the sky is blue

_-_-_not according to plan_-_-_

This was the big day.  The master plan would finally conclude. 

The crew's group chat was too chaotic.  I didn't have enough time with the person I cared about most.

Maybe finally, tonight, I would get time to really be with her.

Dana invited everyone to her house two nights after we got back from the beach.

In those two days, I worked on a poem for her. It somehow described how I was feeling through words, which was something I thought was impossible until then.

Do I give it to her and have her read it then?

I didn't have much time to make up my mind, and before I knew it, I was walking to Dana's house.

••••••••••

I strode over to Dana's house, the poem hidden in my pocket. I felt so small as I crossed the street.

I needed the confidence desperately.

All I had to do was hand the paper to her and let those words do most of the work. Most of the work.

Simple enough.

I arrived a little late, but somehow I was still the first one there.  Dana was upstairs getting ready, so I sat alone for a while.

There I sat twiddling my thumbs, literally.

•••••••••••

At last, Dana, Eric, and Trina came out to the patio. "Summer's almost over," was the first thing Trina said. She was becoming a pessimistic and brooding teenager, even worse than before.

"When is she coming?" I asked. I didn't want to make it too obvious I cared that much.

"She and Valerie are coming over very soon," Dana said with a faint smile.

I watched her eyes focus on mine for a second, and I could feel my cheeks exploding. But all she did was nod.

Dana agreed to help set up a nice moment for me to give her the poem.

Am I ready to do this?

I tried my best to dismiss that thought and have fun in the moment.

"You're wearing those socks again? And your shoes!" Eric laughed, and pointed at my shoes.

"Yeah so what?" I said, shrugging off his insults. They fell flat on the floor, and I crushed them with the very shoes they tried to insult.

Eric better not ruin this again.

DING! DONG! RUFF! RUFF!  I heard the doorbell through the glass doors, and saw the dog going ballistic. 

Don't look that way.

It was her.  I could hear her soft-spoken, yet graceful, voice carrying over. 

I could sense it was her.  My heart's internal alarm was buzzing in my head, letting me know when to be nervous. 

There's no need to be nervous.  After all, we are friends. 

I finally worked up the nerve to look up, but instead I was blinded by her beauty yet again. 

I looked around to see if anyone else outside was looking at her with a stunned expression.  It was just me. 

Just treat her like a friend.  That's what she is after all. 

I kept reminding myself to not go crazy during the night. 

••••••••••

Later on that night we played a card game named Assassin.  It's the card game where you have to stare and wink to kill someone or expose the killer. 

I didn't know who the killer was.  I panned around the room until I locked eyes with a pair of bejeweled brown eyes. 

They belonged to none other than her.  In the moment, I saw no one else. 

I tried to break free of my trance, but all I saw were those eyes along with her face smiling back at me. 

"Dante, you're dead!" Eric hollered, doubling over in hysterics. 

I looked back at her.  She gave me more of a puzzled look this time, as if to say "why were you staring at me?"

I was out, so I laid my head down on the table like I was dead.

She killed me. She killed me. She killed me. She really did kill me...

••••••••••

By eleven, Eric, Trina, and Valerie had gone home. Then there were three.

"Are you scared about next year?" I asked her, my heart picking up its beat.

"Uhhh, well, not really. I'm actually pretty excited! I'm just worried about our English class," she forced out the words, her soft voice trembling slightly at the end.

"Well, I have to go to the bathroom. Be right back," Dana whispered as she jumped off the couch and trudged upstairs.

I had no idea then, but that was my cue. To be honest, I was too nervous to move even my eyes.

We were alone for about a minute before Dana came back downstairs. As she sat down, she gave me one of those looks. I knew I messed up.

Then, she did me a favor by leaving the room again, only this time she went to the kitchen to get a midnight snack.

We were alone again, separated only be two pillows and the ambiance that filled the room.

Think of something! Do something!

In that moment, I froze. My gears locked up, and again I could not do anything.

I could feel the paper in my pocket.

Just take it out and give it to her!

KNOCK! KNOCK! It was my dad, upset he had to pick me up at nearly twelve.

I rose up, a defeated look on my face.  Even my body showed it. 

I hugged both of the girls. "Let's go," he said indignantly.

I took one foot out the door. My head shot around. I marched right back to her.

"Here, I found this but I never got a chance to give it to you," I said shyly. 

Chills surged through my body as our fingers grazed.  Her fingers were as smooth as paper.  She grasped the poem tightly as I turned and walked away.

And I didn't look back.