dresses and stuff at the bottom of the chapter, you'll see them as soon as you get there :)
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chapter fifty-nine
feelings
[third person]
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may 16th 2020 - wedding day
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wedding bells. the sweet sound of pure endearment echoed round the very ordinary setting of a house for the morning of a wedding. the bride and her bridesmaid party changing in a selection of rooms upstairs, the groom and groomsmen in a nearby hotel, near the main gardens where the wedding is to take place, the large venue surrounded by small hotel like cottages for the guests to stay in. in the meantime, the bride is in a state of short term panic, her mind at unease.

cold feet, maybe?

shawn however, feels an extreme sense of excitement and jubilance, being hours away from marrying the woman he loves more than anything, hours away from marrying the woman of his dreams.

"sit still!" aaliyah groans at anya, as she continues to shake in worry, whilst aaliyah attempts to apply the smallest amount of pinched rose blush to anya's ample cheeks.

"sorry!" anya replies, a small smile toying on her lips. "you need to stop worrying."

"and you need to sit still, now sit still." she says, steadying anya's shoulders, making the 21 year old laugh quietly. the 17 year old shakes her head, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "i can't believe you're marrying my brother, of all people."

"aaliyah!" anya giggles, laughing at the teasing nature of her future sister-in-law, and maid of honour. "you can't say that."

"have you met shawn? he teases me rotten, why can i tease him back?" she laughs, making anya shake her head again, the two perfect curls that are astray from her up-do, tumbling over her face as she shakes her head.

"because, you only know he means well." anya corrects aaliyah, making her laugh again. "don't be mean to him."

"i bet he's saying the exact same things about me." aaliyah rolls her eyes, as she finishes up with anya's complexion. "ready for the dress?"

anya inhales a sharp intake of air, her mind trying to push away the anxiousness that consumes her thoughts, as she nods, jasmine, sophie, kelsey, poppy, and olivia coming into view, jasmine holding anya's wedding dress in her hands.

"all the alterations are done perfectly, right?" anya asks, standing up, her light pink silk robe covering the white lingerie she bears. "and the details i asked for have been put in too?"

"triple checked it, b." jasmine replies, handing her the dust bag containing the dress. "anya, you're going to look absolutely stunning in that." anya blushes faintly, smiling softly at her bridesmaids.

"thank you." she says quietly, her eyes filling with tears as she unzips the black bag surrounding the dress, revealing the v-neck sweetheart bodice covered in small flowers, the thin straps being held by more flowers, and the dress glaring out into an elegant, sophisticated gown. "wait, where are your dresses?" she asks the group, placing her dress down onto the bed.

"we'll bring them in a minute. anya, put on your dress." poppy urges, as anya nods, sliding off her robe, unzipping the wedding dress, and guiding it over her figure, letting it settle down. kelsey rushes over to her, zipping the dress up, before stepping back, as anya gazes at her appearance in a nearby mirror.

"wow," she breathes, in shock from the beauty of the dress, her tanned skin standing out, looking healthy against the white material. her heels poke out slightly, the shimmery shoes glistening in the ambience.

"anya," sophie chokes out, her eyes filling with tears, as all the girls let out a small laugh, realising this day has come too fast. "you are gorgeous."

"sophie," anya mumbles, walking over to her cousin and embracing her. "i love you guys." she mumbles, as the other girls huddle around, all emotional, and sniffling, anya trying not to ruin her makeup.

"we love you more." jasmine smiles back, as the door opens, revealing anya's mother dressed and ready for the day.

"anya, sweetie." her mom says, choking out a sob. "oh wow, you look so beautiful." anya let's go of her bridesmaids, facing her mother, and her eyes filling with another round of tears, before she embraces her, holding her close to her crying figure.

the worry and doubt begins to absorb her, as she feels worse, hugging her mother in such an important situation like her wedding. anya pushes her thoughts to the back of her mind, before pulling away from the hug, and wiping away her mother's tears.

"don't cry, mom." anya giggles sadly, sniffling herself to stop the tears from falling. "you're gonna do plenty more of that later today."

"i'm so proud of you, honey." she says quietly, kissing her daughters forehead. "so, so proud of you."

