Ryan's Heart

Brookedale High was much like any other school. A three floor structure with a tall square tower that led to every floor on the left and even an old bell tower kids were known to climb into during lunch. It was usually Dennis and his friends hiding from the teachers in the dark heights over the rest of the school, watching the students move about like insects below them. The glass windows were recently replaced and as the drops of misty rain slid down their smooth surface it was if the school itself was crying for the student that would never return.

A bright sun hung low in the sky, but there was a heaviness in the air no one could escape. The first day of school since Ryan's untimely death and there was already a memorial outside the front doors, surrounded by students huddled together in soft whimpering masses. Three or four cheerleaders were crowding a candle under the canopy of the front door whispering soft prayers to a picture of Ryan. There was a collage really. Pictures of Ryan's freshman year, his sophomore, the homecoming dances, the yearbook committees, the yearbooks, school get togethers, there was even a few childhood pictures from Ryan's parents. All of them smiling or in mid-laugh when they were taken, not one where he looked caught off guard or embarrassed.

Dennis paused behind one of the groups, he was tall enough to see well over the heads of the high school girls in front of him. He didn't get the chance to really know Ryan like everyone else seemed to. He didn't really get a chance to know much of anyone seeing as how he had missed months of school every year due to his heart condition, even the kids he called friends barely knew Dennis and vice-versa but from what he did know of Ryan- it made him sick to think he was the reason that smile wasn't in the school anymore. The kid was a good kid and nice, even to the 'weird kids.' Ryan never said a mean thing about anyone that Dennis had heard, hell, Ryan had stuck up for Dennis' friend Chance just a couple months ago and now he was gone.

Dennis glanced to his left when he heard some kids whispering, even with the hum of a misting rain he could hear their hushed voices talking about him,

"That's him, the kid with Ryan's heart."

"I heard his parents begged Mr. and Mrs. Sinclaire to pull that plug so he could get the heart," another chimed in just as another echoed,

"I heard Ryan wasn't even dead yet, his parents convinced Ryan's doctor that he wouldn't wake up." Dennis clenched his jaw and tightened a fist around the strap of his backpack. None of that was true! ... Was it? No, no it couldn't have been true. Dennis' parents wouldn't tell another kid's parents to kill their son just for him. It made no sense, and there wasn't a doctor alive that would kill a patient that had a chance at surviving or having a full recovery.

"I heard it was Elsie, she pulled the plug when Ryan's parents weren't in the room," a deeper voice chimed in with the chorus of girls. Dennis paused and peeked through his black bangs at the lean track star shouldering a duffel bag. His name was Eric, he was Ryan's best friend but oddly enough not a fan of Ryan's girlfriend Elsie. No one seemed to be a fan of Elsie either out of jealousy or some other sort of conflict Dennis wasn't sure.

'Elsie, this must be twice as hard for her,' Dennis thought as his eyes slowly moved to the only picture Elsie had been in. A sweet picture of her and Ryan; Ryan with his arms around the thin blonde as they smiled at each other, both beaming even in the photograph. The love they shared was almost palpable and Dennis felt a sharp sting in his chest as lightening flashed across the darkening sky. Dennis grabbed at his chest and leaned down a bit fearing the worst as he turned from the increasing group and turning to the grey and foggy parking lot. He lifted his eyes as a cool breeze ghosted across the black top and curled through his black hair bringing with it the slight sting of racing water droplets like icy needles across his face. Dennis stopped as his heart fell back into normal rhythm and he found himself staring at the figure of Elsie standing motionless in the rain.

Her body trembled in the cold as she stood in her white tee-shirt and tight fitted jeans. Her long blonde hair with the streaks of blue pink and green clung to her doll-shaped face as she stared at the collage of Ryan. His dark eyes seeking her out from the crowd and swallowing her whole. Her backpack lay forgotten at her feet as students slowly moved around her, as if she weren't really a person but rather a traffic cone.

She had the most stunning green eyes he had ever seen on a girl and when they found him standing at the edge of shelter watching her, his heart skipped. He frowned and tightened the cloth of his tank in a fist as his heart began to race slightly and his stomach lightened. Butterflies began to flutter around in his stomach as Elsie slowly leaned down to retrieve her backpack and start inside. She purposefully ducked her head from the memorial and used her shoulder to push Dennis away when he turned to reach for her. He took a step back and felt an icy chill wash over him when he small and soaked body knocked into his.

But the whispers suddenly doubled and he couldn't hear his own thoughts as Elsie pushed the front doors open and all but ran down the hall to where her locker was once right beside Ryan's. The hallway was still empty, everyone crowded around the very photos Elsie couldn't bear to look at anymore. Dennis glanced at his feet then inside as he wondered who really had it worse for the first day.

Himself for having the heart of Ryan Sinclaire, or Elsie for having to have lost it and Ryan.