Constant Companions

[Liz]

The procession began and my stomach started to churn.The perfect people who were involved with the ceremony walked to the front, including Justin's daughter at a quicker pace than needed. I smiled at her father's likeness. "She's very cute," I said to Josh. He smirked and nodded. My eyes went to Justin. Though his hair was a bit out of place for a normal human being, it was in top shape for him. He looked quite different from the last time I saw him...

...Then again, the last time I saw him, he looked pale and nearly lifeless with bruises on his face and arms. The dumbass got himself into a bar fight again and I had to fix him up. Again. I cried a little when he went to sleep. He hated to see me unhappy, mostly because he didn't know how to handle it, so I always kept it to myself. It was about him getting better, not me feeling worse. Things were different then.

He looked...happy. Something I wouldn't really associate with him at this point in time. Not anymore. There was a time when he was my quirky, bubbly, rambunctious, and defective Justin who I was madly in love with. There was nothing I wouldn't do for him. Turns out that I did everything and nothing would save the poor bastard. That's over now. He's been through hell and back, a wife, a daughter and he's back for more. He's naive, I'll give him that.

It feels like forever when the bride finally walks down the aisle. I'm already lost in thought about everything. It makes me wonder. How did she meet him? Matt could've, but wouldn't he had known from Josh introducing me to Justin that that didn't work out too well? But he's clean, so that's also on her side. Did she know about his past? Did she know about...me? Justin never liked to talk about his exes - who does? - but he sometimes talked about a girl named Betty when he was drunk or wanted to be. I never really saw pictures of her or know that much about her. All I know is that she liked his bad habits that I tried so hard to get rid of.

"Betty never did this shit!" he'd say. It just hurt me more than it hurt him to keep practicing self-abuse. I couldn't do a thing and it killed me on the inside.

The priest went on about what sacred day it would be. What a happy occasion there was to be had. I had good times with him. It feels as though the bad overlapped the good, but I didn't give up just when things started to get bad for a reason. I loved him from the start. I may not have realized it, but I did.

[--------]

I put on the pair of aquamarine earrings and looked in the mirror. "Okay, calm down. This could go horribly wrong. He could be an asshole that Josh is friends with. But he didn't seem that way when I met him." I talked out loud because I was unsure of myself or my surroundings. I'd known him for only a short while. Josh's car was in the shop, so I went to pick him up from the studio. Justin seemed nervous in a cute sort of way. Josh was good friends with him, so he couldn't be that bad, right?

The buzzer rang. "Elizabeth? I mean, Liz?" He felt the need to be formal with me for whatever reason, even though I insisted for him not to.

"Yes?" I replied, putting on the blue heels I was slowly getting used to. With the dark blue, purple shirt and the black dress pants, I looked alright. My hair is the only thing that made me worry.

"It's Justin." he says, stammering.

"I'll be down in a second." I took one last look in the mirror and jogged down the stairs, nearly toppling down them as I went. I opened the door and smiled. "Hi." He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt over a white shirt with the collar sticking out.

Justin was just standing there, smiling. "Hi."

"What are you smiling at?" I said, laughing a little.

"You look very nice." he said, his voice cracking. "Beautiful."

"Are you a nervous sort?"

"Quite." We had an awkward second of silence.

"You said this place was near my apartment?"

"Yeah, yeah. Follow me." He held out his hand. I grabbed it and we walked down the sidewalk. "Have you lived here for long?"

"I moved here when I was a kid in '84, '85. I was next to Josh's old house. Then we moved to Chicago. My dad switched jobs a lot."

"How long were you and Josh neighbors?"

"I moved away in 1991, right before school started back up again."

"Funny; I met Josh in 1992."

"I guess things just happen that way." I smirked. We continued to walk down the sidewalks and alleys of Minneapolis, taking turn after turn. It made me wonder if he really knew where he was going. My doubts were quickly put out when I realized that he didn't look contemplative when he was taking these turns. He didn't stop for a moment and he didn't feel nervous at all. I felt safe with him.

"When did you come back?"

