"Yeah, I guess so." Your new boyfriend also seems to be unsure of what to do next as he raps his fingers against the steering wheel. The crickets making melodious noises and the low hum of the sleek, white convertible is all that fills the silence.
Then your boyfriend decides to take his chances, and pulls you closer to him and gives you a slow, soft kiss on your lips. A brief flashback of your ex-boyfriend startles your mind. Alarmed and frightened by the vision, you quickly restrain yourself from embracing him any longer.
"Is something wrong? If I’m moving too fast for you -" your boyfriend inquires with sincere concern."No, it’s not you," you interrupt him as you try to calm your breathing. "Just..." you hesitate for a second, "...just painful memories." "Anything I can help you with?" "No, I’ll be fine." And to show that you’ll be all right, you give him another quick kiss, and then exchange good-byes.
You gaze back again as he drives off. As soon as he’s gone, joy bursts out of you uncontrollably. But that thought eventually ends, for then you remember your ex-boyfriend again. Up in your room, you plop down on the bed as you examine your memorable but regretful past. You know deep down inside you’d give everything to have him back, but...
Suddenly, the phone annoyingly rings at you. "Who could that be at this time?" you ponder with confusion. Then you realize that it’s probably your best friend with the latest gossip on guys.
"Hello?" you answer with exasperation."You’ll never believe this!" the voice on the other end replies with over-enthusiasm.
Knowing that it’s your best friend for sure, you try to persuade her to talk to you another time. "It’s 10:00 P.M. Are you sure it can’t wait?" "Trust me, you have to know this NOW. I know you’ve been looking for a boyfriend, so I set up a blind date for you." "Well, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but I just got a new boyfriend earlier this evening. You’ll have to call him - whoever it is, and tell him that the date’s canceled." "Oh... oops." "Yeah - oops."
"There’s one problem, though." "What’s that?" you ask. "Well, the guy that I set you up with - he’s actually expecting you down at the beach at about 10:30." "Tonight?!?" you exclaim. "Tonight." "Well, I guess I’ll have to go now, all thanks to you!" "I shouldn’t be that big of a deal or anything. You could just pretend you and him are friends hanging out. It’s not like he’s going to put the moves on you right away." "And how do you know that?"
Your friend is silenced. "How old is he?" "I don’t know." "Do you even know his name?" "Let me put it this way... no." "Ughhh!" you let out stressfully. "Look on the bright side. This gives you a chance to meet new people." "Yeah, thanks," you sarcastically say. "No prob," your best friend replies with an innocent tone.
You slam the phone down into its receiver. You tap your foot on the carpet as you contemplate your dilemma. Do you stand up to him and say it’s all your friend’s fault, or do you go and meet your "mystery date"? You know you hate disappointing people, and your boyfriend would understand, so you make the decision to spend the rest of the night on the beach.
Remembering that the weather was still very humid out because of the summer season, you drape yourself in a white, flowy dress and a pair of white platforms - not too high, of course.
There’s a slight breeze out that night, so the quiet, easy walk down to the white sand make you a little less tense. Even though you are nervous, thinking about your reserved date does make you a little curious. You fantasize about what he’ll look like and what his personality might be. Maybe he’s a total hottie, with a drop-dead gorgeous smile - not to mention bod, and the perfect personality. But then you realize that you shouldn’t be thinking about that. Your boyfriend has already stolen your heart. ‘He’s probably a complete nerd, anyway,’ you think. Your best friend’s plans always blow off, no matter what the situation. But what if he’s a druggie, or even worse - a rapist! For all you know, you could end up dead in just a few minutes! ‘Whoa, slow down,’ you tell yourself. ‘Don’t go assuming or jumping to conclusions like you always do.’ But that advice still doesn’t comfort you.
You finally reach the entrance, and you clumsily make your way down the asphalt to the beach. Maybe you shouldn’t have worn these platforms.
You cautiously step onto the shore, some of the grains of sand creeping between your toes. "Hello, anyone here?" you whisper, and then repeat it, only a little louder. "Hello?"
It appears that no one is in sight. Maybe you were the one being stood up. Or maybe this was all just a prank by your so-called "best friend". You heave a slightly disappointed sigh as you gaze up at the starry night. A gleaming shooting star flies across the sky, seeming to be falling almost straight down to the earth. Sparkles glisten around it as the star climbs closer and closer to its death. As soon as you can’t see it anymore, you head for your warm, soft bed like you should have a long time ago. "10:41," your watch glares sternly. Hopefully your parents don’t notice you coming home late.
You take one step in the direction of your home, but at that moment you hear soothing instrumental music along with the minimal roaring of the water. You slowly curve around in confusion, and then listen to a singular voice, seeming to come from a far off distance. Then you notice a dark figure sitting on the shore; the tiny waves lapping at the person’s feet.
The person turns their head to face you. You observe sunglasses resting upon his face. This frustrates you even more. Sunglasses at night? But after looking out across the water, you sheepishly recognize the person none other than A.J. - the most powerful human magnet for sunglasses. You know it’s him, since you see two other familiar bodies out taking a dip. Howie appears to have just been dunked underwater, for water is constantly streaming from his soaked hair, down his face, and through his saturated yellow shirt, blissfully floating upon the water’s surface. Kevin stays motionless. Only his penetrating eyes move about as they stare down every speck of your body.
A.J. ends his solo, then stands up to look you straight in the face. He makes you feel uncomfortable, so you search for the owner of the next soloist’s voice. After swiveling in all directions, you realize that Brian is nowhere to be found. You hear his smooth, clear voice gracefully flowing through the night air, but you can’t match his face with his voice.
