Better Late Than Never {One-shot story}
{Pre-Off-The-Wall era – 1978}
He sat in his chair, by his desk, in the classroom, simply watching her. His eyes were clouded over with awe; they clearly conveyed his adoration for her. A small, subtle frown tugged at his lips, as he leant his head against his hand, and his elbow against the desk.
Why was he dismayed? Because he knew that she would never, ever feel for him, the way he felt for her. He had fallen for her at the bright age of sixteen; he was now twenty, and still held feelings for her. He'd asked her to be his multiple times; each time she said no. No matter how much each attempt had embarrassed him and haunted him for so long after, he remained persistent.
She was named Crystal, and she was the most naturally-beautiful girl in school. Everyone loved her; girls wanted to be her, whilst boys wanted to date her. She wasn't one of those typical cold-hearted girls either – she had a kind soul, which made her more perfect to him.
He, on the other hand, was named Michael. He was a shy boy, with a warm heart ... but he was sensitive. He had a childlike attractiveness to him, but that didn't tend to draw in the girls. He was a sweetheart, but because he was unpopular compared to the majority of those he knew, no-one really noticed that.
He sat in his chair, simply watching her laugh with her friends. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, causing Michael to wish it was him doing that. He dreamt of feeling her lips touch his; he dreamt of having the knowledge that Crystal was his girl. But ... she just didn't seem to like him.
The school bell went, indicating it was the end of school. Crystal and her friends rose from their seats, walking out of class, but Michael hesitated in doing so. He was so far in his thoughts, that he didn't think to move at all. It was the sound of the teacher calling his name, that finally brought him back to reality.
"Sorry sir," Michael apologised, his cheeks flushing slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that, he too rose from his seat, heading out of class.
Today, he would be staying behind to catch up with his Music work. His class had the very exciting and entertaining project of creating songs, so today he was sticking around to record it in the studio that was situated at the back of the school, near the Science department. He was looking forward to it; he had written the song about Crystal, and planned to play it to her when it was properly finished, and had been graded.
He came to the studio, sliding his bag off his shoulder, dropping it down on the floor. Quickly, he took the lyrics out of his binder, setting them down by the recording controls in the room. He knew how the studio worked; he'd been learning it all for the past couple years now.
"Crystal, this is for you," he breathed to himself, inhaling deeply to prepare himself for the first take.
He pressed a button, switching the recording microphone on, before turning the music on. He dashed into the recording booth, to be ready to sing when his cue came. After a brief intro, he began to sing.
Looking in my mirror ...
Took me by surprise ...
I can't help but see you ...
Running often through my mind ...
He continued with the vocals, singing them loud and clear. In the Science department, Crystal was sat with her friends in Biology class, studying for her next test. She had always been the type to do well in her exams, and this upcoming one was going to be no exception.
As she started reading about osmosis and photosynthesis, she heard a voice singing in the near distance. It intrigued her, because she had never heard the voice before: it was soft, but held a subtle manliness within it.
"Who is that?" she asked her friends, but they all shook their heads and shrugged. She furrowed her brows, "I want to find out who it is." She got out of her chair, leaving her revision books and notes in the classroom as she wandered into the school corridors.
Michael reached the climax of the song, which involved hitting high notes. He vocalised beautifully; it was enough to make even the toughest tear up. A sudden noise caused him to jump, cutting off his note midway. He opened his eyes, removing the recording earphones, before looking to see what had caused the noise.
He saw Crystal standing there, watching him, so he plucked up the courage to speak. "Um ... hi. Sorry; I was working on my Music project."
She smiled at him, walking further into the room. "You have a beautiful voice."
This compliment caused his cheeks to flush once more. "Oh, boy ... thanks. Um, yeah, um ... I was kind of writing it for someone."
"Who?" Crystal grew more interested.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, a small squeak did, which was enough to make him widen his eyes bashfully.
Crystal chuckled at this. She came even closer to the recording booth, now only meters away from Michael. "I think I know who it's for ... " The only thing between them now was the glass of the recording booth's window. She rested her hand upon the glass, then Michael did the same.
"Yeah ... " Michael became a little embarrassed. "I couldn't help myself. You're just perfect to me."
Crystal's face neared the glass; Michael's did the same. Again, the only thing between them was the transparent surface in front of them both. Michael looked down on her, his eyes once again full of adoration for the girl.
"Come in here," he demanded softly, their eyes not moving away from each other's. She nodded, slowly moving towards the door that led into the room Michael was in. He met her at the door, opening it for her so she could enter the room. "You heard any of the lyrics before I stopped singing?"
"Yes. Something about an angel in disguise." She gave a closed-mouth smile at this, looking down shyly.
"Ah. The perfect line to hear," he laughed. And it was a genuine laugh, too; he felt more comfortable around her at this moment.
"I found that part quite cute," she remarked, letting her eyes explore the room around her. "How long did it take you to write the song?"
"Not long. It's easy to write about things you're passionate about." Michael chose not to look at her at that point; he was shy just as she was.
"I see," she answered, walking closer to the microphone. She tapped it, hearing the feedback from the contact just a moment later. It resulted in them both blocking their ears from the sound, before they both giggled.
