There sat on the bench, the most innocent, goody goody girl in the whole twelfth grade at Liberty High School. Bella Lovingston. Her name said it all.  With her long brown locks of hair, and her bangs resting right above her eyebrows. Her freckles gleaming out in the sun, making them stand out so brightly. 

She wore a knitted yellow sweater, with jeans and brown boots. Her hair was styled in a messy bun with a pencil in it. She was reading To Kill a Mockingbird. She stared intensely at the book, so concentrated in her own world, ignoring everything happening in her surroundings. That was until her book fell from her hands and got swept away by the wind. She immediately snapped out of her concentration, got up and started looking for the book. 

It was like she was on a mission. She finally saw her book and when she did, it was like a dog running back to their owner. She went to bend down to get her book when suddenly her head collided with another. 

“Ow. Sorry, I didn’t see you there, I’m sorry. Are you alright?”

Her big bright blue eyes staring up at the stranger who she just collided with. 

“I could be asking you the same there Ms.Bookworm.”

Bella blushed lightly and looked very embarrassed. She was quite shy and peculiar. No one really had understood Bella. She didn’t really have any friends because she was always caught up in her own world.

Very shyly, Bella replied back with “I know, I’m really sorry, I should have looked where I was going and looked out for any--

Slow down there Speedy, it’s ok” replied the stranger.

He was a tall boy with brown hair that was slicked back with gel and a black leather jacket. He wore ripped jeans and black shoes. 

“My name is Bella,” she replied with.

Taking the book, he looked at it and then looked up at Bella and said: “So enlighten me, Bella- how does one kill a mockingbird?”

“The book is To Kill a Mockingbird. Not How to Kill a Mockingbird. The mockingbird is symbolizes something that is innocent, and that it will die. If you read the book, you would understand.” Bella replied back with sharply

“My bad, my bad. No need to get feisty,” he replied back with putting his hands up in the air like he was surrendering to a police officer.

“Well, do you have a name?’

“Yes, I do.”

“Well what is--”

“That is for me to know and you to find out. You seem pretty smart. Pleasure meeting you Bella.” he said with a smirk, walking away from the girl who just stood there completely confused by what just happened.

Bella stood there, gathering her thoughts about what just went on. She knew that he was completely different than her. She needed to know this stranger's name. Her thoughts were interrupted by the bell. She gathered her things, walked inside the school and went to class.

Colorful posters and flyers filled the walls up and down the hallway.

Bella walked to class and sat down in her seat. Sure enough, the same guy walked through the door. 

“No way,” she mumbled under her breath.

He walked in and immediately locked eyes with Bella. 

“Hey Speedy,” he smirked and sat in the empty seat behind Bella. 

Bella could feel him staring at her from behind and she did everything not to turn around.

Once the class got out, Bella went to get up and walk out the door, when the boy stood in front of the door and blocked her way. She didn’t see him and bumped into him.

“You just keep bumping into me don’t you Speedy.”

She rolled her eyes and tried to get past him, but he wouldn’t move.

“Move please, I need to get to my next class.”

He looked at her in the eyes. She had a puzzled look on her face. Bella started to get nervous, a guy has never stared at her like that before.

“The name is Shawn. Shawn Yearns.”

Before Bella could say anything, he walked away.

Lunch had arrived, and Bella sat down at her usual spot at the table in the back. She didn’t sit with anyone. She just read by herself. Bella picked up To Kill a Mockingbird and continued reading it. Then, all of a sudden her concentration was disrupted by someone who decided to sit right in front of her.

“Who reads at lunch? My gosh Speedy, socialize. S-O-C-I-A-L-I-Z-E.” Shawn said

“Go sit with someone else then.”

“Nah, I’d rather just sit with you. Everyone else has their own annoying clique. I don’t do that stupid stuff.”

“Oh wow, I’m so honored,” Bella said sarcastically.

“Oh yeah, I know. You are so lucky to have me sit with you.”

Bella just continued with her book and ignored Shawn. Five minutes went by, and Shawn couldn’t stand the silence anymore. 

“Okay  give me that.” He took her book right out of her hands.

“Hey what the--”

 “Just get up and follow me or I won’t give you back your book.”

“Fine, my gosh.”

She followed him out through the school. Right near the school is a lake, you weren’t supposed to be there though unless you had permission or supervision. She followed him down to the lake. 

“We aren’t supposed to be down here. We are gonna get in trouble. I’m leaving.”

She went to walk away, and he grabbed by the arm and pulled her back right to him closely.

“You really need to chill out Speedy. Just relax. I promise that we won’t get in trouble.”

“But what--”

“Shhhh.”

Bella stopped talking and stood there.

“Okay. Look at the water, what do you feel?” Shawn asked.

The lake was many shades of blue getting darker and darker the further out you looked at it. 

“I feel cold because it is freezing out thank you very much.”

“Okay then,” Shawn said as he handed her his black leather jacket and put it on her.

She blushed and then looked back at the water.

“Be serious, what do you feel when you look at the water?” Shawn asked again.

