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SHORT STORY: They Stood Together

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Written from my iPod Touch

Author's Note: I know it's called a short story, but I expect this to be quite long, so I'm putting this here. The main character is not based off of me, nor are the events of the story based off of events in my life. There may be similarities, but they are unintentional. The message behind this story, however, is one that I have recently learned. I don't normally write drama, but elements of this have been hanging around in my mind for a while, so I thought I'd write it. Enjoy :-)

Story:

My story starts here.

I'm telling this story because it has a message that you should learn from it. Love is a fragile and complicated thing, and these are my experiences with it. My name is Dylan, and I am going to write this in third person so I can tell the story from other people's perspectives, as mine is, quite frankly, unreliable.

This particular story starts about four years ago. I was thirteen, my birthday having been a few days earlier, and it was mid-April. I did not, at this point in time, have any knowledge that my life was going to change. I was a planet, happily revolving around my sun, not knowing of the collision course I was on, towards her, the other planet. But collide we did, and the collision course was set as soon as that Maths room door opened...

***

The door to Mathematics 4 opened, and a shy looking girl walked into the class. A few stopped to look, but most of the noisy class didn't take notice. At the back of the class, Dylan was deep in conversation with Eric, a close friend of his. Eric was quite heavy in build, and had dull short, brown hair. Dylan's hair was also short, but was a sharp and brilliant black. Dylan was the thinner of the two, and they were of similar height.

Up at the front of the class, a scared and shy Amelia stood in front of the teacher, explaining to him that she was new and had gotten lost on the way to class. The balding, boring teacher gave a nod, and stood up from his chair.

"Quiet!" he yelled.

It took a few minutes to get the class to listen, and Amelia grew redder by the second as more eyes focused on her. Dylan eventually looked up, glanced at Amelia, and then looked at Eric, rolling his eyes. "Fresh meat," he joked. They laughed, and continued their conversation in whispers.

The teacher introduced Amelia, and the class grunted hello and went back to their conversations. The teacher paused awkward, and eventually told Amelia to pick a seat. To Amelia's dismay, the only other seat left was next to the boy who had called her fresh meat. Reluctantly, she made her way over to the desk.

"I'm sorry, there's no other seat. May I sit here?" She asked in a high pitched voice.

"Huh?" Dylan looked up, the shadow of a grin on his face. He studied Amelia, taking in her long blonde hair, her shy and scared expression, her sparkling sapphire eyes. She was slightly taller than him, but it wouldn't stay that way for much longer. Dylan grunted again, and went back to his conversation with Eric.

Amelia wavered for a second, wondering if the grunt was acceptance, and noting it was only after the boy had looked for any other seats to direct her to. She then pulled back her seat and slunk into it, feeling lonely and outcast.

***

The children sprung out of their chairs as usual when the bell rang.

Amelia started to hurry away, feeling as shy and alone as she had on her first day, a few days ago.

"Hey, wait!"

Amelia's heart skipped a beat. She turned, only to see the boy holding out her bag, flanked by the chubbier boy. "You just gonna leave your bag behind?" The boy asked.

She hurried over. "Thanks, I don't know what I was thinking, guess I just forgot to take it..."

There was a pause while the boy stared at her, his profound emerald eyes questioning her. "...no shit."

Amelia laughed, to her surprise. Suddenly, she felt less shy, less lonely. "What's your name?"

"I'm Dylan. You're Amelia, right?" Before Amelia could ask how he knew, he said, "I'm more observant than people tend to think. I heard sir introduce you, even though I couldn't really give a shit at the time." Amelia smiled again. "Wanna spend lunch with me and Eric?"

And with her quick little nod, their fate was sealed, and their collision course had been set.

***

In the next few months, Dylan and Eric grew a lot closer to Amelia as friends. Amelia become more headstrong and confident, and the three started frequenting local hangout areas after school.

"Gonna meet up here in the summer?" Dylan asked. He was sitting on a wall that he'd claimed as his own on their second visit to the area.

Amelia looked up from a leaf she was picking apart, thinking of a boy she liked from her old school. She was slightly bored. Eric was grounded until he tidied up his room, and wasn't able to come with them.

"Yeah," she said, "Just email me over the holidays." She looked up at Dylan's scraggly hair and frowned. "You need a haircut."

Dylan winced. "I know. I hate having long hair."

"I like guys with long hair." She paused, thinking about the boy she had a crush on. "Well, most boys with long hair, anyway."

Dylan grinned. "I'd better get that haircut then."

"I wasn't talking about you!"