"Just a few years ago, permanently. I visited Josh during the summer sometimes when I lived in Chicago."

"Did you and Josh ever-"

"Oh, no." I said, reading his mind. "Josh is like my big brother. He likes to boss me around sometimes about things because I'm doing them the wrong way and be my morality fairy."

Justin starts laughing. He had a pretty smile and perfect teeth. "Morality fairy?"

"Morality fairy." I echoed. We took a right. "How long have you been here?"

"I was born in Mahtomedi and never really left. I moved here after I turned eighteen or so and now I know this town like the back-" He held me back from getting hit by a car when I started to cross the street. "Of my hand."

"Holy shit." I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Thanks."

"No problem, but I think you're listening to me a bit too intently." We quickly crossed the street before we got hit by another car and took a right. "And here is the fantastical piz-What the hell?" We walked up to the sign. In bold letters, it said SORRY, WE'RE CLOSED. He sighed. "Fuck. I'm sorry." He sat against the window.

"No, it's okay. I'm happy you went through all this work to get me here." I sat down next to him.

"I should've checked the hours or something. I'm sorry." As soon as he said that, I felt a raindrop hit my shoulder. Then another on my head. Soon, the rain started to come down in buckets.

"Shit." He was about to get up and move, but the covering that was above the entrance had a hole in it. "Well, fuck. This date has gone awry."

"No, it hasn't." I looked up and sighed. "I love the rain. But with the makeup I have on, I bet I look like a clown." I turned my face to him, eyeliner smearing and all. "I look like a clown that got layed off."

"You do not. Close your eyes for a second." I closed them and then he wiped off the smearing eyeliner with his thumb. "There. You feel better now?"

"Mmhm." I looked out to the street and at the reflection of us through the puddle that was forming in front of us. "I've always wanted to have one of those Hollywood kisses in the rain like they do in the movies. Like the guy running to catch some girl before she goes to the airport and leaves him. 'Denise!', he'd say before she walked inside the building. Denise would turn around. 'Rick?' 'Denise, I realize what a total fuckface I've been and I don't want you to leave. I'm sorry and I hope you'll forgive me.' Long dramatic pause. She turns away and then turns back to him. They make out and the camera zooms out while they hold each other in the rain."

"You seem to have thought out that plot very well. Sounds like something I would've done if I became a director like I was supposed to."

"I'm an editor at a publishing company. I read a lot of plots like that all the time. Someday, I want to have my own so I don't have to take orders from anyone."

"Denise, I realize what a total fuckface I've been and I don't want you to leave." Justin said with a dramatic voice, taking hold of both my hands. "I'm sorry and I hope you'll forgive me." The face of a lost puppy went across his face. The kind of a face that if it was sponsored, it could convince me to give money to someone.

I took my hands away from him and turned away for a few moments. I turn around and we kissed. It felt like the movies and it's something I'll never forget. We stopped and I smiled at him. "Was that cinematic enough for you?"

"Very. Thank you." I stand up and hold out my hand for him.

"No problem." He took it and I pulled him up. We walk back to my apartment without saying much. We got to my apartment and I stand outside the door. "Liz?"

I turned around. "Yeah?"

"Do you like me?"

"What?"

"Do you like me?" he repeated.

"Yes, I very much like you. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He smiled.

"You don't think I like you?"

"No, sometimes, people act like they like me when they really don't. I just wanted to know if you liked me or not, so I don't let you down."

I walked over to him. "Oh, Justin." I stand on my tiptoes (again, nearly falling over) and kiss him on the forehead. "You aren't going to let me down without a fight." I hug him and walk to the door. "Bye."

"Bye."

[--------]

"Liz?" Josh says.

"Yeah?"

"Wedding's over. You want a ride to the reception or do you want to drive alone?"

"I'll go with you."

"How do you feel? You looked a little blank during the wedding. What were you thinking about?"

"I feel fine. I was thinking about things in general."

"Okay, just as long as you aren't sick or anything."

"Everything is alright, Josh. Now let's go see the lovely couple at the reception."