"thanks mom." she mumbles quietly back, frowning, as the thoughts continue to swim in her mind.

"what's wrong, sweetheart?" her mother asks, suddenly realising her daughter is upset. jasmine snaps her head round from changing into her dress, immediately looking concerned, and realising why anya has a state of worry over her.

"m-mom." anya stutters our, a single tear cascading down her cheek.

"aaliyah, get shawn here as soon as possible." jasmine whispers, as anya sits back down on her bed, her mother sitting next to her and holding on her hand as she cries, feelings of anxiousness running through her body. "go, call him." she whispers again, biting her lower lip. "anya needs to talk to him at least."

"but they can't see each other before the wedding, it's bad luck." kelsey butts in, worried for anya.

"she doesn't have to see him, liyah, call your brother now." jasmine urges, as aaliyah nods, grabbing her phone, rushing out of the room in her periwinkle blue dress, dialling up her brothers mobile number.
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shawn sighs, a smile stretched on his face, as he looks at his appearance in the mirror. this is it, he thinks to himself, i finally get to marry the woman of my dreams. he chuckles to himself, his white button up creaseless, and the black suit jacket over that pristine in quality.

"ready man?" ian asks, popping his head round the doorway, as shawns best man.

"hell yeah." shawn chuckles, running his hand through his curls once more, before gazing down at his armani watch, checking the time. his eyes scrunch up in confusion as an incoming call from aaliyah flashes up onto the screen on his connected watch, as he reaches inside his trouser pocket, pulling out his phone and answering his sisters call.

"you need to come over, quick." aaliyah says into shawns ear, immediately making him feel worried. "anya's having doubts, she needs you, shawn."

"i'll be there as soon as i can." he answers, disconnecting the call and looking at ian in panic. "ian, we're gonna have to delay the wedding a bit." shawn bites his lower lip, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "i need to get to the hamptons house now. anya's getting cold feet."

"oh shit," ian curses, as shawns eyes fill with tears, the two of them rushing out of the hotel room, passing the grooms team, ian shouting a mumbled response about where they are going, and shawns mothers concerns about bad luck before the wedding drilling into shawns and ians ears, as they hop into a town car, giving the address of the hamptons house, speeding off.

"man, what if she doesn't want to marry me anymore?" shawn says, worried, anxious, and completely panicked. "i-i don't think i-i'll be able to cope, fuck!" he curses, placing his head in his hands, as the car speeds into the driveway, parking it quickly.

"shawn, man, calm down." ian reassures his best friend, placing his hand on shawns back. "come on, i'm sure she only needs you to reassure her, everything will be fine." shawn nods his head weakly, a tear sliding down his cheek, as he gets out of the car, jogging up the driveway, but before telling the driver to wait until they are back down. ian follows behind, as shawn opens up the door, rushing up the steps, missing a stair every so often just so he can talk to his lover. he gets shouts of bad luck thrown his way, and again ian reassures them by the statement of the couple only talking. shawn pauses outside of anya's bedroom door, knocking softly at it.

"anya, hunny," shawn calls, his voice shaky with nerves.

"-what's he doing here?" he hears anya's mother say, as anya's tears continue to flow freely down her cheeks, her head snapping to the direction of her door.

"darling, come here for a second, don't leave your room, just come here!" shawn calls again, leaning against the door, as jasmine walks over to anya, helping her up from the bed, whilst anya strolls the door, leaning against the other side. "are you there?" shawn asks softly.

"y-yeah." anya stutters, sniffling through her tears. thank goodness for waterproof mascara.

"baby, don't worry." shawns voice fills her ears, calming her down almost immediately. "everything is going to be okay, i love you so much." shawn takes a long breath, steadying himself. "it's only nerves, love, i promise i will be there with you every single step of the way, forever now."

"y-you promise?" anya asks weakly.

"i swear on my own life." shawn chokes out, his eyes filling with tears. "i love you."

"i love you too." anya replies, the wave of cold feet disappearing from her completely.

"i'll see you so soon, yeah darling? on the other side? we've been through so much together, i think we can handle this." shawn let's put a soft laugh, as anya pushes the door open slightly, holding her hand out through the crack.

