*edited* Okay,okay, I've edited this chapter to make it more longer :)

CHAPTER 2 by Fathiah Zarafi

Dylan frowned at the t.v screen and leaned forward to study the five people expressing themselves on stage. As if a light bulb suddenly went off inside his head, Dylan whipped his head around towards a bored-looking Sophia and grinned at her.

Sophia noticed his eyes boring holes into her when she pretended not to notice him. Eventually, she gave in and turned towards Dylan. Her skin crawls when she saw him smiling creepily down at her.

"What?" she breathed.

"We should start a band," he blurted out, still grinning from ear to ear. Sophia's brows furrowed.

"A band? Are you kidding me?" she asked skeptically. Dylan shook his head frantically, resulting in brown hair flying everywhere.

"No, I'm serious. You have an amazing voice! I can play the guitar, Hunter practically owns the rhythm guitar, I know this guy called Luke who plays bass well and he has a brother who kills at drumming!" Dylan retorted excitedly.

Sophia's frown deepened, sensing his seriousness and gave her full attention to him. "We're still in high school, Dylan," she replied, "plus, we won't have time to practice anyways."

Dylan rolled his eyes in exasperation; his hands automatically clamped themselves on Sophia's shoulders. "So what if we're still in school? Lots of bands out there started when they were still in junior high," he persuaded, "and we can practice an hour after school at my place. My parents are at work so nobody would mind the noise."

Sophia was really hesitating to agree with his spontaneous suggestion but she made a mistake by looking him in the eyes. Dylan was a master at the puppy dog eyes; she immediately melted upon gazing at his chocolate-brown eyes.

"Ugh, fine," she grunted. Dylan let out a loud whoop and pumped his fists in the air. "but," Sophia interrupted his little victory dance, "if this thing turns out to be another one of your stupid ideas, I'll kill you personally."

Instead of retorting back, Dylan reached over to smother her hair all around. “Aww, is little Sophie going to hurt me?” he cooed mockingly. Sophia raised her hand, ready to hit him but she froze when her mom entered the room. She quickly retracted her arm and blushed profusely under her mother’s amused stare. Dylan too had to hold back his chuckle.

“Mom, you’re—uh, home early.”

Natasha shook her head softly. “My boss had a meeting so I sneaked out,” she answered with a wink. Dylan got up on his feet, dragging his backpack along with him.

“Well, see you tomorrow, Soph. Don’t forget, my place, 3 o’clock,” he reminded her. Sophia nodded in agreement. Just before leaving, Dylan once again ruffled Sophia’s hair. She huffed angrily, only making him laugh harder.

Sophia glared at her laughing mother through the red strands curtaining her face. She pushed her hair away from her face before placing her hands on her hips. “Are done now, mom?” she questioned sarcastically.

Natasha swallowed her last giggle and pinched Sophia’s cheek jokingly. “Aww, you two are so cute together.” Sophia swatted her hand away, a blush already creeping up her face.

“I’m going to have some snacks,” she muttered, scurrying away to the kitchen. Natasha cackled under breath. Her 17 year old daughter was as clear as glass when it comes to love. Dylan was the only one who doesn’t notice it.

************************************************************************

“Soph, hey Sophia! Over here!”

Sophia stood on her tiptoes, trying to find Dylan over the mass crowd at the cafeteria. She saw his waving hand sticking out from the row of heads and made her way towards the table carefully. Her pace was halted to a stop when she saw three other boys occupying the same table. Sophia sighed to herself and sat on the empty spot next to Dylan.

“Hey hey, there’s our girl!” Dylan exclaimed happily, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Her eyebrows rose, eyeing him strangely.

“Your girl?” she repeated. A boy with sandy-blonde hair grinned at her. “So you must be Sophia,” he spoke. Sophia smiled politely back at him.

“I’m Luke,” he introduced himself. “This guy small dude over here,” Luke gestured to a kid probably around 14 years old, “is my brother and that dude with the curly hair is Hunter.”

