress shopping."

"I heard it's supposed to be a one time thing." She winks, speeding down the freeway towards the big city.

"Yeah I sure hope so." I giggle, leaning my head against the window. "I just can't stop thinking, what if I can't find a good dress? My wedding is supposed to be the best day of my life-"

"Correction, it is not supposed to be the best day of your life, it is supposed to be the most memorable one. You and James don't even have to get married. I mean, it's so obvious you two are in love. You already have a cute little family with Theo. A wedding just makes it more official, more fun, and James knows how much you wanted to be happy. It's the American Dream to be married, something we all look forward to, but it's not the best day of your life," she says.

"I guess you're right," I sigh. "Did he ever talk to you, about proposing I mean?" I ask curiously.

Caroline laughs, which already answers my question. "We went out for lunch one day and he spilled all his plans. He had them all written down too in some old notebook, one that looked at least a hundred years old, I'm not even kidding."

"Really?" I laugh with wide eyes, surprised.

"Yes!" Caroline nods her head with a laugh. "Blair it was so cute, oh my god. He told me how he planned on proposing, how he knew it would be hard to surprise you. He was worried that you would think it'd be too mean to make it seem like he was in danger, but I reminded him how much we've been through, and that fighting evil is basically our job." She laughs before continuing. 

"I almost melted when he went through the notes he had pre-written, the ones he was going to leave as clues. He put in so much work Blair, it was adorable. He even showed me the ring, and I literally started to cry. He said he bought it the moment he realized you woke from the tomb."

I stare at my enfolded hands, playing with my new shiny ring on my finger. It sparkles against the afternoon sun so perfectly, so beautifully. I wonder how long it took him to find the ring, much like how long it will take me to find the right dress.

"Wow," I whisper. "I-I don't know what to say- I'm so overwhelmed."

"With happiness I hope," Elena chimes in, poking her head up from the middle seat to the front.

"Yes," I laugh, becoming teary-eyed again.

"As for the dress Blair, he will think you look beautiful no matter what. He married you for you, not for some white dress," Caroline assures me, reaching over and placing a hand on mine.

"Thank you Care," I beam, my eyes watering again.

"I mean, he did fall in love with you during the 1800's. I can't imagine how hot you looked in a corset," Caroline teases sarcastically, causing everyone in the car to go silent before laughing.

"Hey!" I shout with a laugh. "I'll have you know I pulled off a corset pretty damn well! It's not like you could've done any better!" I chuckle.

"Sure, sure," Caroline snickers.

"Hey Care, can I ask you something?" I say, clearing my throat.

"Of course!" she smiles.

"Will you be my maid of honour?" I ask, watching as her face lights up in a smile.

"Did you just-" she gapes. "Is that even a question? YES!" she yells, causing me to laugh. "Thank you so much!"

"Will you guys be my brides maids? I ask, turning to the girls in the back.

"Yes!!" they all shout.

We sit laughing and smiling for a solid five minutes, when Caroline suddenly turns the knob for the radio volume up. "I love this song!" she cheers. "This is the best day ever!!" she screams.

I don't recognize it seeing as I haven't been around long enough to understand modern lyric trends, but everyone else in the car does as they all burst out singing the lyrics- screaming them even.

All the windows are rolled down and the music is blaring. Since I don't know the words I just watch them, a huge grin on my face and my mind free of worries. I let loose, enjoy this youthful moment as it is a celebration of all of us getting to where we are now. In this moment we are all care-free, worry-free, and have absolutely no regrets.

This is what life is supposed to be like.

∆ ∆ ∆

We stop and get lunch first before heading to the boutique. With full bellies we enter the gigantic store, our jaws dropping at all the beautiful dresses that surround us. As I scan the store and lose count of all the dresses, I become a little more assured that we will find the right one.

"Hello, welcome to Bridal Boutique of Richmond. Do you ladies have an appointment?" a young man dressed in a black suit asks, greeting us at the front counter.

"Yes we do. It's for Ms.Parker, Ms.Gilbert and Ms.Salvatore," Caroline speaks for us.

"Perfect, follow me and I will lead you to your consultation." He smiles politely, leading the way.

"Here you are, please feel free to enjoy the beverages, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask." 

"Do you come with the dress purchases?" Bonnie questions deviously, causing all of us to stare at her wide-eyed, grins on our faces.

The man blushes but winks, turning around and taking off quickly leaving us all giggling. "We have to invite him to the bachelorette party," Bonnie states, and we all nod.

"When is the bachelorette party?" I wonder, just as Caroline pulls out her iPad.

"Well..," she pauses, scrolling through her calendar and notes. "As of right now the bachelorette party is scheduled a week from today, with the wedding falling four days later," Caroline tells us. "Blair your wedding will be first, followed by Jo's followed by Elena's. Oh, and all of them will be at the same venue," she adds, looking up from her iPad. All of us sit there with shocked yet impressed expressions.

