A little boutique overflowed onto the sidewalk with second hand clothing and used books piled on card tables. Two mannequins guarded the red front door with a garland of tissue paper flowers draped over the sign.

"Maggie Mae's Emporium," August read aloud as he circled one of the mannequins. With a gawky swoop, he lifted the floppy, black velvet hat from the mannequin's head and put it on over his tousled curls. He grinned like a fool in her direction. "What do you think?"

June snorted as she wrapped a lace scarf around her neck. "I don't think even you could get away with that look."

"You're right. It's something my mom would wear and I take too much after her. I'd hate for someone to mix us up and call me Diane by accident."

She laughed out loud and he joined in with gusto. August tossed the hat like a frisbee through the open front door. Lifting a bluish, green paper flower from the garland, he brought it over to her. Her smile faded as she looked up into his whimsical expression. He stood a hand's breadth from her as he tucked it behind her ear. 

"There. It even matches your eyes," he commented, brushing her earlobe with his thumb.

June forced herself to breathe. "I think I like it better than the scarf."

"Me too." He took a step back and quickly snapped her picture, her lips parting in surprise and eyes widening. He peered down at the lens thoughtfully, twisting it. "I'm looking forward to how that turns out in the black room. That's going to be a good one."

He took her hand and started down the sidewalk again. June untwisted the scarf, letting it trail behind her before leaving it on a welcome mat outside a printer's shop with a closed sign in the window. They ambled in pleasant silence towards the cul-de-sac at the head of Main Street. 

The columned town hall building faced a white washed, Presbyterian church with a tall steeple. At the center was a statue of a civil war soldier making ready to brandish the sword at his side. Beside him was a canon from WWII, the chipped paint a pale seagreen tint.

June smoothed a hand over one of the giant wheels. "How much do you think this thing weighs?"

"I have no idea. Several hundred pounds. Why? You planning on making our getaway on that thing?"

"No!" She exclaimed, meeting his cheeky grin as he leaned against the statue and crossed one ankle over the other, hands in his pockets again. "It's just a story my dad told me."

"What is that?"

"When he was in high school, he and his buddies played a prank one night. His hometown had the same kind of canon so they rolled it out into the middle of the street, facing the town hall like it could take out the municipal building." 

August's chortle echoed around the empty square. "Your dad sounds awesome."

"Then they ran around putting peanut butter under all the doorknobs of the local businesses." She rolled her eyes. "He was super cool back in the day. Thankfully, my mom has a sobering effect on him."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope. Just me. My mom had a hard time carrying a pregnancy to full term. She miscarried several times before I was born. She is really protective of me, but I know that's why and I'm okay with it. My parents are great people."

August pushed himself off the statue. "My dad was in the military. He died when I was a kid."

He moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, peering up at the ghostly shadow of the moon in the white sky.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault," he said, wrinkling his nose with a faint frown. "My mom is a rock star. She really is like both parents to me. Isn't it weird... if we really are in 1979, what are your parents doing right now?"

June shook her head. "That's way too trippy to consider. My parents are still in college."

"My mom is probably chasing my big brother around some Army Base. He really gave her a run for her money when he was a kid."

"I bet you did too." June bumped his shoulder as they circled the cul-de-sac. The single, yellow light buzzed over them as it blinked for absent traffic.

"Actually, I was a really shy kid."

"I find that hard to believe."

August took her hand again. June was glad. She liked how he interlaced their fingers, forming their hands into a locket. 

"It's true though. I didn't come into my own until like junior year. I used to get beat up and tortured by bullies all the time. Then, when I turned seventeen, something just snapped. I was tired of it. I can't explain why, but I decided not to take it anymore. I lifted my head when I went down the hallways, smarted back to them if they bothered me. If someone took a swing at me, I swung back. It didn't stop all at once, of course, but I felt stronger. I made more friends once I stopped caring and just decided to be myself. By the time I graduated, I feel like I became the person I always was under my shell."

"By sheer force of will, I bet. It sounds like you're a force to be reckoned with, August."

"Something like that," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her and earning himself another smile.  

Returning the way they came, June shrieked and jumped as the lights to the boutique clicked on and the radio blared from inside. Startled as well, August shielded her, moving her body behind his as he peered into the shop.

"No one in there," he said.

"This place is a little too eerie for me."

"I still think it's cool."

"You would."

The first twanging bars of A Case of You by Joni Mitchell flooded past the blank faced mannequins. August hissed an excited breath through his teeth and tugged her out into the street. Deftly draping an arm around the small of her back and collecting her hand to his shoulder, he began to dance with her in the middle of the street.

"This is one of my favorites. My mom loves Joni. My childhood was soundtracked to her Blue album."

June gave a tentative smile. "I've never heard this one before."

With a shocked groan, he twirled her out then brought her back into his embrace.

"You have been missing out! I'll buy you the CD myself and get it to you when we emerge on the other side of this thing."

Their joined hands were pressed to his warm chest right above the concert graphic. His heart was beating as quickly as her own.