"I know, I know! You were thinking about Liam, right?"

The picture of the boy she liked flashed in her mind. "Yeah..." she said dreamily.

"I don't know what you see in him, he's a prick," Dylan grunted.

"And I suppose Ellie's better?"

Dylan winced, jumping off of the wall. "Stop reminding me about that, jeez."

He stalked off in another direction, and Amelia followed him, noting that he was as tall as her now. She frowned. "Stop growing!" She called after him, running to catch up.

***

"Merry Christmas!"

Dylan smiled. "Merry Christmas to you too. What did you get?" Amelia had called him on his new phone after he'd emailed his number to her, and he enjoyed using it.

"I got a phone too!"

"Cool! What type?" They quickly found they had the same phone. "Awesome!" Dylan laughed, "We're phone buddies!"

"Yeah! Now Eric just needs one and we're all set, huh?"

"Nah, Eric got a new games console."

"Lucky fucker."

Dylan laughed. "I'm a bad influence on you. You used to be so quiet and innocent!"

"What, and you preferred me that way?"

"Nah. By the way, have you done that English homework yet?"

"Nope! Please don't mention school on Christmas, Dylan."

They talked for a while longer, but eventually Amelia had to leave. Dylan put his phone in his pocket, then stared at himself in the mirror, finally deciding to get a haircut. His hair grew slowly, but he was sick of it getting in his eyes.

***

Some time after his fourteenth birthday, Dylan admitted to himself that he had feelings for Amelia.

He told Eric about it in the summer holidays.

"That's hardly surprising," Eric laughed. "You two are very close."

Dylan frowned. "You think it's obvious?"

"Nah, it's just because I know you so well."

"What about Amelia? Do you think she likes me back?"

Eric shrugged. "Hard to tell."

"You're a lot of help, aren't you?"

***

Bounce, bounce, bounce, went the stone.

Kick.

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

"You seem cheerful."

Dylan looked at Amelia who was walking beside him, noting that he was now slightly taller than her. They were walking home from school.

"It's November," Dylan complained. "It's cold, and wet, and grey, and boring."

"It's a month away from Christmas, and only a few weeks until the holidays!"

Dylan looked at Amelia and smiled. "You always find something to be happy about."

"That's because there always is something to be happy about."

Dylan's heart leapt a little. He stopped, and Amelia stopped with him. The road was deserted, apart for those two. Dylan hadn't said a word about his feelings to her, but they had been growing stronger every day.

"Dylan? What's up?"

He turned to look at her. He looked her in the eyes, lost himself in the beautiful sapphire like he wished he had so many other times.

"I love you," he said. He was surprised at how easily the words came out. The big three words, that can have such a monumental effect, had spurted from his lips like an explosion. He awaited her reaction, suddenly feeling nervous.

She was silent for a second, but then she put her hand on his cheek. "Dylan..."

His heart missed a beat.

"...I'm sorry." She withdrew her hand and walked away.

Dylan stood in the rain, watching her go. And as he watched, he felt himself falling, tumbling, shrinking, fading...

***

It was March of the next year. Spring was starting up, the days were getting longer and warmer, and it was just a few weeks away from Dylan's fifteenth birthday.

He and Amelia hadn't spoken of what had happened back in November. Dylan was under the impression that he wasn't allowed to. He'd spent many sleepless nights since then wondering why she'd said no, but he'd never brought it up again.

He, Amelia and Eric were at their usual spot, with Dylan on the wall, Amelia lying on the grass and Eric claiming a nearby bench as his own. None of them were speaking, all lost in worlds of their own. Eric was thinking about his new girlfriend, Tessa. Dylan was brooding about Amelia, glancing at her every so often. Amelia was glancing at the sky, thinking about who knows what. She'd taken to falling silent lately.

Eventually, Eric spoke up and sparked a conversation. Dylan and Eric spoke for a while, but Amelia continued staring at the clouds. Eventually she made her excuses and left, leaving Dylan feeling troubled.

***

Dylan sat on his bed, back against the wall, basking in the sunlight. It was May. He was fiddling with a gold chained necklace that Amelia had given him for his fifteenth birthday a month before.

The necklace had come with a card, saying the she was sorry for November, and for hurting him. This had been what was troubling her. Dylan felt guilty for making her feel guilty, and always wore the gold chained necklace as a sign of their friendship.

He heard a frantic knocking at the door. Frowning, he got up and went downstairs to see who it was. He swung the door back, and was startled to see a worried and tearful Amelia.

***

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Dylan watched the monitor solemnly.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The beeps told them that Eric was alive, but they lied. He was dead to the world.

