Jesse's POV

"We met, of all places, in front of Gristedes on some freakishly cold winter's day. I had on several unflattering layers of wool. He slipped on the ice with his grocery bags full." I chuckled. He still had his leather jacket on despite it being the middle of winter. "So I rescued some Fruit Loops he dropped by the curb, and he make some remark that my smile was superb." I remember blushing when he told me that. Though, his smile is so much better, brighter. "I thought that was sweet, and I started to go and he said--

'Hey, whatcha doing tomorrow?' He said, turning to me with a brilliant smile and holding his newly recovered groceries.

'Because I'll be here...on the corner of Bleaker and Mercer tomorrow at 7. If you want to meet up, I'll be waiting right here. And in case there are two fellas waiting for you, my name's Lukas." He waved, and then he was gone.

I don't know why, but I actually want to go meet him. I've seen  and met Lukas several times before, but I've never gotten to know him. He's the leader of the Ocelots! Our rivals. I only helped him with his groceries to be nice, and to, y'know, not be a jerk. But...then again, he's not nearly as bad as the others. Actually...he's always been nice to me. Hmmm...I'll think about it.

"Needless to say, I went back there to meet him. Mostly to see if he'd show, and there he was, out in the cold with his jacket pulled tight." I laughed. Looking back, he was very handsome. "He took me to dinner and kissed me goodnight. The next week, we went to this terrible play. And the week after that, we drank hot chocolate all day. And suddenly, eight or nine months had flown by, when he said--

'Hey, whatcha doing the rest of your life? Because I'll be here. Right beside you as long as you want me to be. There's no question. There's nothing I've wanted so much in my life. This might immature but but I'm totally sure you're the one!' Hahaha and we had just begun! He pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small velvet box...He grabbed my hand and I gasped, covering my mouth with my free hand, tears forming in my eyes. The ring was beautiful...He opened his mouth to say something, but I had already nodded my head repeatedly before he could say anything. I tackled him, landing on his chest. "Okay then" He said, laughing along with me. I ignored him, pressing my lips against his in a loving kiss. He smiled against my lips as he kissed me back.

"We got hitched in September, our favorite month, with a rock band that played in this old synagogue. And we bought an apartment on West 17th street and talked about children and getting a dog."

"Our first Anniversary came in a flash, and we promised to take the day off. He had to step into his office that morning, and so I went walking uptown to this bakery I know. When I heard on the street want I thought was a joke, till I noticed the sirens and saw all the smoke. So I'm running back home with this feeling of dread, to the voicemail he left....and the last words he said..." I hiced. Radar wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a comforting and tight hug. I sat there, stiff until I relaxed and buried my face into his hoodie. I cried into his shoulder for a few minutes...and he waited patiently. Why'd he have to step into his office?

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to ruin your evening by bringing all of this stuff up...You're probably wondering why I even called you tonight. Well today something happened that spooked me alright. I discovered his Fruit Loops still there on the shelf....and I-I cried, I couldn't get hold of myself...When as sure as I breathe, I heard Lukas clear as day, saying..."

'Hey...you're allowed to move on...It's okay...'

'Because I'll be here... Even if you decide to get rid of my favorite jacket...Even if you go out on my birthday this year, instead of staying at home letting all of life's moments pass by...you don't have to cry...!' I could hardly keep my voice steady as I remembered his words. I couldn't help it...heh...

'Because I'll be here...! When you start going back to the places we went to together...! When you take off your ring and let yourself smile...! When you meet someone handsome and patient and true...! When he says that he wants be to married to you. When you call him one night and he meets you downtown. When you finally answer him "yes." '

"Yes..."

"Jason...I will marry you..."

"I will give you my heart...It has taken so long, but I'm ready to start..." I looked down at my new engagement ring...I feel guilty for saying that I miss my old one...

"Right now, Lukas is whispers  'Congrats' in my ear cuz' I finally let myself tell you...That I will be here..." Radar wiped away my tears with his thumb, and I fell into his arms...

I froze, standing there in our living room in complete silence, tears endlessly running down my cheeks...and I listened....I listened to the distant sound of screaming and crackling fire as the building came down over the phone...and I heard Lukas sniffle before saying "Hey Honey...I think I'll be late to dinner tonight...I love you.." He cried quietly...And the phone blew out...I know it's just a phone making noise...but I've never heard it as a phone blowing out...it's always sounded like a- a flatline...

*Sobbing drastically intensifies* WHy..?! WHYYYYyyy...?! NO! I'M not crying! YOU'RE crying! I watched a Hamilton animatic for this song and I was "That's alright, I didn't need my heart anyways...*sniff*" And then I started to think about this with Lukesse, and that's when I started to really cry to this song. Then I started writing this story and like half way through it, I started bawling...Welp. There's your daily dose of death and sadness for today. Hope you liked it! ...uh Tell me what you think!

(Btw, sorry I haven't uploaded the past few days. I was pretty busy and I walked around at a  Amusement park/ water park yesterday so that was really fun. We were there for like...12 hours? I think? So we walked around a lot. I'm gonna go cry and continue to be sore for the rest of the night! Bye!)