"Wow." Jo gapes.

"Holy Care." Elena smiles.

"Usually weddings take forever to happen, why so soon?" I ask, not expecting the wedding to be so soon. I don't mind of course, as I would marry James right now if I could. It's just all so overwhelming.

"Because those weddings don't have me as their planner," Caroline says confidently, causing me to shake my head. "I will make sure your wedding days are the best, because you girls deserve the best." Caroline smiles. There's some part of me that worries she is using the wedding planning to distract her from the grief of her mother's death, but I don't say anything as she looks happy for now, and I don't plan on ruining that.

"Thank you Caroline," I say again, not knowing what else to say. She is my best friend, and I owe her.

"Hello ladies! I hear three of you are getting married!" a woman greets us. She must be our wedding dress consultant.

"Yes!" Caroline squeals. "I'm Caroline. My friends Blair, Elena and Jo here are the brides to be!" she exclaims, pointing to us. We all send an awkward wave, all of us nervous.

"Wonderful! I'll bring out some dresses!" the woman cheers, heading to the back.

Elena, Jo and I all exchange glances, having no idea the kinds of chaos that is about to be unleashed.

∆ ∆ ∆

Over the course of three hours, I tried on more than 50 dresses, Elena tried on 30 and Jo tried on just 20. To say the least I was a little fearful that I wasn't going to find the right one, and I didn't want to settle on one just for the sake of finding one. None of them gave me that feeling, the feeling that I would expect to have if I found the one.

"What about this one?" Jo asks, coming out behind the curtain with a beautiful strapless dress, with a heart shaped neck line. It looks stunning on her, and I can tell just by her face that she's found the one.

"YES JO!" Caroline claps.

"That's the one!" I tell her, nodding with a smile.

She blushes before returning behind the curtain, changing again. Elena sits beside me with her picked dress in hand. She found her dress already, and to be honest it looked absolutely beautiful on her tanned skin. I hope it brings tears to Damon's eyes. 

"That's a beautiful ring," I compliment her, nodding to the engagement ring she has on her finger. It's the same one Damon showed me the other night.

"Oh thank you!" She smiles. "I love it. Damon took me by surprise." S

"How'd he do it? Propose I mean?" I ask curiously.

"Well," she sighs, looking down at her ring. "We went on a hike up the forest, passed through all the places we'd explored over the years, defeating the supernatural. Then he took me up this hill, near a waterfall, the place where I went with Stefan during the day I thought was my last day as a human. That was the place I felt most alive, and suddenly he bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him. However, at the same time he pulled the ring out, he took out the cure as well, and proposed that we take it together," she grins widely.

My heart sinks a little bit at the thought of Damon turning human. I had thought we would have eternity together, and it scares me knowing one day I will watch him grow old and there will be nothing I can do to stop it. Even the slightest injury could kill him, and I won't be able to protect him with my vampire blood. 

I begin to feel very overwhelmed at the potential loss of my brother, however I force myself to focus on the excitement that this will bring. Damon, Stefan and I weren't given a choice when we were turned into vampires. We were stripped of our freedom and turned into murderers. Although it hasn't been all bad, it definitely hasn't been easy. Now Damon will have the chance to live his life as he was meant to, with freedom and choice, with the possibility of having children. At least one of us Salvatore's will be able to pass the family name down. 

"That's good of him." I smile, thinking of how hard that decision was for him. "When will you guys take it?"

"After the wedding," she replies.

"Blair!" the woman calls, directing my attention over to her. "I have one last dress for you to try, and I think this is the one!" She waves me over in a hurry.

That's what you said about the last 50 dresses, I think, but I don't say anything. I know this woman is trying her best.

I go behind the curtain and try it on, not even having a good look at it until it's zipped up and ready to go. "Well, what do you think?"

I stand there with my mouth open wide, wanting to express the amount of shock and amazement I am feeling but I can't find the words to express how much I love this dress. I can picture myself walking down the aisle in this, picture myself dancing, drinking and kissing the man I love. This is the one. I just know it.

I don't reply to the lady, and instead step outside the curtain so the girls can see. They talk away, laughing and smiling but as soon as I step out the whole room goes quiet. "Well?" I ask, clearing my throat in the awkward silence.

"Blair..." Elena gapes.

"Wow." Bonnie smiles, eyes wide.

"Amazing," Jo whispers in shock.

"Oh my god," Caroline gasps, standing up and approaching me. "This is it. Isn't it. This is the one." She stares at me, tears welling in her eyes.

"Yes, I think so." I nod, a huge grin on my face. I don't think I've ever been so excited about a dress before.

"Are you saying yes to the dress?" the woman asks from behind me.

I glance around at everyone, reading their facial expressions and following my heart. "Yes!" I finally say.

"We'll need these in a week," Caroline says, sliding a cheque over to the lady.

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[completed & edited: 09/01/2022]