Flowers for a Ghost

“She’s leaving today, are you not in the least a bit concerned?”

Jojo looked up from the comic he had his nose buried so deep within he was near enough spelunking. He looked to the young man standing in the doorway in a manner that made it seem like the space had been created just for him. The door existed because he needed to stand within its vacancy; such was the mannerisms of one Tetsu Nomura, the man who treated the vast population of the world as if they were nothing but mere dirt beneath his feet. What did Morgan really see, beyond the luscious pout and perfectly styled hair?

Oh, great, now he was mentally insulting his best friend all because he was trying not to think about anything. Hey, look, Superman is fretting over Louis Lane again and…argh…”Fuck it.” The universe hated him.

“You’ve had every chance, you know, to play the white knight instead of a moron in tinfoil,” Tetsu stated, examining his nails as if the subject matter was nothing but trivial. “And now she’s going to get on that plane and leave you – forever, and all you’re doing is reading comic books and sulking like one of those…sparkly vampires loving girls with the….urgh…I feel dirty just talking about them.” He dropped his hands to his sides and stalked into the room, slamming the door shut as he went. He came to the foot of Jojo’s bed, reached over and ripped the comic book from Jojo’s hands. “Go. Now. Otherwise I’m going to have to put up with you moping about and I can’t have that, it ruins my image. I do not want to take care of a baby, Jojo, it interferes with my sex life and I do not appreciate anything coming between me and sex, except an amazing outfit.”

“I’m enjoying how you’re making my turmoil all about you,” Jojo retorted, making a grab for his comic only for Testu to swing it out of reach. If he wanted to retrieve Superman he was going to have to actually get off the bed – and put on some pants. “My suffering always feels lessened when I know you can take it all in an ego-centric manner.”

“See, you need her, Jojo. You used big words.” Testu just grinned at him. “If you’re still in here in ten minutes I’m shaving off my finest work – and by that I mean your beloved mohawk.” He spun on his heels and left, taking Superman with him, clutched within finely manicured nails. He left Jojo alone, with no Superman and no…

No Her.

Swinging his legs out from under the duvet, he grabbed the nearest pair of jeans, tugged on the closest pair of converse and made for the door, grabbing a coat as he did so. By now she’d be arriving at the airport, so he was relying entirely on delays and overly attentive customs officers. He also had to detour through the library to beg, plead and sell his soul to Jamie just to get the guy to drive him to the airport. He’d always been meaning to take the time to learn how to drive, but it involved too much paperwork for Jojo.

She wasn’t outside the terminal when they pulled up. Going at a sprint, Jojo scanned every person in the crowds to just find her face. People yelled at him when he bumped them to get past, and he nearly tripped over a few bags caught under his feet several times. He had to buy a ticket to some place just to get past the security. He didn’t appreciate them making him remove all the metal in his ears, and he clutched the rings and studs in his right hand while he charged through all the businessmen and holiday-goers just to find one person among the sea of faces.

And then there she was, taking those first few steps beyond the boarding gate and out of his life. Jojo screamed, pulling from singing and screaming into a microphone to push it all into the name he had given her. “JOEY!” Please turn around, for the love of whatever greater power that shines down on humanity, please turn around.

It was like that sunset people always claimed to be beautiful but whenever he was awake to see it there was nothing so spectacular about it which led him to believe it was a ‘you had to be there’ thing people had. But this was like those descriptions, like the sun climbing into the sky and bathing the world below with warmth and light. Her brown hair, curled in waves tumbling over her shoulders. Big brown eyes, with eyebrows arching over them drawing together in confusion. Then the realization dawning on her face, lighting up her features. Her place in the queue forgotten, she slipped away and sped up in order to crash into him in a mess of arms and bodies.

Jojo pulled her close, wrapping his arms tight around her and burying his face into her hair. Eyes closed tight against the tears that were threatening to bubble up from inside him. “Joey…” He hadn’t seen her off, hadn’t even acknowledged she was going to leave him. So used to having her around that Jojo had never ventured the thought of her not being there until it was that she was no longer there, and he couldn’t live with that. She clung to him, crying into his chest. “Don’t go. Don’t ever go.”