Michael arrived opposite her, making eye contact with her as he spoke into the microphone. "It's not that hard to use the microphone right," he teased. Then, he grew more sincere, "But seriously ... Crystal ... I wrote that song for you, with every intention of showing you how I feel."
The girl didn't react to this; instead, Michael found the courage to lean forward and kiss her, despite what her potential reaction could be afterwards. It was only a brief kiss – perhaps only a matter of seconds – but it was enough for Michael.
When they pulled away, Crystal's face held an expression he didn't want to see. Embarrassment immediately took over; a nervous frown formed on his face.
"I'm sorry," he said.
She shook her head. "No ... it was my fault. I gave you the wrong impression."
"You'll never like me, will you?" By this point, humiliation was clear in his tone.
Guiltily, she shook her head once more. "I'm sorry Michael, but I can't like you that way. We can only be friends ... "
"It's cool," he assured her. "My life isn't that terrible anyway."
He was, in fact, lying. His home life was terrible; his father had left, and his mother was dead. He was old enough to move out, but he remained in his old family home, with his irritating brother Tito, and his over-dramatic sister, LaToya. Although they were all he had, he disliked them both rather strongly.
With no more words spoken, Michael grabbed his bag and left the recording booth, tears in his eyes. He didn't even bother to save the recording he had done before Crystal came in; he didn't care any more. He knew that they would never be, so he didn't even bother with it.
Crystal remained silent, standing alone for a minute or two to process what had just happened between her and Michael. She didn't know what to think or do, so she looked across the room to see the lyrics of another song. She walked over to them, reading them in her head.
She's out of my life ...
She's out of my life ...
And I don't know whether to laugh or cry ...
I don't know whether to live or die ...
And it cuts like a knife ...
She's out of my life ...
Sympathy filled her at this time; she knew he cared for her. It was in that instant that she suddenly changed her mind; the way Michael sang was gorgeous; he had a warm, beautiful heart, and he was actually a nice person, unlike the other boys in school. He was attractive, and such a sweetheart.
She regretted hurting him all this time.
With that, she ran out of the recording booth, first making her way to Biology to pack her things away.
"So who was it?" one girl, Bethany asked.
"Michael Jackson," Crystal replied quickly, putting away her study guide.
The girls burst into laughter, but Brittany – another girl – was the one to answer. "Michael Jackson? Damn, girl! He's had a silly crush on you since you were sixteen!"
Crystal frowned at her friends. "That may be so. But now ... I have the same feelings in return."
Leaving the girls stunned, she left the room, and to Michael's house. When she got to his house, she knocked on the door, to be answered by LaToya.
"Hey. You're Crystal right?" LaToya inquired.
"Yes. Can I see Michael?" she pressed desperately, but with politeness in her tone.
"Oh, he said he was going to the park," LaToya told her sweetly. "Go find him if you like."
"Thanks. I will." Crystal walked away from the door, making her way to the park.
It was early evening by this time; it was already growing dark. Why Michael was going to the park now was a mystery to her; maybe he just wanted some alone time and fresh air.
She finally arrived at the park, jogging through the fields to find Michael. Her head turned, and she saw a silhouette of a person by a tree, so she started to run over to it.
What she saw the silhouette do next filled her with terror. She saw something sharp in his hand, and a slight gleam bounced off it, from the setting sun. The silhouette then thrusted it towards itself, stabbing its flesh harshly. In an instant, the silhouette collapsed to the floor.
"Michael?" Crystal cried out, running over to the person on the floor.
She reached the body, kneeling down by its side. It was easily identifiable as Michael – he wasn't dead, but he was weak. Blood was running through his clothes, seeping down his body to the ground. Tears stung her eyes as she held him.
"Why'd you do that, Michael?" she questioned sadly.
"You're ... the only thing that would complete me, Crystal ... " he answered painfully, struggling for breath. "If you won't have me ... no-one will ... "
She cried for him then. "But I do want you ... "
He snickered sarcastically; he knew death was inevitable now. "A little too late, Crystal ... " His eyes were lidding more and more with each passing second.
"I'm so sorry, Michael," Crystal sobbed.
"Better late ... than never," he stated weakly. "I always loved ... you ... "
"Well ... I love you too, Michael ... "
Michael's heart exploded with pride when she said that; he had been waiting for those words since he first fell in love with her. To show this, he forced a smile, though it seemed as if smiling was painful to him.
Crystal bent down to plant a final kiss upon his lips; when she pulled away, she noticed his eyes were closed fully. Her heart sunk; regret filled her with grief to see him gone.
"I'm sorry, Michael," she apologised one last time. "I'm really, really sorry."
Her head fell to his chest, longing for a heartbeat to sound, or for his chest to rise and fall with any sign of a breath. But no ... that didn't happen. She was shaking with emotional agony, as a pang of sadness created a horrible ache in her stomach.
And for hours on end, she leant her head upon his lifeless chest, crying for his return, whilst the sun set above them, and the town fell into the darkness of the night.
She had only loved him a matter of minutes, but the grief from losing him would last her life time.
~~
One to hit the feels, I guess. I almost teared up when I wrote Michael's death scene. I'm sorry if it has upset you in any way; just remember it's only fiction and it isn't real. I hope you (somewhat) enjoyed it. <3
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro