Okay. So this one is when Derek is in third grade. It's called Derek's First Friend, and it's not Simon, cause they're in different classes. Also, the story doesn't have the same ending as the song; it's just loosely based on it. It's long as well, I'm afraid. Anyone who likes this story, it's going to be a bigger, longer chapter story later on.

My little girl met a new friend
Just the other day
On the playground at school
Between the tires and the swings
But she came home with tear-filled eyes
And she said to me "Daddy, Alyssa Lies"

I just brushed it off at first
Cause I didn't know how much my little girl had been hurt
Or the things she had seen
I wasn't ready when I said you can tell me
And she said

Alyssa Lies
To the classroom
Alyssa lies
Everyday at school
Alyssa lies
To the teacher
As she tries to cover every bruise

My little girl laid her head down
That night to go to sleep
As I stepped out the room I heard her say
A prayer so soft and sweet
God bless my mom and my dad
And my new friend Alyssa
I know she needs it bad

Alyssa Lies
To the classroom
Alyssa lies
Everyday at school
Alyssa lies
To the teacher
As she tries to cover every bruise

I had the worst night of sleep in years
As I tried to think of a way to calm her fears
I knew just what it was I had to do
But when we got to school on Monday I heard the news

My little girl asked me why everybody looked so sad
The lump in my throat grew bigger
With every question that she asked
Until I felt the tears run down my face
And I told her that Alyssa wouldn't be at school today

She doesn't lie
In the classroom
She doesn't lie
Anymore at school
Alyssa lies
With Jesus
Because there's nothing anyone would do

Tears filled my eyes,
When my little girl asked me why Alyssa lies

Daddy tell me why
Alyssa lies

3rd person.

Derek Souza didn't care that none of the other kids liked him because he was so quiet. He was just happy that Simon played with him on the playground sometimes. But he didn't, today. So Derek just played by himself, finding the place between the tires and the swings a quiet place to sit and think. When he closed his eyes, though, he felt a light touch on his shoulder. A little girl with long brown hair smiled at him, showing a missing canine tooth, and she sat next to him in the soft green grass.

"You're Derek, right? I'm Alyssa." She smiled again, and lifted her arms, stretching like they taught them in gym. Derek's eyes caught how her jacket sleeve slipped down a little, showing her arms. He gasped. Bruises in the shape of hand prints on her forearm. Alyssa quickly put her arm down, hiding them. But Derek already understood, because he was smart.

"What happened?"

"Do you want to play?" She asked instead, jumping up.

"Why do you want to play with me?" He asked blankly. Alyssa frowned softly, her pink shell-coloured lips pulling down in a pout.

"Because your brother is playing with his friends, and because you're my friend." She said, taking his hand and tugging him towards the swings. "We can push each other. You can get on first." Derek shifted, then shook his head.

"No. I- don't want to swing."

"Well what do you wanna do?" She asked, pushing her brown hair out of her face. She was a little shorter than him, and she was wearing jeans and a baby blue t-shirt under her pink jacket.

"Do you want to…" he trailed off, remembering girls didn't like bugs. He bit his lip, eyes going to the sky as if to ask the clouds what to do.

"Let's go by the trees." She said quietly, tugging his hand again. Trees. Good. He understood trees, too, and it made him more comfortable whenever he was near nature. Some little boy from Simon's class yelled, "Ew! Alyssa why are you hanging out with Derek?!" Derek's shoulder's hunched. Alyssa went right up to him and stepped on his foot, twisting it in pretty well.

"Meany." She spat, walking back over to Derek and taking his hand. He saw some bruises on the back of her neck, too. Simon was now staring at the boy with his arms crossed and a mad expression on his face.

"Derek, what is that?" She tilted her head, wandering around the other side of the tree. A bird was flapping one wing hard, its other wing bent in an odd angle, limp.

"It's a Gray Jay. They're supposed to be further west." He said, looking at the bird in confusion. Alyssa tugged on his arm.

"It's hurt, Derek. Look, she's so sad." He looked at her sharply.

"How did you know it's a she?"

"Because." She pointed up and in the tree was a nest, with no eggs in it. Smart, Derek thought with affection. "It's good to help things that are being hurt, Derek." She went towards the bird carefully, then scooped it up in her little hands and clutched its unhurt wing to its side. It let out a terrible squawk. "Do you know how to help its wing?" She asked, and her eyes, so caramel coloured that he was surprised, were filled with tears.

"Yeah. Don't cry Alyssa, we'll help it."

That afternoon…

"Hey, boys. What went on at school today?" Dad asked as he drove them home. Simon launched into a long story about his game that he played and the spelling test he took that was hard, but not too hard; and the test he took in art that was easy, but not too easy. He talked about his friends that were nice, but not very nice. Dad's eyes went to Derek in the rearview mirror, but he didn't interrupt Simon. When they got home, Dad sent Simon up for his bath, and he sat Derek at the table.

"So what did you do today at school?" He asked him as he fixed a snack for them all before dinner. Derek couldn't help it; he smiled, childlike wonder coming to his face. Dad smiled, too.

"I made a new friend today." Dad paused. "Her name is Alyssa. She's real nice." He said, then sucked in a deep breath. "We found a Gray Jay today; it was hurt. She helped me fix it. Then we gave it to the teachers, and they said we were very good. Alyssa's in my class!" He said, kicking his eight year old legs excitedly.

