Dylan.
She had dreamt before of going to Europe and travelling with a close knit group of friends, renting some sort of vehicle, sight seeing, exploring and perhaps not showering for a questionable period of time in order to save some spending money. However, that was not this trip. She was working on driving, yes, but currently she could not legally drive a rental car, much less a rental car with the steering wheel on the opposite side of the vehicle.
She also was not travelling with her closest friends, but with her two parents - the type of people to enjoy a wine and cheese tasting tour - and her brother - the kind that sleeps in until noon and prefers exploring whatever parties he can manage to con into.
Not exactly the partners in crime she was hoping for.
She would, however, make the most out of the trip. She was going to keep herself busy, drink copious amounts of tea, and explore as much as she could, on a budget in London. Which she assumed wouldn't give her much. She shook her head, ridding herself of the negative thoughts. She would have fun. London was a dream of hers, and now she would see it.
"Why are you shaking your head? Dylan, are you even listening to me?" Sarah's hands found Dylan's cheeks and held her face so that they were looking at each other. "Did you hear anything I just said?"
"Maybe..?" She gave Sarah a hopeless look.
The taller girl sighed, releasing her friend's cheeks. "I was saying that you should facetime me while you're gone. It's not the same here without you." Her best friend plopped down on Dylan's bed, beside the open suitcase that was mostly packed - thanks to Sarah's help.
"You're being over dramatic. You would be the coolest girl ever without me." Dylan walked to the wardrobe that held her clothes, most of which were strewn here and there, and threw her Supernatural themed pyjamas in her suitcase.
"More like the lamest."
Dylan shook her head. She had gotten a haircut a few days previous and it just barely swept her shoulders as she moved.
"Also, I think a certain boy called Tanner misses you too." Sarah propped herself on her elbow, Dylan couldn't help thinking: paint me like now of your french ladies, as the other girl let a malicious grin take residence on her usually sweet face. "Last time you left he'd come up to me in the hallways, kept talking to me, wondering where you were. And -" She paused for dramatic effect, "he was blushing."
Dylan snorted, and to think I'm supposed to be the naive one.
"It's true!" Sarah sat up further, her face intent. "He's totally into you."
"He's totally not."
"How can you be so sure? What happened to my hopeless romantic best friend?" Her blue eyes tried to search Dylan's face, but she quickly turned away, debating whether or not she were too old to bring her favourite stuffed animal along the ride to London.
"The old Dylan can't come to the phone right now." Dylan hugged the stuffed bear, Greg to her chest. He used to seem so much bigger, and softer. He still brought her comfort. "Why?"
"Oh, cause she's dead!" The two girls said in unison, giggling a bit as they yelled the last part loud enough to solicit a groan from Keaton two doors down.
"But seriously, Dyl. Tanner does truly like you." Sarah rose from her spot on the bed and gently took Greg from her hands, placing him on the bed with all the caution as if he were a fragile artifact. Gripping Dylan's hands in her own, guiding her in some odd dance to the quiet music playing from her phone.
Twirling clumsily, Dylan wondered if she should tell her closest companion the truth that had broken her heart at first. That Tanner had feelings for Sarah. She wondered if perhaps her beautiful best friend would reciprocate them, or if she'd curse him out for being a jerk. She was going to find out - she decided - now. "Sarah-"
"Hey Dyl-" Keaton opened the bedroom door as if he owned the place. How did she not hear him coming? He was practically a t-rex when walking anywhere, obnoxiously loud and eliciting a creak in pain from the floorboards wherever he stepped. The fact that he might actually know what quiet is, took her by surprise.
"She's still here?" He nodded towards Sarah.
"Yes. I am still here." Sarah said bitterly, her eyes narrowed at him in distaste. She released Dylan's hands so that she could cross her arms in a pose that often made others think twice before saying something stupid.
Keaton, unlike the majority, remained unfazed by Sarah's steel gaze and sharp glare. Dylan speculated that his hate for Sarah was just a ruse to perpetually annoy her. If so, it always seemed to work.
"Whatever. Mom says you should go to bed soon because we have to get up early to go to the airport."
"How kind of you to care for my wellbeing." Dylan's eyebrows raised at the sentiment of concern.
"I was initially going to let you suffer the consequences, but she said you brought popcorn in here a while back and-" His eyes landed on the bowl that still contained a few handfuls, perched on Dylan's nightstand. With a determination she didn't know he had, he strode across the room and grabbed it, making his way back towards them and the bedroom door.
"You don't mind if I just.." He pointed at the bowl in his hand and then the door, and without waiting for an answer, left. Not even bothering to shut it all the way.
