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Her Unfinished Business
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*o0o*
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I saw the movie "Heart and Souls" as a 12 year old, and it made quite the impression (although I realize now it is a horribly formulaic romcom). However, I always hated the ending. Somehow my pre-teen mind thought that Thomas and Julia were falling in love, and I couldn't figure out why it didn't happen that way.
Having seen the movie again recently, I couldn't get that thought out of my mind. I combined the idea with my experience and created this story. It's a little messed up, and there it one scene of an underage boy being spied on while he's masturbating, just as a warning.
If that's not going to haunt your nightmare's, please read on, and enjoy!
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*o0o*
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Julia knew she wasn't really any better than Milo. She called him a disgusting lecher, but she was the one whose cheeks were flushing at the harsh panting and the slap of skin behind them. Milo had merely grinned, muttered, "Atta boy!" and stepped as far away as their tether allowed, which let him slip just outside the door. He had been followed quickly by Harrison and Penny, both of whom looked mortified.
Now, she stood alone, staring transfixed at Thomas' body. His whole frame was stretched taut, head thrown back and soft pink lips open. His large fist moved up and down rapidly, tugging at his hard length. She should turn around. She was going to turn around any second.
Really, this should have happened sooner. Sixteen was very old to begin experimenting with masturbation, after all. Julia herself had been only eleven when she'd tried it the first time, though from the look on his face, her cookie-boy was having more success than she had. On the other hand, they did give him privacy in the bathroom, so maybe he'd been doing it in there all along. He looked like a young god - Eros in his essence - as ecstasy spread over his angelic features. Her fingers itched to reach out and help him.
Julia knew that if she wasn't damned already, she certainly was now. A thrill came over her as she leaned down, wishing she could kiss him. This boy, more than a son, so handsome. Her heart swelled as she leaned down to his ear; how could she feel a pulsing need between her legs when she no longer had a body? "Let go, sweetie," she murmured, Though she knew he couldn't hear her, he gasped and came, spurting over his hand as his face turned toward her.
"Julia..." he breathed, seeming to lock his eyes onto hers, and she thought for a moment he could see her. Just as quickly, his eyes closed, breath catching as his body twitched in the aftermath.
Yes, she was going straight to hell. At some point...presumably.
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*o0o*
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Her Thomas was nineteen when he lost his virginity, some girl he'd met in Economics class. Julia watched the whole time, somehow feeling it should have been her, confused when Milo joined her and held her hand with a look of sympathy. Something was missing, late; she should have been his first, she knew it. But he couldn't see her, he couldn't feel her. It wasn't something she deserved. Instead, she was left to watch as he gave himself to another woman, jealous and disgusted with herself.
"Sorry," Milo muttered quietly.
"I don't understand why I feel this way," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I knew him when he was a baby. This is just... wrong, isn't it?"
"You're askin' me?" he said incredulously.
"Yeah, I'm asking you," she said desperately.
He looked at her, and she tried to block out the gasps behind her, becoming more and more excited by the moment. After a moment where he glanced behind her, he smiled devilishly. "Yeah, it's wrong, Blondie." He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his bulging crotch, his next words whispered intimately. "We've all got a bit of wrong in us, so don't make a mountain outta a mole hill."
Julia didn't realize that ghosts could have any sort of physical release. She let him have his way with her, straining her ears for Thomas' pleasured cries as he pounded into her from behind. She came just as Thomas did, spilling himself inside a near stranger who seemed to have Julia's own smile.
Maybe she was in hell already.
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*o0o*
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An endless stream of faceless women flowed before them, used and dropped, and Julia burned with jealousy and sympathy. Who could resist? Though she noticed some similarities; young, blonde, pink lipstick... They were all being used, unwitting substitutes for... her?
Maybe not. But it seemed that way.
She kept it under control until Anne. Sweet, sincere Anne, who was everything Thomas could ever want. Julia knew she had no claim on him. Weeks passed, and she cried and screamed and finally calmed.
If Thomas was happy, Julia could endure.
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*o0o*
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First, Thomas hadn't believed. Then, when he finally had, she'd colored up prettily under his scrutiny. Julia couldn't miss the way his eyes lingered on her, trailing her face, like a man dying of thirst presented with his first glimpse of water, yet he couldn't drink.
Their eyes met over and over, catching and holding, electricity arching between them. He remembered, but there was a shift. He wasn't a child anymore.
She saw the fear in Thomas' eyes when the bus took Milo away, her own heart echoing it. When would she be ripped away from him?
He asked to be alone that night when he went to sleep, but she stepped back in when she thought he was out. She was surprised when his voice met her ears, loud in the silent room. "I'm glad you came back." She sat on his bed and watched as he turned to her, eyes half glazed and hand moving under the sheets. "Julia. So beautiful..."
She slipped her own hand into her stretchy pants, breath coming fast. "Thomas," she sighed, finally seeing his eyes dilate, the look of desire on his face for her alone. "I missed you."
