Aryl's eyes traced on the book she was holding in he hands, but she just couldn't understand the words. All she did was stare at the book page. She couldn't concentrate. Finally giving up, she closed the book and threw it onto the bed.
She was still thinking about the previous day, and the day before that. Since the moment she had met Dustin, strange things were constantly happening to her. The way Dustin talked about Aryl and called her beautiful, the way Jimmie lost his temper, and the way Dustin almost hit Jimmie in order to protect her kept running though her mind. She blamed herself for the fight, she was the problem after all.
After locking her door, she had decided not to see Dustin again. So that she wouldn't ruin any more friendships. And she had decided to start doing her master's degree at the Columbia University. She was planning to stay at home that day, and go to the Columbia University campus tomorrow.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her doorbell rang. It was 4 PM, and she was definitely not waiting for anybody. Quickly getting to the door, she made a mistake by opening the door without looking at who it was.
"Hey," said a blonde man with blue eyes. She couldn't recognize him first, then panicked when she did. Dustin was shaved, and looked completely different. He looked even better in her eyes, she could now see his lips, jawline and cheekbones more clearly. She backed off and tried to close the door, without getting him in. But he blocked it with his foot. "I just need to talk to you..." she heard him say.
She sighed and opened the door, relieving him with a grin on his face. He was holding a small box in his hand. "Listen..." he started, finally looking more serious and his grin disappearing. "I'm sorry, for what happened yesterday..." he said, without breaking eye contact. "Can you please let me explain everything?"
She nodded without thinking, but she didn't let him come inside. She knew him for 2 days after all, and the event she witnessed the previous day had caused her to stop trusting him. He was just a homeless street musician. He was just a homeless street musician who was maybe a little interested in her. He was just a homeless street musician who bought her a gift to say thank you.
"Jimmie is a weird guy, you know..." he started. "He is a junkie, and he was probably high yesterday too. I shouldn't have let you stay in the same environment with him, but he is my friend and I thought he wouldn't do anything stupid. But he did..." He started fiddling with the box in his hand and lowered his head, breaking eye contact with her. "I'm really sorry. He said a lot of things he shouldn't have said, he was being rude to you. And when he told you to... You know..." He raised his head again and looked into her eyes. She knew what he was talking about. "I couldn't hold myself and lost it. I'm so sorry, for everything..."
When he was done speaking, Aryl realized that it was her turn to speak. There was a question that had been running though her mind, and she felt the need to ask it:"Do you think I'm beautiful?" Dustin's eyes widened when he heard her, and he froze. That was when she realized that it was a stupid thing to ask, now he was going to find out that she had secretly listened to their conversation. "Um... W-well... I-I don't kno-" he mumbled, then he took a deep breathe. "Yes, I do."
This time it was Aryl's time to widen her eyes. "What is this about?" he asked curiously. Damn, she thought. "Well, yesterday I heard you talking to Jimmie, and..." she muttered, and winced slightly when Dustin suddenly yelled: "Holy shit!" He quickly covered his mouth. "Sorry." So, he did find her beautiful. Weird.
"What else did you hear?" he asked. "That's all I heard." she lied. It wasn't a complete lie after all. "Oh, okay..." he mumbled, and started gazing at the floor. They stood silent for a moment, and Aryl thought it was awkward. She leaned onto the door: "Dustin, I don't wanna be a part of this." Dustin raised his head and faced her with a confused expression on his face. "You will never be a part of this, I promise. I will never make you a part of it."
Aryl shook her head. "No... I don't think I should talk to you again." Dustin's jaw dropped when he heard that. He grabbed her arm with his free hand and she winced from his touch. "No! Please, I-I... You should... I mean." he sighed in frustration and ran his hand through his hair. "I really wanna be your friend, Aryl..." he said.
"Why?" she asked quietly, she was still leaning onto the door. "We just met..." Dustin jumped in without thinking twice: "We just met, but I knew you since you moved here." Aryl froze. He knew her? Since she moved there? So, he had been watching her the whole time? How much did he know? "I noticed you from the first day you moved, and thought you were really interesting. So, I started trying to get your attention." he added, answering the questions in her mind.
He suddenly started laughing without any reason, but it didn't take a long time for Aryl to join in. They kept on laughing for about a minute, Dustin standing with the box in his hand and Aryl still leaning against the door. Finally, Dustin stopped laughing, shaking his hand. He brought the little box to her, gesturing her to take it. She did, and opened it without having an idea what is inside. She gasped in surprise when she saw what it is. It was a metal necklace, it had a chain and the Led Zeppelin logo as a pendant. It looked so cool to her, it was something she would definitely wear.