“I don’t know, is this supposed to be a test?;

“No, it’s not a test Speedy.”

“Oh.”

“Okay. When I look out into the water, I see a deep endless blue full of life and possibilities. You can’t see what is under the water, so you never know what to expect. It’s like life, you don’t know what is going to happen until it does. But when you look, you feel calm because you know that everything will be okay.”

Bella looked at him deeply. She didn’t say anything, she just stood by him looking at the water. 

“You’re right,” she said quietly. 

They stood there for a little while longer. Then the bell rang, and they walked back into the school to class. Shawn gave her back her book, and Bella placed it back in her bag.

After school was over, Bella went to her car and saw him standing with his arms crossed in front of her car.

“How did you know which car was mine?”

“That’s for me you to know and you to never find out.” He said with a smirk.

“That isn’t the saying.”

“It’s my saying now then. Wow, I should get that printed on a sweatshirt.”

“Oh yeah, for sure,” she said sarcastically but with a smile. 

Bella then realized that she still had his leather jacket. She took it off and went to hand it to him.

“Here you go. Sorry, I totally forgot that I had still had it.” she held it out to him.

“Nah keep it, I have too many anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Speedy, I am one hundred percent positive.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Bella said and blushed.

“You better be honored. I could have given it to anyone.”

“Oh wow, okay.” Bella giggled and got into her car.

“Bye, Bella.”

“Bye Shawn.”

The next morning at school, when Bella got there, Shawn was waiting right in front of the doors.

“Good morning Speedy, well aren’t you a morning person.”

“Thanks. I barely got any sleep last night because I was up until two in the morning, studying for math.”

“Who studies? I just wing it.”

“Yeah, and how is that going for you?”

“Pretty well actually, thanks for asking.” He smirked.

“C’mon Speedy, let’s get to class.”

They walked to class and sat down right when the bell rang.

“So Speedy, I was thinking; would you like to have the honor of going on a date with me?

“Excuse me Mr. Yearns, but the bell has rung and class has started. I’m sure whatever you and Ms.Lovingston are talking about can wait. 

“I was just exercising my right of the First Amendment ma’am,” Shawn said.

“Yes, and it does have consequences. Now be quiet.”

Shawn smiled and whispered in Bella’s ear “So what do you say Speedy. Meet me at the lake at seven?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Bella said.

“Okay Speedy, I know you’ll be there.”

“Guess you will just have to wait and see won’t you.”

“I guess I will.”

Lunch came, and Bella sat at her usual spot. She spotted Shawn striding in and walking towards her. He sat down and looked at her.

“Okay, you should wear a dress tonight by the way,” he said.

“I didn’t say if I was going to come or not.”

“Oh, I know you will though. We both know that you can’t resist me.”

Bella blushed.

 “As I said, you will just have to wait and see.”

Shawn smiled at her and she smiled back. 

After school was over, Bella went up to her room and tried to find out an outfit to wear tonight. She was super nervous. She had never been on a date before. He said to wear a dress, but she didn’t own any dresses that would fit her. She sat in the middle of her room, with tons of dresses around her that didn’t fit. But then she came up with an idea to go into her mom’s closet. 

She wasn’t allowed in her mom’s closet as far as she knew. So she snuck in very quietly. She looked through all of the dresses, and then one caught her eye. It was a flowy knee-length red dress. “This is perfect,” she whispered to herself.

She tried it on and it fit perfectly. The material of the dress was as soft as silk. She also spotted a pair of tan wedges and a necklace and took that too. She put on the shoes and necklace, then did her hair and makeup. She looked at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath and walked out the door.

When she got to the lake she gasped. There was a blanket with a basket filled with food, and radio and lights around. Shawn was standing at the bottom of the lake. She walked down to him.

“So my schedule was clear so I decided to come.”

Shawn looked at her and was speechless. He gazed at her for a good minute before he could find words to speak.

“Wow Speedy, you look absolutely amazing.”

“Thank you, so do you.”

Shawn was wearing a blue polo shirt that complemented his blue eyes, with khaki shorts. 

“Okay Speedy, since you love moving around, I figured I should teach you how to dance.”

“I can’t dance though.”

“Which is why I am gonna teach you.”

“Okay.”

“We are just going to do a basic 4 step okay? So take my hand.”

Bella placed her hands in his. She was very nervous, and she could tell that Shawn was too but he was playing it off. 

“Okay so, you are just going to step forward, then right, then back, then left okay? I am doing the opposite.”

“Forward, right, back, left. Okay, I think I got it.”

Shawn went over to the radio and played some music.

“Okay ready? Five. Six. Seven. Eight.”

Bella stepped forward but accidentally went to the left instead of the right and stepped on his shoe.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Let’s try it again. Take a deep breath.”

“Okay.” Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Okay ready? Five. Six. Seven. Eight.”

Bella actually got it this time. Then all of a sudden, Shawn spun her around towards her. They were mere centimeters apart. Bella could practically smell the mint on his breath. Butterflies were flying around in her stomach.

