Closed Must Be A Dream

[Blake van Houten]

Blake didn't know if he had ever been this happy before in his life. His gaze kept alternating between the rings on his finger, and the man who had put them there, heart bursting with joy every few moments. He was married, to the love of his life. It was hard to focus on the reception going on around them as his mind kept flashing back to the ceremony, playing every moment over and over on repeat. Blake never wanted to forget a second of this day, wanted it burned into his mind for all time. He stuck close to Lars as he sipped a glass of champagne, making sure to pace himself. Today wasn't about getting drunk, today was about being joined with the love of his life, with all the people he loved the most around him.

Hand tight in Lars', he leaned over to whisper to his husband. (His husband...) "You're gorgeous, by the way." He whispered, grinning. Blake knew he'd probably be pulled away from Lars soon enough to socialise with the guests, and while he was excited to see so many people, he knew he'd be missing his husband until they were reunited for their first dance. But there were guests to see and thank, all while trying not to think too hard about the one guest who was missing. Blake hadn't tried to invite his parents, all too aware of what a disaster that would be, but he had hoped that just maybe... but Jenna was nowhere to be seen, and he was crushed all over again not having his sister here for such an important day. He knew that as painful as it was he should be letting his family go, the love and support from the van Houtens having shown him what was missing his whole life. But walking away was easier said than done, especially from his little sister, and he had hoped... maybe... but no. He couldn't think about Jenna for too long, not today. Today was about love, and the future. He glanced over at Lars again, heart softening and worries easing just at the sight of him. Whatever struggles were in his future, Blake knew he would be meeting them with Lars at his side. After everything they had been through, Blake knew they could do anything together.

Out of Character:

This thread is closed to invited friends of Blake and Lars - if you feel like your character should be invited drop us a line!

 

[Nell Night]

With all the excitement at work recently, Nell had been neglecting her personal life somewhat. It was a relief to have a social event she had to attend, to give her a reason to leave the Prophet and the election behind for a bit and focus on the people who were most important to her. A list that Lars would always live extremely high up on. For all their conflict at school, Blake had grown on Nell the last few years, and though she still had her concerns at times, she was happier than she had expected to see the two getting married. For all the struggles they had been through, they both deserved happiness in her eyes.

The ceremony had been beautiful, and Nell had had to hold back tears a few times. As they spoke her eyes had slid several times to where Jasper stood in his role as Best Man. She hadn't thought ahead as far as her own marriage, but seeing him standing by a wedding altar, looking so handsome... Nell couldn't help thinking about the future. She still felt a little too young to get married, and planning a whole wedding while they were both so swamped at work would be a silly idea, but... the more she thought, the clearer it was in her mind. Their wedding. She had settled in at Jasper's side quickly as the reception began, beaming as she laced their fingers together. "You're so handsome..." She murmured softly.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie had been very surprised in way that Blake and Lars were getting married, but more so when she had been asked by Blake to be a groomsperson. Minnie had never expected a random pairing for the yuleball to take all of the turned that it had. She couldn't believe how much Blake had changed, how dearly she treasured his friendship and through all of her surprise most of all she was happy for him. For him and Lars, if there were ever two people who deserved to be happy, it was them. And she could read it on their faces, the way they smiled to each other, the way they spoke to one another. She couldn't imagine the pain of hiding this, the pain of having who you were to a family who didn't deserve you and the joy at finding a new one.

The ceremony had been perfect and she hoped that if she and Eric ever decided to get married that it would even been as fractionally nice as this had been. She just also knew they weren't at that point yet, and marriage was not something she wanted right now. The woman was still figuring out what she wanted to do with her life, and didn't need the stress of having to plan a wedding. She didn't think Eric was there either and she didn't mind it. She wasn't there and he wasn't, so for now she could enjoy the wedding of her friends.

Minnie mingled in the crowd with a champagne flute in her hand. Her feet were sore from the heels which at the beginning of the day had felt fine, and her mascara had been cleaned up. She was moving around, helping out and making sure other guests were taken care of, as was her duty as a groomsperson. She welcomed it, work had been stressing her out and she missed the breaks of a yuleball, or just the long in between school breaks which had been some rest. She struggled to not work overtime, to not do more than she needed to. The old habits of re-writing entire pieces of work because she spotted a mistake had not faded away as she hoped. But she didn't have to think about that. She just took a sip of her drink and stole a glance to the happy couple before she continued her meandering. ​

 

[Lars van Houten]

