• I didn’t remember anything. I couldn’t tell if I was alive or dead. I don’t know if I was awake or dreaming or having a nightmare, or dreaming of a nightmare. All I knew was that my head really hurt. So I think I was alive. And I could wiggle my toes so I figured I was awake. I slowly opened my eyes. I found myself facing a ceiling. A pillow under my head, a light blanket over me, a thin mattress that I was comfortably resting on and a bandage raped around my head and a couple band-aids on my hands. I tried to sit up but my body was aching all over. When I finally got the strength, I looked around the white room I was in. there was a door with folders in a plastic compartment on it. In the room there was a small table, three windows, and tile floor; very simple very plain. I moved around a little in my small twin bed. I then looked to my left where the windows were and I saw another bed… with someone in it that I did not recognize.
    It was a guy who looked to be my age (about 17) and really attractive. He had short jet black hair and long eyelashes. I couldn’t tell his eye color because his eyes were closed. He along with me had a bandage around his head but his was very bloody. Most of the bandages on him were covered in blood. I hoped he was going to be alright. By the look of his biceps in his arms I figured he was very handy, so did the burn marks on his hands. And by his white skin (not so white that he was albino) I guessed that he didn’t go outside much. I wandered why he was in here with me, I really tried to remember, but it only hurt my head more. I fell back on my bed in thought. Nothing worked I couldn’t remember anything; all I could remember was four months ago when I was with my friend Sara. I suddenly started feeling sleepy. So I stopped thinking and decided to sleep.
    I quickly fell fast asleep. In my dream it was four months ago with Sara. We were at a fund raiser at our high school and we were looking at these really awesome pieces of jewelry.
    “Kate!! Look, look, look!! I really like this one!!” Sara told me.
    “Oh, and this one and this one and this one too” I said to her.
    “They are all so pretty!!” We said.
    “Well thanks, they took a lot of time and hard work” said what appeared to be the guy who was in the other bed.
    “Did you make all these” I said still gazing in his dark brown eyes.
    “Yep, here’s my card” he handed it to me in between his middle and index finger.
    “Tyler…”
    “Yes” he said with a smile. It had his first and last name on top along with his grade which was senior and major which was art design. It was September when we were there and when I looked into his eyes everything went all blank to me.
    Coming back, “I-Ill take these earrings”
    “Thanks, and since you said you really liked my work, here.’’ He handed me a ring that had a butterfly on the top. I tried to put it on my thumb because it looked rather large.
    “Um, I think it’s too big” it was still too big for even my thumb.
    “Girls really do have slender fingers.” He said looking at my thumb.
    “I still want it though!” I said holding on to it.
    “Well it’ll take a little time but I can resize it for you.”
    “Really? ’’ I said blushing.
    From that day on I saw him almost every day. Nothing big, we would just talk in the hall and have lunch together with our friends but I didn’t want to be friends. So that fall…
    “Will you go out with me” I wrote on a note in class and passed it to him. Then when he was about to read it and my heart was literally flying out of my chest, suddenly a very wrinkly hand snatched it out of his hands. My flying heart was shot like a duck.
    “Well I guess if this note was so important to interrupt my class I guess you wont mind me reading it then” the teacher said it without question and in an older Mrs.Buttersworths kind of voice(but it wasn’t sweet). I wanted to die right then and there, any other note, but why did she have to catch that one. I liked him so much but now it was all ruined, he would never talk to me again.
    “Ahhem, “will you go out with me’’-Kate” I could feel my face turn into a cherry; the teacher was giving me a stare along with the rest of the class except for Tyler.
    “Sure” he said without any hesitation.
    “What…?” I said still coming out of shock from the read.
    “Sure, Ill go out with you” He said again.
    “Really?” I could here the angels singing behind me and a 100lb weight was lifted off my shoulders. Everyone was still staring at us but I didn’t notice, I didn’t notice anything except him.
    “I don’t know how much we will see each other ‘cause I have a lot of projects in my art to do but I would really like that.” He said with a kind smile. I just knew it I was the luckiest girl in the school.