Sophia’s mouth imitated an ‘o’ as she shook hands with the boys. Hunter gave her a toothy grin with a quick wink. She blushed red, ducking her head as to hide her visible reaction. Dylan, however, noticed their little interaction and his eyes narrowed. All of a sudden he had this strange feeling inside of him that was quite alien to him. Before Dylan could ponder on though, Tabitha appeared.

“Babe, you promised to have lunch with me today remember?” she pouted. Four sets of eyes stared curiously at him. Dylan rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

“Uh, right. Sorry guys, I’ll meet you after school,” he mumbled, picking up his tray of food and allowed himself to be lead by Tabitha. Sophia’s eyes lingered on him as she watched the bodacious blonde clung to his arm and chatted away giddily.

“Okay there, Soph?” Hunter’s gruff voice snapped back her attention. Sophia giggled nervously and averted her eyes to her food.

“Uh, yeah, of course I am, why shouldn’t I” she babbled. Hunter slung an arm on her shoulder unexpectedly, causing Sophia to flush scarlet yet again.

“It’s okay, Red. I’m here for you,” he smiled gently. The entire table roared with laughter and cat-calls, which drew glares from Dylan at the other side of the cafeteria.

**************************************************************************************

Sophia fidgeted with the wire of the microphone, waiting for the rest of the boys to finish tuning their instruments. Her mind was a nervous mess seeing this would be the first time she had ever sung in front of strangers.

“You ready, Soph?” Dylan asked as soon as the guys finished preparing. Sophia nodded faintly, her heart thundering against her ribcage. Dylan, however, knew her too well and he could tell her agitation. He grasp her shoulder gently in a comforting manner.
“You’re going to do great, okay,” he reassured. “Don’t fret about it.” Sophia felt her confidence boost instantly. With a small smile, Dylan gave a signal to Zach to begin.

“One, two, one, two, three, four!”

Music blasted from Dylan’s garage. They were in perfect unison together, playing as if they had done this countless times before. Sophia completed them with her powerful voice, trickling around them like a stream of water. She closed her eyes and sang along with the music.

A few other songs later, the five teenagers finally stopped and collapsed on the old couch in the garage. It was uncomfortably packed—four teenage boys and a petite girl on a three-seater couch—but neither of them complained. Luke wiped his forehead with his neon-green wristband.

“Dude, that was intense,” he sighed dreamily. The other four grunted in agreement. Sophia’s head unconsciously lolled to Dylan’s shoulder as she regained her composure. Dylan took take as a chance to rest his head on top of hers.

“FYI Hunter, you were a bit off-key at the end of the song,” Zach stated.

“I was not!” Hunter scoffed. He reached out and pushed his shoulder playfully. Zach, in return, bumped Hunter’s shoulder hard with his own, causing him to accidentally shove Sophia to the side which resulted in her head banging on Dylan’s cheek. They both groaned in unison.

Sophia bounced back, throwing herself on Hunter’s back, who was busy gripping Zach in a headlock. Hunter lurched forward and released Zach in surprised.

“You made me bump heads with Dylan, you pay!” Sophia shrieked humorously. She ruffled Hunter’s curly hair and gave him a hard noogie. The garage was soon filled with noises again, but laughter this time.

A few more frolicking around, the guys finally decided it was time to go home after their stomachs growled in hunger. Dylan was helping Sophia gathering her stuffs when Tabitha stopped by. He looked up in surprised as Tabitha glared at Sophia’s back.

“Hey, Tabitha, what’re you doing here?”

She rolled her eyes at him, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulders. “Is it a crime for a girl to visit her boyfriend now?”

Sophia slung her backpack over her shoulder and glanced at Dylan uncomfortably. She could feel the weight of Tabitha’s gaze on her so it comprehended on her that she was unwelcomed her, at least for Tabitha.

“Um, I’ll see you tomorrow, Dylan,” Sophia muttered, nearly running to the exit. However, Hunter blocked her way with a big grin on his face.

“Um, what’s up?” she asked suspiciously. Hunter snaked an arm around her waist despite the fact that they had just known each other for a day.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home,” he offered, leading Sophia out of the garage. She felt a little uncomfortable with Hunter’s obvious affections but she allowed him to walk with her nonetheless.