This entire day felt like a dream, but Lars didn't want to wake up from it. He was delighted to be married to Blake, surrounded by family and friends. He knew it had to be bittersweet for Blake that his own family wasn't there, but Lars hoped that everyone here made up for it at least a little bit. Lars let out a small laugh as Blake leaned over to whisper a compliment to him, leaning into him a bit and kissing his cheek. "You're gorgeous." He murmured. He squeezed Blake's hand slightly, then glanced around at all their guests. He knew they probably had to come to congratulate them now, though he wasn't sure how long he wanted to be the center of attention. He guessed that was sort of the point of today, though, so he had to bear it.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily had been a little unsure about coming to the wedding, but this was Lars, and she would never miss it. She had to say she felt a lot better about her decision, and a lot more justified in liking Blake, as she watched how blissfully happy the two of them seemed. She kept a small grip on Elliots sleeve during the ceremony itself, doing her best (and absolutely failing) to not cry in her happiness.

Eventually the ceremony ended, and though she would usually have kept hold of Elliots' arm, she wandered away, leaving him with Alice. Lily often felt like a third wheel with them, and didn't want to feel like that today. She ended up finding Aj, smiling softly as she approached him. She smoothed out her dress without thinking about it. Before she could say hello, someone bumped into her and she stumbled against Aj.

Her nerves immediately got the better of her and she unthinkingly claimed hold of his arm, lacing her fingers through his hand and resting her other on his bicep, pressing into his side and peeking uncertainly at the crowd. She recognized a lot of faces- Jasper and Nell, Minnie Calida, but knowing a bit of the crowd didn't help as much with her anxiety as she had hoped.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

oops.

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene had hardly seen anyone from school ever since school, between Moving to Salem, Studying, and helping out in both her mum and Partner's shops. so when the invitation had arrived to attend Lars and Elliots wedding she knew she had to attend, it would be great to see everyone again. she arrived at the ceremony with Thackery and managed to find seats next to Lilly "Hello Lilly. how are you?" she said.
as the ceremony began everyones attention turned to the couple at the front. he had never known Blake well at all, it seemed that may have been a good thing in early years but he really seemed to have changed. and he and lars looked amazing together, they seemed so in love. The ceremony was beautiful. there were hardly any dry eyes in the audience. selene included. she glanced towards Thackeray. she had never really thought of wanting a big wedding. but sitting here she could almost picture it.
As she sat there there was something else she was feeling. A discomfort up her back. that kind of feeling you get when someone is watching you. she looked around but there was no one particular behind her all eyes were on the grooms.
once the reception was underway she got up and wandered around. she gave the couple their congratulation's and said hello to her old school friends. until she ended up to Nell and Jasper. "Hello Nell, Jasper, this is Thackery" she said and gasped as the uncomfortable feeling she had felt all afternoon peeked. She knew why she was feeling uncomfortable, she had been here before. many, many times. in her dreams. not her pleasant dreams she bit her lip and a tear ran down her face. "how are you two? are you happy? she asked. hoping that the answer was yes. that she hadn't been wrong all those years ago.

 

[Solomon Tofilau]

It was pretty crazy to think Sully's school friends were starting to get married already, though he supposed if anyone was going to beat everyone to it, it would be Blake. Sully had spent most of the ceremony trying his best to not crack a joke any time there was a quiet moment, which he hoped showed how much respect her had for Blake despite the fact that Blake had picked someone like Jasper Night as his best man.

The reception was much more Sully's speed. Eager to get up and mingle, he gave Chloë a quick peck on the cheek before skirting his way over to Blake, clapping him on the back. "Hey man, congrats! Was just thinking I should have known you'd beat everyone else to the alter, champion that you are," he said, given Blake's shoulder a squeeze and a little shake. "Ready for an exciting future of tax breaks and arguing about curtains or whatever married people get to do, aye?" He asked, his eyes darting over at Chloë. He knew romance and weddings had to be on everyone's minds today, but Sully was no where near close to even thinking about it himself. @Blake van Houten

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric felt fairly uncomfortable at this wedding, mostly because he figured most of his old schoolmates didn't like him very much. But this was important to Minnie, so Eric was at her side. He had been quiet for most of the wedding, hoping that Minnie wasn't expecting him to propose to her anytime soon. If he was honest, he did see his future with her for as long as she would ahve him, but he really doubted he would be able to do any of this adult marriage stuff anytime soon. He could probably barely scrape enough together for a ring on his current salary. Minnie had an important role in the wedding so Eric had to wait for he to return a few times as she mingled and talked. He was content staying on the sidelines, looking at her from a small distance.