"Who does he think he is?" Sarah scowled at the door, before turning back to Dylan and rolling her eyes, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Did any of that really take you by surprise?" Dylan titled her head, eyebrow raised in questioning scepticism.
"Not really. Except for the fact that neither of us heard him coming." Sarah's voice almost held a hint of admiration... Almost.
"That was surprising." Dylan agreed.
"So what was it you were trying to say, before Keaton rudely interrupted?" Sarah's grey eyes seemed to see right through Dylan. She cursed herself for mentioning anything in the first place.
"Nothing." She shrugged.
"You said my name in a weird tone." Sarah's eyes remained trained on Dylan's, and she could swear a drop of sweat was making its way down her back. She wasn't used to long periods of eye contact, and a known victim of cracking under pressure. This was some pretty heated pressure.
"It's nothing." She clamped her mouth shut, and decided to sit on her bed, hands underneath her thighs. The slightest movement could give her away.
"It's something." Sarah watched closely. Too closely. Dylan thought she might have sniffed the air, smelling the lie. For the first time in her life, Dylan hoped that the bead of sweat that was travelling down her spine was actually a tiny spider. A tiny spider that would keep her secret.
"It is not that big of a deal." She gulped. "Not anymore. To me, it was. But I don't care anymore." Dylan gave Sarah what she felt was a reassuring smile, but was relatively certain that it probably resembled a grimace instead. "I don't know how to say it, but I need to tell you before I leave tomorrow."
Sarah's grey eyes widened, and Dylan knew she had said the wrong thing even before the girl opened her mouth. "Are you dying, is this a make-a-wish kind of trip? Ohmygod-"
She had to stop the Death Talk fast before the other girl went down a dangerous spiral, which could involve tears and only slightly restrained yelling. "Tanner likes you."
"What?" Sarah froze half way between sitting on the bed, and standing. Dylan had never seen her so still. Was her friend's hardwiring malfunctioning? "What?" Sarah's voice repeated, though a shaky rasp, but Dylan was glad to hear it anyway. Turns out she hadn't completely broken her best friend after all.
"He told me at that party we went to." Dylan reached out a hand and placed it on Sarah's shoulder, pushing her down gently until she was seated on Dylan's Harry Potter comforter. She wasn't quite sure what to do with her hand so she just left it on the other girl's cardigan covered shoulder, trying to provide some semblance of comfort. Honestly, she had thought that when the time came to it, the roles would be reversed.
"How could he? We don't even talk. That ass-"
Dylan snorted. "I should have told you sooner, but I just couldn't. He asked me not to-" she withered a little under Sarah's scowl, "because I wanted to keep his secret."
"You should have told me!" Sarah ran her hands over her face, making her momentarily look like Munch's The Scream. Even frustrated her friend was still a work of art.
"I wanted to!" Dylan flopped onto her back beside the still-as-a-statue siting form of Sarah. "I'm sorry, I couldn't. I was still trying to sort through my feelings myself." She grabbed a teddy bear from somewhere above her head, and hugged it to her chest."I was humiliated."
Sarah turned to her friend, a ring covered hand reaching out and covering Dylan's own. "I'm sorry, Dyl." Her grey eyes bore into Dylan, and she couldn't tell what emotion swam in them; pity? Shame? Whatever it was, Dylan didn't want to be at the end of it, and she didn't want her friend to be feeling such things.
"I- stop staring at me like that." Dylan turned her head to the right to stare at her closet, and be rid of the intense eye contact plaguing her.
"Sorry." Sarah grumbled.
"Stop apologizing." Dylan grabbed Sarah's hand, still resting atop her own, and dragged her down to lay beside her with a surprised "oof."
"I'm such a moron." Sarah sighed.
"We're both morons." Dylan stared at the insignificant white stucco of her ceiling, picturing all the times she thought Tanner was flirting with her; all the times she mustered up a "hey," when passing in the hallways; all the times she had made a complete fool of herself in an attempt to flirt with him. Momentarily, the blankness of the ceiling disappeared as Dylan closed her eyes, taking a moment to cringe at her past self.
God, what a loser.
"And you're just figuring this out now?" Nat's voice broke her thoughts, and she refrained from plugging her ears. By now, she thought, she should be used to his interruptions.
How long have you been listening? Dylan looked from Sarah beside her, back to the ceiling.
"Long enough to know you're rubbish at telling people things."
Is that really surprising?
"Old news, remember? It was hard enough to get your name out of you."
Dylan snorted. She felt the bed shift as Sarah turned to scowl at her.
"What?" The girl turned towards her, her perfect eyebrows knit together. "What are you laughing at?"