"Not as much as I missed you..."
They didn't talk after that, but held each other's eyes.
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*o0o*
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Julia knew deep down what her unfinished business was, but she fought against it every step of the way. It took effort, but she could see how Anne could make Thomas happy in ways she couldn't, especially since she couldn't even touch him. Her time with him was limited, running down, the last few seconds on the clock. Tick... tick... tick... She knew what she needed to do, what would rid her of unfinished business, but she fought it like the demon it was.
Latching on to pale memories, she thought of John. Julia had really loved him, most of all, once upon a time. She could convince Thomas that this was it, that this would fulfill her life and then move on with the bus driver. She tried to ignore the hurt burning in his eyes when she told him what she wanted. Her love grew and glowed in her chest as Thomas placed himself between her and the bus driver, determined to help her complete her life.
And then John was dead, but she wasn't devastated as she thought she should be. She numbly watched Thomas arguing with their nemesis. "It didn't work! She can't fix anything!"
"Go on! It always works."
"No!" he yelled, enraged.
The small man in the uniform smiled. "I mean, sure, it might seem like these things are going down to the wire, but they always work out."
"Wrong! The guy's dead, all right? He's been dead for seven years!"
The buzzing nothingness began to fade, and a surge of need rose up inside her. Julia couldn't hide from it anymore. Thomas was her unfinished business. How could she tell him how she felt in the seconds they had left? How could she make him understand?
"That can't be," she heard the bus driver counter, incredulous.
"What do you mean, 'That can't be'?" He was so angry, so protective. She felt that need intensify as she watched him, determination sinking in.
"No, or, you know what? It has to be the wrong guy."
"No it's not the wrong guy!" Thomas was incredulous, gesturing wildly as the rain poured down. "It's not the wrong guy, you idiot! How could it be the wrong guy?"
"Thomas." She felt peace inside; it didn't matter how he reacted. "It's you." The sun came out, warming the land as her heart was warmed. She could finally accept her own feelings.
Rivulets of water poured down Thomas' face as he walked back to her, eyes wide and confused. "What's me?"
"I made the same mistake with John that I'm making now." The words were flowing out of her easily as she looked into his beloved eyes. He was five years older than she had been when she died; there was no more need for shame or disgust. "I pushed him away, I kept him at arms length, and finally he just left. Now I've got the chance to fix it, with someone I love even more."
"What are you saying?" he asked quietly, stepping closer. "You... you don't mean...?"
"Yes I do," she said earnestly, a bright smile on her face. "I've watched you all these years... Do you know how painful it's been to want to tell you how I felt, how I feel, but be unable to? You've kept yourself hidden from all those girls, even from Anne."
"I don't hide. I protect myself, I'm being cautious." He said it with eyes downcast.
"Yes you do, Thomas. You're so afraid of being hurt. You don't have to be. You're a wonderful person, Thomas."
"I mean it. I'm not afraid of being hurt." He turned his big brown eyes to her, and she felt a wall drop away between them. His voice was soft as he continued. "It's just... none of them were you. And I remembered you, from before... I thought you were perfect."
Julia's eyes sparkled. "I love you, Thomas. I have for a long time. I just wanted you to know."
"Oh, Julia," he breathed. "I love you, too."
She laughed quietly, a bittersweet smile on her face as she memorized every bit of his face. "I guess I can go now," she finally said.
"No, don't," Thomas begged, stepping close. "Not now. Not ever."
"Oh," she breathed, on the verge of tears. "I don't think I get to choose. I wish... I wish I could just give you a big hug." She let her hands hover over his shoulders, feeling the heat of his body coming off him, smelling his expensive cologne. She moved to brush her fingertips through him, looking for a just a little sensation to make the moment real, and froze when she made physical contact.
She moved her fingers again, amazed as his hand came up to grab her wrist. "Oh, wow," he said quietly, disbelief coloring his words.
Her fingers dug into his skin as her gaze fell to his chest, then came back to his eyes before landing on his lips. With a gasp of delight, she threw herself into his arms and he held her tight, both of them laughing with joy as he spun her around. His hand tangled in her hair as he sat her down, and hands went to his cheeks. "I love you," she said again, leaning and pressing her lips against his. She moaned as he held her close, bodies molding to each other.
When they parted, Julia noticed that the bus driver had approached them, smiling with tears in his eyes. "He says he's proud," he said, nodding. "And he says your welcome." With that, he turned and walked back to the bus.
"You mean she can stay?" Thomas called incredulously.
"The big guy says you can," he called. "Congratulations, love birds. You won't be seeing me for a while."
As the bus drove away and out of existence, Julia blinded Thomas with a dazzling smile once more. "Well, what do we do now?"
He smiled right back. "We start a life."
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*o0o*
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Yeah, it's weird. I can't BELIEVE I wrote a fanfiction for this movie, but I feel better having gotten it out there. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!