    “Well if we are through with the excitement I would like to get back to teaching” Mrs.Buttersworths from hell said. I didn’t say anything I was just looking at him with a small smile and so was he. Finally the bell rang and I was so exited.
    We met at a burger joint he had told me about. It was somewhere across town but not far. It was a good thing we decided to meet there so I could go home and dress myself up a bit, but not too much or else he might notice that I was really trying. I threw on a new coat of eye shadow and a sprits of my new perfume and topped it off with a couple of brushes of my hair. I also changed out of my tenashoes into my sandals to be a little more comfortable. I got there a couple minutes early so that I wouldn’t be the one who was late. We were supposed to meet at 4 o’clock, it was now 4:05 but I wasn’t worried he’s not the kind of guy who would get cold feet like that. Or I hoped he wasn’t. I really liked him and I would hope that he wouldn’t do that.
    It was 4:10 and now I was worried. But I was determined that he would be here any second now so I waited. Now it was 4:20. I thought to myself, who am I kidding of course he wouldn’t show he was totally out of my league. It was such a waste asking him out, he just saw an opportunity to pick at a girls heart and then rip it out! I started walking in the direction I came in to go home. Just then I heard the angels singing again and my heart was fluttering trying to find a way out of my chest. I saw his face running up the street toward me. His black hair was glistening in the sun like it always did. And between every few steps he was moving it out of his face.
    I was just over whelmed with joy while I was watching him get closer and closer to me. He finally caught up to me. “I am so sorry I am so late you must have been here a long time”
    “I didn’t wait that long” I lied.
    “No, I made you wait in this heat I have to make it up to you. I got it, the burgers are my treat, OK?’’
    “OK,”I said trying not to take advantage. “but not to put you down more but why were you so late?
    “I was going to ride my bike over here so I would be early, but half way here my front tire went out, it had a nail in it! I know its crazy, right? So I walked it back home and looked at my watch and it was already 4:10 so I had to run to get here”
    “Dude that’s crazy”
    “I know right, its boiling out here lets go inside and I’m starving causes I wouldn’t dare to eat the school food.’’
    “Me either, what was the daily poison today?”
    “I’m not sure I want to know” he laughed.
    We walked in and it was perfectly air conditioned and we were out of the 90 degree weather. He seemed to know this place like it was his home. We sat at a booth with red cushions. The waitress came by and asked what we wanted to drink.
    “Diet coke please” he said
    “Same here” I said. She left to get the drinks.
    “So what got you into art design” I said to start the conversation.
    “I saw my father do some sautering in the garage when I was like 9 and he let me help him and I was so interested, I guess that’s when I decided to take up the family trade.”
    “That’s cool” I was trying to act enthusiastic.
    “So are you interested in anything?”
    I was just about to say “you” but I had to not space out and pay attention.
    “Um, actually I’m not really sure what I want to be yet.”
    ‘’Oh, well I’m sure you’ll find something eventually. But how about a hobby, do you do anything in the spare time that you have in your exciting action filled life” I could catch the sarcastic drift he was sending.
    “Well I do like music”
    “What kind”
    “All kinds, rock, hip-hop, pop, rap, metal, alternative you name it.”
    “That’s cool so you like to sing as well I can presume?”
    “Yeah on occasion I like to belt out a few tunes.”
    The waitress came back with our drinks. I hadn’t even noticed how long it took. She set down the drinks and asked what we wanted to eat. I hadn’t even looked at the menu so I said the first thing that came to mind when I remembered I was at a burger place.
    “I’ll have a cheeseburger with no unions”
    “Tell Fill, Tyler wants his usual.” He said like he knew what he was doing.
    “Got it, it will be out shortly” said the less than enthusiastic waitress.
    “What’s your usual?” I asked whispering so the leaving waitress wouldn’t hear.
    “Cheeseburger” he said going along with the whispering.
