Jessica ran out of the dance, crying. She couldn't even go to a dance without getting all emotional. She sat on the bench, staring up at the glittering stars. How could the stars look so happy, when she was so sad? She thought to herself.
A few minutes later, she heard the backdoors of the school open, followed by the faint sounds of footsteps splashing in the rain. As they got louder, she turned around and saw her best friend Trevor standing there.
"What's wrong?" he asked, with a worried expression on his face. "I saw you run out of the dance."
"It's complicated," she replied between sniffles. He sat next to her on the ice-cold bench.
"Well, I wanna know." He said. Why does he always have to be so determined? She asked herself.
"When I was little," she started. "I used to dance around the living room in a little tutu and slippers with my dad." He knew her dad was a touchy subject with Jessica, because he died when she was a little girl, though, after being friends with her for eight years, he still didn't know how.
"One night, he picked me up by the waist, and then collapsed onto the carpet, with me on top of him. I thought he was joking, so I started to laugh. Then when my mom walked in, she gasped." She paused, blowing her nose on her turquoise dress.
"She gasped and ran into the kitchen and dialed a number on the phone. Soon, the house was flooded with firemen, police, and the ambulance. They put my dad onto a little bed, and rolled him out of the room. I thought they were going to tuck him into bed. My mom was bawling and called someone else. Soon my Aunt Laura was there, also crying. She told me to go to bed without tucking me in. Then my mom left and didn't come back for another week. My older sisters were crying, but I still didn't know why. For the next two years, I was forced to believe that he had to go on a trip to China."
Trevor's heart felt like a ton of lead. He was on the verge of crying himself. Then he got the nerve to say, "It's ok. It's not your fault."
"But it is!" she replied, a little louder then she meant to. "I overheard my mom and aunt talking about it. They said he had a heart attack caused by heavy lifting. He was picking me up when he fell." Trevor could tell she was trying to avoid the word 'died.'
Jessica turned away from him to shield her tears. Then Trevor did something that surprised her. He put his arm around her and said, "I know that nobody will ever take your father's place, but I'm willing to be close. Jessica, I love you."
She just sat there, staring into his eyes, and saw no sign of him lying. Then she did something that surprised herself. She kissed him. "I love you too," she replied. They sat their kissing for the rest of the night, until the moon was bright in the sky, and her mom was honking the horn.