She raised her head and faced him with a sweet smile and sparkling eyes. "Thank you..." she said, still not being able to believe it. "But you should stop spending your money on me..." she added, causing him to chuckle. "I had to make it up to you somehow, you know..." he said, smiling back to her. He looked very pleased to see that she liked his gift. She shook her head, still smiling widely. It was unbelievable how he spent his very small amount of money just to buy her gifts. "How did you know that I liked Led Zeppelin?" she asked. He chuckled again. "You were wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt yesterday don't you remember?" he answered, and she remembered. It was funny how she didn't even remember what she wore the previous day.
They spent a few minutes more minutes chatting, and she started to feel more comfortable around him. However, she knew how awkward it was not to let him come inside. Thankfully, he said it would be better if he would go. Then, Aryl rushed inside her flat, leaving the door open. She went inside the kitchen and took a few pieces of the cake she baked in the morning. Running back to the door and handing the package to Dustin, she felt relieved to think that he had something to eat. He smiled widely at her, and it was his time to say "thank you". After he said goodbye and disappeared into the hall, Aryl closed her door and took a glance at the necklace, taking it in her hands and putting it around her neck.
...
Aryl and Dustin saw each other more often since that day. Aryl constantly went out just to talk to him. They were friends now, at least that was what Aryl thought. They talked a lot about their lives. Aryl told him about her childhood, her adventures in Europe, and what she enjoyed doing. Dustin told her about how he ended up homeless. He told her that he was fromOklahoma, that his mother was a prostitute, and he didn't know who his father was. After her mother died of heroin overdose a few years ago, he ended up hitchhiking to New York. She felt bad for him, really. She knew that she was lucky. The environment she grew up in was very decent, and now she had a nice apartment. She loved her parents and knew that they were there for her all the time. Dustin must feel lonely, she thought.
Aryl also told him about how much she liked reading. She even brought books from her bookshelf and hoped they could save him from his boredom. They also talked about music a lot. She told him that she could play piano, and he was very surprised to hear that. He talked about his favorite bands, and she talked about hers. They had a lot in common.
"So, where does your name come from?" Dustin asked, taking a sip from the beer in his hand. She sighed and rested her back against the wall. "Well, that's a long story. It is kind of related to my real name. I also have another name which is Rea, and that is how my real name spelled." she explained. "Really?" he exclaimed. "To be honest, they both sound so cool! What does your real name mean?" She smiled at his comment. "It means 'dream'." she answered.
"Wow... Hey, I wanna ask you something." he said, not forgetting to take another sip from his beer. "Can I call you Rea?" She couldn't help but laugh softly. "Yes, sure. But why do you want to call me Rea?" she asked, smiling ear-to-ear. "You know, Rea has a cool meaning. Like, a woman who is beautiful, intelligent, a good leader and stuff. It kinda describes you." She felt her cheeks redden. This was one of those numerous times when he made her blush. He doesn't even know if I'm a good leader, she thought. "Thank you." she said quietly, still not being able to stop blushing.
However, she didn't have much time to talk, recently. She had been accepted to the University of Columbia, and she started doing her master's degree there. She tried her best not to miss any classes, and she was ahead of most of the class even though she wasn't a native speaker. She even made a few friends there. Her closest friend was a girl named Jessica, and funny, she was her only female friend.
So, she didn't feel as lonely as she used to. She had Jessica, she had her other friends. And most importantly, she had Dustin. She had decided to let him get inside her house, but she still wanted to wait a little more just to make sure he was as trustworthy as she thought he was. She could even let him live with her, because it was certain to her that he didn't have any bad habits she would be disturbed by.
Well, she was wrong about that part. But, she enjoyed her life more than she ever did before, she enjoyed being with people and making friends. Now, Aryl was closer to the idea of making it big and having a lot of attention, than the idea of living a quiet life all by herself. But, she had no idea she would make it that big.
_____
Yay, Dustin's role is getting bigger!
I'm sooo sorry I couldn't update earlier. School started just a week ago, and I've been so busy. Anyway, I'll try to update more often, but that might be difficult for me. And, as you probably know, English is not my native language, so forgive me if I make any mistakes. And feel free to correct me!