You glance over again at A.J., and you see him trudging towards you. He stops when he’s only a few feet away from you. "Girl, don’t stop the sun from shining down on me," he sings in a soft but desperate voice. After giving you one last look, he rotates and walks in the opposite direction. You reach out your hand, trying to tell him, "Wait!" but he is already gone. And after examining the water’s surface, you find to your surprise that Kevin and Howie have also disappeared, although the music keeps right on playing. Now, you are all alone again - or so you think.
Suddenly, you sense someone grasping your hand from behind you. You whirl around, afraid of who it might be. But then your terror is subdued when you see someone’s pleasant, gentle face. Nick beggingly serenades you. "’Cause I can’t face another day without your smile."
He guides your hand and leads you to a different spot on the beach. Up ahead, you see three tiny flickering flames. You soon arrive at a small table set for two; pasta being served as the main course. As if it was his duty, Nick pulls out your designated chair with courtesy, and lets you sit down first. "Would you like a taste of hot cappuccino, miss?" he politely asks. "Sure," you grin. "All right." Nick gives you a silly smile, and you laugh to yourself as you roll your eyes. You watch him walk off into the distance.
After a few moments of patiently waiting (or rather impatiently), your ordered drink comes back. But the guy bringing the beverages isn’t Nick like you had expected. Brian carefully places them on the table, then just stares at you for a second, his eyes glittering from the candle flames. "I hope you’ll understand," Brian despondently sings to you. "That there’s a broken heart within your hands."
Suddenly, the smile drops from your face, and you start remembering your past again. While recalling your painful memories, you feel awkward to be there with your ex-boyfriend. You start to get up, wanting to escape, but then Brian catches you by the arm.
You turn around to gaze him straight in the face. "And if you take away the love and arms that surround me." Brian smiles at you, but beneath the surface, you see him suffering from lack of your company for so long. You give a half-smile in repay since you figure that it couldn’t hurt, and also because you know you really want him, too, although you are still unsure.
You sit yourself back down, trying to relax. Brian beams at you, bearing his pearly, white teeth to show that everything will be all right. You pull back your hair and tuck it securely behind your ear.
Brian lifts his glass up in the air. "A toast to the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, or ever will see," he compliments you. "To you." "Thanks." You clink your glass against his, putting your hair behind your ear again. You pick up the silver fork and start to eat. The homemade pasta is lucious on your taste buds. For a moment, the music distracts you as you hear it still continuing in the background. For less than a second, something quickly flashes in the distance, but then you attention is directed somewhere else. You notice that Brian has hardly taken a bite. He just sits there, stationary, gazing with an intent expression, desiring to know how you feel about him.
Wanting to change the subject in your mind, you glance back down at your plate and chew at another noodle. You accidentally slurp it into your mouth, and some of the sauce lands on your face. You attempt to wipe it off, but you miss the spot without knowing.
Finally, something comes out of Brian’s mouth. "Then I might break down and cry just like a child." He takes his cloth napkin and clears the sauce off your nose, and stays close to you. He repeats his lines for the last time. "And if you take away the love and arms that surround me..." he pauses, "...then I might break down and cry, just like a child." He leans over to kiss you, but then a painful, twisted expression appears on his face. He slightly keels over, his eyes squinting, then collapses to the ground. A strong gust of wind blows the miniature particles of sand and his blue, airy shirt across his torn face.
Suddenly, Brian goes all but limp. Even though you know he’s probably unconscious, you desperately try to wake him up. After finding that he’s completely knocked out, you turn him over on his stomach to investigate whether or not he’s been injured. You gasp with horror as you jump sky-high out of your skin. A sharp, steel knife reflects a bright, blinding light in your eyes as it remains imprisoned in Brian’s back.
Too frightened to do anything, you glance up to see someone running off. Something falls out of their pocket and plunks into the sand. You rush over to pick it up. "Hey, you dropped this!" you shout, waving the object in your hand, but the person has already vanished. You glance down to look at it, blood trickling down its smooth but textured surface, and you recognize it as a driver’s license. Your boyfriend’s driver’s license.
Your heart beats faster, and your breathing speeds up. All of a sudden, bursts of white light clear your mind.
You examine your surroundings, and discover that you are sitting up, straight stiff, in your bed. You slowly sigh with relief, for it was only a nightmare. Most likely the most petrifying ever, but it’s all over now. You know that your boyfriend would never kill anyone, even if it was out of jealousy.
Your stomach growls, and you figure it’s time for some breakfast. You sleepily head downstairs, stumbling on every step. To your surprise and concern, you notice a couple of cops standing in your front doorway, making conversation with your parents. You walk closer to find out what all the fuss is.
"Do you know anything about the house fires down the street?" one of the policemen asks. "No, I’m sorry we don’t," your mom replies. "I’m not accusing anyone, but you could ask my daughter."
Once again, you heave a sigh of relief. For a moment, you thought the issue had to do with murder. "Do you know anything about the burnings?" the other cop inquires. "No, I don’t," you sincerely answer. "Then maybe you could help us on this case. Last night, we believe that someone was stabbed. Can you identify the person in the picture, and hopefully tell us who could have murdered this person?"
Your first instinct is to refrain from looking at the picture, but you don’t want to seem suspicious. You warily take the photo from their extended hand. You scream, terrified, as the picture flutters to the ceramic floor. Your eyes frantically dart about the room. Then you slump back down into your seat, and put your head in your arms as tears scrape emotional scars on your face. "Is something wrong?" your dad worriedly asks.
After you’ve caught your breath, you look up with moist trails left by tears on you face, and reply in a cracked voice, "That’s my ex-boyfriend."