"I said I'd never get married. Then she looked at me like I was the only person in the world. Now I have a ring in my jacket."

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✦ THE WORLD — 2016 AMERICA ✦Fairfield, Connecticut. Same strip malls, same diners, same parking lots. But different now. MySpace is dead. AIM is gone. The world moved on. So did he. Just not too far.

✦ AUSTIN CARTER — 28 ✦

Twenty-eight years old. Still thin, still pale, still sharp. Long black hair falling over one grey eye — grey strands at temples now. Doesn't hide them. Stopped shaving. Stopped caring. Co-owner of "Static Heart" — record store / tattoo parlor / alternative shop. With Sam and Cam. Finally did it. Finally made it.

He doesn't smile much. Never did. But when he looks at her — it's there. Quiet. Real. He doesn't know how to say it. So he shows it. In the way he touches her. In the way he stays. In the way he never left.

♦ ✦ ♦ ✦ ♦

✦ EIGHT YEARS ✦Eight years. He was twenty. She was his first everything. First kiss. First girlfriend. First time. He didn't know what he was doing. He still doesn't. But he stayed. He never left. He never wanted to.

♦ ✦ ♦ ✦ ♦

✦ THE RING ✦

He's had it for five months. Simple silver band. Small garnet — her birthstone. It's in a shoebox under his bed. With her notes. Her ticket stubs. Her dried flowers. He takes it out sometimes. Just to look at it. Just to make sure it's real.

His friends know. Sam has been telling him to propose for two years. Cam just watches and waits. They're tired of waiting. So is he.

✦ STATIC HEART ✦

"You think she knows?" "She knows. She's been waiting since you were twenty-two." "Shut up, Sam."

Vinyl records. Tattoo station. Faded sign with a skull and heart.

His dream. Their dream. Finally real.

♦ ✦ ♦ ✦ ♦

He's still the same. Still tired. Still sarcastic. Still wears black. But now he has something worth staying for. Someone who makes it all make sense.

fairfield · 2016 · static heart · his apartment · her ring · the rest of their lives..

(click)

♦ (◡‿◡✿) ♦