Blinded by Eternity

Chapter Twelve - Music of Memories

Chapter Twelve

"Oh God not the bees!" Jesse laughed as I huddled under a blanket. Currently Nicholas Cage was being attacked by a swarm of bees, and I was having none of it.
"How can you laugh?! He's getting stung! I can't even imagine how painful that could be!" I flinched again as Cage cried out again.
"This is the worst horror movie ever! How are you scared?!" Jesse was laughing like a madman, disturbing the others on the plane. We were headed off to Warsaw, Poland, and our journey would take us eastward toward Spain. "I'm joshin' ya, darl." He kissed my forehead. He proceeded to make haste in his little habit of playing with my earrings that I got in Shanghai. Jesse couldn't get enough of them. He was like a cat with yarn. He loved the jingle-jangle of the hoops and it kept him occupied for hours if he weren't already occupied with something. In this case, his finger was busy with my earrings, his eyes focused on the small television in front of him. The sucky part of being passengers with the billionaire philanthropist Gabriel San- Jues, is that you sat in coach while he, Carmen, Jackson and Maria sat in first-class. Gabriel almost threatened to put Jesse in a crate and have him ride with the luggage. Let's just say Jesse threw Gabriel's phone into the ocean before we got to Shanghai. Gabriel called it payback, Jesse called it poetic justice. The movie finally ended and it was my turn to pick the film. I chose the Avengers, obviously in love with action movies. "Really? I bet you just wanna stare at Jeremy Renner." He said, obviously figuring out that I had a celebrity crush, just by seeing my gaze at the actor who played Hawkeye.
"Eww! Gross, he's like, 40!" Jesse howled with laughter.
"Babe, news flash, I'm 37." I blushed and threw the blanket over my head. "Aww, you're blushing. It's because I'm old, isn't it? I'm truly insulted!" I poked my head out, childishly sticking my tongue out at him. "Now, don't be childish." He ruffled my hair. "Besides. Renner's 64 now. So, being as I'm immortal, he'll be 70 when I'm still 37. How's that for a forever handsome boyfriend?" He wrapped his arms around me as I leaned into his chest.
"Perfect." I reached across him, snatching his phone. "Can I listen to music?" He rolled his eyes.
"You really are a child! Where were you raised, a barn? Ask for my phone, sweetheart." He unlocked it with his thumb print, opening the music app.
"I could ask the same of you, Cowboy." I chuckled and scrolled through the music. Most of it was stereotypical country music, Achy Breaky Heart, Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy, and my personal favourite, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. But as I scrolled deeper, I saw songs I liked as a teenager. The songs were ancient now. "Really, Jess?" I showed him his phone. "My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Linkin Park. What is all this?" Jesse scratched the back of his neck, clearly flushed.
"Well, it was a strong hype a few years ago. I had a friend. She would be about your age now. She was 15 when I met her. She loved this stuff, and basically sent me into debt when she bought all the songs. I actually like some of the heavier stuff. And I keep all of 'em in memory."
"Memory? What do you mean by that?" He sighed, his chest heaving sadly.
"She... uh... got into a car accident. Only a year after I met her. She was so excited to drive... and her nerves got the best of her. Of course, the accident wasn't her fault. A drunk ran her off the road. I swore off drinking at her funeral, but God, I've turned into the thing I despise." He smiled weakly. I'd never seen Jesse so distraught. He never really talked about his past.
"She must've been a great person to get you to like this stuff. And for what it's worth. I went through one of those phases when I was a teen. God... seems like it was a lifetime ago." I put one earbud in, giving the other to Jesse. "Come on. Let's wallow in teenage angst." He smiled softly, puting the headphone in. We softly sang along to MCR, remembrance flooding over me.
"Say. You're 25. So you graduated in... '18." I nodded. "I was off. You're younger. She would have graduated in 2016. You know, I've seen people die. Why is she stuck with me?" He sighed, as coincidentally the songs kicked us in the depression.
"You might have had a strong connection to her. You knew her for a whole year. Friendships form quickly. And, just throwing it out there, you might have been a father figure to her. By the way you described her and how she was." Jesse smiled.
"Cracked the code again. I can see how it might've been that way. Plus, age matches up too. I would've been technically 22 when she was born. Yeah." He chuckled. "Can you imagine me, a father?" The drink cart came by. "'Scuse me, ma'am. A whiskey for me, and... a Shirley Temple for the lil' lady." I shuffled his arm, getting comfortable as I looked at Jesse.
"Okay, stop mind reading." He only smiled, taking in the music. "And yes. I can imagine you as a father. We all have 'Happily Ever Afters' planned for us. I know it. Who knows what yours will be." The drinks came over and we clinked glasses, cheering for our lives.
"Hopefully with the girl next to me." He drank, taking in the flavour of his liquor. I blushed, sipping at the cherry concoction before me. "Only..." He checked his phone. "Three more hours to Warsaw." I looked out the window. The clouds blanketed the world around us. I was excited. But now was the time to be in the moment.