"You made a friend? That's great, Derek." Dad said, smiling warmly. Derek felt as if he'd just earned a golden star; he forgot all about those bruises he'd seen. He forgot all the bad things, but he remembered how she'd called him her friend and that she was nice and that-

"Your turn!" Simon said, shaking his wet hair in Derek's face. He stuck his tongue out. "And why hang out with Alyssa Cook? All girls have cooties!" Simon shivered. "Ew."

Derek stared for a minute, then went up the stairs. Half way up, he heard his dad say something to Simon.

"Don't say anything like that to your brother, Simon. That wasn't very nice. He finally made a friend, and you're making fun of her?" He could almost hear Dad shaking his head.

The next day at school, Derek found out that Alyssa sat in the next aisle, right next to him. The teacher, Mrs. Miller, was fretting at the front of the class room, and Derek knew why. Alyssa was sporting a busted lip, and her wrists had bruises on them, and- because she was wearing shorts- they could all see the bruises on the backs of her legs. That morning in Gym, Alyssa had told Derek…

"Derek, can you keep a secret for me?" She whispered, standing on her tip toes.

"Yeah. What's wrong?" He asked, letting her off the swing. They were outside for gym today.

"I know you want to know where these bruises came from. I saw you looking." She whispered. Derek nodded, listening intently. She stood on her tiptoes again. "My daddy did it. He hits me sometimes, when he's angry. Don't tell!" She whispered frantically as their class got called in.

Here came Mrs. Miller, kneeling in front of Alyssa. Everyone turned to look at her. She took Alyssa's little hands, and Alyssa started to pull away, then decided against it. She did glance at Derek, though, for help. He stared helplessly.

"Alyssa, what happened to you?" Good, Derek thought, if she tells someone, they'll make her dad stop hitting her. Then Alyssa did something bad, something that was really bad.

"I fell down. The rocks…when I was walking to school, I played at the rock hill and I slipped down it." Alyssa lied, and Derek felt his jaw pop open in shock. "It was an accident, don't worry, Mrs. Miller." With that she offered a bright smile, and Mrs. Miller smiled shakily at her; she walked away again, with a tiny "be more careful, Alyssa," before getting her marker out. Derek looked at her with sad eyes.

"Why'd you lie, Alyssa?" She wouldn't look at him. Derek's eyes filled up with tears, angry and sad tears, and he didn't understand why she hadn't told Mrs. Miller that her dad did it.

"Mrs. Mi-" Derek started, but Alyssa stopped him.

"You promised, Derek!" She cried, quietly enough for Mrs. Miller not to hear. His mouth was still open, gaping, but he couldn't break his promise- that was lying, too.

Dad was the first one Derek went to. He had gotten home before Simon because Simon was getting tutored. Derek slammed the door and let his tears fall down; he didn't care that he was a baby, but he did care that Alyssa was…

"Derek." Dad knelt to his eye level. "Derek, what's wrong?"

"Dad, Alyssa lies." Derek said in a choked whisper, tears still falling. Dad relaxed a little, because he didn't understand.

"You can tell me, Derek. Come here." Dad picked him up quickly and set him on the couch.

"Alyssa lies to the teacher; she lied about her bruises!" He burst out, not even thinking about his promise. Dad's face paled. "She lied in the classroom! She lied to the teacher; and to the gym coach. She lies at school." He cried, but wiped his face quickly. Dad was staring at him with a mix of horror and pity, sympathy and fear.

"Alright, kid. Why don't you just- just go upstairs and take a nap while I deal with this." Dad murmured. Derek went upstairs, Dad following quietly behind.

When Derek thought he was alone, he knelt beside his bed and laced his fingers like he'd seen in a lot of movies.

"I don't know if I really believe in you, God, but if you are there, I really think that Alyssa needs you bad. So if you are real, and even if you aren't, can you bless my friend Alyssa? She needs you; she needs help. And I can't do anything, so it has to be you."

Kit covered his mouth and backed out, tears in his own eyes; he went to his phone and started calling anyone and everyone he could to deal with this.

Derek went to school on Monday well rested and upset; he was going to tell Alyssa that she was going to tell the truth. Instead of seeing her immediately, though, he saw police cars, and a tall lady that looked kind of like Alyssa, but not really. Simon stopped walking.

"What's going on, Dad?"

"That's Alyssa's mom, boys. She's going to take care of Alyssa now, alright?" He said, gripping Derek's shoulder gently. "She's gonna be okay, Derek. She has to go home today, though, to pack her things, alright? So you won't see her at school today." But Derek saw as the wind blew, a big, dark bruise on Alyssa's cheek; it wouldn't ever end. But she smiled and ran up and hugged him, kissing his cheek.

"Remember that I was your first friend, Derek!"

Wasn't that the most heart warming thing you ever read? Bless his heart, Derek was adorable! Just kidding, Lmao. Anyways, I had too much sadistic fun with that one. But if you really liked the Alyssa and Derek friendship (And that's all it was, trust me; I like the Derek/Chloe pairing just as much as the next romance fanatic), then look for another story in this section by me, and it'll probably mention an old friend of Derek's reappearing (And the first chapter will probably be quick "sketches" of the times they met after third grade) in the Edison Group's place. We'll see. *smiles dangerously*