Dylan watched the duo with strange feelings rising in his chest. He didn’t know what it was or why it was there but he was eager to forget about it.

“Let’s go, Tabitha.”

Labels: It's Just You and Me Honey

Chapter 1: The Usual by Fathiah Zarafi.

Sophia pushed her red bangs out of her eyes that were dripping with sweat. She collapsed on the grass, panting for air.

“Oh god,” she moaned, feeling the soreness of her leg muscles. Sophia was about to collapse on the ground in exhaustion if it wasn’t for a black shadow masquerading the glares of the sun from her face. She cracked an eye open and groaned at the person grinning down at her.

“Talk about unfit, Soph,” a husky voice crackled. Sophia grunted in reply and extended her hand out for him to help her up. She was hauled to her feet but immediately regretted it as they screamed in protest from running around the field for too long.

“Dylan, I can’t run anymore!” she complained. Dylan shook his head, making his gentle brown hair bobbed around his shoulders. “You, Sophia, are a wimp,” he teased. Her green eyes narrowed dangerously and she took a step forward so they were just a breath’s away.

“I would like to see you in this size,” she gestured to her body, “run ten laps around those tracks,” her dainty finger pointed out to the school track that was as big as a stadium.

“Fine, Sophie, we’ll stop now,” Dylan sighed. He gathered up his water bottle and started to walk towards the school building when he felt tiny hands restraining his arm.

“The school’s too far away and my legs are now made of jello,” Sophia pouted. Dylan regretted turning around as he couldn’t possibly turn-down that face. He chuckled before crouching down with his back facing her.

“Hop on.”

Sophia eagerly wrapped her legs around Dylan’s waist and her arms around his shoulders. He got up to his feet and jogged to the red-bricked building.

“Ugh, what have been eating Soph?” he joked, taking huge dramatic steps with loud grunts. Sophia whacked his head with the towel in her hands before laughing. She secretly cherished the feeling of his body so near to her. Sophia rested her head on his shoulder and inhaled his comforting scent. Yes, she was in love with her best friend but she decided not to tell him anytime sooner. She would die if Dylan never wanted to do anything with her ever again.

“Hey Soph, here’s your stop.”

Her eyes snapped open and saw that they—he was standing in front of the girl’s locker room. She mounted off Dylan’s back and stretched the aching muscles.

“Thanks, Dylan,” she muttered while opening the door to the locker room. “See you in biology!” he yelled from down the hall. She merely rolled her eyes and smiled to herself.

Sophia basked in the relaxing water that cascaded down her body and soothed her pounding limbs. She ignored the snickers from a couple of girls her age as they whispered something about her. Sophia knew she lacked in the voluptuous department and girls her age had already filled their bras but she doesn’t give a crap.

“Oh my god, did you hear that Dylan Farro asked out Tabitha?” a blonde girl whispered excitedly. The other brunette girl gasped dramatically.

“No way! That wench is totally lucky, Dylan is like, the hottest guy in school!” the brunette squealed.

Sophia spun the knob and stepped out of the shower. Her ears could only take so much of those ditzy girls’ stupid gossips. She got dressed quickly and exited the room.

As Sophia was making her way towards her locker, she was suddenly halted to a stop a pair of strong arms. They then spun her around and Sophia grunted in annoyance.

“Dylan, I’m going to be late for class!” she protested against his strong hold. Dylan ignored her protests and beamed happily at her. Sophia raised an eyebrow at his sudden attitude.

“Guess what?” he asked excitedly.

“You’ve finally found a solution to stop peeing in your sleep?” she teased. “That was one time!” he shrieked, but calmed immediately, “but no, Tabitha finally agreed to go out with me!”

Sophia felt her heart plummeted down her stomach at his words. The rumors were true then, Dylan was dating the hottest and most popular girl in school. She quickly feigned a smile and gasped in shock.

“Shut up! A girl like that would never go out with a slob like you,” Sophia forced a chirpy giggle. Dylan smiled proudly and flexed his biceps as if he was in some sort of a body-builder competition.

“Yup, I won that baby fair and square.”

