My interview had gone surprisingly well. I didn't fall on my face, I didn't lose eye contact, I didn't stammer while I spoke, and best of all... I didn't snort each time I laughed.
Dylan had ended up being in the front row of the audience, which wasn't very helpful at first. I was seconds away from walking off stage and giving up on my life long dream of becoming a household name, but Dylan somehow stopped me... he saved my entire career.
After everything was said an done, Dylan surprised me yet again by handing me a dozen yellow roses. We had a group dinner planed for the night.... but a certain new friend of mine decided she had a few tricks up her sleeve. Seana has left me alone with Dylan.....
Can I just have one day that is stress free? I thought to myself as Dylan and I sat awkwardly in a cab on the way to Largo De Rupart. I had wiped my palms on my dress at least a dozen times already. We had been in the car for almost 5 minutes without saying a single word.
I don't deal with pressure well. I had never been a popular girl. I had never had someone seem even remotely interested in anything about me, and now... Now I'm sitting in a cab with a pretty well known guy, on our way to a dinner that was supposed to be more than just the two of us.
"So..." Dylan said through the silence. I glanced over at him and his expression caused me to laugh. He looked so innocent and nervous with his adorable, crooked, smile on his face as he looked at me sideways.
"Thank you for the flowers." I said with a laugh. It was the only thing of could think of saying at that moment. My mind had turned to mush.
Dylan smiled at me once more before responding, "No problem. I figured it was the least I could do." We had just pulled up to the restaurant and Dylan hurried out of the car to open my door for me before continuing.
"What happened up there? If you don't mind me asking. You just... froze." He said as he escorted me through the front door.
As I walked into the dim lit room of Largo De Rupart, a small group of girls half pushed me out of the doorway and into the corner.
There were three of them. The first one was a scrawny blonde with brown eyes and horse teeth. The second, a brunette with giant boobs and a high pitched voice. The third, another blonde with braces. They had pushed me aside in their attempt to talk to the guy who was my escort for the night.
"Oh my god! You're Dylan O'brien. Look guys! It's Stiles! It's Stiles!!" The high pitched brunette said excitedly to her blonde friends.
"Please, can we have a picture with you! You're absolutely amazing! Please!" Horse Mouth asked Dylan in an obnoxious voice that caused me to cringe. It was as if nails had been dragged across a chalkboard.
I pulled myself out of the corner and pushed my way around the three girls. Dylan looked at me with an apologetic look and I waved him to go about his business. I can't blame him for his fans coming out of nowhere. I thought to myself as he agreed to a picture.
The girls fought for a second about who would take the picture and who would stand where until they noticed I was standing next to them.
Brace face grabbed me by the arm and pulled me over to their group, "Take a picture of us!" Was all she said as she took her spot next to Dylan. I gave a huff of annoyance and took the picture for the girls.
"Oh my God! Dylan you are perfect! Thanks so much!" The brunette called over her shoulder as Dylan took me by the hand and pulled me off towards a table.
He let me sit in the booth first before taking his seat across from me. "Callie... I am so sorry about all that. I can't believe that even happened. I'm truly so sorry." He said with a sad expression on him face.
"Hey, it's fine. People love you. It happens." I responded with a smile but he wasn't accepting it. "No, It's not fine. You just had a rough night and then those girls... came out of nowhere. God... Callie can you forgive me?" He asked with a hint of sadness in his eye.
"Dylan... I told you, it's okay. Now please, can we move past it. I believe you had asked me a question before those girls showed up." I said with a smile. He seemed to relax now that I was changing the subject.
"Yeah, I did. So, what was going on with you up there?" He asked once again but before I could answer, our server made his way to our table.
"Good evening ma'am, sir. May I start you off with something to drink? Perhaps a cold bottle of Moscato?" Our server was an older gentlemen with graying hair and a deep voice.
"Callie? What would you like? Pick anything you want... it's on me." Dylan said with his adorable crooked smile. I smiled back and politely turned to the waiter, "Water with lemon will be perfect." I said and the waiter turned to Dylan, who had a weird look on his face. "A bottle of Moscato also please." He said and our server shuffled away.
"A water with lemon?" Dylan said in a mocking tone. I glanced down at the table as I felt my cheeks get hot. "Yes... That bottle of wine was $76. I don't need that... water is just fine." I mumbled back. I heard Dylan give an odd sound. It was a cross between a huff of annoyance and a burst of shock.
I slowly glanced up at him only to see that he was watching me. "I wouldn't have brought you out if I didn't want to spend the money on you Cal." The sound of Dylan calling me by my hometown nickname gave me the shivers. "I wanted you to have a special night, You were absolutely amazing during that interview." He continued.
"Except when I was internally freaking out at the beginning." I said with a sigh. "So... are you ready to tell me why?" He said with a laugh. We both looked around to make sure no one was coming to interrupt me this time.
"Okay. Well... I have stage freight. I don't do well under pressure. And I've never had so many people focus on me at once. Then when I saw you....." I instantly stopped talking. How was I going to explain how nervous he made me. I don't want him to think I'm trying to steal him from Britt. Oh god, what am I doing.
"What about me?" He said leaning closer towards me so he could hear me through my mumbling.
"I-Well... I sort of freaked out even more. I had expected to be nervous and to be put on the spot... what I hadn't anticipated was you being in the front row. It through me off guard I guess." I said with a giggle. Our server came back with my water and poured us both a glass of wine before leaving once again.
