The next day I got up, showered, and dressed.
"Do you want be to drive you?" My dad asked.
"No, I'll ride my bike." I said.
"Not in that dress." My mother said.
"Mom," I said. "It's not fancy. And it's a little kid's party. They won't mind if I have a little dirt on my dress."
"Well, fine."
I got on my bike and headed to the party. On the way there I realized I was an hour late. I hoped Jeff wouldn't mind. But, unfortunately, I came in at the wrong time.
The first thing I saw was all these kids gathered in the back yard. I walked up to the back window just in time to see Jeff being flung into the patio furniture.
"Jeff!" I screamed, pounding on the window.
He took no notice of me though.
I ran to the back yard, Jeff was now upon this one kid, punching him like crazy. The kid was bleeding and coughing up blood.
"Jeff!" I screamed again, rushing over. But someone held me back.
"No! No! Let me go! I need to help him! I need to get him off!"
The kid died, blood gushing from his chest and forming a lake.
Everyone was silent. Staring.
"Jeff..." I said. "Jeff!"
Two boys with guns are now aiming at him. Jeff took for the stairs.
I broke from the person's grasp and ran after him.
"Jeff! Jeff!" I cried. "What are you doing? Jeff! Please! Don't surrender!"
Whoever had me earlier caught me again.
"No! No!" I said, struggling. "Let me go!"
I hear lots of banging and thrashing from upstairs. Then Screaming. Finally all was silent. Whoever had me let go of me.
"Jeff!" I yelled. "Jeff are you okay?"
Jeff then came out of a room, completely on fire. Everyone backed away but me.
"Jeff! Jeff! Jeff!" Was all I could scream. My brain had locked up.
Someone pulled me away, making my camera fall out of my pocket.
I struggled hard this time, running back to Jeff before getting pulled back again.
Jeff was now on the floor, still on fire. A lady grabbed an extinguisher and started to spray him with it.
A little kid had found my camera, and turned it on. He pointed it towards the scene in front of him.
"Smile!"
Click!
Three days after that, I managed enough courage to visit Jeff at the hospital. I was led into his room by the nurse.
"He's right in here." She said. "Enjoy your visit."
"Thank you." I said, walking in.
There was Jeff, laying in the hospital bed. He was a mess. His face was wrapped and i could clearly make out stitches. He had an I.V. with blood in it.
"Oh my god, Jeff..." I said in shock.
Jeff seemed to perk up.
"Yeah Jeff, it's me, Nicole."
A boy I recognized as Liu looked up.
"So you're this Nicole Jeff's been talking about." He said.
I laughed a little.
"Yeah...we're friends."
Liu outstretched his hand.
"I'm his brother, Liu."
I shook it.
"Nice to meet you."
I looked over at Jeff.
"You're a mess." I said. "But I'm glad you're alive."
"We're all glad." Said Liu.
I took Jeff's hand.
"I still have the pictures."
For the next few weeks that Jeff was in the hospital, I visited him. Everyday, I visited him.
I met his family, I heard his mother tell stories, we had some fun.
On the day Jeff was going to have his bandages taken off, I managed to bring my camera, so I could get a picture of him.
I arrived just as they were heading to their car.
I had to refrain from screaming when I saw Jeff's face.
His skin was perfectly white, his mouth was a deep red, his hair had turned black.
"J...Jeff." I said.
"Isn't it neat?" Jeff suddenly asked me.
I had to look at it for a few more minutes.
"I...I like it." I said. "I can still recognize you, so...it's okay."
I pulled out my camera.
"Let's get a picture!"
"Oh!" Said Jeff's mother. "Let me take it, Nicole. You, Jeff, and Liu go stand over there."
We stood where she told us. Jeff to my left, Liu to my right, our arms around each other like we were family.
Jeff's mother turned the camera on and pointed it towards us.
"Smile!"
Click!
That night, I was up late. Just laying there in the dark.
My window was open, a figure crawled through it.
I turned on my light, it was Jeff...or...at least I thought it was.
"Nicole." He whispered.
"Jeff." I whispered back.
His mouth was carved into a smile, it was still bleeding. His eyes had burn marks around them.
He walked up to me.
"Jeff, what did you do?" I asked, still whispering.
"I couldn't stop smiling." He said. "So I carved my mouth so I could always smile."
"And your eyes?"
"They kept closing, and I couldn't see my face. So I burnt off my eyelids so I could always see it."
We stood in silence.
"What does your family think?"
Jeff laughed.
"They're dead."
"D...dead?"
"I killed them."
More silence.
"Jeff...you're not going to kill me...are you?"
"Kill you?"
More silence.
"Jeff." I said. "You have to leave, get out of this place. The police will be looking for you. But they won't find you if you keep running."
"You won't forget me." Jeff said.
"No. I won't. All those pictures of you and I. I will keep them forever."
Jeff turned to leave.
"Wait!" I cried.
Jeff turned towards me.
"One last picture?"
Jeff nodded.
"One last picture."
I pulled out my camera and turned it on. Jeff and I held it together, pointing it towards us.
"Smile"
Click!
