Dead and Gone

Terrible Things

"Jade," I heard a voice say. "Jade, who is that boy? Why was he at your house? Why were you crying? Did he make you cry, Jade?"

I stirred at the sound of my name being called by the familiar voice.

Michael.

"Jade, are you forgetting about me already? I thought you loved me, Jade. Who is that boy you were talking to? Don't you love me?"

I woke up to find I was only dreaming. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Jade, did you have a nightmare?" A familiar voice asked, making me jump.

Sitting up, I saw Michael standing by my bedside.

"Michael!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck to make sure that it wasn't a dream.

He chuckled softly and kissed my forehead. "Did you have a nightmare?" He asked again.

I nodded slowly and he frowned.

"How was your first day of school?" He asked, trying to get my attention elsewhere.

I let go of him and sighed. "It was...okay."

He smiled and took my hand in his. "That's good! Did you make any friends?"

"A couple..."

"I told you you'd be fine!" Michael replied. "I'm happy for you, Jade. But right now you need some sleep."

Nodding, I lay back down. "Sweet dreams," he whispered in my ear. He kissed my nose and disappeared. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes.

Would Michael be jealous of Gavin? I wondered. I pulled my blanket tight around me and turned on my side, not wanting to know the answer. I needed sleep.

~~~~~~

The next morning when I got to school, Gavin was sitting alone on the bench with his earbuds in, blankly staring at nothing, as if stilll half asleep. I decided to sneak up on him and scare him. Walking slowly, quietly up behind him, I yanked on his left earbud.

"Hey man, what the--" He cut himself off when he realized it was only me. Smiling and rolling his eyes he said, "Hey Jade."

"'Sup," I replied, making a lame attempt at a cool-kid nod. But I failed.

Gavin's expression was over-dramatically, horrified. "Jade!" he exclaimed in a teenager voice, "You're so embarrassing!"

"Nah bro, that's how I roll," I replied, sitting next to him on the bench. Still holding the earphone, I put it in my own ear. "Whatcha listening to?"

I smiled when a familar melody flooded my ears. Gavin suddenly seemed uncomfortable, "Umm... it's Mayday Parade..."

"Terrible Things," I said, recalling the sweet piano and tragically beautiful lyrics. I lay my head on his shoulder almost without noticing, the music soothing me.

He said, "Girl, can I tell you a wonderful thing? I made you a present with paper and string. Open with care now, I'm asking you please. You know that I love you. Will you marry me?"

She said, "Boy, can I tell you a terrible thing? It seems that I'm sick and I've only got weeks. Please don't be sad now. I really believe you were the greatest thing that ever happened to me."

It was one of the saddest songs I had ever heard. And I love it.

It wasn't until the song ended though, that I realized how close we were. I took my head off of his shoulder, feeling my cheeks grow warm. I hoped desperately he didn't notice.

He had a faint smile on his face. "I didn't think anyone knew about Mayday Parade," he said after a moment of silence.

"I love them," I replied. "Terrible Things is one of the most beautiful songs ever made, in my opinion."

"I agree," he replied, toying awkwardly with his backpack zipper. "How did you sleep?"

"Good," I replied. But I did not sleep well, to be honest. I just didn't have the heart to kill such a peaceful moment so I asked, "How did you sleep?"

He smiled and said, "I slept good. Are you feeling... better?"

I did feel a little bit better but the truth is that I still felt as sucky as I usually did. But instead, I nodded and gave him a big smile, hoping desperately he wouldn't notice how entirely fake it was.

But he knew that smile. It was his own smile. And he'd perfected that smile over the years. But he didn't say anything, just gave me a small smile back and took my hand in his, squeezing it gently.

We sat in silence until the bell rang, then we made our way to class. And I tried my hardest to stay awake and listen to the teacher. I yawned and rubbed my eyes, hoping to draw the sleepiness away. I could do nothing but wait impatiently for lunchtime to come and then the end of the day.