Juliet's point of view. Spoliers for 6x1. Enjoy and please review... :)
(1970's)
"This holiday...absolutely pointless." I breathed out with a shake of the head, while I watched Horace and Amy exchange small presents from out the window. They looked so happy together, so at peace, so in love--and it made me sick. It wasn't as if I had developed a complete resentment of love as a whole, but after my experiences with all of Edmund, Goodwin, and Jack, I had come pretty damn close.
"Can't argue with ya' there, sweetheart." James agreed with a nod, sitting down beside me and taking a sip out of his beer, "Never celebrated it before an' intend to never do it in the future--or the past, or, well, ya' know what I mean."
"Consider yourself lucky." I sighed, "Last Valentine's day, Ben practically forced me to have dinner with him--and let's just say, it didn't end well."
"'Least ya' got nothin' worry 'bout this year--he's only a kid."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a red slip of paper that read 'Happy Valentines Day, Mrs. Burke. Will you be mine?' and handed it to James.
"What the hell's this?"
I let out a deep breath, then rasped, "Ben. He gave it to me this morning."
I shook my head, trying not to think about all my problems and glanced over at Jin from the corner of my eye--any pain I was feeling today, he must've felt a million times worse. Same went for Dan, he was nothing short of a mess since Charlotte's death and from a distance, I could barely see him sitting next to the young girl, watching her innocently play on the swingset.
All of a sudden, Miles came stomping up towards the group of us and complained, "Not one girl would go on a date with me tonight--and I asked everyone. Man, I hate Valentine's Day."
I nodded in agreement--no way would in hell could I ever find this holiday enjoyable.
(One year later)
"Happy V-Day, darlin'." James said with a huge grin as he walked into the kitchen where I was just finishing cooking breakfast.
"Happy Valentine's Day to you too." I smiled happily, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him one long kiss.
"Ready fer your gift?" He asked after we pulled apart, and I questioned, "Already? At least eat breakfast first."
"Nah, you know I ain't the patient type." He argued, "I've been waitin' all week to give this to ya'."
"Okay, then." I said, feigning an annoyed sigh, "But it better be good."
"Trust me, it is."
He then grabbed a small item from out of his pocket and handed it to me, "Go on, open it."
I did as instructed, carefully unwrapping the small item to reveal a small, blue box. My eyes widened in awe, and I quickly threw the cover off to find a small piece of candy in the shape of a heart.
"Oh." I breathed out, flustered, "I thought you were--I thought..."
James let out a laugh, "You didn't think I was gonna propose, did ya'?"
I didn't respond, just stared at the candy heart in my hand and tried to change the subject, "So this is your big present?"
He nodded, "Read it."
"Huh?"
"You're lookin' at the wrong side. Flip it over an' read it." He explained.
I did as I was told, flipping over the candy, and read aloud, "Marry me..."
I looked at James, then at the candy, then back at James again, "Does this mean--are you--what?"
"Juliet." James began, getting down on one knee, "I don't got a ring. There ain't no way to get a weddin' ring on this island--believe me, I tried. But I don't think our love needs some material thing like that--we know we love each other an' that's all that matters--we don't need no ring to prove that." He paused, "I love ya', Jules. We've been through more than most people go through in a lifetime. An' I know it sounds corny but these past years have been the best of my life an' I can't imagine spendin' time without ya'. S'will ya' marry me?"
"Yes. Yes, absolutely."
--
(Off island: 2000's)
"Table for one, please." I stated with a polite smile, glancing around the heavily decorated hawaiian themed resturant.
"Only one?" The young matradee asked in awe, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I think I would know."
"You mean you don't have a boyfriend or husband or anything to spend the day with?" The girl asked in horror, "I'm just so sorry, it must be so hard for you."
"I manage." I replied, my jaw set.
"Well, alright..." She replied slowly, "It'll be about a ten minute wait."
I nodded my head, making my way over to the connected waiting area beside me and took a seat.
