Beautiful.Dream
By Li Lin

Song: Sway – The Perishers

I talk to you as to a friend
I hope that's what you've come to be
It feels as though we've made amends
Like we found a way eventually

Stupid guy. Brainless, stupid guy. Baboon-assed, brainless, stupid guy. He forgot! Of course he forgot. They had quarreled for the first time in six years. Why? Because he forgot. The baboon-assed, brainless, stupid guy even had the cheek to saunter off while she was still griping away. Libby picked another chocolate from the half-empty box on the coffee table, a Cosmo magazine lying forgotten on her stomach.

The doorbell rang once. Libby looked up from her sprawled position on the couch and sighed in annoyance. She made no move to get up as she returned to staring listlessly at the ceiling. It was a Saturday night. Saturday nights were always reserved, because it was the time when he would come over with a good movie, and she would get a huge tub of ice cream, mountains of chips and cans of carbonated drinks. Unhealthy food, but who cares? Well, at least that was how her Saturday nights had been spent before this one. Today, he was out on a date – not that she was jealous of course, but they had promised each other once that they would never break the ritual. She laughed bitterly. How long ago had they made that silly promise? When they were a couple of thirteen-year-olds? The doorbell rang again. She blatantly ignored it and pulled the box of chocolates nearer to her.

The doorbell rang for the third time. Grunting in irritation, she dragged her lazy body off the couch and padded over to the door. Yanking it open, she opened her mouth to berate the person who had been annoying the hell out of her. She blinked once, then twice. There he was, clad in his football jersey and baggy jeans. He grinned, holding up a hand carrying a tub of ice cream and a DVD case. She gaped for another thirty seconds, glancing at the living room clock. It was barely past nine and his date was over?

“Are you planning on keeping me out here the whole night?” He said, waving the tub of ice cream in her face. “This Cookies ‘n’ Cream goodness is going to melt anytime soon.”

“Man, that must have been some sucky date, huh?” She laughed softly, stepping aside to let him into the house. He shrugged and went over to the couch that she had been occupying moments ago, helping himself to the chocolates.

“I cancelled the date.”

“Won’t Amanda be so devastated that you bailed on her?” Libby replied sarcastically, sitting down next to him. “And am I supposed to be eternally grateful to you for coming over to spend Saturday night with lil’ ol’ me, dressed in my baggy sweatpants and grimy old shirt?”

“You’re beautiful, even dressed in that.”

“Compliments will get you nowhere.”

She turned to mock-glare at him, meeting his inky black eyes. She tried to keep her glare murderous as he stared right back at her, his eyes burning right through her. I’m sorry, they said, although he kept silent. Will you forgive me?

“Let’s just… watch the movie,” she broke the eye contact and got up to insert the disc into the player. “And will you please get some spoons from the kitchen?”

Three hours later, Libby’s mother entered the living room to find her daughter and her best friend curled up together on the couch, sleeping soundly. She smiled and turned the lights off as she left the room.

It was you who picked the pieces up
When I was a broken soul
And then glued me back together
Returned to me what others stole

Tristan knocked gently on the cheery blue door, his fingers tightening around a small bowl. His heart ached when he saw her curled into a tight little ball on the bed under her sheets. He took a tentative step in, freezing when he saw her stir.

“Libby,” he whispered, gingerly sitting down at the edge of her bed. “Libby, I brought you ice cream. D’you want it?”

Cold silence was all the response he got. He leaned over to peer at her, only to find her blue-grey eyes gazing back blankly at him. Her once creamy skin was pale, and her black hair had lost its lustre. He reached out a hand to touch her cheek gently. She leapt up at once, shrinking back towards the headboard. His eyes widened, how could he have forgotten what the doctor said?

“Libby, I’m sorry!” He withdrew his hand quickly. “Look, I’ll just leave the ice cream here, alright? I’m going to go away, please, Libby, just…”

She whimpered and shrank even further back when he took another step closer. He placed the ice cream on the table, pausing in the middle of his sentence when he saw her wide eyes filled with fright. Yes, fright. Was she really frightened of him? He tried to ignore the twisting pain in his chest as he advanced out of the room as fast as he could, before he heard a soft voice, “I’m dirty.”

He spun around, shock evident on his face. She was staring dazedly at her closet door. Tristan crossed the room in three large steps, stopping and bending down before her to look at her.

“Libby…” He muttered hopefully. Placing a gentle hand on her arm, he was about to go on talking when she pushed him away violently. The expression on her face was absolutely heart-rending. She looked like a person who had been stripped of her dignity, her pride, and everything she was proud of. She looked like a person who had seen hell, and lost all memories of paradise. “Please, let me help you.”

“Don’t touch me!” She cried out, falling off the bed in a bundle of sheets. Tristan attempted to help her up, only to receive a flailing kick in his side. “Don’t touch me! I’m dirty, I’m filthy, I’m contaminated! You don’t want to touch me!” Her voice grew higher and higher before she broke into a sob.

“Libby,” Tristan sat down next to her on the ground, amongst the sheets. This time, she did not move away, merely tightening her body into an even smaller ball as her tears stained her sweatshirt. “Libby, you’re not dirty. You’re not filthy. You’re my best friend. You’re beautiful. Why would I be afraid to touch you?”

