My story inspired by Colin Kennaugh's song 'She's Gone'

"Well, look who's here," Brett commented softly.
"Who," asked Derrick absentmindedly, waiting for the bartender to hand him his soda.
"Her," Brett replied softly.
"Her who," Derrick asked in a grouchy tone, taking the glass from the bartender and turning around to look in the direction that his friend was pointing.

His heart stopped, and his breath caught in his chest.  It was her.  After all this time . . . times of thinking about her, of thinking about what had happened, of the things he wished he had done differently.  Times of wanting her, thinking about her, wondering where she was and what she was doing, . . . but not seeing her.  And now here she was, across the room from him.
His friend Brett thumped him on the arm.  "Breathe dude!  You know, take in air, heart pumps and all that."  He looked at his friend, and one look was all it took to see how gone over her he still was.  So much for that 'getting over her' crap he had been peddling to everyone.  He hadn't bought that for a second.  He looked to see if she had noticed them yet, if she was alone.  "Derrick , she's here alone; go talk to her."
"No Brett.  What I've got to do is get out of here," Derrick said, with a panicked look on his face.
As he started to get up to leave, Brett grabbed his arm and stopped him.  "No dude.  You don't.  What you've got to do is go talk to her.  Talk about the weather for pete's sake!  But talk to her.  If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.  Now go," he urged him.
"Yeah," Derrick replied softly, a spaced out look on his face.

** What happens next?  Maybe my friend Colin will write another song to inspire me?  Or maybe one of you will inspire me? **
-- jd --