They gazed into each other's eyes and leaned in to kiss. He delicately placed his hand on her face and kissed her. Bella felt every nerve in her body light up. He pulled away, and they were both blushing. 

“Speedy, do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

Shawn smiled so big. Bella was very happy. 

They walked back to the blanket and sat down. Bella rested her head on Shawn’s chest. She could hear his heart beating very fast. He placed his arm around her and held her close. They spent the rest of the evening talking and eating and laughing.

It was getting late and Bella had to go home. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and right, when she turned to leave Shawn, said: “I love you. From the moment I saw you, I knew that you were going to be the one as crazy as that sounds.”

“I love you too. Thank you for tonight.”

“Yeah of course.”

They both smiled and blushed. Bella got in her car and drove home smiling.

The next day at school, Bella wait outside the school for Shawn. She waited for fifteen minutes until the bell rang. He never showed up. Bella thought that maybe he just went in a different way. She walked into class and there stood an empty seat behind hers. 

She stared at it, and then sat down in her seat. “Maybe he is late?”, she thought to herself. She stared at the door the whole period hoping that he would stride in with that smirk on his face. He never did though. 

While Bella was lost in thought about this, she was quickly snapped back into reality by the bell. She walked up to her teacher's desk and asked: “Do you know why Shawn isn’t here today?”

“Oh sweetie, you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Honey, Shawn has had cancer. He was cancer-free last year, but then it came back last week. He is at St. Michael’s Hospital right now.”

“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe that he didn’t ever tell me.”

“I am so sorry honey.”

Bella ran out of the classroom and walked through the crowd of kids in the hallway, and got to her car. When she got it, she started bawling.

“No.No.No,” she said as she was hitting her steering wheel.

“Why the one time something in my life happens it falls apart.” She thought to herself.

“Dammit!” She yelled.

She couldn’t stop crying. Mascara was streaming down her face. She looked in the mirror, and grabbed a napkin and wiped it off. She took a couple of deep breaths and pulled herself together. She started up her engine and started driving to the hospital.

On the drive there, all she could think about was Shawn and how he never told her that he had cancer. She knew that there wasn’t anything she could do to help if he told her, but she still deserved to know. All of this time, when she thought that everything was perfect, he was dealing with this. Bella had felt awful. She started to tear up again, but she held back her tears this time.

She got to the hospital, pulled in and parked. She ran inside to the lady at the front desk.

“Hi, I’m looking for a boy named Shawn Yearns. Where-where is he?”

“He is in 206A miss. It is upstairs on your right.”

“Thank you so much.”

Bella ran up the stairs and looked at each room number on the right. “200A. 202A. 204A. 206A.” She whispered to herself. The door was closed. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door lightly.

“Come in.” A weak voice said.

Bella opened the door and walked through.

Shawn sat up quickly. His face turned white.“Bella what are--”

He never called her Bella before. 

“Why didn’t you tell me, Shawn. How couldn’t you have told me; the person that you love.”

“I know I--”

“No, you don’t know.”

“Bella, I didn’t tell you because like what I told you when we first met and I took you to the lake. You don’t know what is going to happen until it does. I didn’t want you to freak out if it was nothing serious.”

“Well is it? Is it serious?”

Shawn looked away and looked at the curtains.

“Shawn.”

He looked back at her but didn’t look her in the eye.

“I have Stage Four Brain Cancer.”

“What.” Bella’s voice cracked and she started to cry.

“No, don’t cry. Please whatever happens tell me, you will live your life and not just read Bella. I want you to see the world. There is so much for you.”

“But I want to do it with you.”

“I know. ”

“Promise me?”

“I promise.”

Bella kissed him on the lips and put her face against his. A tear rolled down his cheek.

“I love you so much,” she said

“I love you too. Bella, whenever you look at the lake I’ll be there. Just start talking and I will be there to listen. I will always--”

The monitor started to beep. Bella didn’t know what was going on.

“Shawn? Shawn! Oh my God!”

She ran out to the hallway,

“Help someone I need a nurse. Something is happening!”

They heard her and went to his room.

“Miss I am going to need you to wait out here.” One of the nurses said.

“No, I need to be with him.”

“Miss please.”

Bella did as she was told. All of a sudden, it got quiet. Then she heard one of them say: “Time of death, 4:32 pm.”

She dropped to her knees and started sobbing. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

One of the nurses came out and told her that she could say goodbye now. Bella walked in and looked at him. His eyes were shut. They were never going to open again. She was never going to be able to feel his touch again. She was never going to hear his voice again. 

She walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead.

“Goodbye, my love. You will always be in my heart. I promise.”

She walked out and went to her car.

Bella started driving around. She drove around for hours, not knowing where she was going. Then all of a sudden, she knew where she had to go. She drove in the direction of her school. She got out of the car and walked down to the lake.

 When she got to the bottom, she stopped. She looked out and remember what Shawn said.

“I miss you already Shawn. Thank you for everything you have done for me in a short amount of time. I love you so much.”

And with that, she knew that he was listening.