Accidentally on Purpose

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mr. Herberg was already staring at me and Jonah when we got into the classroom. He had this somewhat weird anticipating smile on his face, and his eyes never stopped trailing us until we were both seated comfortably at our desks.

Alright. I got why a lot of girls in this class were attracted to him. Gross, I knew that, but he was good looking. But at the same time... this man could be creepy as hell.

I glanced at Jonah nervously, only to find that he was already looking at me, his forehead knitted in confusion. I looked away and then realized that some other kids were also staring at us expectantly, though it was hard to determine what expression it was that was on their faces.

"So..." he started, "You two were both absent last Friday."

"Yeah... I was sick," I said slowly. Then his gaze shifted to Jonah.

"I took her home," he said calmly.

"Right, I was informed about that," Mr. Herberg responded with a nod.

There was a pause. "Um, we're sorry?" I said unsurely.

The guy laughed and waved it off. "No, you're not in trouble because you got sick. However, everyone in this class is already married," he said, gesturing to the people around me, "and you both are not."

He hopped out of his chair, his palm slightly slapping the surface of his desk.

"Let's get you two married today so we could move on to the next part of the project. Come up here, you guys."

I looked at Jonah before standing up, and he gave me a little shrug, so we both stood up and walked toward our teacher's desk. We stood in front of the class, standing side to side in silence, waiting for our teacher's instruction. After all, we both weren't here when the "wedding ceremony" was held last Friday, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do here.

"Do you guys have your vows ready?" We both nodded. "Alright. The ceremony will be very simple. You're just gonna say your vows, exchange the rings, and then I'll pronounce you husband and wife." We both nodded again. "Okay. Jonah, you can start with the vow. Everyone, please hold your conversations and be silent."

Jonah gave our teacher a little nod before clearing his throat. He took out a paper from his jeans pocket, and he slightly shifted his weight from one leg to another. I noticed his fingers playing with the edges of the paper, and I realized that he was actually nervous. He took a few deep breath, before speaking in a low, steady voice.

"I, Jonathan Flynn Gibbs, take you, Hannah I-don't-know-your-middle-name Taylors—" I stifled a chuckle and he paused to glare at me before returning his expression to neutral, "—to be my life partner, my best friend, my wife; the one I will share the rest of today until forever with."

All the laughter died in my throat, and I could only stand there in complete silence. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

He continued, this time a little bit quieter, his eyes focused on what was written on the piece of paper in his hand, "I will give you my heart, my mind, and my soul to you, and be the best version of who I am for you.

"I promise to respect you; to accept you along with your best flaws, and I hope you can accept me as who I am, too. I promise to be there to protect you, to give you comfort, through the beautiful and the ugly, through the rainbow and the rainstorm, for as long as we both shall live."

He let out a breath once he was finished with his vow, folding the paper and stuffing it back into his pocket, and hesitating for a few seconds before looking up.

The room was in full silence, as if everyone was holding their breath along with me. It could have just been my ears playing tricks on me, but I could swear that I heard some sniffling.