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It felt like everything had stopped. The clock stopped ticking, the phone stopped ringing.
“So, will you be my best man?” his voice echoed.
“Yeah, of course.” It's been 7 years. He was going to propose one day; I knew it since they started dating.
“Thanks, Leo. I still sometimes feel like this isn't real. That I'm gonna get married with all my friends around me, all alive.”
The whole town is talking 'bout how you've fallen in love
I read in the papers, he's someone that girls dream about
“Yeah, sometimes I can't believe it either.” I stared at a photo I had of Jason and me when we were 15. He was holding me up after we won capture the flag together. He looked happier than I had ever seen him. I was screaming for him to put me down—he didn't.
“So, when is the wedding?” I tried to smile.
Jason chuckled. He was giggly. “It's gonna be in New Rome, 2nd of August.”
Some kind of ruler on top of a kingdom
“Oh, I'll be there. Anything for you, man, and congratulations.” I tried to sound as cheerful as I could.
“Thanks, Leo. Piper is gonna be pissed that I stole you as the best man.”
“What can I say? Super-Sized McShizzle has a high demand.”
I'm just a jester, I'll never be him
Jason laughed, the one that I'd memorized. “Fine, Leo. I got to call the others—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I won't keep you. Bye.”
“Bye—”
I took a deep breath. It's been 10 years. I knew this was going to happen, but why does it hurt more than anything.
Last night, you called to me
At least they're all happy. Piper, Calypso, Jason.
I picked up my hammer and got back to work. Festus wasn't going to fix himself.
Jason scratched his head. “You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?”
The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.
“That’s a yes, bro!” Leo said. “Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going.”
I chuckled at the memory. Festus let out a low groan. He knew what was happening.
“I know, but I can't do anything about it, so I might as well be happy for them.”
He creaked again.
“Yes, I know... I know.”
It almost killed me.
Festus groaned and creaked.
“You are the best metal dragon.” I chuckled. “Come on, let's get you fixed up.”
…..
“Leo!”
To hear you scream my name
Jason was running toward me. He was happy. I raised my hands to hug him back, with all the bags in my hands.
He crashed into me and picked me up.
“Woah, Sparky, happy to see me?” He hugged me tighter. “Well, I'm gonna have a few cracked ribs for the wedding.”
“Sorry.” He put me down, and before I could even catch my breath, Piper hugged me.
“Hey, Beauty Queen.” I was already out of breath.
We just stood there for a second. Jason’s hand was around Piper’s shoulder. The ring on her finger shimmered.
“Let me get that for you.”
He looked genuinely happy, happier than I had ever seen him.
Your smile still kills the same
I made a mistake coming. I'm gonna hurt them. I have to get back.
“So, Valdez—what do you think?” Piper said before I could spiral more.
“Sorry, what?”
“The ring, Valdez?”
I almost turned around
The ring shined in the sunlight.
“It's beautiful, Piper.”
She tilted her head. “No jokes?”
“No jokes,” I muttered back.
She looked at Jason, worried.
I had already fucked everything up. “I mean, it's a good ring—but I've made better.”
They looked relieved. I can't break their perfect bubble.
“Repair Boy, when have you ever made a ring?”
“I have made many, got it? I will not take Repair Boy jokes.”
She hit me on the shoulder. “Come on, you can make our wedding rings—”
“Oh, I will,” I cut her off.
“Let's go. We're gonna be late, and Leo has to plan the bachelor party, and we have to get the suits—”
“Calm down, Sparky—we'll figure it out.” She held his face and he melted into her hands.
He looked like he would do anything for her.
You chased me to the ground
“Okay,” he whispered.
He said it like there was no one around us, like I wasn't there.
….
“Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” everyone screamed. Percy was having the time of his life chugging down cheap beer. We ran out an hour ago.
Jason was laughing and talking to some of his old classmates at New Rome University. He was ranting about something. Even if it's been 6 years since we were at university together, I could tell.
“Hey, Leo,” Percy’s voice slurred. It was the first time he had been blackout drunk since his wedding.
“Hey, man.” I raised my hand for a dap; he hugged me instead.
