And The Angels Sing

"The tears fell even though she didn't want them to." A one shot short story about young love and the difficulties of it. Two teenagers in high school find unexpected happiness on the darkest of days

I stared at her intently as she copied down the notes from the board. Her hair came untucked from behind her ear and shielded her from my longing looks. She bent over her notes, furiously scribbling down whatever the teacher wrote. As she looked up at the board, her eyes met mine, and her cheeks tinged red.

"God, she's so beautiful." I thought.

She absent-mindedly ran her fingers through her hair, messing up her already-messy blonde waves. She hummed quietly, a habit she acquired from her years of singing. She glanced over at me again, and I looked out the window, pretending not to notice her enticing green eyes analyzing me.

"What is she looking at? Is she checking me out?"

As quickly as those thoughts entered my mind, they were gone as I locked eyes with her. She blinked slowly, her long eyelashes fanning out on her cheeks.

"I think I've stopped breathing."

She smiled shyly at me before turning back to the board.

"Mr. Williams, why is it that you haven't been taking notes for the past thirty minutes?" Mr. Sloan asked rhetorically.

I shrugged and grinned sheepishly. He sighed.

"Well it seems you have been very distracted by Ms. Linley so the both of you have detention after class," he responded.

"Oh no." I thought as I watched Emma's face fall.

"Mr. Sloan, please," I begged.

He shook his head and turned back to the board.

"Detention at three p.m., Mr. Williams. You too, Ms. Linley," he stated firmly.

I sighed and slumped down in my seat.

"She's going to hate me now."

~~~

The bell rang, and I jumped out of my seat, eager to leave.

"Blake!" Emma called, her voice angry.

I stopped. She stormed up to me, her face redder than a stop sign.

"I can't go to detention today! I have an appointment!" she cried.

I sighed.

"Even pretty girls can be obnoxious." I thought.

I zoned back in and realized Emma was waiting for my response.

"You'll have to ask Mr. Sloan yourself then. I tried getting out of it already," I replied.

Her mouth dropped open in shock at my response.

"Wrong answer."

She looked miffed as I walked out of the class. I walked into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror.

"She literally hates me now. I'm such an idiot."

I chastised myself mentally, walking back to Mr. Sloan's room for detention. As I walked in, I was shocked to see Emma and Mr. Sloan laughing at his desk.

"I love her laugh." I thought.

She glowed when she laughed, her entire face lighting up with joy. She glanced towards the door, where I stood watching her in awe, and she waved me over. I strode over quietly, and she grinned brightly at me.

"What's up? I asked, looking between Emma and Mr. Sloan.

"Mr. Williams, I have decided to excuse you and Ms. Linley from your detention on one condition," Mr. Sloan said.

I grinned.

"Of course. What is it?" I asked.

"From now on, you are going to attend tutoring with Ms. Linley," he answered.

My jaw went slack, and I was sweating nervously.

"She's going to be my tutor?"

Emma narrowed her eyes, challenging me.

"Yes, Mr. Williams. Is that a problem?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, of course not," I replied breezily.

I smirked at Emma and laughed internally as a confused look passed over her face.

"This is going to be interesting." I thought.

~~~

I followed behind her as she walked out of the room and through the halls. I jogged a few steps and began walking alongside her. She glanced over at me before rolling her eyes.

"What do you want?" Emma asked.

"Nothing, I just never knew you wanted to tutor me," I replied, raising an eyebrow.

She scoffed.

"I needed out of detention and that was his deal," she answered.

I nodded and walked silently next to her as she made her way to the parking lot. She checked her phone and glared at it before violently throwing it in her bag.

"Is there a problem, Em?" I asked, concerned.

"I have an appointment in twenty minutes and my mom got held up at work," she said, sighing in frustration.

"Well I could give you a ride."

"What!? What are you thinking?!"

She looked up at me gratefully.

"Really?"