When Amelia told Dylan that Eric was in a coma, he hadn't reacted. He hadn't cried, he hadn't yelled, he didn't do anything. He just felt a large weight slide in to place upon his heart.

When his parents drove him to the hospital and the doctors told them that Eric might not wake up, the weight became heavier. He was finding it hard to breathe, and before he knew it he was on the floor. He had fainted.

Eric had been in a car accident. His parents were injured but both survived. Because of the angle of the crash, Eric had been hit the worst. He'd hit his head hard, and gone into a coma.

"Are you okay?"

Dylan looked away from the monitor to see Amelia standing in the doorway. He sprung from his chair and they hugged, fresh tears welling from Amelia's eyes. But not Dylan's. Dylan's stayed dry.

When they let go, Dylan felt like a part of him was being ripped out, like it had attached itself to Amelia and wouldn't let go.

"Better now, thanks," Dylan muttered. His voice was weak. Amelia smiled, and he felt strength.

***

"I can go to school."

"Are you sure? It's only been two weeks since-"

"If Amelia can go back to school, so can I."

"Are you sure? You've known Eric lon-"

"Mum!" Dylan snapped, "I'll be fine! Let me go back... Please."

***

Dylan and Amelia went back to school on the same day.

Nobody said anything as they walked into English. He and Amelia sat together, and the teacher continued the lesson without saying a word, for which they were both grateful. They tried to ignore the tension, which was so thick it almost felt tangible.

As the lesson went on, Dylan found it harder and harder to concentrate. The weight on his heart was getting stronger, and pictures of Eric in his hospital bed kept creeping into his mind. The girl he loved was next to him and would not love him back, his best friend was in a coma from which he might not wake...

"Dylan? Are you okay?"

Dylan looked up to see Amelia staring at him with concern. She glanced at his hand, and as he followed her gaze, he found that he had locked his hand into a fist, and was squeezing hard.

He realised that the room was silent. He looked back at his fist and focused his efforts on relaxing it, a task that proved to be worryingly difficult. When he finally managed to prise his hand open, he saw that his fingernails had cut into hand and drawn blood.

"Oh my god," Amelia gasped. "Are you-"

"I'm fine!" he yelled. Amelia winced. Dylan noticed the rest of the class watching him, and it annoyed him. He kick his chair backwards as he stood up, and he stormed out of the classroom.

"Sir... sir, can I go after him?" Amelia asked. The teacher studied her for a second, and gave a solemn nod.

"Don't worry about returning," he added.

***

Amelia found Dylan sitting at the end of the corridor. His knees were tucked up to his head, with his arms folded over his eyes.

"Dylan?"

He looked up. Amelia was surprised to find that his eyes were dry. Upon seeing her, he stumbled to his feet.

"Amelia," he moaned.

He started to move towards her, but then stopped, and took a step backwards.

Amelia was horrified by the state the he was in. "Dylan, come here... you can talk to me..."

"I love you, Amelia," Dylan whispered. She stopped dead. "I love you so fucking much. Why don't you... why don't..." he trailed off.

"I'm sorry."

Dylan shook his head, his face contorted in pain. In a moment of desperation, he swung around and punch the wall, leaving a dent in the plaster. He clutched his fist in pain, and froze upon seeing Amelia's shocked expression. Before she could say anything, he turned around and ran off.

"Dylan!"

Amelia gave chase, knowing that although she was not as fast as him, she had to stop him and calm him down.

***

Dylan lay on the grass, looking up at the sky. The weather was wrong. Today was not a beautiful day, and nor was the day before, or before that.

He studied the gold chain he kept around his neck. It twinkled a little in the sunlight. He remembered when Amelia gave it to him, how she had told him not to read the card until she was gone.

Amelia made him feel a way a girl never had before. He felt like he needed her to get through this. If Eric didn't wake up...

"Thought I might find you here."

Dylan looked up and saw Amelia sitting on the wall, in his place. He realised that he was lying in hers. How fitting, he thought. The bench is unoccupied, and his and Amelia's whole worlds are shaken. Nothing was in the right place anymore.

"You're not alone, Dylan." Amelia jumped down from the wall. Tears formed in her eyes as she walked towards him. "I'm sorry I can't be who you want me to be, but I'm still your friend, Dylan. I'm here for you."

She laid down next to him, and looked into his eyes. "It'll get better. I promise."

He locked his eyes onto hers, emerald to sapphire. "And if Eric doesn't wake up?"

