Waves {h.s.}

thirty-five - strangers

THE WEDDING RECEPTION was in the church's garden. It was a place in our town that was already renowned for its beauty, but somehow, the wedding decorations had managed to take it the next levels. The garden naturally produced red roses every year and the theme of the wedding gravitated around that. They had installed a huge tent that could fit all of the tables and fairy lights hung from the roof. It looked amazing, especially at this time of the day. The set was going to set in a little over an hour, but the lighting was already turning into a warm gold.

The atmosphere was settling but there seemed to be a lot more people at the reception than there was at the ceremony. When Harry and I went in, we didn't really know where to stand. His hand was holding on tightly to mine while I looked around and tried to figure out what we would do next.

From afar, I spotted Harry's parents talking to Gemma and Tom, the newly-weds. As if she could feel me looking at her, Gemma turned her head and met my eyes. She smiled and looked at Harry and I, then excused herself to her parents before walking towards us.

Harry hadn't seen Gemma before she was a few meters away from us. Almost instantly, his hand became clammy and it squeezed mine. His whole body became tense but he tried to play it off.

"Emily! Harry!" Gemma exclaimed as she reached for me to kiss both of my cheeks.

"You look amazing, Gemma," I complimented her.

"Thank you," she said as she pulled away from me and awkwardly stood in front of Harry. Obviously, she wasn't sure what to do or how far she could go with him.

He surprised the both of us when he reached for her and kissed her cheeks. It was a little robotic, but it wasn't something that I expected from him, so it was simply amazing. Gemma seemed a little stunned, but quickly recovered as Harry pulled back and stood straight next to me.

"Congratulations, Gem," he mumbled shyly.

Gemma smile got so wide that it almost split her face in two and her eyes got teary. "Thank you, Harry. I'm so glad that you could make it," she added. "Are you going to stay for the reception?"

Harry looked at me, then looked back at his sister. "Yeah, we just don't really know where to sit," he explained.

"Oh, well there are two seats available at a table where Tom's friends are seated. I saved them for you two, just in case," she said as she pointed to the table in question. "They're really nice guys and I just assumed that you didn't want to sit near mom and dad, so I put you at another table."

Harry flinched at the mention of his parents. Gemma noticed but misinterpreted it.

"Or I can make you a place at our table too if you'd like, it's no problem at all. I'll just-"

"Don't bother," Harry cut her off. "The other table is just fine."

Once again, it was at the complete opposite of where his parents were seated, so it was perfect for Harry.

"Alright then, I'll let you get seated," she said taking a step back but then bringing her finger to her mouth to chew on her nail. She looked conflicted, she wanted to say something but wondered if it was a good idea. She looked at me for a second then decided to go and ask. "I'd really like it if you could save me a dance, later?"

Harry's eyes widened and it took him a minute to reply. "I'll see about that."

She smiled, nodded, then walked back to her husband. Once she was far enough, Harry let out a nervous sigh. I tried to hide my smile, but Harry saw right through me and rolled his eyes.

"Don't even say it," he warned me.

I motioned to my mouth as if I was zipping it shut, locking it and throwing away the key. That earned me a small smile, but not one more word was said on that matter.