Sunlight

Chapter 34: Forever

Caroline had been plucked, pummeled and powdered. She had been relaxed and prepped and yet nothing could contain the excitable jitters in her stomach. She paced back and forth in her old bedroom, knowing that when she walked out the door, she would be leaving her old life behind her. She ran her hands over the trinkets on her dressing table, smiling at the memories they brought. She gathered up some of the items she wanted to keep – the album the girls had made, the first teddy her parents had given her, Klaus' drawing. She had no idea where she would keep them, but she needed to keep them somehow.

A knock at the doorway made her spin around to see Bonnie and Elena, dressed in their pale aqua bridesmaid dresses. They smiled happily upon seeing Caroline.

"You two look amazing!" Caroline exclaimed, pleased at how the color had suited both of the girls. She had made a good call in choosing bridesmaid dresses of the same color but different cut. Plus she liked the idea that the pale aqua carried: the unity of stormy green of the sea and pale light blue of the sky. It suited her and Klaus to a t.

"Pshh, forget about us, you're gorgeous!" Elena waved off the compliment, coming over to hug her.

"You look beautiful, Care." Bonnie added, walking over to hug her as Elena fixed the veil that hung from Caroline's elaborately plaited hair so it draped properly across where her hair dropped into curls.

Caroline patted the beading on her dress, fidgeting with everything despite the fact that it was perfect.

"Its fine, Care." Bonnie clasped Caroline's hands in hers warmly.

Caroline exhaled slowly. "I know." She smiled at her two best friends before enveloping them both in a tight hug. "Thank you, both of you."

"We love you, Care." Elena murmured where she pressed against her shoulder.

"Which is why we're going to let you go before we wrinkle anyone's dress." Bonnie nodded, and they all broke apart with a laugh, smoothing down their dresses.

"Did you ever think it would end up like this?" Caroline asked them.

"Maybe not like this." Elena admitted. "But I'm happy that it is, cause its easy to see that you're happy."

"We all knew you'd be the first to get married out of all of us anyway." Bonnie smiled. "Each dance you planned was like a practice run of your wedding."

"True, but they rocked." Caroline shrugged, giggling with the girls.

"And I have every faith it will be the same now." Elena said, offering her hand to Caroline. "You ready?"

She took a deep breath. "Yeah. Lets go."

The three girls linked hands to walk out of her old bedroom for the last time.

Rebekah was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs, in another variation of Bonnie and Elena's dresses. Eva stood next to her in a soft chiffon navy dress, and Gwen was beside her in dark purple silk. Without meaning to, they had all managed to fit together. Caroline smiled at their reactions despite the fact that they had seen her get her make up and hair prepped only an hour previously.

Rebekah smiled sincerely, blinking a few times.

"Is that a tear I see, Beks?" Caroline teased, and the girl tried to frown.

"No. its just the light hitting the ridiculous amount of beading on your dress and stinging my eyes." Her words were not half as hurtful as they could have been because she irritably brushed at her eyes. "And its ruining my make up." She smiled and hugged Caroline. "You look fabulous, as I knew you would."