“This man is the real guy, you know, people. At my bachelor party, he got so drunk Jason had to pick him up like he was the bride. Now he's sober as fuck. Come on, man, loosen up.” He shook my shoulder. I can't get drunk; then I'll do something I'll regret.
“Perc', I gotta be there for Jason. I can't be tripping beside him.”
“Fine, man. Respect.” He shook his head and handed me a can of beer.
“LET'S PARTY, MY BOI JASON IS GETTING MARRIED, PEOPLE!!” the crowd cheered.
“Come on, Leo, you're drunk.”
“Noooo, I'm not druuunk, Jace,” I slurred. He rolled his eyes.
“Come on, let's get you home.” He tried to grab my hand.
“No! I wanna stay here.”
He stared at me like I was a child.
“Leo, I will pick you up if you don't come with me.”
I groaned like I was a child.
“Fine, you did this to yourself.”
Jason put his hands under my knees and picked me up.
“Jaceee, put me down,” I whined.
“No, you're coming home with me.”
He walked like that to the car and put me inside.
“I wanna party.”
“No, Leo, we're going home—put on your seatbelt.”
“No.”
“Leo, what are you? Five?”
I nodded and smiled.
Jason banged his head against the steering wheel. He looked at me again.
“Put your hands up.”
“HUH?”
He blinked. What the fuck was he going to do?
I raised my hands. He grabbed the seatbelt behind me and put it on.
“There you go.”
I fell asleep in the car. According to Jason, he carried me to the room. I walked out to the balcony.
I need a smoke.
“Leo.”
His voice startled me.
“Jace, you can't sneak up on your best man, dude.” He chuckled.
“Are you okay?”
You asked me how I've been, but how do I begin
“Yeah, man, I'm fine.”
His scar twitched. He was still worried. I lit my cigarette anyway.
“You know that's bad for you,” he muttered.
“Everything's bad for you if you can't handle it,” I whispered.
“I'm sorry that I put so much on you so quick.”
“Eh, don't be sorry. I'm the best man. It's my job.”
To tell you I should've chased you 'cross every single state
“Give me the cigarette.”
“Didn't you say it was bad for—” I looked at my watch. “Like a minute ago?”
“Shut up, Valdez.” His scar twitched again.
I gave it to him.
“I'm terrified,” he said it like a confession.
“What are you talking about?”
“I'm terrified of...” He took a puff. “Of doing this.”
“What? Sorry, I'm slow.”
He stared at me. His blue eyes consumed everything.
“It's nothing.” He started to walk away.
“No, Jason, tell me.” I grabbed his hand.
He stared at me again, his blue irises contrasting with the whites of his eyes, which were red.
“Are you okay, Jason?”
He sniffled. “Yeah, I'm fine, I just... I don't know if this is right.”
“You and Piper are made for each other.”
“Are we? We started dating because of Juno, because she wanted me to date someone.”
“Man, if you talk about that, then why are we best friends? Why did we share a dorm together in college? Why did we go on monthly hangouts when I was at the Waystation? Why did you come to the other every month? Why am I your best man, then?”
He took a deep breath and stared at me. He was still crying.
I didn't think. I just wiped them away with my hand. He grabbed my hand, while it still on his cheek
It wasn't like he was mad. I don't know who leaned in first, but it felt like there were sparks in the air when we kissed.
It didn't last that long, but it was more than peck.
His hand found my waist. I held the back of his neck and curled his hair with my fingers.
He held my face with his other hand. I could taste the cigarette smoke on his tongue.
Before I could react or move away, he did.
“Leo—I-I can't.” His voice was heavy with grief. “I-I'm sorry.” His voice cracked.
The scar on his lips was the only thing that wasn't red.
“No, I—uh, I-I don't know what happened.” I bit the inside of my mouth. It bled.
“No, no, it's okay. Just—we'll never talk about this again.”
“Yeah. Never again.” My voice cracked.
His eyes were still red. “Bye, Leo.”
I lay down my sword for fate
'Cause it's too little, way too late
…
“I need a tie!” Percy screamed.
“Here.” Frank tossed him one.
