Too Dumb to Figure Out I'm a Girl, Huh, JB? (Original Version)

Too Dumb to Figure Out I'm a Girl, Huh, JB? Part 16

Justin's POV 

AJ had gone into a coma and was in the intensive care unit. I badgered the hospital staff until they would let me in.

I sat by the bed and took her hand in mine.

"You know, AJ, if you don't get through this, I'll follow you to forever," I whispered to her sleeping figure, quoting a line from 'Come Back to Me'. Yeah, I loved her. But in a brother-sister way. Kissing Alexandra had been like magic, but this... This was AJ, the kid who helped me loose a flock of chickens in the Kindergarten.

Alexandra IS AJ, my subconscious yelled at me. I sighed, standing and pressing my lips to her forehead. Suddenly, the monitor flatlined and one of the nurses rushed me out of the ICU.

Skylar's POV 

We all stood in the graveyard, dressed in black. AJ would have totally rocked the scene if she was here... Mr. and Mrs. Tyler were here as well, even though, after everything went down, we weren't sure they would even want to see their daughter's friends. Lexxi was here, too, letting a lot of emotion show. She hadn't even known her all that well...

Justin looked haunted. He had known her all of his life. We had only befriended her a few years ago. The preacher said a few prayers and Justin inconspicuously brushed his hand over the closed casket.

Tears slipped down my cheeks and Ryan held me close to him. He wasn't crying, but whatever the guy equivalent of it was, he was doing it. Sophie buried her face in Chaz's shoulder, sobbing, and he rubbed her back trying to calm her down. She gets really attached to people.

"Hey!" We all turned to the entrance of the graveyard, and there was a weak AJ, holding herself up on the fence. "You can't have Mrs. Berry's funeral without me! You know she wanted me to sing!" Even though her body was practically flopping over, her eyes blazed with an inner fire.

"How did you..?" Ty asked.

"It's amazing what a girl can do with a bunch of yarn and syrup," she replied vaguely, trying to stand straight and walk over to Mrs. Berry's casket. She couldn't do it.

Lexxi put an arm around her and helped her get to the preacher's platform. A boy had come with her, around our age. I didn't recognize him at all. He had a guitar strapped around his neck. Justin looked like he was turning green.

"I think Denial and Jealousy aren't a good mix in our dear friend," I whispered to Ryan. He looked over at Justin and snickered. I smacked him upside the head. He gave me a WTF look. "We're at a funeral, you moron!" We had a love-hate relationship.

"Mrs. Berry was my biggest fan, and her favorite song of mine was "If I Die Tomorrow". So here goes," AJ said, sitting in a chair since she couldn't stand for much longer.

"I sit at my Grandpa's feet, 

As he rocks himself in her old rocking chair. 

We're on that rickety old wooden porch, 

Breathin' in that sweet summer air. 

You can tell in every breath he takes 

How much he misses her in everything. 

He says he sees her in me, 

He starts to talk and I start listening.

If I died tomorrow, 

What would you tell me today? 

I look him in the eyes 

Take a deep breath and say 

Id tell you I wished you could be at graduation 

And watch me walk down the aisle. 

I'd tell you I wished you could be there 

To read me your favorite passages in the Bible. 

I wish you you could be at my wedding 

To walk me to the altar. 

I'd tell you I wished you could see my first child. 

Then I faltered. 

Then I said, 

Tell Grandma I love her." She broke off for a little acoustic instrumental by the strange boy. When they reached the second verse, he sang a lower harmony.

"Now I'm in this cemetery, 

Sitting by my Grandpa's grave. 

I put the flowers down to cry, 

Wearing the colors that, like memories, won't fade. 

You were there for my wedding, 

You were there for my graduation, 

Now my green eyed daughters in my lap, 

And I remember that conversation." They sang the chorus again, and together, they sounded amazing.

"You gave me everything I wished for, 

Everything I wanted. 

You stayed for so long in my life, 

And I don't feel haunted. 

By the memories, 

By your green eyes. 

I look at my daughter 

And I see how time flies." They sang the chorus one more time, and faded out. We didn't clap, it was too solemn for that. Justin looked like he was going to burst.

Justin's POV 

It was that dude, the one who told me so long ago "AJ does it all for you, you know." Yeah, it was him, alright. When they sang, he kept looking at her as if she was the only one there with him. He liked her, and it irked me. They finished and I felt like I was going to explode. I drifted away as they buried Mrs. Berry's casket. I said my own little prayer for her, and tossed a white rose onto her casket as the dirt was poured ontop. She was the town cookie lady, everyday on our way home from school, AJ and I would stop by and have cookies while we performed our own mini concerts. She was like an extra grandma. Her cat was actually one of AJ's rescues... I shook my head with a smile. AJ would rescue Satan if he was in trouble. I went to go talk to AJ on the outskirts of the graveyard, past the fence. She was leaning on that kid, and I felt something in my stomach that told me that was messed up.

You're jealous, my subconscious whispered. I didn't answer because I finally caught AJ's eye and her whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. She stumbled over to me, and I grabbed her arm to hold her up.

"Do you forgive me, Justin? For everything?" AJ asked, her happy face resorting to a scared look. I sighed.

"AJ, why should I forgive you? It was my idea in the first place," I told her, letting out the teasing smile that had threatened to escape. Her eyes burned as she punched my shoulder.

"Don't freak me out like that," she cried, hiding a smile.

"But AJ, I don't like you. Like, like-like you," I said. I regretted it the second it came out of my mouth. Her eyes lost their fire and she put on that fake smile.

"It's alright. I think it was just an obsession on my end anyway. The second you learned about my secret, I think I was over you. Are we cool?" She was lying. But, hey, according to my subconscious, so was I.

"Yeah, we're cool. Who IS that?" I asked, pointing to the dude. She giggled and my heart dropped into my stomach. What did I just do?

"That is Cody Tyson. I think you've met him before," she told me with a smile, eyes still empty and dull. Did I just break her, again? He saw her looking at him and waved.

"Cocky bastard," I muttered. AJ looked at me in reproach. I put my hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry!"