I wake up with my annoying phone ringing and I force myself to look up to grab it from the nightstand.
Weird, I don't remember plugging it to the charger, but well, I don't remember a lot, so this is just another one on the list.
''Oh my God, what the hell happened last night?'' Lilly's voice echoes as soon as I pick up and I put it away from my ear.
''Why are you yelling?'' I ask, annoyed.
''Wait, how did you get home? I passed out on Connor's couch and just woke up this morning. Wild!'' She ignores what I said and speaks even louder.
Damn, she was worse than I was. At least I got home safe and didn't pass out on someone's house. My mom would kill me if I did.
I look around to see my things perfectly organized and there's a glass of water, an Advil and a small note next to my phone.
Take this when you wake up, you'll feel better. Bennett.
I frown, trying to remember and it suddenly hits me. Everything that happened last night starts coming back to my mind.
''Bennett.'' I say in a low voice.
''What about him?'' She asks, confused.
''He drove me home.''
''What? How? Was he at the party?'' I consider what to tell her as she already thinks - with no foundation at all - that he could have a crush on me.
If I didn't know better, I might believe that too after last night. Or maybe what I think happened didn't actually happen? Is it possible that I was that drunk?
''No, you know Bennett, he doesn't go to parties, but..." I pause for a second. "He went there to find me. He actually called you, that's how he knew where I was."
"Bennett called me?" At least I'm not the only one who forgot things. "Wait a second."
She stays silent and I assume she's going through her phone to see if there was a call from him.
"Damn, he did call me. How did that happen?"
"Well, he was worried about me after I accidentally called him instead of Dylan.'' I say, the words going out faster than I wanted.
There's a long silence and I can practically feel the wheels turning inside Lilly's head.
''Hold on. Bennett wasn't at the party and you called him thinking that he was Dylan, so he went there to find you and gave you a ride home?'' I nod, but then I remember she can't see me.
''Yeah, exactly that.''
''Oh shit. We have a lot to talk about. I'm coming over.'' We hung up the phone after agreeing that she'll be here soon and I finally managed to get out of bed.
I take a quick shower to look presentable before I go downstairs to meet my parents, because even though they are cool with me drinking within reasonable limits, I don't think last night could be classified as reasonable.
''Good morning." My dad looks at his watch. ''Actually, good afternoon. Did you have fun last night?'' He looks at me concerned and I wonder what he knows about what happened.
''Yes, the party was nice.''
"Are you feeling better?" Feeling better? Feeling better from what exactly?
"Yeah... I guess."
You know what? Even if I'm curious as to why he's being so cool about this, I better get out of here before he starts asking questions that I won't know how to answer.
I quickly make my way to the kitchen to grab another glass of water as I feel my head pounding. I'm afraid I might have an episode, so I need to keep myself hydrated. Before I'm out of the room though, I stop when I hear his voice.
''You should thank Bennett.'' I look at him with a curious expression. What does he know? ''He drove you home, don't you remember?''
''Sure, of course I do.'' He doesn't seem to buy it.
''I met him when he was coming down the stairs. He stayed for a while after you fell asleep. He wanted to make sure you had all you needed and wouldn't need help. He said you weren't feeling well. Was it a migraine?"
Oh, so that's what he thinks happened. He thinks I was sick, not drunk. It explains why he's not lecturing me right now.
''No, I guess it was just something I ate that didn't sit well with me.'' He nods.
"He's such a nice guy, don't you think?'' My dad then says, changing the focus entirely and my eyes dart to him.
He narrows his eyes at me and for a second, it crosses my mind that he might think that Bennett and I are a thing. What other reason would he have to bring my drunk ass home and stay around?
Even if my dad doesn't know the real reason.
''He was just being nice, dad. That's Bennett, you know he's a gentleman.''
''That he is.'' He smirks and I don't know where he wants to go with this conversation, but I'm not staying here to find out.
''Lilly is coming over, so I... uhn, I should get my room cleaned."
That's the lamest excuse I could possibly give. I never clean my room when Lilly is here - I barely clean my room at all - so he knows I'm just avoiding the topic.
As I sit on my bed and wait for Lilly, a thought crosses my mind.
My dad and Lilly are out of their minds to think that Bennett could potentially be interested in me.
It's just crazy.
Isn't it?
.........................
"Why did you say you care about me?" I ask Bennett on Monday morning before our Chem class starts.
"What?" He looks up at me, confused.
Ok, maybe I should say hi or good morning first instead of just dropping the question, but I spent yesterday discussing the topic with Lilly.
We both agreed that I should talk to him today and clarify whatever happened.
Lilly sees it as Bennett finally opening up on his own way and that's why I shouldn't let that go. As for me, I don't really know what to think.
"On Saturday, you said you care about me. Why?"
