Seasons Change

17.

Dylan grinned. "So if you're going to be seeing a lot of my sister, does that mean I'm going to be seeing a lot of you too?"

I laughed. "You tell me. I think Kelsey's planning on staying with your dad like she usually does. Don't you normally stay with your mom?"

Dylan made a face. "No way am I staying with Dad so he can interrogate me about football. You'd think being starting quarterback at a Division I school would be enough to appease him, but he won't be satisfied unless I get drafted into the NFL, and I'm not even sure I want that. I like football, but I don't want to do it as a career."

I winced. Dylan's relationship with his father was strained at best. Mr. Olson was an ex-NFL player, and he put a lot of pressure on Dylan to follow in his footsteps. "Well, I'm sure you'll be successful whatever you decide to," I said loyally.

"Well naturally," Dylan agreed. "Anyways, can't you make time to come over and see your super hot, football playing neighbor?"

"Oh. Did one move in while you were away at school?" I asked playfully.

Dylan smirked. "Don't pretend you've never checked me out, Faye," he said. "It's okay. I get it. I am pretty irresistible."

"Just wondering, do you have to custom order a football helmet large enough to fit over your big head?"

"You're mean today, Faye," Dylan sulked.

"And you're cocky, Olson."

"My head is perfectly normal sized," he insisted. "And I'm confident, not cocky."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself," I teased.

"You know what we need?" Dylan asked. "We need something fun to look forward to. And I have just the thing. The perfect place for you to wear that dress you wouldn't let me see."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. You know that end of finals dance the university puts on? You should go with me."

Dylan must have seen the look of panic on my face, because he quickly added, "As friends, of course. We can go as friends."

I sighed, trying to choose my words carefully to soften the blow. "Oh. I'd love to, Dylan. Really. Except... I already told Luke I'd go with him."

Dylan's face fell for a moment, then resumed his normal, confident expression.

"Really?" he asked. "My cousin finally manned up and asked you out? He's been talking about you nonstop for the last month. I didn't think he would dare to do anything, because he knows how you feel about long distance relationships."

I shrugged. "Well, he's done with school a week before we are, so he wanted to come visit me. And since he's going to be here, we're going to the dance together."

As an afterthought, I added, "We could probably go as a group. I'm sure Luke wouldn't mind."

Dylan winced. "No way am I going to be the third wheel on your date with my cousin. You may not have noticed, Lilly, but I don't have trouble getting dates. I'll find a girl to go with."

For some reason, that didn't make me feel much better. I still felt guilty for abandoning Dylan, even though there was nothing to feel guilty about. Dylan and I were just friends. But somehow, knowing that didn't help.

"Well, I won't wear the dress to the dance," I promised. "I'll find something else. That was our thing. You're the one who picked it, and I'll wear it when we go out somewhere."

Dylan frowned. "No, you should wear it," he said quietly. "I'm sure it looks great on you, and it's the perfect dress for a holiday dance. Besides, red is Luke's favorite color. Wear it. It's no big deal."

But somehow, it felt like it was a big deal. And I wasn't sure what to make of that.

As we finished our pizza, the mood was more somber, and less playful than it had been earlier. I knew I needed to do something to salvage the evening.

"So, since we've both been super stressed about finals, I think we're overdue for a Disney marathon," I said.

That did the trick. Dylan grinned. We both agreed that Disney movies made a person's childhood, and whenever life got too stressful, we would watch our childhood favorites together. It was kind of our thing.

"Yes. I'm in," he said. "Your place or mine?"

I shrugged. "Either is fine. But your place might be less awkward. I'm not sure what time Avery will be back tonight, and somehow, I don't like the idea of her being part of our Disney night."

"Agreed," Dylan said. "My place it is."

We paid our bill and drove back to Dylan's apartment, which was only a few minutes across town. Once upstairs, I settled onto Dylan's couch while he pulled out his impressive collection of Disney movies.

"What do you want to watch tonight?" he asked.

"Something good," I replied.

"Aladin?" he asked.

"We watched that last time."

"The Jungle Book?"

I shrugged.

With a grin, Dylan pulled a movie from the stack. "I've got it," he said, popping it into the player.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to glimpse the cover, but Dylan kept it covered, so I couldn't tell what the movie was.

"You'll see," he smirked.

He settled onto the couch next to me and draped a blanket over our laps. Realizing that something was missing, I rose to my feet.

"We need popcorn," I told him, heading into his kitchen and pulling open his cupboards to get a bag of popcorn for the microwave.

Dylan watched me, his face amused. "Do I even want to know why you know where I keep the popcorn?"

"What?" I asked, shrugging defensively. "It's not the first time you've had me over to watch movies."

I threw the bag into the microwave, and a few minutes later, I poured the popcorn into a large bowl, and carried it over to Dylan, along with a large glass of water for each of us.

"Much better," I declared, curling up next to him on the couch.

"Are you good now?" he teased. "Can I start the movie?"

"Yes. You may proceed," I joked.

When the movie began, I saw it was The Black Cauldron, and I groaned. "No, please, let's watch something else," I begged. "You know the horned king freaks me out. He's like the creepiest Disney villain ever."

Dylan smiled evilly. "I know," he said. "Don't worry, you can hide behind me for the scary parts. I'll protect you from the horned king."

I rolled my eyes, pushing him playfully, but when the horned king came on the screen, I did relent and scoot closer to him. Just a little. And the feeling of his solid body against mine felt so comfortable and right. I had missed this. I had missed my best friend, and I was so, so glad to finally have him back.