Monday, May 19th 2014

Kangaroo Point, Brisbane

2:03 PM

Today was Junie Bennett's twenty-first birthday and she was crying. 

She didn't know why. Well, she did. But she did not know why she was crying because of it. It was silly really. She had been standing in front of the mirror in the midst of popping an earring in when it had slipped out of her grasp and onto the floor.  

Junie had been crawling around on the carpeted floor in an attempt to locate the earring, when she came across a tattered looking wooden box. Curiosity getting the better of her, Junie momentarily forgot her quest for the missing earring and pulled the lid off the small box. Inside, she saw an assortment of trinkets, paper and a stack of photographs clumped together with an elastic band.

She had tentatively reached in and took out a sheet of paper. She smiled. It was one of her primary school report cards. That aching yet warm sense of nostalgia wrapped its tendrils around her heart and slowly squeezed. The teachers had painted a rather negative view of nine-year-old Junie Bennett.

Her teachers often made statements they could not back with sufficient evidence. They claimed she was too argumentative but she did not see how proving why she was right was being ‘too argumentative’. They claimed she was stubborn but she did not see how refusing to apologise to Dora Seymour for pushing her when she had pushed Junie first.

They claimed she was meddlesome and Junie certainly did not see how choosing to investigate where Ms. Hornsby really went for her ‘quick errands’ was meddlesome. It came to be that she would venture off to the far end of the sports field to smoke. In hindsight, Junie realised that maybe she should not have taken the picture of Ms. Hornsby smoking and sneakily dropped into the principal’s office.

She did feel rather guilty when Ms. Hornsby was nearly fired because of it. The teacher had asked her why she had reported her to the principal and Junie had shrugged and recited the law that specified smoking in public places was illegal. Thinking about it, maybe that was why Ms. Hornsby chose to humiliate her with that large badge on her tenth birthday.

Junie dropped the report card and rummaging through the box, she pulled out the photographs. The aching warmth intensified with every picture that she went through. Junie paused at one particular picture. It was taken two weeks before her twelfth birthday.

It showed Junie and Dylan with their arms around each other’s shoulders, grinning so beamingly bright at the camera. They were sat, perched on top of the highest slopes in the skate park. That day was retained in her mind so deeply because it had been in that moment as she watched Dylan attempt to execute a three-sixty ollie and fail that she knew.

She knew that if searched for a thousand years, for a million miles in a billion universes she would never find anybody even remotely close to the sheer and complex brilliance that was Dylan Mercer. 

Junie came across another picture, this one had been taken almost three years ago on their high school prom night. They were standing just outside the hotel the prom was being held. Junie was smiling at the camera, dressed in a long strapless purple dress, her red hair had been styled up into an eloquent bun with some flowers pinned in.

Dylan had his arm around her waist, his hand resting on her hip and the other hand stuffed in his trouser pocket. She remembered how handsome he looked in the black and white tuxedo. She had been staring straight at the camera, wearing a wide grin.

Dylan was not looking at the camera, instead his attention was on her. He had this look of adoration in his ocean blue eyes that stole her breath. Biting her lip, Junie placed the photographs down and continued rummaging through the box.

She picked up a clump of dark burgundy coloured rock. A small gasp left her lips. She thought she had lost it. This beautiful, jagged, odd little rock was the first birthday present she had ever received. It was the first present Dylan had given her. It was the first present anybody had ever given her. What was it that Dylan had said? What was it he had said on that hot afternoon they had first met?

“A volcanic rock,” Junie murmured, “from Mount Tongariro.”

Junie smiled at the memory.

It was times like this that Junie missed Dylan more than anything. She missed his infectious grin and that soft laugh, she missed the way his face would light up every time he mastered a new chord or learnt a new skateboarding trick. She missed the way he was able to make her gloomy mood vanish with just one flash of that sunshine smile.

And that was when Junie had started to cry. The bittersweet and aching warmth filling her chest had gotten too much and now she was crying. Before she went into a sobbing frenzy, Junie quickly wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her sweater. As she snivelled, she placed the volcanic rock and the other items she had taken out back into the box. She settled the lid back on and slid the box underneath her bed, where she had found it.

