The first time I heard “Never Knew I needed” by Ne-Yo, I was lying on a green grass at my school yard while looked up to that baby blue sky. I was with him. The man who introduced me this song. The one who never be buried in my mind. A part of my past that will always be remembered no matter how long we didn’t meet.
He gave me one of his earphones and I stared at him, bewildered. He was wearing a white T-shirt and grey jeans, simple, yet handsome.
“What?” I said
“Just listen.”
“You want me to…”
He nodded, cutting up my incomplete question with his charming smile. I blushed.
“Okay…” I took his earphone. He smiled again.
“You look beautiful today.”
“Eh?”
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
I waved my hand in front of his face, “Are you okay?”
He chuckled, “Well, I’m not sure. Perhaps because today is so bright, you look a little bit more shining than usual.”
“Oh…” that disappointment feeling crunching inside me unconsciously. And I didn’t know why.
“Hey, you’re not suppose to be here, right? Where’s your boyfriend? That tall basketball dude.” He laughed. He never liked Tommy anyway.
“He has a meeting today.”
“Meeting? Are you sure it’s not a cheating?”
I smacked his arm, “You jerk, Jake!” and he laugh merrily.
“Well, I miss you today. So, I feel I like I have to see you.” Said me again.
“What did you say?” he looked shocked.
“What?” I confuse.
“What did you say?”
“I said I have to meet you.”
“No no no. The one before that.”
“I miss you.”
He smiled. I swear, I never see him that happy since ever.
“Why are you smiling?” I said.
“I like those words.”
Then, we were both silent, enjoying that beautiful song in our ears. Until he raised his voice once again, “Do you know why I like this song?”
“Hmmm… it’s not your style anyway. I know you don’t like this kind of music.”
“Just guess.”
“Ah! Are you having a crush?”
He patted my back lightly, “You are indeed my best friend, sugar.”
Sugar is not my name though, but he used to call me that. Because the first time he saw me, the first word that he said was ‘sweet’ and since then, he insisted to call me ‘sugar’. I couldn’t complain ‘cause I liked it too.
“What? How dare you? You never even tell me that you had a crush. What kind of girl is she? Tell me.. tell me..” I asked him excitingly.
He stared at the sky, “Well.. I like her for the way she changed my plans, for being the perfect distraction, for the way she realize me that she was everything that I wanted to have…”
He describe that girl so perfectly, I had never seen him like this before. I felt my heart trembling, like there was something from his words that made it hurt. I couldn’t take my eyes of him, as he kept continuing his words,
“she’s a rare and unexpected friend, I admire her for the way she’s something that I would never choose, but at the same time something that I don’t wanna loose,” he suddenly stopped and turned his sight at me,
“What are you looking at? You look so stupefied.”— Yea, I was stupefied by his super extraterrestrial explanation.
“Wow.. I think you like her so much. You have to introduce me to that girl someday.”
“You already know this girl actually.”
“Really? Is she one of our friends?”
Before he was able to answer my question, my phone was ringing. It was Tommy calling me. He wanted me to meet him right away. So, I rushed after I hang up the phone.
“You have to go now?” He asked.
“Tommy wants to see me immediately.”
“Okay, you better go now.”
“But wait, who’s that girl?”
“I don’t wanna tell you, just guess and tell me if you’ve had the answer.”
And so I run, left him with a big question in my mind.
Until the day of our high school graduation, he never wanted to tell me about that girl.
****
It has almost 2 years since we graduated from high school and had to be separated because I decided to go to another country to continue my study.
And today, I’m home again. I’m sitting on the same place. A place that used to be our favorite place. From distance, I see his familiar face is running towards me. He comes right after I call him to meet me here.
“Have you had the answer?” he said directly without asking my news first.
I stand up and try to look deep into his blue eyes. When I think that I’m sure about my answer, I nodded with a smile on my face, “I like when Ne-Yo says you’re the best thing I never knew I needed. See now it’s so clear, I need you here always!”
P.S: I made this short story with a big help from my friend Riris a.k.a Pohon. (: