9The poem "You Don't See Me" Written by my best friend Jason Davis!
Derek watched Sky laugh and smile at some stupid thing Hannah said and couldn't help, but smile himself. He loves seeing Sky happy, it just makes his day. He watched as she lightly hit Hannah for something she had said, he hadn't heard what Hannah said though. All he could hear at that moment was Sky. Sky was talking about her day at the mall and even that brought a smile to his face, but the smile quickly vanished and turned into a frown at what she said next. She was having a date with Brad ( the most popular guy in school ) on friday.
"What?!" Derek practically yelled.
"I said I have a date on friday." Sky said softly, no longer smiling.
"Oh, okay." Derek said, taking his eyes off of her.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"No tell me Derek."
"Well I just don't like Brad, everyone knows that he's a player. I just don't want you to get hurt."
"It's just a date, I'm not saying I'm gonna start dating him, but I'm not saying I wont either. The fact remains that it's just a date so there's no need to worry."
"Well I just think you deserve better." Derek said tenderly, looking into her eyes.
"Oh really...like who, huh?" She challenged with her hands on her hips and staring right back into his eyes.
"You know what, just forget it, it doesn't matter." He said, getting angry.
"No you brought it up so answer my question."
"Sky leave it alone." Hannah said softly.
"No! I want to know who Derek thinks I should be dating, I mean I don't get that enough from my brother so I'm dying to hear this!"
"Fuck it! I don't care who you date. Go on your date with Brad and have fun. I'll just stay out of it from now on!" Derek said, standing up and starting to walk away.
Sky leaned against a tree and put her head in her hands, her body shook slightly with her tears. Derek sighed and walked over to her, He pulled her into his arms and she didn't resist. She put her face into his chest and sobbed quietly. He loved holding her in his arms, he just wished it was under different circumstances. A minute later Sky calmed down, pulled away from Derek and gave him a weak smile.
"I'm sorry I freaked out on you, I know you were just concerned."
"It's alright Sky, but you were sort of right. It's your life and I shouldn't be telling you who to date, I'm sorry."
"All's forgiven." She said with a bright smile and he was relieved to see it.
"Why don't we go to the mall after school, I wanted to buy you something for your birthday anyway. Besides it would be nice to have you there so you can pick it out." Derek suggested.
"Sounds good, Are you gonna go with us Hannah?" Sky asked.
"No I have to help my mom around the house after school, but you two have fun." Hannah said, giving Derek a knowing glance.
Derek just glared at her with slight annoyance at what she was implying. Hannah had found out about Derek's feelings towards Sky, but had promised to keep his secret. Just then the bell rang and everyone hurried off to 5th period. Derek and Sky hurried off to Math class and Hannah went to her science class.
Derek and Sky reached their class a minute later and found two seats in the back. Derek was glad cause the just sat there and talked, that quickly changed as Brad walked over to them. He made someone move out of their seat just so he could sit next to Sky.
"So Sky you still up for the movies on friday?" Brad asked with a sly smile.
"Yeah, I can't wait."
"Great, we can get something to eat afterwards."
"Sounds like a plan." Sky said with a big smile.
Derek had to turn his attention away from Sky and Brad; it was tearing him apart, watching her smile at him like that. She was suppose to be with him, why couldn't see just see that? Sky spent the whole period talking to Brad and totally ignoring Derek. Before he knew it class was over and everyone was leaving to go to their next class. Derek quickly picked up his things and walked with Sky out of the class.
"Hey Derek, I'm going to walk with Brad to my next class, but I'll see you after school."
"Oh...um, okay."
Sky smiled and then walked away with Brad at her side. Derek watched morosely as Brad put his arm around her shoulders. Derek quickly ran to the bathroom and was relieved that he was the only one in there. He put his hands in his black hair and balled them into fists, tugging lightly as a tear escaped his blue eyes. He wiped it away as he sat down on the floor with his knees up against his chest. He couldn't understand why Sky was going on a date with Brad much less what she saw in him. Sure he was a lot better looking than Derek was, but he had an enormous ego.
Brad has light brown hair, almost blonde and green eyes with a medium build. Where as Derek was the opposite, he had black hair and blue eyes. He was slightly skinny, but was proud of what muscle he had. So what if he wasn't as good looking as Brad, he loved Sky more than Brad ever would. He just wished she knew that.
He sighed as he composed himself and prepared to go to his last class. After he convinced himself that no one would be able to tell he had been crying he grabbed his backpack and walked to his class. When he got there the door was locked so he knocked lightly and waited for Mrs. Thompson to open the door. When she finally did she glared at him and said, "If you can't be here on time don't bother showing up at all. I'm trying to teach my class so you're just gonna have to sit out here and wait for the bell." With that she shut the door in Derek's face and he was left there alone.
He sat down with a groan and rested his head against the wall. Mrs. Thompson is such a bitch; he should've expected this to happen. He pulled out his notebook from his backpack and decided to write in his journal, considering there was nothing else to do. A minute later he saw Hannah walk up and she smiled as she sat down next to him.
"What are you doing out here?"
"I showed up for class late and she wouldn't let me in, so I get the pleasure of sitting outside bored to death." Derek said with a sigh.
"Man that sucks." She said, taking a good look at his face. "Derek, have you been crying?"
"What, no! What would make you think that?"
"Well your red eyes are a dead give away." She said, sarcastically.
"Just because they're red doesn't mean I've been crying, I could've gotten something in them."
"Like what, sand?" She said, skeptically.
"Exactly."
"Come one Derek I'm not stupid, I know you've been crying. What I'd like to know is why?"
"Sky." He said with a sigh.
"What happened?"
"All through math class she was talking to Brad; who decided to sit next to her and completely ignore me. Either that or she just forgot I was there. Then she walked with Brad to her next class, I always walked her to her last class."
"I'm sorry to hear that, but you know how Sky gets when a guy notices her. The whole world kind of fades out momentarily and all she can see is that guy."
"I know, it just hurts. He even put his arm around her shoulders." Derek said softly, not wanting to cry though he could feel the tears rushing to the surface.
"Are you sure she is worth all this?" Hannah asked, concerned for her friend who was in so much pain.
"Of course she is! She is everything to me and until I get up the nerve to tell her I love her I'll just have to watch her with other guys. It's my own fault for my misery. If I had enough courage to tell her than I'd be fine, but I don't."
"But what if she doesn't feel the same way?"
"Well then atleast I'd know, it has to be better than sitting here wondering."
"Yeah, that's true. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I know, you're such a good friend, but don't worry I'll be fine. You should get back to class though before you get into trouble."
"Yeah you're probably right. you're gonna be alright though, right?"
"Yes, I'll be fine." Derek said, smiling at how concerned she was. It was nice to know someone cared so much.
"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay bye."
Hannah waved and then walked back to her class, totally forgetting why she came outside in the first place. Derek watched her leave and then smiled, she was such a good friend. He looked at his watch and realized that class ended in fifteen minutes. He decided to write some more in his journal for the remaining fifteen minutes of class. He planned on making just a journal entry, but that didn't happen. He wrote a poem about Sky called "You Don't See Me".
He tore the poem out of his journal, folded it and put it in his pocket. He just sat against the wall remembering when he realized his feelings towards her. She had walked up to him at lunch about two years ago and smiled the brightest smile he had ever seen. As she sat down she pushed her long blonde hair behind her back, out of her way and her blue eyes held a slight twinkle in them. Then what she asked caught him by surprise, she said, "I don't have a date to the dance and I was kind of hoping you didn't either cause I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?" He had already been asked, but he said yes anyway and told Laura that he was sorry that he couldn't go with her.
He remembered that night at the dance was the best night of his life. She had been wearing the most beautiful dress; it was white, long and tied around the neck. She had her hair up in a bun with a few strands of hair coming down in the front, she looked beautiful. He had danced all night with her, pulling her close to him whenever a slow song played. They had talked, laughed and danced all night. The night ended and he took her home. She smiled and said, "Thank you for taking me." The next day was like any normal day, nothing had changed. They were nothing more than friends.
Before Derek realized it the bell had rang and everyone was rushing out of class, in a hurry to get home. He quickly put his notebook in his backpack and walked to the buses. When he got on his bus, he looked around for Sky. He found her sitting in the back with none other than Brad. He frowned and found a seat in the middle of the bus. He rested his head against the window as the bus left school; he could hear Sky giggling at some stupid thing Brad said. Derek could feel his heart breaking as Brad asked Sky to the prom and she accepted. Why would he ask her to the prom if they haven't even gone on their date yet? He never liked Brad before, but now he hates him with a passion. He could have any girl in school so why couldn't he just leave Sky alone? Derek knew that if Sky actually started dating him, she'd only end up with her heart broke and he doesn't want that to happen. He loved her so much, but what could he do?
Derek got off at his bus stop and as he was walking home he heard Sky calling out his name. He turned around as Sky rushed over to him.
"I'm gonna go home and get ready, were still going right?"
"Yeah, of course we are." Derek said, smiling at how excited she sounded.
"Okay, well just give me a half an hour and then we can go."
"Alright, I'll be at your house at 2:30 to pick you up."
"Okay sweety, see ya then." Sky said with a smile and then walked away.
A wide grin spread across Derek's face as he ran home. He was no longer depressed, he was gonna spend some one on one time with Sky. He rushed into his house and dropped his backpack onto the couch. He ran upstairs, pulled out some clean clothes and took a quick shower. After he was out of the shower he fixed his hair and put on the fresh clean clothes that he had picked out. He was wearing a pair of black pants and a silk, dark blue button up shirt. He checked himself out in the mirror and figured he looked alright.
Sky only lived a few blocks away, so it didn't take long to get there. She walked out of the house as he stepped out of the car. She had that smile on her face that he loved so much. She had no idea what power that smile had over him, it just made him melt and he'd do anything just to see it.
She looked beautiful as always, she always looked beautiful to him. All she had on was a pair of jean shorts, a pink tank top and a pair of sandals. Her parents didn't have that much money so she didn't have a whole lot of clothes, some of her clothes even had holes in them, she wouldn't throw them away though since she didn't have enough money to buy some new ones. The dress she wore to the dance was given to her from Hannah; she never would've been able to buy it herself.