Junie found her thoughts slipping to that dismal day of Audrey’s funeral. Junie had not cried that day. She assumed she would but had not. Although Isaiah had cried for three days straight after the funeral. All she did, all she could do was stare blankly ahead, Fiona’s eulogy falling on deaf ears. Junie shook her head, willing those thoughts to leave her mind.

It was stupid really. Stupid and pointless to cry over the past. What was the point of mourning the past when the future held so much promise? It was her twenty-first birthday and she found herself hoping it would be a good one. Dylan would not be able to make it, since he had a gig in Berlin and two television interviews after. It could still be a good birthday even if he could not be present.

Junie had to look on the bright side. In the evening, she would be going to the best restaurant in Queensland for her birthday dinner and in two days, she would be going to Sydney for a weeklong vacation. It was going to be a week of clubbing, sunbathing, surfing and joking around with her friends. Farah had come over yesterday and helped Junie finish packing for their vacation. For the first time in a long while, Junie was actually looking forward to something.

She picked up the earring she had dropped and once she put it on, she walked towards her door. She had just grasped the handle when she heard it. A melody, sweet and soft, had drifted into the room and encircled her in its familiar warmth. She froze, her entire body tensing when a voice, a memorable voice accompanied the saccharine music.

“Hey you, I heard it’s your birthday,

And I just wanted to say,

I’m so glad it’s your birthday,

And I just wanted to say.

I’m so glad it’s your birthday.”

Junie’s head whipped back and forth as she desperately tried to find the source of the music. Junie quickly walked forward and pushing the window open, she leaned out. And her heart froze. There, standing in her back garden, merrily playing a guitar and wearing this sunny smile was Dylan Mercer.

“I’ll make your loneliness fade away,

Just hold my hand, and everything will be okay.

As long as you have me,

I swear you will never feel like yesterday”.

Dylan’s once mid-length hair that had swooped across his forehead in messy waves was longer there. It was much shorter now with a graceful and classic quiff like James Dean. He was no longer that short and skinny boy she had met eleven years ago.

He here was, a fully grown twenty-one-year-old musician, a rather famous musician and she could not remember him look more handsome. The sight of him ultimately caused her heartstrings to tug and quiver. Something no one else except him had ever achieved to do. She momentarily wondered if she was dreaming.

“Hey you, I heard it’s your birthday,

And I just wanted to say,

I’m so glad it’s your birthday,

And I just wanted to say.

I’m so glad it’s your birthday.”

And as she stood there, leaning out of her bedroom window, watching Dylan sing in absolute stunned silence, Junie felt herself being transported back. Back to her sixteenth birthday, to that late evening in his garden. Gazing up at him with so much adoration, with the soft grass beneath her feet, the cool breeze swimming around her and the glowing red sky above.

“And I am here to say,

To scream at the top of my lungs,

So the whole world can hear me now,

Happy birthday to you”

His voice, sweeter than honey and stronger than titanium echoed throughout the garden. And she felt lightheaded and dazed. As he sung the last note, their eyes locked and silence reigned as they stared at each other.

“New Zealand?” Junie whispered, not quite believing her eyes.

He grinned that brilliant sunshine smile that she hadn’t seen in so long. “Hi, Junebug.”

“I…I…You…”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Junie pushed herself from the window and ran out of her bedroom. With her heart beating deafeningly loud in her chest, she darted down the hallway, down the stairs, past the living room where six-year-old Isaiah was playing on his Xbox, past the kitchen where Fiona was preparing lunch and straight into the back garden.

Junie came to an abrupt halt, stopping by the door. Her breathing was ragged, not from the running but from the rush of seeing him again. He was really here. She was not dreaming. Dylan was here. They stood several metres apart, Junie was barefoot and dressed in a vest top and shorts, staring disbelievingly at her childhood best friend.

Dylan was dressed like he had come from an elegant party, dressed in a black and white suit that made him look unfairly handsome, looking nervously at her as he fiddled with the strings of his guitar. If she moved even an inch, she was scared he would disappear.

“W-what are you doing here?” She stammered, taking a tentative step forward, “I thought you had a gig in Berlin?”

“I…I cancelled it,” he said softly, “I needed to see you.”