Dylan, swivelled her own head so that they were facing one another. Sarah's lips were drawn together in a thin pink line, contemplative and troubled, and her steely eyes remained searching, as if waiting for Dylan to break down and cry. But it didn't hurt her anymore. She was over him now.
"We are such morons." Dylan stated, breaking out in a grin that took over her whole face and reduced her vision. In all actuality it was embarrassing. Dylan knew she was naive, but Sarah, she was supposed to be the all-knowing entity.
Sarah's lips twitched repeatedly, fighting back the smile threatening to take over. It was an odd sight, seeing such a beautiful girl's face twitch back and forth like two nervous fighters in a ring. The thought made Dylan snort repeatedly in her friend's face. Which caused the both of them to lose themselves in an obnoxious fit of laughter.
"Dylan! Shut up!" Keaton's whiny voice could be heard, muffled through the walls, and just loud enough to be heard over their laughter. Dylan handed her friend a pillow as they both stifled their laughs and wiped their eyes, eventually pushing themselves up to a sitting position. Sarah was still trying to calm herself down by taking deep breaths, her face pink as the inside of a watermelon, while Dylan struggled with her newfound hiccups.
"I - should - get - going." Sarah managed through deep breaths.
"You-" hiccup. "Have-" hiccup. "Ride?" Dylan held her breath as another hiccup shook her.
"Yeah, my brother just got off work, he'll pick me up." Sarah had now regained her composure, though her cheeks remained tinted red. "I should wait downstairs."
"I'll come." Dylan spoke rapidly before another hiccup could interfere.
The two girls abandoned their pillows and the warm comfort of the bed and soft lighting to the dim hallway, down the stairs and into the moonlit living room. The only sound in the house was the ticking of the clock on the wall and the soft hum of the dishwasher in the kitchen. When had her parents gone to sleep? A pang of guilt hit Dylan as she remembered the two of them laughing just minutes before. When she looked to Sarah, her face mirrored the sheepishness she felt.
"Thanks for having me over Dyl." Her voice was low, and her eyes still held the remnants of the smiles before. "FaceTime me from London." She grabbed her friend's sweater sleeve and gave Dylan a mischievous wink. "I won't be mad if there's any boys in the background either. Just a thought." As if remembering something, Sarah's face dropped slightly, and her grip on Dylan loosened. "And I'm sorry about Tanner. He's an ass, and you deserve better than him anyway."
Dylan shook her head. "He's a nice guy, S. Don't give him too hard of a time. People just don't like me."
Sarah scowled, opening her mouth to angrily spew some refutal, but Dylan cut her off.
"People don't like me, in a romantic way." She put finger quotations around 'romantic,' hating the word but unable to think of another in such a short period of time. "They just don't."
"I'm sure people do. You're perfect." Sarah reassured her, indicating Dylan with her hands. "You're cute, funny, nice-"
"We'll be here all day if you keep going on."
"See. Funny." Sarah sashayed beside her, and prodded her with a pointy elbow. Dylan rolled her eyes. "What about that boy?"
"Which boy?" Dylan frowned.
"Which boy! My my, aren't you a bit promiscuous." Sarah grinned, reaching out to pinch her friend's cheek. Dylan sidestepped just in time.
"Geo, he did try to kiss on at the party."
"He was drunk."
"What about that other 'him'?" Sarah pried.
"Who him?"
"Who else? Nat!" Sarah hissed, and Dylan would have done a spit-take had she been drinking anything in that moment.
A pair of headlights in the window saved Dylan from conjuring a proper response. "Get out of my house!" She playfully gave her fired a shove, bringing the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle a fake yawn.
Sarah hurriedly hugged Dylan, a long one as if she were disappearing forever rather than a couple days shy from two weeks. She whispered a quiet, "love you Dyl, before walking to the front door and opening it.
"Love you too, S." Dylan gave her friend a closed lip smile, a wall of tired hitting her, as her body just realized how late it truly was.
Upon pushing out into the cold night air, Sarah froze, swivelling in her boots, and striding over to her.
She kissed her on the cheek. "Ah, yes. Just as I thought. Still warm from your blushing." And without another word Dylan's best friend, and biggest tormentor, was out the door in a dramatic exit that only she could manage.
++++++++++++
GAHHHH. IT'S BEEN AGES UPON AGES SINCE I HAVE EVEN TOUCHED THIS STORY. I DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY OTHER THAN, IT IS LATE, THIS IS RANDOM, AND I'LL BE BACK VERY SOON.
This chapter, and everyone hereafter is dedicated to the lovely @ACGaines for caring for my neglected story, even when I failed to. Thank you.
Love,
Arika