"I wish I could have had an epiphany like yours in high school," she admitted with a bashful giggle. "I remember friends calling me mousy. They were just teasing, they weren't being mean. They even said it was cute. But it bothered me. I never felt like a mouse on the inside. I know that sounds silly-"

August shook his head fervently, golden curls falling over the grotesque scar on his temple. "It's not silly. I know that feeling really well... if it counts for anything, I think you're pretty amazing just as you are. Whether you're being mousy or dancing in the middle of Main Street with paper flowers in your hair."

"I think you might be one of the most extraordinary people I've ever met, August Kamenski."

August scoffed and wet his lips. "Thanks," he replied wryly, a touch of amiable sarcasm to his tone. His Adam's apple jumped in his long throat as he swallowed.

"Don't be like that. I mean it." June trained her gaze on his scruffy chin. She knew she couldn't say this while looking him in the eye. "If I had to be stuck in this inter-dimensional limbo with anyone, I'm glad it was with you."

The radio clicked off as did the lights in the boutique. They stopped. The street lamps burst to life as the towering Presbyterian church rang out across the town, the bells ringing five times then followed by a melodious interlude. They looked up at the steeple piercing the purple sky till the bells were silenced.

"Do you hear that?" June breathed.

August nodded. "Mourning dove."

"First bird I've heard all afternoon."

"I might be jumping the gun, but the spell might be breaking."

As goosebumps broke out over her arms, June hugged herself. "Then we'd better get back to the depot. Our bus might be on it's way."

"Race you!"

August was off like a shot, sprinting towards the end of the street. He was already to the movie theater when June registered what he had said. 

"No fair!" June yelled as though she were a little girl on a playground, taking off after him.

He made it back first, gasping as he trotted across the bus docks to the glass double doors of the depot.

"You cheated!" she argued, coming in at a close second.

August combed his fingers through his curls and heaved a breath. "I know, I'm sorry. Hey, wait. I've got you a consolation prize."

He pulled off his concert tee, stripping down to his grey, thermal long sleeve underneath. Folding it awkwardly, he held it out to her with a crooked grin. June's jaw dropped, her eyebrows arching.

"I can't take that! Your brother gave it to you!"

"I can always snag another from his collection back at my mom's."

"Wow. Thank you." She cradled the cotton tee in her hands, smoothing it into a neater fold. 

August stuck his hands in his pockets, change jingling. He shrugged, jutting out his lower lip. His face was flushed from their race. "Besides, the band might get back together again one of these days. You can wear it when we go to their concert together."

June's mouth went dry, heat rushing into her cheeks. She removed the paper flower from her hair. It had nearly fallen out during their sprint.

"Actually, I think they might have a new album coming out at the end of the month."

"What!?" He leaped back nearly a foot. August threw his arms out with a roar of a laugh. "No way! You're kidding!"

"No, I'm not! Isn't that cool?"

"Seriously cool. Best news I've had all week."

"I know. When I heard, I was concerned because of Layne, but they have a new lead singer. I've heard some snippets and he is great. William Duvall is his name, I think. His harmonizes great with Jerry."

August's smile fell. He blinked at her. "What? Why isn't Layne reuniting with them?"

June cocked her head to the side in confusion. "... because he can't..."

"Because of the drugs?"

"Because he died."

A crestfallen grimace fell over his bright countenance, nearly breaking her heart with it's grief. "What?"

"It was a while ago." She studied him in the fiery light of the swift sunset behind them, igniting the steel roof of the empty diner. "You didn't know?"

"I had no idea."

Layne Staley had been found dead of an overdose in his apartment back in 2002. It had been all over MTV and VH1 news when it'd happened. He'd been dead for two weeks before someone found him. It had been horrifically tragic. Her dad was even disturbed by the event. A year later, she discovered all her dad's old CDs and burned them onto her computer so she could load them onto her IPod mini.

"I hate that I had to be the one to tell you." She stepped forward and pressed a hand to his shoulder, his eyes on the sunset behind them.

August shook his head, the heavy lines around his mouth softening. "You must think I'm being stupid. It's just... they were my older brother's favorite band. My brother died last year."

June gaped at him. "I'm- I'm sorry," she stuttered, completely at a loss with what else to tell him. She tried to shove the shirt back into his hands. "Please, I really can't take this now."

He pushed it back towards her, his eyes coming back to life. "No. I really do want you to have it. My brother would have too. He was the best guy. That's the reason why I went home to be with my mom for her birthday. His loss has been really hard on her."

"I don't know what else to say." June peered down at the t-shirt in her hands.

August's family had endured so much loss between his father and brother. It made her grateful for her own family. All four of her grandparents were still alive, every cousin, uncle, and aunt accounted for, though they were spread all over the country. She couldn't imagine surviving that much loss and still wearing a smile as easily as August did.

He brushed the hair from her shoulder and rested a hand at the arch of her neck. His thumb thoughtfully tapped her collar bone. 

"You don't have to say anything more. Your feelings are sincere. After a year of bereavement, I can tell when someone means it." He scanned the afterglow on the horizon and shivered. His expression registered something as uncertainty. "C'mon, let's get inside. It's getting dark out here."