Author's Note: I think it's obvious the original name of the song by The Killers is not "Popuri was a Friend of Mine", it's "Jenny was a Friend of Mine". It's not like Popuri is a popular name. It's only a coincidence that it's my brother's name as well. And my pet dragon.
Mr. Brightside
Popuri Was A Friend Of Mine
(Jack's POV)
It was almost a week until I even caught a glimpse of Popuri, ever since that incident. I wasn't angry or annoyed at all, but I was starting to become concerned. How long does it take a woman to make a decision? I remember when I asked Karen to marry me, she said yes before I had even finished the proposal.
Popuri was different though. I was sure she was taking her time slowly and methodically finding the right way to break it to Gray. Women are so nice that way. If it were up to me, we would have packed up and already been off this island together.
Nevertheless, I was becoming impatient. I know what she wanted. She wanted me. There wasn't much to it really. We needed to discuss our future, while it was still the present. I decided that the only thing to do was to approach Popuri, if Popuri would no approach me.
Her own home was my target. I had to purchase more chicken feed anyway. Usually, she would stand by that stupid flowerbed Gray made for her, awing at its beauty and tending to it with water. But that particular day, she wasn't there.
Ann was in the field, brushing the mane of one of her horses. Maybe she knew about Popuri's whereabouts.
"Ann!" I waved at her from the fence. "Do you know where Popuri is?"
She froze in mid brush, as if I had said something offensive. "No, I don't." I knew she was lying. "And I don't think you should talk to her anymore, Jack." She turned her back to me and resumed the grooming of her horse.
I frowned in confusion, then let out a quiet gasp. She knew. She knew!
"Ann," I began uncertainly. "It's not what you think."
"It's exactly what I think."
"Would you at least look at me when you're talking to me?" I snapped.
She swivelled around, her face contorted crudely into a scowl. "Stay away from her, seriously. You've had your chance. You don't get another one. She's married, and you need to lay off if you know what's good for you."
I blinked. "So... you do know where Popuri is."
With a balled-up fist, Ann stomped after me. I finally took the hint and scuttled off. She was being awfully protective of her. I know Popuri was married to Ann's brother, but she used to be nice to me before. She was probably upset because she knew Popuri was going to follow her heart, even if it meant sabotaging their happy family.
I finally tracked her down at the mountain. There she was seated by the river, her feet in the water and an arm around May. That scene made me think about children, and whether or not Popuri would ever want any. I never thought of that myself, but I think it would be the appropriate thing to do.
"Popuri," I called out.
I could see her physically freeze up. Slowly, she turned to face me. "Hello, Jack." A smile followed. But it wasn't her usually cheerful self, this one seemed empty.
There was a sinking feeling inside my stomach that told me she didn't want to see me. But I accepted her greeting as an invitation and jogged up to her spot. "I've been looking around for you."
Popuri stood up and brushed the dirt off her seat. May stood up too. "May," she turned to the young girl with lopsided grin. "Why don't you go and pick a nice bouquet of flowers for your grandmother?"
May took to the idea quickly, and was soon scourring the mountain looking for Moondrop plants.
I instigated the conversation. "Have you been avoiding me?"
Popuri hesitated uncertainly. "No, not exactly..." She was purposely avoiding my eyes, like looking at me would send her into combustion.
"So what have you been doing these past couple of days?" I had a sneaking suspicion of what, but I wanted Popuri to tell me herself.
She sighed. "I've been thinking. Thinking about you, Gray and myself."
I felt my heart skip a beat. "So, have you made a decision yet?"
"I have," replied Popuri. "I promise to tell you as soon as I can."
Her voice had sounded unsure and distant. I knew she had alot to think about, and alot to sort through. But she already had confided with me her problems with Gray, and demonstrated that she had never really fallen out of love with me. So really, what was the problem here?
You could probably sense my surprise when Popuri showed up at my farm the next day. She looked nervous and jumpy.
"Hi Popuri," I greeted her casually. I didn't want to scare her off or anything. I slipped off my gardening gloves, just in case.
She twisted the ends of her dress. "I think you know why I'm here."
I could hardly contain my excitement. "Oh, baby, I knew you'd make the right choice..." I reached out to take her hand, but she immediately stepped back. "What are you doing?"
"I think you misunderstand me Jack," Popuri said, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Why did you think I came here?"
"I thought you came here because you sorted out your feelings, and was reading to commit yourself to me," I answered. That wasn't the reason...?
"You know that's impossible."
She said in the nicest way manageable, but it still stung like a bee. I hadn't prepared myself for this at all. "But... you love me, don't you?"
"Gray is my husband," Popuri said after flinching a little. "I love him. He's the only man I love that way."
"You're lying," I quickly spat out. "You know you're lying. Just admit it. You love me, and you know we're supposed to be. You know, like soul mates!" My voice was coming out like a whine now.
"I do love you," said Popuri quietly, in a hushed voice. "But just as a close friend."
Not this again. How dare she insult me again with another offer of friendship? "That's the same thing you said last time. You can't do this to me. You can't just toy with my feelings!" I tried to ignore the tears rolling down my cheeks and sending a burning sensation on my skin.