“Right…” She said because that was the only thing she could manage. She gestured to his formal attire, “Where did you just come from?”

“Uhm, the Australian movie premiere for X-Men: Days of Future Past,” he answered, still looking adorably shy. “It was awesome, we should go see it sometime…together, I mean…if-if you want to…”

She had seen him in interviews, she had seen how eloquent and confident and charming he was, he had countless women head over heels in love with. But with her, he acted like a love-struck teenager and she did not know what to make of it, of him. She ignored the way her stomach knotted at his offer and said, “What are you doing here?”

His gaze flitted to the floor and then back up to meet her eyes. “I wanted to see you,” he replied, “I’ve only seen you four times in the past year and I…I miss you.”

Her heart quickened and she stepped forward, “Dylan…Dylan, I–”

“I’m sorry I missed your birthday,” he interrupted, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when your mum died, it’s just…everything happened so quick y’know? One day I’m sat in my boxers eating from a can of soup and the next thing I know I’m performing on stage in front of six thousand people,” he said in a heated rush, “Don’t get me wrong, I love singing and music but…it didn’t really feel like music without you. Nothing felt like anything without you.”

His eyes were that familiar piercing ocean blue that for as long as she could remember would always make her melt. And that was he was doing right then, the same thing he always did, ensnaring her in his blue eyes.

“Dylan.”

“I just...I can't really...how do I explain....?” he stammered, “I feel...I feel like I'm the moon and you're the sun.”

Junie stared at him, “What's that supposed to mean?”

“I can't shine without you.”

She laughed, feeling elation and warmth fill her chest, “You’re so cheesy.”

He blushed and damn her if it wasn't the most endearing sight on earth. “Shut up, you love it.”

There were so many things she wanted to say to him in that moment. All the words she had never said throughout the years just bubbling inside of her and waiting to be released but they jammed in her throat and all she could do was just stare feebly at him.

Junie let out a small sigh and tilting her head, she looked up at the cloudless afternoon sky. And for a moment, she felt like she was ten and walking home with that badge stuck to her top. She gasped when she felt the sudden collision of Dylan’s body against hers as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.  

He buried his head in the nook between her neck and shoulder and hugged her tighter. Junie closed her eyes and letting her chin fall on his shoulders, she breathed him in. And he smelt like home. Like everything she wanted and everything she could possibly need. They stayed like that for a while, standing in the middle of the back garden, tightly holding onto one another.

Dylan slowly lifted his head and she felt heat pool into her stomach as his soft lips grazed the shell of ear. “What do you say, Junebug?”

“To what?”

“You and me,” he whispered, “until the end of time.”

A smile pulled at her lips, the answer slipping out of her mouth effortlessly, “Sounds good.”

She felt his smile against the skin of her bare shoulder, the sensation of his lips pressing into her skin made her heart drum hard. His hands slowly coasted her back, the other had moved to rest on her hip. He pulled back to look at her, a warm smile shaped his lips as he gazed at her. And she felt as if she was caught in the direct heat of the sun. It made her cheeks turn red as heat beat through her.

“You know,” he began gently, “You know I love you right?”

She was grinning now, "I know, I know, I love you too Dyl.”

He mirrored her elated grin, staring gleefully at her for a long moment. He kissed her then, and if she wasn’t so happy she would cry at finally, finally, after two years having his lips on hers. It was soft and lingering and warm enough to send her heart into a frenzy.

 “Happy birthday, Junie,” he said when they separated.

She had missed him. Missed them. Missed this so much she felt as if she couldn’t breathe for a moment. She dropped her head on his chest, laughing because she felt almost drunk with happiness.

Her eyes slid shut as she swallowed and smiled, “Thanks New Zealand.”

___________________________________________________________

Author's note: And here we have the last and final chapter of THBS. Eleven fictional years sure do fly by huh? I hope you guys enjoyed the times and tribulation of Junie Bennett. Thank you for sticking with her and Dylan for eleven years and thank you for reading and commenting, you are brilliant. As you can see the ending is cheesy and sweet and happy and I wanted to write something cheesy and romantic and I loved it.

The song at the side is Ho Hey by The Lumineers (do listen to it , its so sweet) I love you guys!

       - Rose xoxo