Force quit initialization: 80% complete.

Neil laid on top of the pile of rollercoaster rubble at the foot of the damaged brick wall for what felt like ages. He was reeling from Eva's voice mail.

She was giving him up? They were going back to normal? Back to being friends?

"Well, congrats," said Faye, fully healed and sitting next to him. "You got what you wanted; it sounds like she got over you. Will you allow yourself to see her now?"

Neil didn't answer. This was what he wanted - for this entire experience to be thrown behind him where it belonged. To bring their friendship back to sweet, sweet normalcy. To make whatever was gnawing at him from the inside ever since Eva told him she loved him to stop once and for all. To not have to break her heart by being himself.

Then why did that voice mail cut him so deep?

No, this was what he wanted. Of course, this was what he wanted. Because this was the right thing to do. And Eva knew it, too. They were both too smart to make the mistake of getting together. They saw the giant pothole ahead and agreed not to drive down that road. Right?

He looked at the wall. Why, in his right mind, did he press 'Go'? What was the point of crashing into the wall? Maybe he actually wanted it to stop him in his tracks. An idea struck him.

"You mentioned something about a theory," croaked Neil. "Am I allowed to hear it yet?"

Faye sighed and placed her hand on the wall.

"According to this asset's ID, this wall was apparently created by the Imagination system. But obviously, you didn't create this wall on purpose, so it had to have come from your subconscious," Faye mused. "I'm sure you've seen this before, where you've encountered literal roadblocks in the patient's memory."

"Yeah, it's usually some defense mechanism in the patient's psyche...or drugs," said Neil. "I wonder..."

"Wonder what?" said Faye.

Force quit initialization: 85% completed.

Neil stared hard at the wall. If it was true that this wall served as a defense mechanism...

He got unsteadily to his feet, closed his eyes, and thought about Eva. Her signature look of stern annoyance while trying not to crack with laughter at his antics. Her awkwardness around kids. The time they played a "Moon River" duet together in high school music class. The glint in her eyes whenever they discussed a new restaurant to try.

He opened his eyes.

The wall grew several layers of bricks taller. Faye's jaw dropped.

"How're you doing that?" she gasped.

"Well, that confirms it," said Neil. "I know what this wall is protecting me from."

He placed his hand on the wall. It felt old, like it had stood there for years. It probably got built the day he met Eva. Because just the idea of someone crazy enough to stick with him for all these years - longer than anyone he's ever known - gave rise to his biggest fear: needing to be loved by someone. And no one stoked that fear more than Eva.

Faye was right; nothing was more terrifying than going after what you really want. This wall - this sturdy, reliable wall - kept him safe from the things he wanted, by keeping the few people closest to him at an arm's distance.

His hands started to shake as a tentative thought peeked through. What will it take to break this wall down?

Force quit initialization: 95% completed.

He sighed. He was out of time.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" asked Faye.

Force quit initialization: 100% completed.

Force quitting...

"I'm going to the party," said Neil, his vision turning more and more pixelated.

The last thing he saw before returning to his body was a single brick falling off of the wall.

Eva swayed joylessly on the dance floor in the arms of Taima's nephew, What's-his-face. He was some thirty-something manager at a fast food joint. Neither of them had any rhythm, so they just stepped awkwardly from side to side like pre-teens.

She looked over at Taima, who beamed back at them with tears in her eyes. She gave Eva the thumbs up. Eva smiled weakly back, then sighed.

The song ended. What's-his-face let her go and scratched his ear.

"Thanks for the dance," he mumbled. "Er, what was your name again? Sorry, I can't hear very well. I produce a lot of earwax."

"Shavonne," said Eva. "I'm one of Logan's girlfriends."

"Oh! Oh God. I'm so sorry. I-I had no idea. Aunty just told me..."

"It's alright. Run along now."

He walked away. And left the building. And drove off. And never contacted Eva again.

Eva checked the clock on the wall. The night was winding down. Everyone had already played their wedding songs; the DJ just played generic party songs at this point.

Neil still hadn't shown up.

He's not going to show up, she told herself for the tenth time. The Neil she knew wouldn't show up in a million years.

She walked to the DJ, and motioned to the microphone.

"May I?" she asked.

The DJ gave her the go-ahead and cut the music. She took the mic.

"Ahem...Uh, hi, everyone," she said, wincing at the sound of her own voice coming from the speakers. "Mind if I give a little speech?"

Everyone graciously returned to their seats.

"First off, I just want to thank Taima and Willis for inviting me to their fiftieth wedding anniversary. And for showing us that love does exist. That it's not some unattainable thing that can only happen in TV or movies, but that it's real and possible and right in front of us."

Taima and Willis turned to each other and kissed. Applause.

Eva looked at her feet, nervous. "I, uh...I never gave you guys my wedding song, because I thought I wanted to keep it to myself. Well, that's not the point of wedding songs, is it? To keep it to yourself? ...Anyway, I'd like to share my song with you, if you don't mind."

The crowd exchanged curious looks. Taima led Willis by the hand to the dance floor. She placed Willis's hand on her waist and took his other hand, before giving Eva the "ready when you are" nod.

Eva turned away from the microphone to ask the DJ if he happened to have the song. He scrolled through his playlist and shook his head.

Eva sighed. "Well, I guess I'll just...sing it then."

"I don't have the karaoke version either," said the DJ.

"Alright, well, then it'll be acapella," said Eva.

The crowd murmured excitedly. Taima and Willis exchanged intrigued looks. Eva gulped. She had never sung in front of anyone before, let alone her wedding song. She wasn't sure if she was even any good.

But something inside her wanted to do this. Just one last thing before her heart can break in peace.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and blocked out everyone in the room. The murmurs died down. She was all alone. Just her and complete silence. She came to this party alone, and she spent this entire party alone. And now she was about to sing to no one in particular, like a prayer in the dead of the night.

Then in an imperfect voice, barely above a cracking whisper, she began to sing a song from her distant past. The one she had imagined she would dance to on her wedding day...

...with Neil.

"Moon River
Wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style
Someday."

In her mind's eye, Eva saw herself dancing with Neil on the deserted dance floor.

"You dream maker
You heart breaker
Wherever you're going
I'm going
Your way."

The dancing pair moved gracefully around the room like ghosts.

"Two drifters
Off to see the world
There's such a lot of world
To see.

"We're after the same
Rainbow's end
Waiting 'round the bend
My Huckleberry friend.

Moon River
...And me."

The dancing pair faded away. She felt herself finally letting them go.

It was over now.

She opened her eyes. A tear crawled down her cheek.

It took a few seconds of applause to fully bring Eva back to reality. There were Taima and Willis clapping from the dance floor, touched and beaming. There in the crowd were Roxie and Rocky, cheering. There were Eddie and Phoebe, whistling. There was Rob, hiding from his mother. There was Logan, looking impressed, while his girlfriends clapped in unison.

And there was Neil, standing in the crowd.

Eva's mouth fell open. It was really him. He actually showed up. Everything she had assumed about Neil fell away in that moment. What was he doing here?

She walked toward him tentatively, as if he were a mirage. Their eyes never left the other's face. He walked up to meet her on the dance floor. All eyes were on them, but Eva didn't notice.

"That was your wedding song?" he mocked.

"You're actually here..." Eva croaked.

"Yeah, well, y'know..." Neil mumbled.

He took off his glasses, folded them, and put them in his pocket. He had never taken off his glasses in front of Eva before. The sight of his unobstructed green eyes startled Eva almost as much as his sudden appearance.

She looked away, unable to maintain eye contact with him.

She wiped her eyes. "Look, I'm sorry if that embarrassed you, but - "

He kissed her.

It was warm, comforting, passionate, desperate, and irrational. All the logistics of relationships flung aside, they were simply two lonely people who have clung to each other for nearly half their lives and wanted nothing more than to cling tighter.

The party erupted into applause.

"FINALLY!" screamed Roxie, furiously posting on social media with tears in her eyes.

"I win the bet! Cough up, mo' fuckers!" cheered Logan. The rest of their coworkers pulled out their wallets.

"Damn, I was hoping Neil would be busy tonight," said Rob, handing Logan $20.

"Wait, they haven't already gotten together?" panicked Eddie. "Aw man, then what did they do with the toaster I got them last Christmas?!"

Taima and Willis came over to congratulate them. Willis clapped Neil on the shoulder, saying "My boy!", while Taima hugged Eva.

"I'm so proud of you," she said in Eva's ear, beaming.

Eva hugged Taima back. "Thanks Taima. For everything."

The DJ took the microphone. "Um, so I'm out of songs to play...so how about a polka encore?"

He played Eddie's cheesy wedding song again. Everyone immediately flooded the dance floor.

Eva and Neil looked at each other. An energy crackled between them - the kind of energy they had felt on multiple key moments throughout their lives. For all the changes they went through, all the potholes they encountered, and all the mistakes they made for the rest of their lives - that energy never changed. Their nonsensical, dysfunctional, life-long bond was truly the most powerful and liberating feeling they would ever experience.

Eva held out her hand to Neil and cocked her head toward the dance floor, radiating with confidence.

Neil marveled at her, a grin spreading across his face.

He took her hand, and they danced the night away.

Falling for someone is like getting on a rollercoaster that's hurtling full speed toward a brick wall. You see the brick wall in front of you. You know it's going to hurt when you crash into it - it might even be fatal. But somehow, stupidly, you hit the 'Go' button anyway. And you launch forward at full speed. The wall rushes toward you. You can't stop.

Then two things are going to happen: You're either going to smash into that brick wall and the rollercoaster stops. Or, you smash through the wall, and the rollercoaster continues its wild and crazy ride beyond. The outcome is ultimately out of your hands, but whatever you do...

Break.

Down.

Your.

Wall.

Epilogue

Strewn about the rollercoaster tracks are bits of debris where the brick wall once stood. Now, it had been reduced to dust.

Beyond lies the thrilling twists, turns and loops of the rollercoaster.

Beyond, the rollercoaster ride continues.

The end

Author's note:

I am obviously not Henry Mancini. "Moon River" is his song. But you guys knew that. ;)

Hope you enjoyed this fic! :D