“Thanks, man.” Percy tried to tie it; he looked like he was tying a noose.
Dakota was staring at me and my tie. “How?”
I shrugged.
Jason was trying to tie a tie and failing horribly. I walked over to him.
I looked at him through the mirror. “Need help?”
He looked like a deer in front of a car.
“When did you learn how to tie a tie?” He asked.
I didn't need the reminder of things I've done wrong.
“Well, at Percy’s wedding, I remember how we all were fighting to look at a YouTube video to tie a tie, and I was the one tying them all—sooo I asked Em to teach me.”
“Remember at graduation when we tried to tie it and it looked like a noose?” he laughed.
“Yeah, I remember.” I looked down; I couldn't meet his eyes.
“Hey! Didn’t you say that you wouldn't learn how to tie a tie until you got married?” He perked up
Of promises broken, fragility hidden in song.
“Jason, I was high,” I chuckled.
“High or not, you promised—now pay up.”
“After the wedding—promise.”
He rolled his eyes. “Help me.” He signaled to the knot around his neck.
I took a deep breath. “Yeah, of course.”
“Do you think about other universes where things would have been different?” he said slowly.
“Jason—”
“No—I-I don't mean it like that, but, like, what if one of us died?”
I stopped for a second.
Guess that we're soulmates in different lifetimes.
I opened my mouth to say something.
“What if this didn't happen?”
“You’re being a little too philosophical for your wedding.” I chuckled.
He smiled, not a happy one.
“I wish I could change some things sometimes,” he muttered.
“Me too.” I tapped his tie. “There.” I swallowed. “All done.”
What if you leave him? Throw me a lifeline.
“Thanks, Leo.”
“Don't thank me yet.” He looked at me with light in his eyes. “I haven't given my best man speech yet, Sparky.”
He let out a small laugh.
“Ready, Jase?” Percy patted his shoulder.
“Yeah.”
…
I stood by Jason as the wedding march started playing and Piper started walking with her dad.
She looked beautiful. She was wearing a white dress with teal and black beaded inlay, her dress had native American patterns on it. I was right to nickname her Beauty Queen.
They are going to be happy together.
Piper had tears in her eyes, and Jason stared at her like she was his whole world.
I know that you're happy
But it just killed me
They stood together, Annabeth, Reyna, Shel, and Hazel by her side, and me, Percy, Frank, and Dakota by Jason’s.
…
Jason started his vows.
“I knew that you were the one when I first woke up in that van.”
It was a bus.
“I knew that I would always be there for you.”
I didn't catch what he said, something about holding her while falling.
"You're catching me too, Superman, but I ain't holding your hand." I wish I held his hand. He screamed when I died.
To hear you scream my name
Everyone was crying. I know they could all see right through me. I didn't want Jason to get married.
A clear fucking X-ray of if I'd stuck around
I swear to God, I almost drowned
“...you make sure that I'm good, and I promise to do the same for you.”
You asked me how I've been, but how could I begin
“I know how hard it all was, but I'm happy we are here now.” He wiped the tears off her cheek.
To tell you I should've chased you
Jason was crying. “You make me feel like I don't have to hide. I can be me.” His voice cracked.
I should be who you're engaged to!!
I felt like I couldn't breathe. The knot in my throat felt like a noose. I pulled it a bit.
Piper continued with her vows—I could barely hear them.
Percy tapped my shoulder. “Leo, the mint,” he said through his teeth.
“Oh, yeah.” I scrambled to take them out as the officiator said the formalities.
I walked behind Percy as he combed Jason's hair.
He opened his mouth. I put it in his mouth, I wish I could kiss him again.
“He has shit breath,” I whispered to Piper. She hit me on the shoulder.
“You may kiss the bride,” the priest announced.
They kissed. They were happily married.
Lost my fight with fate
….
I took a deep breath. “Hello everyone here, I'm pretty sure you all know me, and if you don't, why are you here?” Everyone laughed.
“No, I mean I'm the best man, and I've been the groom's best friend for more than a decade.”
Jason looked at me, a spark of hope that I didn't have.