 

[AJ Ari]

AJ felt distinctly out of place here, standing awkwardly off to the side now that the ceremony was over and the reception was underway. He knew Blake had invited the whole team, but after finding out Lily would also be here, AJ had most been lurking around looking for her. She'd been preoccupied during the ceremony, clearly much closer to the two grooms than AJ was, though he thought it was sweet how emotional she'd gotten when he'd glanced her way a few times.

He didn't need to look hard to find Lily again though, grabbing her arm as she stumbled into him, laughing sheepishly as she wrapped a hand around her arm and seemed content to leave it there. Not that AJ was complaining. "Easy, you alright?" He asked her quietly, waving off the person who'd knocked her off balance as he tilted his head down to check on her. "Starting on the champagne already maybe?" @Lillian Lockwood

 

[Jasper Night]

It was wild to attend the wedding of one of his classmates, but Jasper felt pretty honored to be asked as the Best Man. He grinned at Nell from his position at the altar, shooting her a quick wink. When the ceremony was over, he immediately went to find her, sliding his hand in hers. "I'm aware." He said as she said he looked handsome. "I'm pretty sure Lars was regretting picking Blake up there, at least for a second." He teased, grinning at Nell.

@Nell Wright

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur felt a little strange, watching her little brother get married. She had never really pictured him as the type to get married young, and she had to admit she was a little worried. But seeing him with Blake, it was easy to forget those worries for a little bit. Fleur couldn't be displeased about something that clearly made Lars so happy. She headed over to them to congratulate them, giving her brother a hug. Blake started talking to Sully, so Fleur took a moment to whisper to Lars. "You alright?" She asked, aware he was probably slightly uncomfortable with all those eyes on him. "I'm sure Emma has a dung bomb ready as a distraction, should it be needed." She added with a smile, though in truth, Emma had become a lot more subdued ever since graduation.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris had known about the wedding for a while, as she knew her brother and Blake had specifically waited for her and Emma to graduate before getting maried, but it was still surreal to be here. Lars was only a few years older than her and Emma, and Iris couldn't imagine getting married so young. She loved being with Rose, but it felt very quick to make such big decisions. Still, seeing Lars and Blake together, Iris had faith in them. She was sure the two of them would be happy together. Iris had held rose's hand through the ceremony, wiping away a few tears. When it was time for the reception, she glanced at her girlfriend. "Shall we get drinks?" She asked.

@Rosalind Lockwood

 

[Nell Night]

Nell giggled lightly at Jasper's comment, squeezing his hand back. "Well too bad for him, you're all mine." She teased, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. The romance of the wedding had her heart feeling full, and she was already looking forward to dragging Jasper onto the dancefloor soon. Her thoughts of romance were interrupted at once by the approach of the last person she wanted to be seeing right now. While sharing a room meant she had had to get used to having Selene around at school, she had done a pretty good job of completely avoiding her ex ever since. Having her just pop up out of nowhere was uncomfortable, only made worse by the bizarre way she asked how they were. "We're fine." She said, gripping Jasper's hand tightly. Was Selene crying?

@Selene Le Fey @Jasper Night

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake beamed at the compliment from his husband, the word turning happy flips in his mind. He had known for what felt like forever that he would be spending his life with Lars, but knowing that and actually living it felt like two different things entirely. He squeezed Lars' hand back cheerfully, distracted from just spending the entire day whispering sweet nothings to his husband by Sully's approach. Blake laughed lightly at the younger boy's comment, giving him a fake-proud grin. "You know me, always competitive." He joked, laughing at the comment about taxes. "Can't wait for it, honestly. I'm a boring old man now." Blake teased, flicking another fond glance to where Lars was now chatting with one of his sisters.
@Lars van Houten @Solomon Tofilau

 

[Selene Le Fey]

Selene was regretting going to talk to nell. Things were so awkward. How could the person who had been her best friend and who she had once felt so comfortable around feel so awkward. She felt the tear that she didn’t know she was shedding roll down her face she wasn’t crying today at least not about nell, she was sure she wasn’t the only one who lost a few tears at the ceremony). But she was crying for five years ago waking up every morning to the same nightmare. She shouldn’t have come here. She leaned in towards Thackeray grounding herself in his warm familiar smell. Nell wasn’t the only one who was better off she had Thackeray not that she had seen that in her dreams. that is good to know she said. She swallowed pulling herself back to the hear and now wasn’t that such a beautiful wedding she said. Not she she had any experience to Compare it to.
@Nell Wright @Jasper Night @Thackery Binns

