Playing The Player

:Chapter Seventeen:

I was definitely, absolutely, with a doubt overreacting.

I mean, there were heaps of people with the last name 'Branch', right? And it wasn't like Dylan was an uncommon name. If anything, it was a very, incredibly, extremely popular name. I probably knew at least ten Dylans in my life, yes, definitely a minimum of ten.

The problem was, only one Dylan really made an impact on me. Literally.

I shifted on my toilet seat, the girls bathroom being my destination after I ran out of the classroom, sobbing and shrieking like a stupid banshee. Humiliation was the primary emotion I was experiencing at the moment, but I was also annoyed at how I had made such a big deal out of it. Everybody back there probably thought I was some attention seeking female dog, and while I didn't really care about what most of the people back there thought, I still didn't like the idea of me being seen like that.

Pulling some toilet paper off the roll then abandoning it half way, I wiped my nose savagely on the bottom of my shirt, before forcing myself to stand up, trying as hard as I could to not think about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

And no, I wasn't talking about Voldemort.

I shakily opened the cubicle door and made my way into the main area of the bathroom where the all the sinks were. I ran my hands over cold water even though they weren't dirty, and leaned against the cool tiled wall. I honestly didn't want to go back out, but then again, it was very likely I could catch something just from sitting in the bathroom for a long time. It was unhygienic, and the things that people did in here.... Gross.

"And out she comes," Colt teased when I opened the bathroom door. I smiled wanly at him before looking both left and right; he was the only one in sight.

"I'm the only one here," Colt said quickly when he saw what I was doing. "I think Blake's checking the oval now and Liam's checking the quad."

I nodded, still not able to speak, and didn't hesitate to run into his arms when he opened them. I sighed in relief. They were strong... Colt, at least, wouldn't let anything happen to me, I just knew it. He was a good friend.

"I don't really want to go back to class," I murmured into his chest.

He nodded, his chin bobbing on top of my head. "Then we won't, let's go sit somewhere."

I raised my head and smiled. "Okay."

Five minutes later, we were seated in the area behind the vending machine. Colt's arm was around me and I snuggled into his chest, liking the warmth he provided. I knew that I should've been upset with him for the other night where Whitney had drooled all over him, but I wasn't.

"Did you know my friends and I used to kick these machines until we got free drinks?" It was a rhetorical question; of course he didn't know that. A small, sad smile appeared on my face as I remembered how my old best friends and I used to swear at the vending machines.

He chuckled, his chest rumbling. "That doesn't really seem like you."

I nodded, my head still buried in his chest. "I was different before," I mused, more to myself than him.

"Really?" His voice was... surprised.

I nodded again. "It's weird though, isn't it? I mean, you could believe in something really strongly and know exactly what you want and have your whole life planned out, but then one bad thing happens or something goes out of place and suddenly your whole world is turned around. The worst part of it is that after the crash, you don't even know what you want anymore. I mean, even if you know it's not going to happen, it's still a great feeling having a dream, and when you don't... it's like there's nothing left to live for." I didn't even know what I was talking about anymore.