"I'm sorry Jack, but what happened last week was a mistake."
"It wasn't! Don't say that!"
"I never meant to hurt you," she tried again.
"That's what you said last time too!" I blurted without thinking. The tears stopped, and was not replaced with hot anger.
"Well, it's true." Popuri sighed through her nose, and patted me on the back. "I think it's necessary for me to tell you and discuss the situation with you if I want God to forgive me. I think it's important for both of us to acknowledge that it wasn't supposed to happen. I need you to forgive me too."
My mouth just gaped open. "Y... you're asking God for forgiveness for what happened? So basically, you want to erase the special thing that happened between us? I won't say it was a mistake! I refuse to!"
"Jack, please, don't make this hard," she was pleading with me.
"I'll make it hard if I want to!" I screamed, with the sudden urge to hit her or cry. "You're just dismissing me like I was just a toy to you! Like... like I mean absolutely nothing to you!"
"You know that's not true Jack!" Popuri insisted. "I never for a moment regretted what we had! But think about this situation in my respects. Just try to."
"No," I told her stubbornly. "I won't. I won't!"
"I'm really sorry Jack. I want God to forgive me, but I want you to too."
I couldn't comprehend what had just happened. We were so close! We could have been something very special, and she has to throw it away just because she's married.
That, or I had actually meant nothing to her. The harder I thought about it, the more sense it made. I was just someone to have fun with until she was able to finally score with Gray. I knew they had some sort of history... why didn't I see it before? Popuri didn't love me. She was just using me to get Gray.
Basically, Popuri was a total lie up to this point. Maybe she was being truthful when she told me she had fun with me, but that was pretty much the only thing that held any candor. My blood began to boil with hate.
"Think about what I said." Popuri turned around to exit the farm.
She wasn't just going to walk away from this. Not by a long shot. In my blind instinct, I grabbed the first tool I could get a handle on in my ruckshack and slung it in her direction.
The axe hit her square in the back. The sound of torn flesh and cracked bone rung tomentedly in my head as I witnessed her fall to the ground. A pool of her own blood was oozing rapidly.
"Oh my..." I ran to her. "Popuri... Popuri!" I shook her shoulder. "Popuri! I'm so sorry! Speak to me!"
Her eyes opened ever so slightly. In a pained voice, she said, "Please, tell me you forgive me."
"I forgive you! I forgive you!" I was screaming. "Popuri! Popuri! No! NO!"
But she was gone.
I killed her. I killed Popuri. I killed the love of my life, just because I was spiteful. Just because I wasn't patient enough. Just because I was the most ignorant man alive who didn't deserve her at all. All my resentment and loathing toward Popuri vanished completely. Instead, I struggled in a vain attempt to profess my true feelings.
But just a few seasons too late.
The smell of her blood engulfed my senses, and I wanted nothing more than to just hold her in my arms and die with her. Popuri's breathing was raspy, then laboured, then non-existent.
There was only one thing left to do in this situation. I left her body at my entrance, and stumbled into my home. Under my bed, was a old tin cookie box. In that tin box was a small pistol.
It was essential that I did this while with her. I took the gun, slipped a bullet into the revolver and walked outside. With one hand, I grasped at Popuri's wrist, trying not to feel alarmed at the lack of a pulse. With the other, I aimed the weapon at my temple and pulled the trigger.
What I had in mind, you see, was that Popuri and I would spend the rest of eternity together. It was a perfect plan, to have our immortal parts live happily at each other's sides. Unfortunately, it didn't work out this way. Here I am, under the wrath of the Devil and doomed to spend my time in Hell forever. Whatever I did to get here, I suppose I deserved it.
What burns even more than Hell itself is that I'll never know whether Popuri would have chosen me if her options were more open. It was possible that we could have married and lived a happy life together if I had acted before Gray. But nope, he took her before I had the chance.
As for Popuri, I couldn't tell you how she's doing. Probably fluttering around with the other angels in Heaven, thinking about what could and should have been.
The End
Yes, this story ends in a sort of ironic, pessimistic tragedy. The way I see it, Jack is pretty much a Mary Sue, right? So this is me defying the Mary Sue... ness of Jack! He's not the perfect gentleman as portrayed in alot of fics (including all my other ones). Not that him being a Mary Sue is bad, I just wanted to experiment on... The Dark Side. (Sinister music plays)
If you didn't like the way the story ended, don't be afraid to tell me. I had about four different endings I considered, and decided on this one. It probably wasn't the easiest denoument (ha ha, english class!) to swallow and I understand if you didn't like it.
I want to thank all the reviewers (up to the final chapter) who were so kind to to review my story (in alphabetical order): Atavaka, Harvestmoonfan24, Jay Bird12, PacificTwist, princess-elli100, and TheRed. Special thanks go out to Atavaka and PacificTwist for being so faithful to my fic :).
Thanks to everyone who stuck it out to the very end. Even if you didn't like this fic, or only read one or two chapters, thanks for giving it a try.