    I felt better about my order. The whole night up until about 7:30 we just talked about school, friends, music, parents and just about any other subject we could think about that had to do with 17 year olds. And surprisingly we did have a lot in common. When we were finished he walked me home. When we got to the porch of my door all I got was:
    “This is me” I said pointing to my house. “Thanks for walking me home” I said feeling a bit awkward.
    “No problem and I had fun, we should do this again. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at school Kate”
    “Yeah see you Tyler” I said feeling like I just got rejected but not up front. He walked off my porch and onto the dark sidewalk home. I took out my key and went in side. I went upstairs to my room and threw myself onto my bed. I thought of what I wanted him to do and that was to do what all the movies showed: him giving the girl a peck on the cheek and her wanting more and that’s the hook saying that we are going to have a second date. But what did I get, “Well Ill see you tomorrow Kate”. What the heck is that supposed to mean! It’s like he said goodbye to one of his teachers! Well I guess we’ll see tomorrow then.
    Tomorrow we did the same routine. We went to the burger joint and talked and had our usuals then he walked me home and he said good buy to his teacher. We never seemed to get closer and I wanted to so much. I thought I was happy but that’s then I realized my doubts. This went on threw January and one night I decided to be brave. He was walking me home as usual and his hand was dangling out in the open so I grabbed it so we would do the whole couple holding hands thing. But what did I get:
    “What are you doing?” he said like I was poking at one of his scabs.
    “Y-your hands… there magic… with the things you create with them…the art I mean.” My cover wasn’t so smooth. .
    “It’s not my hands” looking at the star filled sky.
    “Eyes?”
    “My eyes and my heart. I give form to the emotion I feel when I see something. That’s why I want to see as many things as possible. There are still so many things I still don’t know exist. That’s why I want to travel the world when I graduate. That’s my dream.”
    Dream? Tyler’s dream? To see the world? When he graduates…hey…what about me…? I don’t want to be apart. I love him so much…love? I…I’ve never heard “I love you” from him…never.
    “……..iot” I said softly
    “Hmmm?” he said
    “YOU IDIOT! JUST GO WHEREEVER YOU WANT!’’
    “What’s going on”?
    “It doesn’t matter!”
    “Yes it dose. Talk to me!
    “We’ve been going out for three months and we’ve never even held hands! We’ve never even kissed! Then you tell me you are going to travel the world. You probably…don’t even care about me.”
    “Kate…” he grabbed my hand trying to calm me.
    “I like you so much more than you could possibly know! But…I’m tired of being the only one who cares.
    “Kate…” I jerked my hand out of his and started to run away from him.
    ‘’Kate!” I should have never asked him out. Look what I’ve become… I just wanted him to love me…
    I ran into the street trying to get away.
    “Kate wait!! Watch out!”
    I was frozen; I could only hear a soft honking sound and speeding headlights heading for me like a speeding bullet. Then I hit the ground. My eyes finally open I could see the road a centimeter from my eyes. I got up and all of me ached. I looked around for Tyler. On the ground about 2 feet from me was Tyler. He looked like he got hurt the most. Then I knew what hit me, it was Tyler putting himself in front of me. I got up and rushed to him.
    “Tyler!” Why did you save me? Why?
    He finally came to. “I… I’m not the kind of hero that would just save anyone you know… I care about you more than you know.” He put his fingers threw my hair. I could feel him get heaver and his fingers fell out of my hair.
    “I really…love you…” His eyes slowly closed and blood was coming from everywhere.
    “Tyler! Tyler! No, don’t leave me!! Tyler!! Help someone help him!"
    I woke up with my memory restored. I glanced over at the bead next to me and Tyler was up examining his bandages. He looked over at me and got out of his bed rushing toward me. He held me in his arms.
    “I’m so sorry for giving you a reason to doubt.” He released me and sat there on my bed. “You know, I’ve never told anyone about my dream. You are the only one I’ve ever told. When we graduate… will you come with me?”
    “I love you” I said falling into his arms.
    “I love you too” He said, he put his index finger under my chin to lift my head up and he softly put his lips against mine.