“But for those who don't know me, I'm Leo Valdez, and I am a 27-year-old mechanic with a PhD in mystical mechanicals. I live in Indianapolis and… I'm open-minded, boys, girls, and everyone in between. Call me.”
A few people screamed.
I smiled and stared at everyone. They were mostly people I knew.
“You guys know, I never thought Jason would be getting married, and the reason for that was because of how stupid he was. When we were in college, he and Piper went on a break—and it was mutual, at least that's what they told me. I've been their 3rd wheel since I was 15—”
“And you always will be because I ain't letting you go, Valdez!” Piper screamed.
“Aww, stop, Piper, you're gonna make me blush. But anyways, whenever Piper came to meet us in New Rome University, she would ask him to go to the pastry shop, alone, and this idiot used to say, ‘Come on, Leo, you'll be alone.’ MY MAN, THAT WAS THE POINT. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO leave me at the dorm.”
A tug-of-war of leave and stay
I stared at Jason. He was smiling, but his scar was tilted. He was sad. I had to cheer him up.
“Or once, we stayed in our dorm for a week after Piper left. I don't know why he was sad or anything, but my God was he annoying to take care of. Like, can you imagine me, a stick, forcing that brick wall of muscle to take a fucking shower?” I started laughing. I took a deep breath.
“In short—I've known Jason for years, and he's been my closest friend all that time. Through the times when he was hurt or when I broke up with Cal, he was always there for me, and I was always there for him. And just because he's married doesn't mean that I won't be there for him.” I just looked at him. His eyes were red.
“And Piper, I'm sorry that Jason got to me before you. I would have loved being your bro of honour.”
She had tears in her eyes.
I give in, I abdicate
“You will always be!” she screamed again, her voice cracked.
“I love you, Piper. You've been the sister I maybe didn't ask for, but I needed.” A tear flowed down my cheek. “Shit, guys, you're making me cry.”
I could tell that Piper wanted to scream that I do that to myself. She was too busy crying herself.
“I'm just saying, guys, I'll always be your Repair Boy, your Super-Sized McSizzle, your Valdez, your 3rd wheel.”
I lay my sword down anyway
“Out of everyone I know, you two deserve a happy ending the most.”
I'll see you at Heaven's gate
The crowd cheered. I could see some tears in Mr. McLean's eyes. Jason was crying. It wasn't sobbing. It was just a few tears that he hid.
“That was amazing, man,” Percy whispered in my ear.
'Cause it's too little, way too late
…
Everyone was dancing or at the bar. I was sitting at the bar.
“Hey, Leo.” I recognised the voice.
“Jason? Hey.”
“Hi.” We sat there for a minute before he broke the silence.
“It was a good speech… I loved it.”
“Really? I made it on the spot—” I looked at him, at his eyes. “Are you okay?”
His scar twitched again. “Ya, I'm good.”
“Okay.” I slid my finger around my drink.
“Pay up, Valdez.”
“Huh?”
He looked at me.
“Oh, ya.” I bought him a drink. “It's the cheap beer we used to have in college.”
I'll toast outside your wedding day
He chuckled.
“How things have changed. This is my first drink as a married man.” He stared at his drink a bit too long
“Jace, whats wrong?”
“Do you know why I didn't shower for days after Piper left?”
“Ya, because you loved her and she left you.” I drank my drink.
Teenage Dream was playing in the background.
He smiled. It was a sad one. “No, it was because Piper said that I was in love with you, and if I wasn't, I would kiss her. I didn't. That's why it took me so long to convince her.”
Whispering vows I'll never say to you
“It was a long time ago, but I still think about it over cheap beer .”He let out a sad laugh, and with one gulp, he finished the cheap beer.
He patted my shoulder and went to cut the cake with Piper.
I was too late. It was pointless to care. I stood with the crowd as Jason and Piper laughed while cutting their cake. The ring that I made was on Piper’s finger with the Aquamarine stone that I picked out. It looked like his eyes. He looked happier than I have ever seen him in my life, in my entire life.
“To Jason and Piper!” I screamed as I lifted my drink.
'Cause it's too little, all too late.