With that said, he wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned into him unwittingly, her own arms finding their way to his neck. She buried her face into his chest as he held her tight, quite unwilling to let go.

“You’re beautiful, Libby.”

I don't wanna hurt you
I don't wanna make you sway
Like I know I've done before
I will not do it anymore

“Libby Veronica Sterling. You really are a heartless bitch, aren’t you?” A snide voice came from behind her as she slammed her locker shut.

Libby turned, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She tugged at the black hoodie she had on over her jeans. Her eyes met the blazing green ones of Amanda Wilkinson, the cheerleading captain. So the evil sounding voice had belonged to her, who else could it have been? “What do you want, Amanda Brenda Wilkinson?”

Amanda rolled her eyes as though Libby had asked the stupidest question she had ever heard. Looking at the heart shaped pendant hanging off a thin silver chain, Libby understood almost immediately. Engraved into the smooth silver surface were the initials ‘A’ and ‘T’.

“This is about Tristan again, isn’t it?” She sighed wearily. She really was sick and tired of the pretty red-head bugging her about her best friend for the hundredth time. “For the millionth time, Amanda, Tristan and I are just very good friends. C’mon, we’ve known each other for more than ten years, do you really think I would fall for him and him for me? Bang your head against the wall, and knock some sense into that pretty head of yours, why don’t you?”

Just as she turned in the other direction to walk off, Amanda spoke again, this time in a less catty and more sincere voice, “Libby, this isn’t just about me being jealous of the two of you anymore. Tristan doesn’t want to spend time with you, and that’s a fact.”

Libby paused her footsteps, still leaving her back facing Amanda.

“Last Saturday, I asked him to bring me out. He said he had to meet you for that weekly routine meeting you guys had. I know you probably won’t believe me, since we’re forever at loggerheads, but I understood, so I told him it was alright. He also said he didn’t understand why you would get so uptight all the time when he cancelled the meeting, and that he would rather be with me. Why can’t you understand that, Libby?” There was a realistic tremble in Amanda’s voice as she went on talking. “Please don’t be so selfish. Stop harassing him all the time. Even if you hate me, do it for him, okay? You proclaim that he’s your best friend, but you won’t even do something that will really make him happy. What kind of a best friend is that?”

Amanda stalked off, her heels clicking against the ground, leaving Libby to ponder over her parting question. Libby felt the hot prickling of tears against her eyelids. She swiped at her eyes angrily, letting her feet propel her in the direction of the next lesson. She felt someone coming up next to her.

“Hey! So what about that coffee after school?” She tilted her head to look at Tristan Lewis, Golden Boy of the school, with a heart-stopping smile painted on his face. Shaking her head slightly, she quickened her footsteps as the words she had wanted to say died on her lips. I don’t want to make you sad. She left him standing in the middle of the hallway, puzzled and yet slightly amused by her reaction.

While her brain had been busy processing the new information it received, it had completely slipped her mind that Amanda Brenda Wilkinson was also from the Drama Club.

I've always been a dreamer
I've had my head among the clouds
Now that I'm coming down
Won't you be my solid ground?

It was pouring, and the sky was cast with dark gray clouds. Libby settled herself into one of the swings, using her legs to push herself off the ground. She tilted her head backwards to savor the feel of the raindrops pelting her skin.

“I figured I’d find you here,” a familiar voice said softly. “You and your abnormal hobbies.”

She opened her eyes hesitantly. Tristan stood before her, his dark hair falling into his eyes in wet strands, chortling away. She raised an eyebrow at him watching as he slid into the other swing. There was a roll of thunder in the distance. The edges of her lips curved upwards. She loved the rain.

“No date with Amanda today?” She asked casually, watching a jagged fork of lightning flashing across the sky.

“Yeah, because I missed talking to you too much,” he looked at her with a cheeky smile. “So… I wanted to tell you something.”

She shrugged nonchalantly, shutting her eyes and leaning sideways on the chains, “So talk.”

“I like this girl, and…”

“You’re with Amanda.”

“I know! That’s the problem. You see, I like this girl…”

“Well of course she’s a girl, you’re not gay, right?”

“Will you just let me talk?” Silence. “She’s really pretty. She has the most amazing eyes, and when she talks, the cutest dimples appear in her cheeks. She makes me want to run my hands through her hair, and kiss her soft lips. Her smile could melt the ice off anything, and I think I must have been blind to not notice her sooner.”

“And you want me to help you to get her to notice you? Who doesn’t notice you? You practically rule the whole student population,” Her tone was cynical, but she could not help it. She felt someone tugging at her arms, pulling her to a standing position. Rolling her eyes mentally, she kept them closed, when arms encircled her slim waist and something soft brushed past her lips. Her eyelids flew open, and she almost drowned in the black pools, melting under his smoldering gaze.

“I think I have been dreaming for these past ten years… Will you keep me awake for the next fifty?”

She was too busy suffocating him with a tight hug to grant him a response.

“You’re beautiful.”

A/N: I nearly cried listening to the song, and I just had to get something out of my system, so I started writing. This probably isn't the best that I could have done, but I hope you liked it. Do listen to 'Sway' by The Perishers. The lyrics are short, simple, but beautiful. The song is so delicate and simply amazing... I really don't know how else to describe it. Please review if you liked the story. Thank you. :