• I sat at my desk in English, zoning in and out of the lecture on Shakespeare's power in prose. I already knew about Shakespeare and had read some of his great works. I ended up drawing a picture of a dozen roses splayed on a table top, looking forlorn and forgotten. I don't know where the lonely feeling that the picture gave off came from. I knew I wasn't lonely.

    The class ended and I went home, head pounding. I was silent, listening to soft rock music. When the bus stopped, I followed my friend to her dad's car and we went home-we were neighbors. I was very quite the rest of the day, keeping steadily to myself, earning myself some glares from my little sister. I fell asleep in my school clothes, too distracted to put on pajamas. That's when my subconscious showed me my true loneliness.

    I looked on at a slightly fuzzy scene. Or was it a memory? Either way, it was my friends and I at lunch. I sat down with my earbuds in, staring down at the open book in my palms. My friends were all socializing and laughing. Then the image changed. It was my funeral, only months after the lunch scene. No one except my family and my best friend were there. They didn't cry; it seemed they were only there for looks sake. This startled me and the dream shifted yet again, to a guy this time. He was amazingly handsome. I felt a connection even in the dream. I wanted to reach out and touch him but then the dream began to fade and I woke up, drenched in sweat and full of fear.

    The next morning, I got up as usual but dressed differently than normal. Instead of my jeans and t-shirt with a hoodie, I slid on a pair of black spandex and a black strapless dress. I did my makeup and hair. It took a bit but I was finally pleased with my look. I left my iPod at home. Walking out of the house, I felt like a completely new person.

    At school, my friends all stared and covered up their faux pas with compliments. That was the first day that I really had socialized with my friends. I grinned and near the end of the day, I caught sight of a new kid talking to the teachers. I recognized the kid, although I'd never seen him before.

    The Next Morning

    I dressed the same way, avoiding my normal clothes. It alarmed me a bit but I stuck to it, needing to leave behind a memory. That one new kid was in all my classes. I learned that his name was Dimitri and I really really liked him. The next few days passed in rapid succession. It was on a Friday that I found a dozen roses on my desk along with a poem. I read the poem with apprehension.

    tab The sky was never as beautiful as when I saw you,
    tab Although I haven't known you long,
    tab I still find myself falling ever deeper in love with you,
    tab And so I say that I will love you till this last rose dies.

    I blushed and waited for the roses to die. One by one they did, until one was left. It never died, never seemed to need anything. I felt a mystery but was to busy to pursue it.

    It was a month later that I got into a car accident. I was almost dead when I saw a boy frantically trying to drag me out of the car. It was Dimitri. I motioned for him to leave me but he ignored me. When he finally found me laying there, almost dead, tears dripped down his cheeks.

    "The last rose never will die." He whispered as the car burst into flames.

    I stared at him in amazement as I fled from Earth, his hand in mine.