Before The End

Wonder

Nazeera takes a seat on a chair, I sit right next to her with J and Warner opposite us.
We, mainly me with some comments from Warner, catch J up on whatever's been going on with everyone and everything.

"And your boyfriend over there has been as annoying as ever." I scoff, eyeing Warner.
"Fiancé, not boyfriend." He corrects me, automatically.

Oh yeah. They're engaged, going to be married soon. That's crazy, I haven't thought about that.
J smiles looking at Warner, and I have to look away to make sure I don't gag.
My eyes trail to Nazeera, as she silently stares at her plate of food, laying there untouched.
God, her beauty is immeasurable. She notices me staring and nudges my leg.
"This is creepy behaviour."

I shrug, put my arms on the table and rest my head so I can look at her more comfortably.
A grin takes over her face and she rolls her eyes. I hear J clear her throat, so I turn and give her a "what?" look.

Juliette suddenly stands,
"I need more food, Kenji want to come with me?"

I debate that when Warner gets up, saying that he'll go with her.
"It's not for long. I know he needs more food too." She shakes her head, waits for me. I don't in fact need more food, but clearly this girl wants my attention.

I glance at Nazeera once before heading off, she's watching us go.

"What's up princess?" I ask as we stroll towards the food line.
Juliette puts her hands on her hips, as if preparing to ask me,
"Are you with Nazeera?"

My wide smile all but confirms it, and J squeals.
"What? When?"

I shrug, "like sometime when we went to get you from Oceania? J you gotta get kidnapped less, you miss out on everything good."

Juliette shoves me,
"That is not my fault."

I raise an eyebrow and she scowls.
"Well anyways. Tell me about ittt." She yanks my arm and pouts.
"I hate that I missed out on this. I need details right now."

"Alright calm down." I take my arm back and shove my hands into my pockets.
"It's really great, like really. She's so...perfect." I say, trying to summarise my feelings.

I'm not sure how to explain it to J.
It's like I have been searching, my whole life, for her. That every single second I have lived was fabricated for me to meet her.
She completes me, fills the empty hole in my bleeding heart. A beacon of joy to end my suffering.
We fit so well, it's as if I was made just to be hers, and that's the only thing I could ever want.

I sigh, turn to Juliette whose staring at me thoughtfully.

I'm not even sure how to tell that to Nazeera herself, to tell her how everlasting my love is for her. To tell her she is it, she's the one. No matter how much she may think otherwise, Nazeera will always be my number one priority, the owner of my heart. And I will spend the rest of my life proving it to her and showing her all the love I can give.

J and I grab another plate each, I'm glad she chose that as an excuse because now I just get to eat more.

"So, how about your wedding huh?" I say, as we make our way back.
"When's the lucky day?"

Juliette's smile could reach the stars,
"In a few days. There's tons of preparation and we still have to deal with work."
She sighs, the joy doesn't falter though.
"I'm excited."

"You better be. You're going to have to deal with that the rest of your life." I gesture to the table where Warner and Nazeera are. They're saying a few words to each other, not really talking.

"Don't be mean Kenji." J scolds me as we return to our seats. Warners tapping his empty plate, watching Juliette like she might run away.
I don't blame him, everything seems like it'll be okay but I guess this is his anxiety at work.
Anything could happen.

Nazeera abruptly stands, walks off with her full plate in hand. Alright. This girl's always leaving without warning.

Juliette frowns, "where is she going?"

"No idea. I'll be back." I get up to go find her.

A quick scan of the dining tent tells me she has already left, so I run towards the exit before she can get too far.

"Hello, hi." I go in front of her,
"Do you know who I am? I'm your boyfriend, Kenji. The one you randomly ditched. Nice to meet you."

"Oh that's you?" Nazeera tilts her head, "sorry, I thought you were a stranger. My bad."

"Ha ha." I lean in and kiss her, already missing her touch. The way her body feels when it's in contact with mine.

She smiles although it doesn't quite reach her ears.
"You wanted to hang out with Juliette more, so I thought I'd go ahead and do some work or whatever."

"What? I want to hang out with J, yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to go."
I tug her hand,
"Unless...you don't like sitting with Juliette?"

Which wouldn't make sense at all. She's literally known J for longer than I have. And I'm pretty sure she and Warner aren't mortal enemies.

Nazeera shakes her head,
"No, I do. You're right."

Hesitant for a moment, then she spins around and leads me back. Her behavior is kind of strange, I'm chalking it up to she's just tired.

"Everything good?" I question, inspecting her expressionless face for a reaction. Nazeera nods, but I don't think she means it. I can see the thoughts swirling around in her head, her eyes laser focused yet her mind elsewhere.

I wish she'd talk to me more about what's going on, so I don't have to resort to reading her body language. The way her body is huddled into mine right now, like she's afraid of what would happen if I let go. The way she doesn't gaze too far, mainly at the floor like she's avoiding something.

We take a seat back where J and Warner are, much to his dismay. The day I die, Warner would be the first in line for the funeral. He'd probably throw an afterparty, sing a song even.

"Tomorrow is going to suck." Juliette's sighs, then leans in closer,
"Nouria has been pestering me about everything I need to do."

Warner scoffs, "of course."

"They're such good friends, those two. She made Warner a friendship bracelet, to celebrate their platonic love." I stretch my back, watch J laugh as Warner glares at me.

"Don't spread false information, Kishimoto." He grits out, aggravation written all over him.
Damn, he gets mad at me so quickly. It's so fun.

"Why? Does it hurt your feelings?"
I rest my head on my hand, give him a sympathetic pout.

I swear if looks could kill, I would've been six feet under immediately.
Nazeera reaches out and grabs my arm to get my attention.
"I'm going to go." She states softly.

I nod, "alright."
Her lips curve up as I stand up with her.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Juliette's eyes dart between Nazeera and me. Nazeera nods, says goodbye.

"We'll see you tomorrow J. Try and wake up this time." I remark, as she rolls her eyes.