My Past, My Present, My Future-Mia Smoak

xviii. liar liar pants on fire

One month later...

Another month. Things had turned around for Julia.She didn't have to worry about her boss' son anymore, as he had been put in jail for transporting illegal firearms. But, Connor had grown to be a great support for Julia, and he really felt like a brother to her now. Every morning when Mia isn't around, Julia finds herself going to her bedside table just to pick up the ring, just to look at it. And everytime she picked it up, it felt heavier, as though it was becoming the time to use it.

"No, no, no." Mia whined, looking at her phone as we entered the apartment.

"What's wrong?"

"Deathstroke. Again."

"Hey, we'll catch him." Julia placed her hand on Mia's back. "We have you. How could we not?"

"God, I love you." Mia muttered as we carried our groceries into the kitchen.

"I love you too." Julia smiled, though it didn't last long, as she spotted a cigarette on the kitchen counter. "Hey, whose cigarette is this?" Neither of the girls smoked, so to find a cigarette in their apartment was extremely uncommon.

Mia's heart started to race. "Oh, uh, it's Zoe's."

"Zoe smokes?"

"Only when she's stressed." She improvised. "I think she's into your brother."

"Who, Connor or JJ?" Julia asked while unpacking the bags.

"Connor for sure. Are you blind? Do you not see the way they look at each other?" She started to laugh, picking at the grapes that had just been bought.

"First of all, I can't be blind because I see how beautiful you look every day. And second of all, Connor hasn't mentioned any of it." Julia explained.

"He's embarrassed. He probably doesn't want to talk to his sister about his crush." Mia mimicked in a silly, childlike tone.

"Come on, has Zoe talked about it with you? You two have been hanging out a lot more lately."

"Nope, but I've known Zoe since I was born. I'm sure I can tell how she's feeling."

"Whatever you say babe." Julia gave in, closing the last cabinet in the kitchen. "I'm going to hang out with Connor. I'll be back in a few hours." Julia grabbed her keys and kissed Mia's cheek.

"Bye, love you."

"Love you too."

XXX

"Hey Connor." Julia greeted her brother with a hug.

"Want a beer?" He asked as they sat in front of the TV.

"Sure." He handed her one from his fridge before turning on the football game the two had been wanting to watch. "Oh come on." Connor yelled shortly after, as his team's quarterback fumbled the ball.

"Hey, I gotta ask you something."

"Yeah?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the TV.

"Do you like Zoe?" That grabbed his attention, as he turned to face his sister.

He scoffed. "What? No."

"Really, because Mia and I think otherwise."

He laughed uncomfortably. "You and your girlfriend are not playing matchmaker." He focused his attention on the game again.

"I need to show you something. And I promise it's not about Zoe" He reluctantly turned back to Julia, as the latter pulled a ring out of her pocket. "Felicity gave this to me when she came into Star City 8 months ago. Told me to use it when I felt ready. And I think I'm ready.

"You are?"

"I am." Julia smiled happily at him. "I love her so much."

"I will be right there. If you want me to, I'll be your maid of honor or I'll walk you down the aisle and do whatever else you need me to do. I am so proud of you." Connor's smile grew as he hugged his sister tightly.

"You can do whatever you want." Julia agreed, wiping a tear from her eye. "But you will not be my maid of honor."

"So, when and where are you going to do it?"

"I don't know. Mia and I both aren't into big romantic gestures, so probably sometime soon. I don't know where, though. I guess I haven't thought about it that much."

"Well, I'm sure that whatever you end up doing, it will be great." Connor guaranteed her. "But you have to call me right after.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm always a phone call away." She assured him in response.

XXX

Julia was sitting peacefully on her bed reading when Mia came in with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, I was reading-" Julia looked up, noticing the tears in her girlfriend's eyes. "What happened?"

"I screwed up." Her voice was extremely shaky, something that only concerned Julia more.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"The cigarettes on the counter weren't Zoe's. They were JJ's." Julia's face lost color until she was as pale as a ghost.

She chuckled, trying to make out the situation to a misunderstanding. "I'm sorry, but it sounds like you're telling me you cheated on me with my brother."

"I love you, not him." Mia blurted out, sobbing at this point.

A kiss she could forgive, Julia and Mia both knew that. "Did you kiss him or sleep with him?"

Mia wanted to say that it was nothing, just a kiss, but she knew she couldn't lie to Julia. "I-I was so drunk, I-I slept with him. I swear it didn't mean anything. I don't even remember it!"

"Should've known it was stupid to date a woman who was engaged to my brother." Julia muttered to herself.

"Julia, Julia, please. I love you."

"If you did that while you loved me, what else would you do to me?" Julia questioned rhetorically as she got up and grabbed her coat before heading downstairs to get her shoes.

Mia started to beg, following right behind her girlfriend. "Can we please just ta-"

"Talk?" Julia's eyes were on the floor. "How am I supposed to talk to you when I can't look you in the eyes right now." She slowly looked up until her eyes met Mia's. "I think you just broke me."

XXX

Julia returned to her brother's house shortly after she left it. Unfortunately for both of them, when the door opened, JJ was on the other end. Without thinking, Julia tackled him to the floor, repeatedly punching him in the face.

"You. Sick. Fucking. Ass." Julia punched hard and quick, only stopping when Connor pulled her off of him.

"What the hell is going on?" Connor screamed.

"Why don't you tell him JJ? Tell him why I just came in here and beat your ass." He stayed silent. "Mia cheated on me with him." Julia finally stated, the tears winning over the hatred. Connor let go of Julia, walking up to his brother and towering over him.

"I'm only going to say this once. Get the fuck out of my apartment. Anyone who hurts my sister isn't a brother of mine." JJ. hung his head low, retreating out the door. The rest of the night for Julia was a disaster. She felt terrible, trying not to sob in her brother's arms. And, at that point, was when the ring felt heaviest in her pocket.