I Believe We're The Enemy

Lariah’s P.O.V.

“Ginny,” I hiss exasperatedly, “quit fussing over me, okay? I just need to relax.”

Ginny, who is currently adding the finishing touches to my flower-infested hair, sighs. “I just want you to look your best for Gee...”

I laugh. “Do you really think that Gerard will actually care whether or not I look exactly perfect?”

“He might...”

“Save it for your own wedding and give me a break, Ginger.”

Just then, Frank comes racing into the room, his two-sizes-too-big tux nearly causing him to fall flat on his face. “Lisette?” he calls, completely ignoring Ginny and I. “Whatsername, where the fuck are you?’

Lisette’s head pokes out from the room in which Rose was doing her makeup, and she grins as she trots across the room to Frank. He takes her hands and plants a tiny kiss right on her mouth. “There you are, love. Mikey wants to talk to us.” She smiles again, shamelessly, and they leave hand in hand. Truthfully, at times, I feel like I don’t even know Whatsername anymore. The furious, battle-scarred Killjoy that I was familiar with has been replaced by this smiley and affectionate girl and her utter enchantment with her savior, Frank. Despite the innocent and naive manner that they uphold in public, I know that the couple have kept their dark sides and their nightmares; the passion that they give each other in the nighttime is all that keeps them whole. Still, I’m happy for them. They’re found what they never even knew that they were searching for.

Once Rose comes to squeal over my dress and then my eyeliner, I know that I seriously need some time to get away. My feet carry me from the tiny dressing room and out onto the empty desert sand, where I stand and observe the gorgeous day growing across the horizon. The sky is the most beautiful blue I’ve ever seen it, and I can’t help but grin like a little toddler at the immaculate weather. It’s perfect for a wedding, especially when the man I’m marrying is just as perfect.

“Lariah,” comes a tiny murmur in my ear, and I turn to find Gerard standing there, his most loving smile spread across his face. For some strange reason, he’s towing a wagon, the contents of which are covered up.

“Gee, you know you’re not supposed to see me now. It’s bad luck.”

He grins. “I don’t care. I just wanted to talk to you. And you look really beautiful, you know.”

I sigh. “Yeah, but this dress is irritating me.”

“It’s amazing.”

“It’s so plain,” I murmur. “I don’t see why I have to wear a white dress.”

His smile widens substantially. “Exactly my thoughts.” With that, he uncovers his mystery wagon to reveal several large cans, all open. Paint. Except no brushes.

“What are you planning to do with that, Gee?”

He sticks both hands into a can of yellow paint and approaches me, a devilish idea forming on his face. He carries it out.

“You did not just grab my boob.”

“I did. You’re mine now; I’m allowed to do this stuff.”

I finally give in, laughing, as he hugs me, leaving two more yellow handprints on my once-pristine dress. He’s crazy, but I don’t care, because I love him.

“You know I’m going to have to get my revenge now, Gee.”

He blinks slowly. “What?”

Half a bucket of red paint hits him then, splattering across his white tuxedo in a starburst pattern, and he laughs. “Bring it on.”

And so the battle begins. Purple, green, blue, red, orange, pink, black, and gallons and gallons of yellow cover our expensive clothing, staining us in mirages of color and laughter. He insists on leaving the love yellow spot on my chest visible, which somehow only makes me giggle; I’ll never hear the end of it from the girls, but I don’t care. They already know about that second hickey from the night we all got drunk.

Finally, Ginny and Rose beckon us inside and set everything up just right for the beginning of the wedding. We decided to get marries on the back patio of Dr. D’s new diner (he claims that restaurants are the best setting for radio broadcasts), and obviously, he was the one who was most obliged to do the marrying. All three girls fuss over me extensively before joining their partners and marching with ecstatic grins to their respective places. Frank and Lisette, the best man and maid of honor, share a tiny smooch before retreating to their sides of the patio. As Dr. Death Defying, who’s like a father to all of us, walks me down the aisle, I’m shocked at the large crowd of Killjoys seated on the various lawn chairs before us. Some are even standing. Again, I realize how lucky I am to have captured the heart of someone as popular as Party Poison.

Gerard’s small, unevenly-spaced teeth flash a shy but eager smile in my direction as he dances eagerly in his place, at which I can’t help but giggle. I can hear him humming some random lyric under his breath when I finally reach my place, and his hazel eyes look me over as if I’m the greatest prize he ever could’ve fetched.

“Hello there, Killjoys,” calls Dr. Death as he flips open the old, beaten-up preyer book that was fished out of his basement. Then he starts to read, smiling at Gerard and I the whole time. Soon, he discovers that he doesn’t quite like the wording of everything in the book, so he adds in his own phrases here and there, and omits whatever he feels is useless. We receive our rings and exchange vows, smiling as widely as our faces will let us. The words “I do” escape both our lips, and I feel an elated shiver attack my spine; Gerard is mine. About this time, Dr. D gets sick of the prayer book, tosses it to the ground in frustration, and turns to me. “Just kiss that sexy motherfucker already.”

I do. It takes the combined efforts of Dr. D, Frank, and Lisette to tear us apart, even when we’re done making out.

The reception, held within the diner, is beautiful. Frank and Ray play sweet songs on their guitars while the rest of us dance, and the assortment of food scraped together by our impressive crowd is way better than plain old Power Pup. The cake, especially, is amazing; we decided to make it a rainbow of every imaginable flavor, so everything from red velvet to coconut to devil’s food is available somewhere underneath the electric green frosting. Gerard and I enjoy a brief make-out session while eating cake at the same time, which is egged on by a hyperactive Ginny. Then we return to the dance floor.

Eventually, the guests begin to leave, and soon there are only nine people left in the diner, and peace starts to return. I’ve never been happier than I am right now, not in my whole entire life. My heart feels free, like it was stuck in a hopelessly padlocked cage that only Gerard could ever figure out how to open. He still reminds me of my brother, but thinking of my family no longer hurts; I have a real family now, and maybe one day I’ll even be able to make my own. Every time Gerard says he loves me, which he says quite a lot, I feel it in my bones, my skin, my heart, everywhere. And I love him too, one hundred percent and forever.

**fin**