The Beauty of Bravery

After the apocalypse, nothing was the same. Aliens had discovered Earth, and they tried to destroy us, but we fought back hard enough to defeat them. Sadly, some lives were lost, but our planet won in the end. After this apocalypse, Earth would never be the same again.

My best friend, Liv, is the strongest person I know. She fought as hard as she could during the apocalypse, saving so many lives. She is also extremely beautiful. God, she’s gorgeous. 

I woke up this morning on Liv’s couch. I slept at her house last night because both of our parents were still being sheltered by the government from any possible alien attacks. I stood up, brushed my hair, and sleepily walked to the kitchen. I could smell bacon and pancakes. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw that Liv was making breakfast. 

“Good morning, Em,” Liv said with a smile on her face. “I’m making breakfast. You slept for a long time! I guess saving the planet is pretty exhausting.”

“Yeah,” I said, yawning. “What do you want to do today?”

“I guess we could walk through the city and make sure everyone is okay. People are probably still uneasy from the last couple days. An alien apocalypse isn’t exactly normal.”

Classic Liv. Always looking out for other people. Completely selfless and brave.

“Sounds good. But can we eat first? I’m starving,” I responded.

She chuckled, then put some pancakes and bacon on a plate and placed it in front of me.

While we were eating, it was pretty quiet. We were both deep in thought. There were lots of things to think about. I was thinking about how Liz was amazing when it came to battle, and defending others, and everything really. She is always so brave. I was also wondering what life would be like after this crazy apocalypse. Would it really go back to normal? If not, what would change? The only way to really know was to investigate, so I finished my pancakes and put my plate in Liv’s sink. She did the same, and we walked nervously out of her house, ready to face the city.

As we walked, we noticed all the changes to our usually normal city. The buildings were crumbling. The sidewalks were barely visible under the debris. There were only a few people walking around, and they were also observing the damage from the invasion. 

When I see the damaged city, I remember Liv bravely fighting the aliens, her toned muscles showing through her tight black shirt as she saved the lives of innocent people. It all feels like a dream. It’s hard for me to realize that this is real life, and everything within the last week actually happened. 

“This is hard,” Liv said sadly. “Everything is so different now. What are we supposed to do? Are we safe? Could this happen again?” 

She seemed really upset, so I gave her a hug. She smelled like cinnamon.

“It’s going to be okay,” I reassured her. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together. I’m sure of it.” And I believed every word that I said. Together, we will be okay.

“Okay,” Liv said quietly. “But can we go home? I’m tired.”

“Sure. Let’s go,” I said as we started walking back to her house.

When we got back, we went up to Liv’s bedroom. She laid on her bed and I sat on her beanbag chair. It was silent in the room for a long time, but eventually Liv asked me a question.

“Do you think our parents are okay?”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” I replied. “The government has everyone in a safe place. It’s so safe that we’re not even allowed to know where they are. Also, they know how to protect themselves. We learned how to fight from them, remember?”

“Yeah,” she responded. “But I can’t help but worry about them. I miss them.”

“I know,” I said, sitting down next to her on her bed. “I know you miss them. I know you love them. I know you worry about them. But we need to be brave and protect the people here before we worry about them. That’s what they would want us to do.”

“I know,” she said, turning her head so her face was just inches away from mine. I stared into her beautiful brown eyes. We slowly leaned closer and closer, until our lips touched. We then hesitated, both wondering what to do next. After a moment, she grabbed me by my waist and kissed me again, more confident this time. 

When we pulled away, we continued talking about the alien invasion, but stayed close to each other, providing comfort for each other while we talked about the difficult parts of the last week. 

“Do you ever feel guilty for the people who were killed by the aliens?” Liv asked with sorrow in her eyes.

“Of course,” I responded. “But it’s not our fault. Those aliens were brutal. They believed that they should control our planet and tried to kill everyone who got in their way. It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not anyone’s fault, except for those stupid aliens who believed that they were superior to everyone else. And you were so brave. You fought as hard as you could and saved so many lives. If you weren’t there, so many more people would have died and there would probably still be aliens running around our city. You did absolutely everything you could, so you shouldn’t feel guilty. But I know you. I know that you would still feel guilty no matter how many people you saved, because you think that you could have saved more. But you have to remember that you’re just one person, and you can’t save everyone.”

“Thanks,” she said. “You were amazing out there too. Together, we helped so many people. And it’s hard, but one day, maybe I’ll accept the fact that I can’t save everyone.”

I know that that was hard for her to say because I could see tears forming in her eyes. I held her hand, and she leaned into me, tears falling down her beautiful face. We stayed there for a little while, holding each other. 

When it seemed like she felt better, I stood up and walked to the kitchen. She followed close behind. She sat down at the table and I took the peanut butter, jelly, and bread out of her pantry. While I made the sandwiches, it was quiet. I was focused on my precise sandwich-making, and it looked like Liv was deep in thought. She didn’t even notice when I put her sandwich down on the table in front of her. 

“Liv,” I said, rather loudly. 

“Oh! Hi, Em. Thanks for the sandwich,” she said, although she still seemed kind of distant.

“You’re welcome,” I responded. “Is there something you want to talk about? It seems like you’re kind of distracted.”

“Actually, yes,” she said. She put her sandwich down and looked me in the eye. “I love you, Emma Julia Harris.”

“And I love you, Olivia Jane Richards,” I replied, glad to finally say the words that I've held in for years.

And at the moment our lips touched, I knew that we could get through anything together, no matter what. We were brave together.