"So are we ready to go?" Sky asked as she approached the car.
"Um...yeah, let's go."
"Okay." She said as she got into the car, she had seen a look on Derek's face when he saw her. She didn't know what that was about and chose to ignore it.
They reached the mall about fifteen minutes later, it was pretty crowded, but that was pretty normal. They just walked for a while, window shopping and talking about anything and everything. After a bit they went to Starbucks and got some coffee. They sat down on a bench in the middle of the mall.
"I'm so glad you took me here, it's so awesome." Sky said, smiling.
"I'm glad you're having fun, haven't you been here before though?"
"Well yeah, but I didn't have as much fun then as I am now."
"That's good to hear." He said with a smile. "Will you wait here? I'll be right back."
"Oh, sure." Sky said as Derek walked away.
About ten minutes later Derek was back, holding a small bag. Sky looked at him quizzically.
"I decided to not have you pick something out for your birthday, I knew the perfect gift for you." Derek said, handing her the bag.
She took the bag and looked at him with questioning eyes. He motioned for her to open it up. She did what he told her to do and as she did her eyes widened. A huge smile formed on her face and she quickly pulled him in for a hug.
"Oh my god I can't believe you got this for me, I love it so much." She said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
He had gotten her a silver heart necklace and in the middle of the heart it says "Forever". She had seen it six months ago, but couldn't afford it. She had really loved it and wanted it, so he knew it was the perfect gift for her. By the look on her face told him he was right.
"I'm glad you like it." Derek said with a smile.
"Like it, I love it! It must have cost you so much, you shouldn't have spent so much money on me."
"I wanted to, I knew you liked the necklace and figured it'd be the best thing to get for you."
"You're so sweet and thoughtful." Sky said with a smile. "Can you put it on me?"
"Sure." Derek said, taking the necklace out of the box and hooking it around her neck.
"You're the bestest friend I've ever had." She said as she gave him another hug, missing the sad look in his eyes as she said that. "You're a very special person to me."
"I feel the same way about you." Derek said as he let her go. "Well we better get you home before your parents freak out."
"Good idea." Sky said as she grabbed her purse. "Thanks again, for the necklace. It means a lot to me."
"Your welcome, I'm just glad you like it."
As they left the mall Sky had dropped her purse and it's contents fell all over the sidewalk. Derek hadn't noticed and kept walking.
"Wait up for me." Sky yelled out to him.
Derek stopped and turned around to wait for her, he was standing in the middle of the street Sky looked up when she was done picking up her stuff and saw a speeding car headed straight for Derek. She yelled, "Look out!" but it was already too late. She watched as the car hit Derek, he tumbled over the car and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. The car just sped away from the two teenagers and the scene of the crime.
Sky ran over to him, afraid of what she might see. He lay motionless on the ground, but she knew he was conscious when he turned his head to look at her. He had cuts and bruises all over his face and a pretty bed gash in his head that was bleeding uncontrollably. She went to try to move him into her lap, but he screamed in agony so she stopped. He looked up at her with terror filled eyes and said, "I love you Sky."
"I know and I love you too."
"No, you don't understand..."
"Shh, don't talk. you need to rest." She said, interrupting him.
A tear escaped his blue eyes as he moved his hand to rest on top of hers. "I do, I do love you. I love you so much." He said before he took his last breath.
Sky pulled Derek's body against her and let her tears fall, no longer holding them back. There were people standing all around, one person even said that they called for an ambulance. She was still in slight shock of witnessing her best friend's death so she didn't notice the people around her. She noticed a piece of paper sticking out of Derek's pocket and pulled it out as the ambulance arrived. They put Derek's body in a body bag as one of the paramedics led Sky over to a bench to sit down. She unfolded the paper after the paramedic walked away and realized it was a poem that Derek wrote. She just had to read it...
"You Don't See Me"
You don't see me and that is why
You don't need me, as hard as I've tried
You don't know me, but I can't say goodbye
You don't love me and I realize
That you don't see me
You don't see me, I'm transparent to you
You don't need me, no matter what I do
You don't know me, but what can I do?
You don't love me, no matter how much I love you
And you don't see me
You don't see me, but I'll stay by your side
You don't need me and it's something you can't hide
You don't know me, no matter how much I let you inside
You don't love me and I can't get it out of my mind
That you don't see me
You don't see me and all of the things I do
You don't need me and now I know the truth
You don't know me, the way that I know you
You don't love me and I guess I always knew
That you don't see me
Sky finished reading the poem with tears streaming down her face, she had no idea that he felt that way about her. All the signs were there though and she feels like an idiot for being so oblivious.
"I love you too Derek." Sky whispered, knowing it was too late.
She felt horrible, knowing now how he felt and him never knowing that she felt the same way. She knows it's no use in wishing that she would've told him before, but she can't help it. He tried to tell her before he died, but she only took it as in a friend way. She felt like a part of her died with him. She watched with teary eyes as the ambulance left with Derek in it. She lost her best friend and love of her life that day.
~ Finished ~