Tragic Magic

Chapter Fifty One

God, was he gorgeous in a suit.

All my fear went away the second he stepped up to the alter, but things were about to get bad.

"Radke?" TJ gives Ronnie a dirty look, "What's going on, I thought you were done with Juliet."

"I'm sorry, TJ," Ronnie takes my hand from him, "I'm still in love with her. I always have been."

"But she loves me," TJ looks at me, shocked.

I try to speak but end up choking on my words. I look out to the guests, all silent and in the same panicked state as TJ.

"TJ," I breathe my words out, "I love you."

"See," TJ starts, "She loves me, not you-"

"But I want to spend my life with Ronnie," I interrupt him, "I don't think I can live without him."

"Julie.." TJ gets quiet.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, holding back tears.

"I thought you loved me."

"I do, but I just can't marry you," I stare into his eyes.

"Okay," he says with a blank face. "I was probably going to cheat on you anyways."

Ronnie wraps his arms around me from behind and gives TJ a nasty look, "we get it wise guy, now can you just leave?"

I slide my ring off my finger and hand it to TJ, feeling empty once again.

"Come on, Georgette," TJ steps down and takes the hand of a blonde woman in the audience.

Seeing him with someone else didn't hurt me as bad as I thought it would. He deserves to be happy.

"So, no wedding?" The priest interrupts us, looking out into the silent audience.

"Actually," Ronnie gets down on one knee, "what do you think, Juliet? You said it yourself, you can't live without me."

"You got me a ring?" The tears begin to fall again. I couldn't control myself.

"Of course, Juliet, I love you."

The audience went wild, they didn't even care about what just happened with TJ.

"So wedding?" The priest interrupts once again.

I stare at Ronnie for a long time, replaying every memory over again in my head. I loved him, and this is how I want to spend the rest of my life.

"Yes, wedding," I laugh through my sobs as he puts the ring on my finger and picks me up into his arms.

"It's about time, I missed you," he says with tears in his eyes.

It's been a long road for me, but now I know, he is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I can forget about Craig and TJ and everyone else, this is what is right for me. I've made my decision, I love him.

Ronnie sets me back on the ground and takes both of my hands at the alter, keeping me close as the priest prepares the ceremony.

"Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever," the priest begins again.

This time the words felt so right to me, I couldn't break eye contact with Ronnie.

"You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right? You're standing on a stage, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by pretty much everyone who has meant anything to you in the past twenty-something years. So why do we do it? We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge its special status by sharing it with others. Why this moment?"

"You didn't invite Brendon Urie, right?" Ronnie whispers to me.

"No, why?" I bite my lip and grin.

"Don't want him chiming in, this wedding has been such a disaster already," he squeezes my hand.

"Whatever," I roll my eyes. "Thanks for coming and saving me, I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with someone else."

"I know, I feel the same way."

"Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier - our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right. That's why you both are standing here. That's why you all are here to watch them stand up here. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity."

"All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing - and others that are exciting and full of adventure."

"These two share a story, a long and complicated one by the looks of it, but they love each other too much to give up."

"That's why I'm still here," Ronnie whispers to me.

"Even when I'm far, I will always be here," I whisper back.

"And that brings them here. A time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here. And a time to look ahead at all the moments that are still to come."

"You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep. You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises: you're vowing to be there. You're teaming up and saying to the other, 'Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be a part of.'"

"Will you, Ronnie Radke, keep Juliet as your favorite person - to laugh with her, go on adventures with her, support her through life's tough moments, be proud of her, grow old with her, and find new reasons to love her every day?"

"Fuck yeah, I will," he says, pulling me closer.

"And will you, Juliet Owen, keep Ronnie as your favorite person - to laugh with him, go on adventures with him, support him through life's tough moments, be proud of him, grow old with him, and find new reasons to love him every day?"

"I will," I say, balling my eyes out.

"Will you, Ronnie and Juliet, be each other's partners from this day forward? Will you bring out the best in one another, share your happiest moments together, and love each other absolutely - for the rest of this lifetime and for whatever may come next?"

We exchange a smile and keep our eyes locked on each other, "Fuck yeah, we will."

"You've both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. Something beautiful was made from raw elements."

"Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape it into something extraordinary. As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You've created something invaluable, and just as I know you'll protect these rings, I'm confident you'll protect the commitments you've made to one other today."

"And now, you may wrap this up and kiss the bride."

Ronnie doesn't hesitate to pull me close and kiss me. I forgot the way it felt to be in love with him, I missed it. We were meant to be from the start, but were both too stupid to see it.

"I love you, Juliet, I always have and I always will," Ronnie tells me.

"I love you too, Ronnie. Till death do us part."