1979
Brookline, Massachusetts
"Oh, hi son!" June's mom said, greeting Conan at the door.
"Hello, ma'am." Conan smiled at her.
June's mom invited Conan in and he sat on the couch, waiting for June. They always went trick or treating together, little plastic pumpkins in hand. Conan was dressed as Elvis that year, a costume which June's mom thought was hilarious. His bright red hair was in a pompadour and he was wearing all black: a black leather jacket and a tank top, tight pants, and black shoes with black socks.
June came to the living room, all dolled up. Neither of them knew the costume of the other, and both of them were surprised. June was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, wearing the white dress she was wearing in The Seven Year Itch. She had the earrings, the shoes, the red lips and even the blonde wig, all on point. Conan was speechless for a couple of seconds. June came giggling, as she noticed the Elvis costume.
"You look really nice!" she smiled at him.
"Thanks." he said, a bit shy.
June's mom came with a camera, and took a few pictures of the two. Conan hugged her waist. He was so much taller than her, and she was already tall. God, she smelled great. They smiled at the camera, and Conan was sure his redness was showing. His heart was beating faster and faster as they remained close. June's mom gave them their plastic pumpkins and told them to be careful with the bullies, as they left the house.
"Your dress looks lovely." he blushed a bit. It wasn't just the dress.
"Thanks! I'm having a 'Candle In The Wind' moment." she replied. "It was mom's when she was younger. She was always a fan of Marilyn and she borrowed me this one."
They walked to a random house. "You look really handsome tonight."
He stopped on his tracks, his heart beating as fast as a human heart could. She noticed a few steps ahead and turned around, surprised. "What?"
"Nothing..." he nervously said, keeping the pace. "I thought I left the shower on, but I probably didn't."
She giggled. He was acting way too weird.
"Trick or treat!" they exclaimed to Mrs. Franklin, a kind old lady that lived on their street.
She smiled. "Oh, hi kids. Love the costumes; they remind me of my best years!"
She kindly filled both plastic pumpkins with candy, which made Conan and June really happy. It looked like they didn't have to trick or treat for long. They thanked the lady and decided to go for a walk; June desperately wanted to buy some cotton candy. Conan was looking indeed great, despite his awkwardness. Elvis suited him a lot.
"Come on, Conan. I want to hear your best Elvis impression." She said.
He outran her and stopped on her way. He finger pointed at her, moving his hips.
"Hello, baby girl. Are you ready to rock today?" he said, as deep as possible.
She laughed out loud.
He scratched his head. "That bad?"
"Not really." She replied. "But people will probably think you're the Fonz."
He laughed.
"I like the jacket. Looks good. You should wear these more often." She walked to him and softly grabbed his collar with her free hand.
"Thanks." He looked at her tenderly.
"Oh, look! They still play dress up at this age!"
Conan's first reaction after hearing Mark's voice was taking June's hand, and run, dropping all his candy. She didn't notice at first, but the voice finally sounded familiar. She was facing Conan at that moment, and didn't see both Mark and Scott coming. Conan barely looked at them; he knew that if he stayed, June would sure be beaten up again. She was wearing heels, they were not that high, but it made things a bit more difficult.
Conan wasn't going to take risks that time. He was indeed a smart ass, and he was always ready for a comeback, but he couldn't do that around June. He couldn't stand being the reason she got hurt. It was too much last time it happened. Unfortunately, they couldn't outrun the bullies. Scott forcefully took June in his arms as she struggled to get away from his embrace. Conan turned around to try and get June free, but was met with Mark's fist, striking his nose and knocking him to the ground.
"You look ridiculous." Mark laughed at Conan, who was on the floor, with his hands on his nose. It burned badly. He could feel the blood all over his palms and fingers.
Scott was holding June tightly, and Conan got up again, dizzy, but trying to free his friend by any means necessary. Mark laughed at him and let him try. His bloody hands reached June's hands as she tried to set herself free, and as he was managing to do it, Mark threw one last punch at Conan. He fell, humiliated again, the left side of his hitting the sidewalk.
"No!" June screamed, as Scott finally let her go. She ran and kneeled next to his bloody friend. He looked pale, in contrast with the bright red blood coming from his nostrils and mouth. She came closer; her hand shyly touched his hair. He blinked twice, and tried to get up. Slowly, she helped him sit down, he was a bit dizzy. He was so much taller than her, and she was afraid he would fall again.
"Are you okay?" she asked, tears about to run down her face. She was kneeling on the sidewalk, her arms all soaked in his blood, all their candy scattered on the floor.
He stared at her without saying anything. He wasn't okay. That wasn't okay. She saw it happen all over again, how powerless he was. He couldn't even defend himself, let alone his own friend. He had trails of blood down his neck. She looked like heaven, so beautiful despite all that happened. The tears were frenetically streaming down her cheeks, her lipstick was now smeared and traces of his blood partially covered her terrified face. But there was no beauty compared to her.
She went to touch him, she touched his cheek and he unconsciously bent down in her direction. She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his shoulder and waist. He let his head rest on her left shoulder. She felt his blood soak her dress, but she didn't care about it. She ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and felt safe in her arms. His hands slowly hugged her waist. She was his guardian angel.
He was strong. He didn't cry.