She returned his stare. "Then we'll show him we can get through this. Together."

***

The next few weeks were some of the hardest of Dylan and Amelia's lives. They did not return to school, but instead spent every day at their spot. Their parents understood they needed each other to recover, and only asked that they return home by dark and did nothing rash. They would rather keep them inside, but recognised that that would only make them feel isolated and caged in.

Dylan and Amelia would sometimes not say a word. Other times they talked about Eric, and there were those rare, perfect moments when they spoke like they used to.

But those weeks were full of waiting, and uncertainty. They waited. And waited. And waited.

***

"Do you believe in God?"

Amelia looked up at Dylan, startled by this random question. It was their fourth visit her since Dylan had ran off from school. He was currently carving something onto the wall with a stone, next to where he was sitting.

"What?" Amelia asked.

"Do you believe in God? It's a question I've never asked you."

Amelia frowned. "No, I don't. Do you?"

Dylan shook his head. "Load of old tosh. I believed it when I was a kid, but..." He tossed the stone away, studying what he had carved with a vacant expression. "Do you think we should be praying for him?"

Amelia studied Dylan for a long time. She eventually opened her arms. "Come here."

Dylan jumped down from the wall and made his way over to Amelia. He laid down next to her, as he had before, and they hugged. They stayed that way for a few minutes, until Amelia finally broke the hug and rolled over, staring up at the grey sky. Dylan also turned to stare at the sky.

"Why is life so hard?" Dylan murmured.

"Hey," Amelia chided him, "There's always something to be happy about."

"Like what?"

Amelia looked at him. "We still have each other."

The drew a smile from Dylan. "There's that, yeah."

They both felt silent, two teenagers laying under a grey sheet of cloud and feeling the weight of the whole world behind them.

***

Dylan and Amelia were overwhelmed with happiness when Eric woke up. What's more, Eric miraculously escaped with no brain damage whatsoever. It was like a dream; Dylan could barely believe it. Even the doctors were surprised.

Eric made Dylan tell him what he'd missed while he was asleep.

"Well, you missed an alien invasion, the revival and mass genocide of dinosaurs, World War Three, the second coming of Jesus, and they let us take weeks off school."

"Stop hiding behind wit, Dylan. Did my coma at least get you and Amy together?"

"No."

Eric looked into Dylan's eyes and saw a wound that cut deeply into his soul. Amelia was the girl that he would always love, and that had become his curse. Something had happened in the last few weeks that had made him realise that, and nothing would ever let him forget it. Something had changed inside Dylan, and after today, he would never be the same again.

***

Over a year and a half later, Dylan, Eric, Amelia and Tessa were all hanging out. It was a freezing January night outside but they were sick of staying inside all the time. They wrapped up warm and went outside, going for a walk. Although it was dark, it was still only around five 'o' clock, so they had plenty of time to wander.

Over the last year and a half, Dylan had grown his hair long and had become taller than everyone. He straightened his hair to avoid being told by Amelia that it was a mess all the time. His emerald eyes had grown a slightly deeper green, his face had matured and he had hair growing on his upper lip.

Tessa had proven to be the love of Eric's life, as they were still together and didn't seem likely to be splitting up any time soon. Eric had grown into a broad and muscular young man, his brown hair still short and dull.

Amelia had dyed her hair red some time ago, and Dylan had to admit that it suited her quite well. She had grown taller, too, but was still shorter than Dylan, a fact of which he constantly reminded her of. Her sapphire eyes were still as beautiful as they had always been, if not more so when contrasted to her flowing red hair.

It had come to the attention of Amelia that Dylan had grown to be a cynic. While he was still cheerful and funny, his jokes had become much more cynical and he occasionally had dark moments where he became a downright pessimist. He had not mentioned his crush on her since Eric's coma, and while she liked to think he was over her, she sometimes spotted him watching her out of the corner of her eye, and often his expression seemed pained.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Tessa asked. Tessa had long black hair, and Dylan sometimes joked that the reason Eric had fallen for her was because her hair was similar to his. Her eyes were hazel, and although everyone in the group was tall, she was the shortest of them all.

"Wherever the road takes us," Amelia laughed.

Dylan had been leading the group without really thinking about where he was going. He and Amelia had been talking at the front, while Eric and Tessa had been doing "gooey couple stuff" behind them (it was Dylan's term). He mainly kept his eyes to the floor when talking to Amelia. It felt easier that way.

Dylan looked up and came to a sudden stop, pausing mid sentence. "Wait."

"What?" asked Tess.

"Holy shit..." murmured Eric.

