Young Writers Society

She was flawless.

She was everything every girl wanted to be, everything I wanted to be.

She never knew how she affected everyone with her beauty.

She sang when no music was playing.

She laughed before I even told the joke.

She danced.

She cried.

She loved.

But it didn’t last.

Because she was dead.

///

I walked down the cemetery pathway, waiting for my sister to give me a ride home. It was foggy, the cascade of maroon and red trees were being shadowed by the mist, and the sky was grey. It was going to rain. How fitting. She loved the rain. She loved to dance in it. To act crazy and get drenched. I just wanted to go. I wanted to lay in my bed, smell her sweatshirt and sleep...for as long as possible. I couldn't believe that she was gone. After months of hiding, sneaking behind my sisters back, making sure our parents didn’t suspect anything. I just can’t believe….Jesus. This is so hard.

I spotted my sister, Abby, walking towards me slowly, hand in hand with her boyfriend Jake, His shaggy blonde hair was in his eyes and he held the car keys. You could tell he’d been crying. She waved behind her at her friends, who were clouded by the fog, and her eyes met mine. I smiled the best smile I could, managing to make her smile back. Her eyes were red. I wait for them to catch up and walk with them. I take my sisters hand and squeeze tight. Jake unlocks the car, plain, black and dark, like the day, and we pile in. I let go of her hand, and sit in the backseat, trying my best not to lose it right there. We drive away from the cemetery in silence. I close my eyes. I daydream.

///

“Jesus Cleo, I just realized that my name is so butch”, I look up from my book, another John Green one, and she pursed her lips. I look at her in confusion. “What?” I finally say.

We were in the basement, my room, trying to cool off. It was the middle of June and it was a wonderful eighty seven degrees outside. The only cool place in the house was down here. Thank god. We were also hiding from my parents while Monica was at cheerleading practice.

She laughs, and it sends butterflies through my stomach and makes me laugh too, even though I have no idea what shes talking about. It’s the one sound these days, the one thing, that can make me laugh. She moves from her criss cross position, grabs my foot playfully and I blush. “Honestly, does the name Stevie seem odd to you? Just like...” she pauses, thinks for a second. “Say it outloud like twenty times and you’ll see.” I wait, blinking, waiting for her to say she’s kidding, and she frowns at me. She’s serious. “Just do it! Clee, I need another person's opinion.” I laugh at her, tell her she’s crazy, and say her name about five times. “Stevie Stevie Stevie Stevie Stevieeee” She looks at me, expectant, and I look her in the eyes very seriously and say, “Stevie, you have the most feminine name ever”

She grins, kisses me, quickly, and that grin turns into a giggle...and then she’s full blown laughing like a hyena, and suddenly, I start the crazy animal laughing too, and we end up on the floor and in a ball of tears and giggles.

That was our last good day.

///

When I get home I climb out of the car and glide through the door, passing our cozy living room. Our small three bedroom house creaks as I walk upstairs. Itś mostly made up of hardwood, the only carpeted area was in the living room. My cat Nico brushes up against me when I enter my bedroom, and I pick her up gently. Nico is a black cat, with equally as dark eyes. I got her when I was ten, as a gift from my dad. I got so excited, my dad brought her in from where she was hidden in a box in the garage. She was just a few weeks old. She was so little she could fin into the crook of your arm. I hugged him and said thank you a million times. He smiled at me warmly, telling me about how I would need to take care of her every day, feed her. That's one of my best childhood memories. That was before my parents split up. I was thirteen, and they sat me and my sister down, told us they just didn't want to be together anymore. They didn't love each other. They never really fought. They treated each other as friends instead of husband and wife. They lost their love, somewhere down the line. That was that. My sister cried. I didn´t. Now dad lives in Florida soaking up the sun's rays and golfing every day, while my mom works nonstop. He has a girlfriend about ten years younger than him named Sonya. She's great, she's super pretty, blonde, I met her one summer, and stayed with her and dad in their condo for a few weeks. We talk sometimes on the phone. She likes to talk to me about clothes and boys. If only she knew I wanted to talk about girls. Poor Sonya would feel so bad.

I walk into my dark bedroom, set Nico down, and without thinking, go over to my bedside table, open the drawer and pull out the letters. I open one and start reading. She was so creative. So beautiful. So unique. So happy… at least I thought she was. But I guess she wasn´t, if she was so sad she had to die…

I lay back on my bed with her letter to my heart, where it belongs, and I drift.

///

I met her in 8th grade.

She was a cheerleader, a Freshman in highschool, along with my sister, and they quickly became friends. Being on the same squad, with all the same people every day makes it easy to get to know people, make friends. She was perfect. Her name was Stevie Anne Davis, she was fourteen, and she was the craziest fucking girl I had ever met in my young life.