"Of course," I answered.

~~~

We walked to my car, maneuvering our way through the vast parking lot. I was silent while she chatted on about how excited she was to get her braces off finally. We drove down 33rd Avenue, talking every so often about which way to turn and what number the building was. We finally arrived at the office, and Emma went to the back, practically bouncing up and down with joy. I sat in the waiting room and read a People magazine. Thirty minutes later, she walked out hesitantly. Her frown masked her teeth as her hair masked her face.

"What's wrong, Em?" I asked.

"They look weird," she mumbled.

"I'm sure you look fine," I said, smiling encouragingly.

She looked up shyly and grinned half-heartedly.

"Oh lord."

My heart wasn't prepared for the beauty that hit me full force. If she was pretty before, she was gorgeous now. I grinned widely at her and shook my head.

"Emma, you look stunning," I said truthfully.

She laughed, and my heart skipped.

"Blake, you're crazy and blind," she replied.

"She can't be serious." I thought.

"I'm serious, Em. You look beautiful."

She blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Emma, your next appointment is in two weeks...And bring your boyfriend back. He's a sweet boy," the secretary called.

I chuckled as Emma turned bright red. She opened her mouth to protest but I cut her off.

"Oh, I'll be here. Right, babe?" I said, winking at Emma.

She glared at me playfully and dragged me out by my arm.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" Emma demanded.

I grinned mindlessly.

"She's so cute when she's angry." I thought to myself. "God that was cliché."

"Blake! Are you even listening to me?" she asked.

"What?" I answer, zoning back to reality.

"I said, what were you thinking?" she replied, exasperated.

"Just how cute you are when you're angry," I responded.

She blushed, or maybe just got angrier, and trudged to the car.

I chuckled and followed after her.

The drive home was filled with awkward silences and hidden glances at one another. I drove up to her house and parked in front of it.

"Thanks for the ride, Blake," she said, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Anytime, Em," I answered.

She hopped out of the car and headed towards her house. I drove off and turned the corner. I should have looked more carefully because the next thing I saw was black. I heard screaming, and I didn't know whose screams they were. I felt my body being pulled, and, suddenly, it was too bright. I tried to move my arm to shield my eyes but my arm didn't move. Pain crashed over me like a tsunami wave, and now I knew it was me screaming. Then I heard the singing. I stopped screaming and listened to the voice singing. But the voice was drowned out by the sound of sirens. I felt a hand on mine, holding it gently, trying to comfort me but trying not to hurt me.

"Sing." I whispered.

I felt the girl lean over next to my ear. She sang away my pain. She sang above the sirens. I tried opening my eyes, searching for the owner of the voice.

~~~

"Emma."

She grinned, her eyes filled with tears, and nodded.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

"In an ambulance," she replied.

I heard the sirens then and groaned.

Her face contorted with fear, fear that I was in pain.

The uniformed man that had been slouched in the corner leaned over me and checked my IV. He checked all the machines, adjusting them as he went. When he determined everything was fine, he slumped back against the wall, keeping a close eye on me. .

"Emma," I whispered.

She leaned closer, and I sighed.

"Sing for me?" I asked.

She looked at me curiously.

"Why?" she replied, confused.

"I feel better when you sing. I feel alive." I said.

She nodded and slowly began singing. I listened intently, my pain, little by little, going away. The doctors said later it was the morphine, but I know it was her.

"But I'm only human, and I bleed when I fall down," she sings, and I see the tears streaming down her face.

The tears fell even though she didn't want them to.

~~~

"We're going to have to take him to the OR. He needs surgery now," the doctor said.

My eyelids fluttered, opening slowly as the light filtered in.

I saw Emma, sobbing, as she nodded.

"Do you know his parents? Do you have a number for either of them?" the doctor asked.

She shook her head.

"They're gone. They went out of town last week" she mumbled.

The doctor nodded.

"Since he's eighteen, he doesn't need a guardian's consent," he said, looking at me.

"Do it," I replied.

The nurses wheeled me out the door, and Emma walked alongside the gurney. As we approached the door to the OR, she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. But her kiss came with tears, and, suddenly, I felt less brave. They wheeled me into the OR, and, in seconds, I was unconscious.

~~~

I dreamt of heaven. I dreamt of angels singing and the sky shining. It was the perfect place. There were no flaws. And yet, something was wrong.

"The angels have got nothing on Emma."

They weren't flawed or wrong. They were beautiful, perfectly created in every way. Their voices just as angelic as you would think. But they weren't Emma.

~~~

With that thought, I was awake and back in a regular hospital room. Emma sat in a chair by my bed, looking dead tired but not sleeping. I crooked my finger at her, beckoning her to come to me. She walked over and sat on the bed next to me.

"Lay down, Em. Get some sleep," I said.

She was too tired to argue, and she curled up next to me, quickly falling asleep.

~~~

"That was the greatest day of my life, Em. I got to be with you." I say, tears filling my eyes. "I wrote this for you. And I can't believe you're gone now. You left me to go on that trip but you didn't come back. So now I'm alone. The house is too big without you."

Sobbing, I sat on the flower-smattered grass in front of her grave.

"I love you, Emma."

And all I heard was the singing of angels.

Reviews

[Emily]

OMG! I love this!!
This is my favorite story of yours!
Keep it up!!