"We haven't been here in a while," muttered Amelia.

Dylan walked up to the wall and jumped up on to it, sitting down and facing them. "We haven't been here since Eric's coma," Dylan breathed. He looked down at the spot next to where he was sitting, and his eyes glazed over with tears.

Amelia was about to question what it was that he had found, but decided it was better to let him keep it to himself. If he had never mentioned it before, he wouldn't like it brought up now.

"I should have known... this was the place...?" Eric asked. Dylan nodded somberly.

Eric knew that Dylan and Amelia had spent hours a day recovering from the shock that he was in a coma, and that they'd always meet up in a certain place. They had a number of separate hangout spots, but he had an inkling that this is where they sat.

Eric nudged Tessa. "Come on. These two need a few minutes alone." Tessa nodded and they walked away, after telling them where they'd be.

Dylan look at Amelia and smiled. "Wow. It took all this time for me to finally cry."

Amelia remembered. Throughout all of his pain and desperation, Dylan had never once shed a tear in that dark period of time, nor had he done so since then.

Amelia sat down on the grassy area that she always used to sit. "This feels weird."

"But it feels... right, doesn't it?"

Amelia chuckled. "I know it's only been a year and a half, but we've grown up so much in that time that it feels like decades ago."

"Yeah."

There was a short pause. "Can I ask you something, Dylan?"

"Yeah."

"Do you still...?"

Dylan stared at her for a second, his expression blank. But then, silently, he reached under his collar and showed her the gold chain.

"After all this time..." she whispered.

He nodded, and patted the wall beside him. "Come and sit with me."

Silently, as though under a spell, Amelia rose and sat next to Dylan on the wall. She faced the same direction as him, and stared at the sky. Even though there was no great view and she had been up here once before, she had never been formally invited up. It felt... somehow special.

Eventually, Dylan said, "Look at what you're sitting on."

Amelia shifted over and looked at what she had been sitting on, the thing that had caused Dylan to tear up earlier. Inscribed in the stone was a heart, with the letters D + A on it. Amelia looked up at Dylan, realising that her eyes were also moist.

"I know it's cliche," Dylan said, "But I will always love you."

Amelia stared at him. "I love you like a brother, Dylan. But looking at you now, I know that I can never love you the way you love me. I'm sorry."

Dylan nodded. "I know. Don't worry."

Amelia shuffled back over and kissed Dylan on the forehead. He closed his eyes as she did so. "What are you going to do now?" She asked after pulling away.

Dylan forced a smile. "I'm going to be the best damn friend anyone's ever been to you. I just want to make you happy."

Amelia nodded. "I'm going to go and wait with the others. I'll see you over there when you're ready?"

"Yeah," Dylan said. He watched her jump down from the wall and walk away, knowing that now he's had closure, he can finally fully enjoy her company again. He will always love her, and he doubts she'll ever love him back in the same way, but now he can finally accept that.

This has been my story. I know it's kind of a long one, but I think I got everything down. From thirteen to sixteen, my life completely changed.

The message I want to get across is this: if the one you love "friend zones" you, and you really love them, the best thing you can do for them is be the most amazing friend you most possibly can be. If you're lucky, perhaps that'll change their mind - but don't expect that. The whole point of being the amazing friend is to make them happy, because if you really love them, that's all you're going to want to do.

My story isn't over yet - in fact, it's only just begun. But I'm done telling it. It's time to continue writing it, so I'm going to climb down from this wall, bid goodbye to this place, and move on. And who knows, maybe a similar group of innocent thirteen year olds will stumble upon this place one day. Perhaps they'll have better luck than we did. And maybe, just maybe, I'll visit here again one day and find another story left here. Another story from another generation. But this has been mine, and if you'll excuse me, this is only the end of chapter one. I have to go now, to write a better second chapter. I can hear them, they're calling for me. My friends and my love.

My family.

Description:

This took me... quite a long time to write. But I think it was worth it. I'm writing this description before editing it - and this one does need editing - so you might have read something slightly different to what I just wrote, but personally, I'm proud of it.

One last thing - it was actually really hard for me to stop this from turning into a mutual love story. There were so many opportunities, especially towards the end, for them to kiss. I hope you as a reader felt that pain too, because I was trying to recreate the real strain of one-way love. I hope I've made you go "Couldn't she just... argh! Cmonnnnn!", and if I have, I have succeeded in that, so please tell me if that's the case :-)

Thanks so much for reading, this has to be the most work I've ever put into a short story. I hope it showed. :-)
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hahalol2778's avatar
Where's the next one