"Aw Cal... I'm so sorry! If I would have known.." Dylan started but I cut him off. "Don't be sorry. I owe you my career." I said simply.
"What do you mean?" Dylan asked as I took a sip of Moscato. "I had already been freaking out, even backstage I had to use my old inhaler. Bobby and Seana had tried to tell me to say something... but I couldn't move. When I looked back at you, you told me to talk... and I'm not sure why, but I did it. Honestly, if it wasn't for you... I would have walked off that stage and never come back. Besides... if you hadn't been sitting there, I couldn't have blamed my internal freak out for being star struck." With that we both laughed.
"Well, now I know not to try and surprise you.... and apparently I cause you to be star struck." He said jokingly with a smirk, I hit his arm playfully. "Oh shutup." I said with a small smile as my face turned warm from the heat racing to my cheeks.
I had about two glasses of wine and a small plate of spaghetti by the time I was feeling buzzed. Dylan and I had continued to talk about the interview and how well it went along with a few questions about the next ones and my meeting in the next two days with Jeff Davis and the other producers of Teen Wolf.
This dinner had gone wonderfully. I felt like I could talk to Dylan for hours on end. He was definitely Best Friend material, so now it was time to get to business.
"Alright... so what are we going to do about Britt?" I asked in a giggly voice. "What do you mean?" Dylan asked in a ditzy tone.
"I mean... we came here to figure out how to get you two back in love! Remember? That's why you invited me to dinner." I said in a confused voice. I watched something unreadable flash across his face before he answered me.
"Oh, yeah. Right. Of course. Britt." He said as he cast his eyes away from me and adjusted his fork and spoon on the table. I leaned slightly over the table and took him hand in mine. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked slightly worried about his sudden change in expression.
"Yes. I'm fine Callie. Don't worry about me." He said in a sad voice, but before I could question it, he interjected. "So, what should I do about Britt?" He said before finally looking me in the eyes, but his features where different. He didn't have the same warmth about him. I slowly pulled my hand out of his and leaned back into my seat.
I couldn't understand why I was feeling they way I was about him. He has a girlfriend. I'm supposed to help him keep thy girlfriend, yet... here I am, feeling upset because he isn't looking at me the same.
I let my thoughts wash over me for a second as they slowly mixed with the alcohol now pulsing through my body. I noticed Dylan had stood up and taken a seat next to me. "Cal? Are you feeling alright?" He asked as he put his hands on either side of my face.
I looked into his beautiful golden eyes and instantly regretted it. This should not be happening. I thought to myself as Dylan stroked my cheek with his thumb.
"I-I think I should get back to the hotel." I said slowly as Dylan had inched his face closer to my own. He pulled away slightly and gave my cheek one last touch before putting his hands still. "Yeah... I think so too." He said in a soft voice. We sat there for a moment before he sighed, standing up to help me out of the booth. I stumbled slightly as I got up and Dylan wrapped his arms around my waist.
"I better get you a cab... are you going to be able to make it back alone?" He asked full of concern as we made our way out the door. "Yes... I'm a big girl." I said with a giggle and I pulled his hands away from me. "See... perfectly fine." I said as I walked around him in a circle, trying my hardest to keep my balance without making it obvious.
"Definitely perfect...." Dylan said as he watched me with another look I didn't recognize. That was when I finally stumbled and he caught me just in time. "Yeah, I'll ride with you." He said as the cab pulled up. "There's no way I'm leaving you to fend for yourself at 1 in the morning." He said as he helped put me in the car before getting in himself.
"It's already one!" I said exasperated. I placed my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, "No wonder I'm so tired." I mumbled. "We will be to your hotel in a minute sweetheart." I could hear the smile in his voice as he internally laughed at me.
Soon we reached the Grand Teller Hotel and I wasn't ready to move. I had little to no sleep last night, on top of running around all day and having a meltdown internally. My stress levels had been through the roof today, and all I wanted was to sleep... but getting up didn't sound worth it just yet.
"Come on Callie. You need to go to sleep." I could hear Dylan standing outside in the cool night air while holding the door open for me.
"Can't." Was all I could muster from my sleepy voice. I heard Dylan chuckle from amusement.
"And why is that?" He asked me.
"Can't move." I said quietly, peeking out from under my eyelashes at him. He caught me and let out a laugh. "Alright, alright." I said as I scooted my way out of the car.
Dylan told the driver he would be just a minute and he walked me to the main doors of my hotel. "Thanks for dinner and everything. It was good to laugh so much." I said with a smile. "Well, I enjoyed making you laugh." Dylan grinned.
"You were right... We could definitely be Best Friends." I said with a smile. Dylan's smile seemed to fade slightly but not completely. "I told you... you could be better than Tyler." He stated and we both chuckled.
"Well, I better get inside." I said and I awkwardly pulled him into a hug. It took him a second, but he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. "I'm glad you're around Cal." He whispered in my ear before placing a kiss on my cheek. "Goodnight." He said before making his way back to the cab.
I waited until his car had disappeared from sight before letting out the giant breath I had held in without realizing it. My legs were shaking, my stomach was in knots, and the only thought running through my head was the fact that he might have kissed me in the restaurant.
That was the moment I realized that Dylan was more than Best Friend material....
What am I going to tell Seana.... I thought to myself as I headed for my room.
Well... here it is guys. I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter... isn't one of my best, but I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think is going to happen (;