Everything belongs to S. Meyer and DMB.
The mood of this song is set by the Acoustic version of Gravedigger by Dave Matthews Band.
They sat across from each other, staring into oblivion, as songs from Dave Matthews Band filled the air. Memories from earlier times flooded them. It was as if they shared a brain, they spent so much time with each other. There was a bond between them that had been there since birth.
Like all other cross gender friendships there were times when they didn't speak to each other for one reason or another. Either they were embarrassed because people thought they were dating or they didn't want people to think they were dating, but despite that they remained close. When they were finally old enough to realize other people didn't matter, they didn't go a day without speaking to one another.
One song ended and another came on. The boy with bronze hair laughed, but the girl with brown hair spoke.
"Thinking about that time those people had a threesome next to us at The Gorge during this song?"
"How am I supposed to think of anything else when this song comes on? It was a live porn show. So hot!" He said with a large grin.
"The girls were fat." The girl countered, but smiled along with him.
"Live. Porn." He punctuated his words with a hand gesture that looked like he was making a rainbow in front of his face.
Laughter became them, but then the girl fell into a coughing fit. The mood became somber once again. She reached behind her to grab a tissue then continued on to press it to her lips. The boy with bronze hair knew what she was hiding from him, and truthfully he didn't want to see it, but he looked for the red to soak through the tissue anyway.
"Stop." She said knowing what he was doing.
He looked down as she disposed of the tissue. The song changed again and the acoustic version of Gravedigger started. Quietly the girl started singing along. "Gravedigger, when you dig my grave, could you make it shallow so that I can feel the rain?"
"I miss it." She said
"The rain?"
"Yes, and being able to go outside in general."
He stood up to leave and parted with a kiss to her hair. She fell asleep shortly after.
Weeks had passed, but he never missed a day with her. Every day after work or school he was in her room. Their activities would change from day to day. Sometimes they would play video games, or he would read to her, or they would just listen to music and talk. This particular day was one of conversation.
His eyes were red and her cheeks were tear stained.
"I so scared of losing you and you're not even mine."
"I could have been."
"I was stupid for not seeing it."
"That's neither here nor there." She tried to console him. "It wouldn't have changed the situation."
"But I could have loved you the way you deserved to be loved." Tears spilled out the corners of his eyes.
"You're my best friend, you've shown me love."
"I don't want to lose you."
"I'm fighting as hard as I can to stay with you."
"You'll get better and when you do I'm gonna take you on a date. You can wear a pretty dress and I'll walk up to your front door in a nice outfit. We'll go out to a fancy dinner and then to a planetarium where we'll admire all the constellations without having to deal with mosquitoes." He swallowed hard before he continued. "After that I'll drive you home and walk you to your front door where I'll try to kiss you like you've never been kissed before."
"That's just silly." She said through sniffles.
"Why do you say that?" He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed each one.
"We live together. You would come inside and touch me like no man has ever touched me before."
He guffawed at her remark. "Excuse me for trying to be a gentleman."
A nurse came into the room. "Visiting hours are over, time to go home." She looked at both their faces and her heart broke a little. "But this one time I won't tell if you spend the night." The nurse looked directly at the boy and sternly said "She needs to sleep though. She doesn't fair well without it."
He nodded his head and as soon as the nurse walked out the door he crawled into bed with the girl and wrapped her in his arms.
When she woke up the next morning he was gone, but there was a note. "I have class and didn't do my homework. I'll be back tonight. I love you."
She read and reread the note at least two dozen times before tucking it into her book and got out of her bed. She was exhausted before she even got to the little closet in her hospital room. She put on her regular clothes without ease and nearly thirty minutes later was fully dressed. After dressing she called a cab. Sneaking past the nurses she made it outside and found her cab waiting for her.
When the boy was done with classes he stopped by his apartment to drop off his back pack and grab a bite to eat. While he didn't mind spending all his time at the hospital with her, he did mind eating the food there. To his surprise he heard Dave Matthews Band playing.
"Hello?" He questioned.
"On the couch." She answered.
He recognized the voice and ran over to the couch without dropping his backpack. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't want to die in that hospital." She waited until his eyes met hers before continuing. "And I wanted to see you one more time."
"You are not going to die." He couldn't stop the tears from falling as he took in her state. She was lying down on the couch. There was a blue tint upon her lips and her skin had taken on an ashy tone.
"I am." She argued. "I can feel that I've lost the war inside my body. I'm not going to make it."
"You beautiful girl, you are not going to die on me." He lifted her and carried her to his bed where he gently laid her and then laid next to her. He didn't pull her into a hug like he wanted to. She looked to fragile and he was afraid she would break if he touched her anymore than necessary.
"I feel the rain." She whispered.
"We're inside. It's not raining." He said perplexed.
"It feels so nice." She slurred. "Gravedigger, when you dig..."
"Bella?" He interrupted her.
Her response was muddled at best. He leaped from the bed and ran for his cell phone.
After a frantic emergency call he ran back to his room. She was still lying on his bed, her breath shallow and her glow gone. He still thought she was beautiful. Carefully he climbed onto the bed and cradled her head in his lap.
"Bella, please stay with me. I don't know who I am without you. I need you. I love you. Please." He begged through tears.
The medics barged in and all but tore her from his arms. He followed them to the hospital and called her dad, explaining everything.
The night turned to day and he couldn't think of anything, but her. He was angry and distraught. He wanted to ask her why she came if she couldn't stay forever. He wanted to yell at her for making him love her. Most of all he wanted to hold and show her that everything would be okay.
A week passed.
He watched as they lowered her casket into the ground. It started raining as the clumps of dirt began to hit her casket. Although he had kept a stoic façade throughout the funeral and most of the burial he couldn't keep it up during the rain. He fell to his knees and cried. It was perfect for her; she wanted nothing more than to feel the rain.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.