"Alone on V-Day too, huh?" The man next to me suddenly asked, and once I raised my eybrows, he added, "Heard your lil' convo with Paris Hilton junior over there. She hassled me when I came in too--you wanna smack her s'much as I did?"
I laughed but remained silent, until he reached out his hand and introduced himself, "Name's Sawyer."
"Sawyer, huh? You make that up yourself or are you just hopelessly in love with Mark Twaine?"
"Ah, didn't take ya' fer a wiseass." He observed innocently, "Guess it's true what they say--appearances can be deceiving."
I smiled and gave a slight nod, then asked, "Want to tell me your real name?"
He moved his eyes upward in thought, pursing his lips slightly, then confessed, "James. James Ford...And you?"
"Juliet."
James and I chatted for a few minutes, speaking of various books and movies, and it didn't take long to realize we had a great amount in common.
"Sawyer. Table for one." The matradee's shrill voice abruptly yelled from her position in the corner. James quickly got up, then gruffly asked, "Mind if I change that to a table fer two?" He paused, then turned towards me and asked softly, "If that's all right with you, blondie?"
I flashed him an approving smile and nodded numerously. The young girl sighed heavily at the sudden change in plans, but nevertheless led us both to our table, saying, "It's nice that you two found each other. It would be a shame to spend this day alone."
With a roll of the eyes, we sat down at the table, and after getting our drink orders taken, I explained, "Just so we're clear, this isn't a date."
"'Course it ain't. Just two people eatin' at a fancy resturant on Valentine's day--don't sound like a date to me." He stated sardonically, causing me to let out a laugh.
"Alright. Maybe it is a date." I confessed, "But if it is, then I think I should know more about you than just your name."
"Ain't much to tell." He sighed, "Been somewhat of a lowlife most of my life--just started gettin' my act together a lil' while ago."
"Hmm...Same goes for me in a way." I said thoughtfully, "Not that I was a scoundrel or anything--just a pushover. My life was crumbling and I did nothing to stop it. But everything's starting to fall into place now." I paused, deciding to change the subject to a lighter issue, "You have a job?"
"Actually goin' fer an interview today." He explained proudly, "Think I got a pretty good chance at it too. What 'bout you?"
"I'm a fertility doctor."
"Ah, beautiful and smart? I got better taste than I thought."
The rest of the evening went wonderfully--the two of us laughing and joking and having a hell of a great time. Then, in what felt like only minutes but must've been a good two hours, we finished both dinner and dessert, and paid the check.
"This was nice." I admitted with a giddy smile as we strode out the resturant doors. James smiled back as he asked, "Yeah? I earn myself a second date?"
"I think you just might have."
His smile widdened to a grin, now showing off his meltworthy dimples, "Where we gonna go? Ya' got a place in mind?"
"We can get coffee sometime." I suggested with a shrug.
"Coffee, huh?"
I nodded, "We can go dutch."
"Can't say no to that." He agreed, and after a moment of silence he added, "I should get goin'. Don't wanna be late fer my big job interview."
He paused, clearly deciding how to properly end the date--was a handshake or a hug more appropriate?
"James." I stated softly, not wanting to end such a great Valentine's day off badly.
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me."
"You got it, Blondie."
The instant James' lips brushed mine, a flood of emotions ran through me and my blood ran cold. My head began pounding with a sudden headache and I winced in pain as I pushed James away.
I instinctively closed my eyes to see a rapid string of images flashing through my mind--a sub, a cage, yellow houses, guns, the seventies, a flower, a hole, James. It was all fuzzy primarily, but then a split second later, everything clicked.
I forced my eyes opened and my headache abruptly subsided, leaving me breathless. I quickly scanned the area to find James, who seemed to look just as disarrayed as I felt--did the same just happen to him?
His eyes widened as he locked eyes with me and he immediately choked out, "Son of a bitch. It worked."
I began to laugh in disbelief, bringing my hand to my mouth as the tears started to speedily drip down my face, "Yeah. It worked."