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily peeked up at Aj, giggling a little nervously. "I'm alright, just clumsy," She replied easily, her hold on him tightening just a touch. "I haven't had any, but I would love a glass about now," She tried to sound light hearted. She bit her lip, shrinking a little more into him without realizing it. "I'm not very good with crowds," She admitted, peeking up to him. "Do you mind if I stay with you? I'm getting a bit anxious but, I think I'll be okay if I stay close to you," She couldn't help but blush as she said it. She hoped he didn't find her weird or clingy, or too shy. @AJ Ari

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose had been surprised when Iris had asked her to a wedding of all things, but she wasn't about to say no. She'd slipped into something nice, though tried to keep it simple. She'd been weary of Lars' dating Blake in school, just because she remembered the drama between Lily and Tyler and knowing Tyler and Blake had been best friends for a few years. But they looked happy enough, so she figured it was their call. She kept Iris' hand through the ceremony, rubbing her thumb against it any time that she'd spotted Iris crying. As the ceremony ended though, she shifted to lay her arm around Iris' shoulder, drawing her into her side. "Drinks sound great," She agreed, immediately looking around to try and find them. @Iris van Houten

 

[Thackery Binns]

"Hello," Thackery politely greeted Selene's old school friends. Like the foreigner he was, he felt odd attending the ceremony when he, himself, didn't have much experience with these types of gathering with friends. It was all new to him, Thackery, had always been one to keep to himself, quite loving his personal life of solitude up until the point he met Selene. He'll admit it to anyone, Selene was his actual real friend first, then well, what followed happened naturally. Maya could be considered a friend, except to Thackery saw her more of as an aunt or an older cousin. She always looked after him during his younger years. "You alright?" Thackery, concern was evident in his voice. "Yes darling, it was lovely. It's my first one ever invited to one," despite it all, Thackery is happy to have accompany Selene either way.

 

[Emma van Houten]

For the first time in weeks, Emma felt a little bit like herself. In all the craziness of getting this wedding off the ground, it had been difficult for her to focus on her sadness. She guessed that was why Lars had given her so many tasks to do, undoubtedly at Iris' suggestion. But Emma loved a party, and she had really enjoyed taking on a few of the things at this wedding. She was here with her boyfriend, but Emma flitted around the party to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. It was a little strange to see her brother so happy, but also kind of wonderful. Emma doubted she would get married anytime soon, but she did hope she'd be part of another wedding soon. They were pretty fun.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper looked up when Selene approached them with an unfamiliar guy. He felt Nell's tension and frowned a bit in response, squeezing her hand. The question she asked was a bit personal, and Jasper couldn't help feeling a bit defensive. "Perfectly happy." He said firmly, resisting the urge to say Nell was happier with him. That would just be childish. But it was a bit weird to see Selene... crying? He glanced at Nell quickly to see if she noticed. Jasper nodded in response to her question. "Yeah, the wedding was nice." He commented idly. Then he looked at Nell. "I think I need to get a drink, though, my amazing best man speech has me parched." He said, giving Nell an escape if she wanted it.

@Nell Wright @Selene Le Fey @Thackery Binns

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris smiled at Rose as she put her arm around her shoulders. She was happy to be here with her girlfriend. All of this reminded her a bit of a Hogwarts dance, making this feel a bit nostalgic. She let Rose pull her close, then pointed towards the drinks table. "Over there." She said, starting to lead Rose that way. "Emma helped plan it out a bit, she showed me."

@Rosalind Lockwood

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose chuckled and lead Iris to the drinks, grabbing them both a pretty looking cocktail. "I say we get pleasantly buzzed." She suggested. "Is dancing an option yet?" She asked. "I always love dancing with such a beautiful woman," She teased, pressing a kiss to Iris' temple.

@Iris van Houten

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Ainsley looked around this wedding and realised she hadn't been invited oh dear how embarrassing

 

[Nell Night]

The longer this uncomfortable encounter went on, the less Nell knew what to make of it. Had Selene come to rub her new boyfriend in Nell's face for some reason? To cry at her? Was this her idea of reconciling? It only served to rub salt in the old wound of their breakup, one that Nell hadn't managed to heal in all the years since. She was relieved when Jasper offered her an out, squeezing his hand in gratitude. "Yes, we're going to go get a drink." She said bluntly, not caring how rude she might come across as she pulled Jasper over to the refreshment table, gripping his hand tightly the whole time.
@Selene Le Fey @Thackery Binns @Jasper Night