"shawn," she mews, as his eyes go wide at her hand. "thank you hunny."

"no problem," shawn responds, holding onto his fiancées hand. "i'll see you in a little while."

"i love you." anya says softly, wiping away her tears.

"i love you so much more baby, but i have to go now." shawn frowns, squeezing anya's hand gently. "bye darling."

"see you, shawn." anya sighs, relief rushing through her. thank god it wasn't cold feet.

meanwhile, shawn lets go of her hand, leaning back against the door and letting out a sigh, a single tear rushing down the side of his face. "let's go." he mouths to ian, as ian nods, following shawn down the stairs and out of the house, shawn running his hand through his curls multiple times, relief filling his veins, calming down the sudden rush of adrenaline.

"let's go get you hitched then."
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shawn peers down at his watch, waiting anxiously for the music to start and his beautiful bride to walk down the aisle and straight into his arms. he catches the sigh of his parents, who are smiling widely up at him, and he smiles gently back, his cheeks flushing red. he then sees his mother-in-law, who runs down the aisle and to her seat, sending shawn a small smile, her eyes already filled with tears.

on shawns immediate left, ian stands, followed by brian, matt, lyall, then geoff, and andrew, the seven of them all dressed in black suits and white button ups, all courtesy of emporio armani.

at the same time, anya stands directly behind the heavy brown doors, behind her bridesmaids, clutching onto her bouquet of flowers, her arm knotted with peters.

"you ready, little coz?" peter asks, as anya peers down at her bouquet of peonies and roses, nodding her head softly.

"let's get this started." anya confirms, nodding her head again, as the doors suddenly open, and james arthur's say you won't let go orchestral music runs through her ears. jasmine, poppy, kelsey and sophie walk down the aisle first, followed by aaliyah, and tommy as the ring boy, following.

shawns heart swells as soon as his eyes touch his bride to be. he feels his eyes tear up all over again as he takes in her appearance, fully dressed head-to-toe in probably the most beautiful dress he has ever laid his eyes on. "oh my god." shawn mumbles, his eyes almost turning lustrous, as anya smiles gently up at him, walking down the aisle, accompanied by peter. shawns heart begins to pump faster, as the excitable nerves fill his body, a huge smile cascading over his lips, stretched out over his face.

"thank you," anya quietly whispers to peter, hugging him as she gets to the bottom of the altar. "so much."

"that's okay." peter says, kissing her forehead gently. "i would say good luck, but i know it's gonna be great anyway." she beams at her cousin, before he helps her up onto the alter, her hands immediately reaching shawns.

"you look- wow- you're the most stunning woman in the entire world." shawn bursts suddenly, his eyes going wide at anya's appearance up close, his pupils dilating massively.

"i love you." anya mumbles, smiling back at shawn. "and don't you look dapper yourself?" shawn chuckles softly, squeezing anya's hands in his. "you ready?" anya whispers softly to shawn, her cheeks flushed red.

"more than ready." shawn whispers back, the two of them turning heads to the pastor.

"dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage between shawn peter raul mendes and anya rose steinburg." the pastor begins, as shawn stands up straight, squeezing anya's small hands again, anya's eyes filling with tears. "before i may begin, if anyone disagrees with this marriage, please stand or hold your peace forever." a slight feeling of anxiousness runs through the couple, as no one stands up, making shawn sigh with relief, and anya let out a small laugh at her future husband.

"thank god." shawn mumbles, making anya bite her lip, holding in a laugh.

"now, i am going to take a moment to stress the importance of the vows. these vows hold the promises you wish to keep throughout your marriage; if the other spouse is sick, you help them. if there are struggles; you talk about them. if your spouse is upset; you respect that they have feelings, and support them." the pastor explains. "anya, your vows?"

anya's head immediately perks up, as he cheeks flush red, and a tear slides down her face. "babe, don't cry." shawn chuckles, squeezing her hand again.