I didn't meet her until christmas break. My sister invited her over for New Years, and I was the one who opened the door. When I saw her I'm sure I looked like a freak. (A blushing embarrassed freak)

She was tall, even for a fourteen year old, she had blonde hair that went to her hips, that had bits of red in sunlight. She had a sloped nose, piercing green eyes, and a nose ring that she lost practically every day when she woke up. She would spend forever looking for that thing in the mornings she spent the night. She had a body that was meant to be a dancers. Long and skinny as hell (and trust me this girl could dance). She was strong but not masculine, and her lips. I daydreamed about her lips, jesus she had the most perfect curved cupids bow and biggest pouty lower lip.

I stuttered a hello to her, as she hugged me and said it was nice to meet me. I invited her in as my sister bounded down the steps and they hugged as well. I was well aware that I liked girls at a young point in my life, but I hadn't come out yet, I had never had a relationship (if you count Kevin Stevens in sixth grade, which I do not) and I had never met a girl that affected me quite like Stevie did.

We all hung out in Abbyś room, eating pizza at around noon. Abby never excludes me from hanging out with her, even if we had friends over, and I never exclude her. It is just already decided. If I have a friend over or if she does, we all hang out. Even when no friends are here, we usually watch movies in my room, or talk in hers. We did a lot of stuff together when we were younger. We started talking about random stuff. Highschool, for me, how it's super duper easy, nothing to worry about. Boys, music, books we have read that we liked and hated. In those first five hours or so I learned a lot about Stevie. We eventually got onto the topic of when and how Stevie moved here. Abby has told me before her story is cool. Well, not cool, it is very sad how her parents died and she had to move, but I think it is good she ended up here.

Ï moved here when I was ten,” she starts, ¨my parents had died a week before. Car accident. It sucked of course. It more than sucked...The only close relatives I had that wanted me was my Aunt Ruby.” She smiles now, happy about her aunt it seems.

¨I love my aunt to death now, but then I barely knew her. She never once made me feel like I was a burden, or that she didn't love me, even though we were strangers pretty much...but I still was angry. About what, I don´t know. Maybe my parents, maybe having to move, maybe living with Ruby.. Maybe all of it. But I got over my anger and I learned that my aunt was pretty cool. Now we get along pretty well.¨

She smiles, and takes another bite of her already cold pizza. I stare at her for a second, watching the way she chews. Quiet and polite. That was pretty much the only time she was quite, that first time at our house. But when you meet new people you want to seem nice, and quiet and polite, so they like you better. I don't like that she did that, though, hid her true personality, for those few hours, I like her much better the way she usually was.

Abby was listening attentively, paying close attention to her story, even though iḿ sure she has already heard it and was just telling it for my benefit. But she still asks, ¨Are you happy here? In Michigan?¨

Stevie considers this briefly, and nods. ¨Yeah, I think so. I have friends,¨ she nods to Abby and Abby smiles gratefully, ¨and I have the squad, and Ruby and now I have a new friend.¨ She stops, takes a bite, chews.

I am the one to ask. ¨Who?¨ I say, speaking maybe the third time since she has gotten here.

She looks up at me, smiling. ¨You, Cleo! I just met you today, but Abby talks about you all the time and I feel like I know you already. Your awesome.¨ She smiles at me warmly and I feel like I may melt. I smile at her too, not wanting to look from her vibrant eyes. She is the one to break the connection, saying she feels like doing the face masks she brought. ¨Would you ladies like to partake in smooth skin?¨ She laughs after she says that and says, ¨I sound like iḿ offering you guys drugs.¨ We all laugh.

We end up staying up until at least two AM, we watched the ball drop, screaming and yelling excitedly. Mom joined us a few minutes after and said she was going to bed. She kissed the tops of our heads, even Stevie´s, then leaves us to ourselves. My sister fell asleep first, only halfway through the movie we popped into my computer. Stevie yawns from the floor and looks at Abby sleeping on my beanbag, a comforter wrapped around her like a cacoon (being in an old house has its disadvantages and advantages, one disadvantage being the crappy heating) and laughs. ¨She looks so peaceful...I bet I never look like that when I sleep. Peaceful.¨ She looks at my sister for a second longer then turns to me, on the twin sized bed. She looks at me for a moment, like sheś thinking, then laughs. ¨iḿ getting loopy I need to go to bed...goodnight Cleo¨ She smiles warmly at me, I say goodnight to her, and she lays down in the nest of blankets and pillows on the floor (to be fair, I offered the bed to her, but she declined) and almost instantly falls asleep.

When I wake up in the morning Stevie and Abby are up and quietly talking and typing and tapping through their phones. I yawn and stretch my arms as I sit up in bed. They look at me and start giggling. I look at them quizzically, then catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and my hands go over my face. My hairs a birds nest! I groan and flop back down on the bed….

A few hours later Stevie leaves. But that won't be the last time I see her.

I don really have a title but I WILL HAVE ONE SOON 

Izzy