He looks around as if he doesn't want people to hear our conversation. Not that anyone would. They are too busy with their own stuff.
"Because I do." He shrugs. "I've known you my entire life, Alex. You're practically my family, even if we don't particularly get along anymore."
I nod, not really convinced with his explanation.
"Thank you. You didn't have to do that."
"It's not a big deal, I was just helping a friend, nothing more."
I give him a weird smile, thinking if I should ask him if there's any other reason why he helped me, but he said there isn't. Lilly is wrong, there is no other reason.
"Have you told him how you feel?" He asks after a moment, breaking the silence.
I look at him, knowing that he's referring to that embarrassing phone call. I was hoping he forgot about that, but of course he didn't.
I consider if I should say that it's not what he thinks, that it wasn't Dylan I was going to call, but what's the point? He gave more than clear indications that he knows I like Dylan, so lying will get me nowhere.
"No, I haven't. I wasn't myself that night. Please don't tell him. Not yet." He nods with a frown on his face.
"You know I could have told him a long time ago, because you're that obvious, but it's not my place to tell."
"Right. I will, I just..." What should I say to him?
"You don't have to tell me anything. Like you said, we're not friends."
Yeah, I said that, but he helped me in a way that I didn't expect him to, and he said he was helping a friend, so I was somehow hoping we could be friends again after this. I don't know how to feel about it.
I'm for once glad Mr. Perkins entered the class, because Bennett opens his notebook and starts writing something even before class officially starts, so I take it as my cue to leave him alone.
I have a feeling he won't tell me anything else, even if I insist.
I go to my desk at the other side of the classroom and I confess that if you ask me one single word that was said the entire class, I wouldn't know.
I wasn't paying attention. At all.
I just kept thinking about the events of this weekend. From this whole Bennett helping me and saying that he cares about me, up to Dylan complimenting me, something that has been on my mind since Saturday.
I choose to focus on Dylan instead and my mood instantly gets better. He noticed me, like really noticed me and it makes me feel damn good.
I met Lilly for lunch and we got into our regular conversation about anything and everything. It's impressive how we can talk for hours and never run out of topics.
That's pretty much how the entire week goes. I tried talking to Bennett at one of our classes together, but he just gave me a short 'hi' and shut me out by putting his earphones on.
I thought about asking if he was feeling ok, because he looked annoyed and well, he did help me, so maybe I could help him as well, but then I saw him talking to one of his friends from the science club and I changed my mind.
He seemed more than fine talking to his friend, so I guess it's just me he doesn't want to talk to.
Not that I mind.
Ok, not that I'll admit that I mind.
Anyway, it's finally Friday again, after an intense week with lots of torture moments called calculus and physics.
Why do we have to learn this shit anyway?
Before taking me to school, my mom asks me what are my plans for the weekend and I tell her that I have a date.
With Netflix.
Yes, my Friday night will be full of movies, like Die Hard. I'm a huge fan of action movies.
I can't help the smile on my face when I get home after school and I see the popcorn packages on the counter with a note from my dad.
Have fun on your ''date''. Dad.
Seriously, aren't my parents the best?
After I do my homework - because I'm super responsible - it's finally time for me to start my movie marathon.
Too bad Lilly couldn't be here. She went to visit her cousins in Philadelphia.
I make myself comfortable in my pajamas, a warm blanket and a huge popcorn bucket. After a few minutes going through Netflix's movie list, I finally decided on starting with Speed.
It's a classic and Keanu Reeves looks so hot that it's definitely the best choice.
I press play with a big smile on my face. Let the fun begin!
I'm too absorbed in the movie and I guess it's half way through when the doorbell rings.
I curse, not wanting to stop right when Sandra Bullock is about to hit the baby trolley full of cans, but my parents are not home, so I don't really have a choice but to go get the door.
I reluctantly get out of the couch and when I open the door, I come face to face with Dylan West in the flash.
What is he doing here? On a Friday night?
Holy freaking crap, Dylan is here!!
My heart starts beating fast and just like he did on Saturday, he looks at me from head to toe. The difference is that now I'm wearing my colorful rainbow pajamas and not some fancy dress.
He smirks nonetheless.
"What?" I ask, feeling too self conscious.
"Cute pjs." Is he mocking me or does he mean it? Of course he's mocking me. Shit, I'm embarrassed. Couldn't I have decided on wearing something nicer?
Although, it's a movie marathon, so pjs are like the only dress code I could think of.
He's still smiling at me and the way he's looking at me actually tells me he likes what he sees, and let's be honest, it's not everyday that I have Dylan checking me out, so yeah, this is sort of too good to be true.
"What are you doing here?" I ask as if I'm not freaking out.
"My mom asked me to bring your mom this box. I have a feeling our parents are using us to do their work and avoid getting their lazy asses out of their houses."
"That's absolutely true." I laugh, awkwardly playing with my hair.
I grab the box from his hand and walk to the TV room to place it on the side table.
"What are you watching?" He asks, his eyes on our TV's big screen. I follow his gaze to find Sandra with a weird face as the movie is on pause.
"Oh, I'm doing a movie marathon."
"Speed? A classic.'' See? He gets me. ''I didn't know you were into action. Most girls I know are all about romance."
"Well, I'm not like most girls." Oh damn, you're so cliché Alex...
"No, I guess you're not." He narrows his eyes, looking amused and I smile.
Normally, I'd roll my eyes at this type of pick-up line, but it's Dylan we're talking about, so yeah... it feels about right.
"Can I watch it with you?" My eyes dart to him, surprise written all over my face.
What? I mean, wh-what?
Dylan wants to hang out with me? Holy smokes!
"You want to watch the movie with me?'' He nods. ''I mean, you totally can, but don't you have anywhere to go? Like a party or something?"
"Nah." he shrugs. "All my friends are out of town or busy, so movie seems like a great idea.''
''Oh, ok then.'' Good Alex. Say it like it's casual, just two friends hanging out. No biggy.
I sit on the couch and pull my legs up, crossing them as I grab the popcorn and the remote control.
I carefully watch him take his jacket and shoes off and pull his leg up too. He sits right next to me and makes himself comfortable, his leg slightly brushing on mine.
Keanu is awesome, but I have Dylan sitting this close to me, so I need to figure out how to deal with this and not embarrass myself.
I can't pay attention to the movie anymore, I just focus on the boy I'm deeply in love with sitting inches from me.
We engage in a conversation about what's going on in the movie and soon enough it's over. I wait for him to do something, like leave and opposite to what I expect, he doesn't even stand up.
"We should watch another one. It's a marathon after all." I nod, smiling and trying not to give away how hard my heart is pounding.
I give him the remote so he can choose what we'll watch next and after a while, he finally decides to go with The Matrix.
Another favorite of mine. Hey Keanu, I think I like you, in case you couldn't tell.
I like Dylan better though. He is real and we're on a movie date. Maybe I should chill, it's not a date, but still...
''I'll go make us more popcorn.'' I grab the bucket and make my way to the kitchen.
We ate all of it and I confess I was eating mainly to keep my mouth full. You know, nervous eating. The worst kind of it.
However, soon enough most of my nervousness is gone and it's just us watching movies together, like I wish we did so many times over the years.
Only reality is better than fantasy and I find myself having a great time with him.
I simply lose track of time, because before I realize, the credits of Fast and Furious, the third movie we watched are rolling up the screen, so I know it's pretty late in the night.
Truth be told, both of us fell asleep at some point.
''I guess we should call it a night. I can't have anymore popcorn.'' He puts his hands to his stomach.
''Yeah, me too.''
''You know, we never really got to hang out, not like this at least. We should do this again sometime."
"I'd like that.'' I won't tell him that I'd love it actually. "You were always too busy with your friends to notice I'm too much of a good company."
I joke and I wait to see his reaction. Maybe I was too upfront? I hope he doesn't think I'm weird.
''To be honest, most of my friends went to college away from home, so I'm feeling a bit lonely, I guess.''
''You have me. I'm your friend.'' I smile, feeling bad for him.
''That's true.'' He gives me his heart-melting smile and even in our tiredness I can see us bonding in a completely different way than we have up until this point. ''Well, I should go home. My mom is probably wondering if I got kidnapped on the way here. I came to deliver a box and got to spend hours away."
''Yeah... Thanks for staying, Dylan.'' I say as I walk him to the door.
"I had a lot of fun." He smiles and before he leaves, he comes closer and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek, letting his lips linger, only to make my heart completely stop for a moment. "Have sweet dreams, Alex."
I couldn't move even after he left. I just felt my legs shaking.
Not even in my dreams I would actually believe that one day I'd really spend a Friday night watching movies with Dylan and he'd leave giving me a kiss.
Ok, a kiss on the cheek, but still a kiss, he never did anything like this before.
I can't wait to tell Lilly about it. She won't believe it!
If there's one thing that is true, it's that Dylan said.
I will have sweet dreams tonight.
.........................
Hey Lovely Readers,
I'm thrilled to give you an update! You've been commenting so much that made me want to post another chapter today!! YAY
Things are getting reeeeeeal!!! Ok, not too real, but for someone who's been dreaming about this for a long time, just watching movie seems to be a good progress, right?
What do you think of Dylan? Do you like him? Do you think he and Alex will be a thing?
I will reply to your comments <3
I can't wait to see what happens next! Don't forget to vote and comment!!
Love,
Me