"sorry." anya mumbles, making the guests chuckle quietly, as aaliyah hands her a slip of paper. anya unfolds it carefully, reading off her handwriting. "four years ago, i met shawn in a way i didn't even think would ever happen to me. andrew scouted me out to be shawns girlfriend, since he was needing a little more press in his life." the guests laugh more, as shawn sarcastically gasps, making anya smile. "since then, my life has been nothing but the best experience i could ever ask for. granted, yes, our relationship has brought personal struggles with it, but everything settles in my mind as soon as i see shawn smile." she gazed up at shawn, tears pooling in both of their eyes. "he is my other half, and i promise, with everything in my heart, to cherish him, and to help him when he's in need, and to be the greatest best friend he could ever ask for in life." her voice cracks at the end as a tear slides down shawns cheek. "i promise to be the best wife, and support shawn in his career and everything he chooses to do. i promise to talk to him about things, i promise to care for him in sickness and health, and i promise to give him anything i can to keep him the happiest person on earth." she lets go of shawns hand to quickly wipe away her tears. "i love you." she mouths to shawn, as he quickly mouths it back, wiping away his own tears.

"shawn, your vows?" the pastor asks shawn, as he nods, reaching into his inner jacket pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. he unfolds it, his messy handwriting standing out of the paper.

"love to me is about knowing the depths and complexities of everything about a person. i didn't realise when andrew brought anya to the airport with him that one day in new york, i would ever fall so in love with anya. it is evident that in the past four years, i've realised how much i fully am in love with anya. i know how she hates it when i go on a tangent about how hypnotising she is, but i truly believe she is hypnotising." anya's cheeks flush, as another tear rolls down her cheek. "i don't know if any of you know, but anya got a first in her english literature degree. during that time, i was with her practically all the time, so i managed to learn a few things." anya chuckles at shawn, rolling her eyes at him as he smiles softly back. "petrarch, an italian poet, wrote a poem about laura, a woman who he was entranced with. to me, anya is my laura, and i promise with every last part in my body that i will take care of her, keep her safe, keep her loved to ends widths, and care for her when she's unwell." shawn says softly. "i know my vocabulary isn't as advanced as anya's, but i promise everything to anya, she really is my light in the dark."

"now we have mr tommy steinburg, bringing the rings?" the pastor asks, looking up from his small book as anya and shawn gain their composures again. a seven year old boy comes wandering up to the altar, carrying a pillow on which two rings are resting on, one definitely larger than the other. tommy holds up the pillow, as shawn and anya respond, taking the other spouses ring each.

"anya, if you would repeat after me, whilst placing the ring on shawns finger," the pastor says, as anya reaches down, clasping shawns hand in hers. "i, anya rose steinburg,"

"i, anya rose steinburg." she repeats, her eyes filling with tears once more as she looks up at shawn.

"with this ring, i wed thee, shawn peter raul mendes." the pastor tells anya to say.

"with this ring," she says quietly, sliding the ring into shawns finger. shawns breathing goes shallow, realising the moment. tears slide down his cheeks as he falls in love with anya all over again. "i wed thee, shawn peter raul mendes."

"and shawn, i suppose you know the drill by now?" the pastor chuckles. shawn nods, taking the ring and anya's hand, holding her fingers in his. "i, shawn peter raul mendes."

"i, shawn peter raul mendes," shawn repeats, tears rushing down anya's cheeks.

"with this ring, i wed thee, anya rose steinburg."

"with this ring, i wed thee, anya rose steinburg." shawn chokes out, sliding the ring onto anya's finger, the diamond joining onto her engagement and promise ring.

"by the power vested in me, i now pronounce you husband and wife, mr and mrs mendes." the pastor smiles, as shawn steps closer to anya, smiles etched on both of their faces. "shawn, you may now kiss your bride."

slowly, time stops, and anya and shawn feel as through they are the only ones left on the planet. the world silences around them, and shawn wraps his arms around her waist, leaning down, and pressing his lips onto hers, slightly dipping her down. anya brings her hand to cup shawn's blushed cheek, brushing away the stray tears on the surface of his skin, kissing him back with added force. shawn brings anya up slowly, before pulling away, and resting their foreheads together.

"may i now present the new happy couple, anya and shawn mendes!" shawn and anya both smile at each other, their love and endearment radiating off of their bodies.

"i love you," shawn whispers quietly to his wife.

"i love you." anya repeats, kissing her husbands cheek softly. "i love you."
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3000+ words holy shit