Sophia panicked when she felt tears prickling her eyes so she took the usual remedy—run away. She jogged down the unwinding hallway with Dylan hot on her heels.

“Yo Soph, where are you going in such a hurry?!” he hollered. Sophia cast a quick glance behind her shoulders to reply, “We have biology, remember?”

Apparently, that was all she can bear to say to Dylan throughout the whole class. He tried to catch her attention a couple of times of she didn’t even spare him a glance. Her sudden behavior confused him to no end.

Is it because of Tabitha? Dylan questioned himself, staring hard at the back of Sophia’s head.

Nah, can’t be it, he tried to deny, she doesn’t like me that way!

Dylan’s focus on the boring lecture in the front of the class was long gone; instead he concentrated on his best friend and the nagging voice in his mind.

*********************************************************


“Soph, hey Sophia, wait!”

Sophia grimaced inwardly as her attempt to escape the class unnoticed crashed and burned. She paused at the front door, gripping her textbook tightly in her hands and willed herself to relax.

Dylan’s hands clutched her shoulders strongly for he was afraid she might run away again. “What is the matter with you, Sophia?” he questioned urgently. When she wouldn’t even look at him, Dylan got frustrated so he spun her around forcefully. Sophia’s green eyes reflected shock and a hint of pain as he studied them.

Sophia’s brain strained for any kind of acceptable excuse that won’t reveal too much to him but she knew Dylan was capable to read her like an open book.

“Sophia, answer me!”

“I don’t want us to fall apart!” she nearly screamed under the pressure. Sophia swore at herself for being so stupid. Dylan loosened his hold on her but didn’t remove his hands from where they rest.

“What do you mean?” he inquired, gently this time. Other students walking past stared curiously at them but it was the least of Dylan’s worries. Sophia once again had to crack her brain for another reason behind her outburst but luckily, she was saved by the bell.

Dylan sighed at the harsh ringing of the bell signaling the 5th period. He still needed to know why Sophia said those things.

“Listen, Soph, I’ll come over your house after school today. You have to tell me truth,” he stated sternly. Sophia could only nod weakly before Dylan planted a kiss on her forehead as he usually did.

When he was safely out of her sight, Sophia banged her head on the door repeatedly while chanting “why, why, why.”

****************************************************************

Sophia paced her living room agitatedly. Her eyes kept drifting towards the wall clock and every minute seemed like hours to her. It was currently 3.50 p.m and Dylan wanted to meet her at precisely 4.00 p.m after guitar practice with his friend, Hunter. She couldn’t stop herself from biting on her fingernails, a habit she developed since a child.

“You’re going to gnaw your finger off if you keep that up.”

Sophia swore she jumped a feet in the air at the abrupt voice interrupting her. She twirled around spontaneously to see Dylan standing by the door with an amused expression. Her hand clutched her heart tightly as she panted from the rush of adrenaline.

“Dylan, you jack ass! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?” she whispered harshly. He changed his features to wear a sympathize look.

“Sorry, Sophie. The door was unlocked,” he explained sheepishly. She sighed tiredly before collapsing on a nearby couch, which happened to be a bean bag. Dylan guffawed when she sank into the bean bag.

“Nice choice,” he pointed sarcastically. Sophia rolled her eyes before pulling herself up to sit properly on a normal couch. Then, the one thing that she dreaded ensues—awkward silence. Dylan, of course, was the one to break the silence first.

“Soph, tell me the truth,” he demanded softly, “I don’t know what you meant.”

She inhaled a huge amount of air. Sophia made up her mind earlier and decided to tell him the truth. “Graduation is coming and I don’t want us to separate!” Well, mostly. It wasn’t like she was lying; the thought of graduation did swam around in her mind for quite some time so she told him the truth, just not the exact truth he wanted.

Very unexpectedly, Dylan pulled Sophia into his arms to give her the gentlest hug he could provide. Her breath was taken away though she was a little surprised but reciprocate his hug, nonetheless. After a few seconds, Dylan slowly extracted himself from her arms.

“Sophia, no matter what happens, we won’t be apart,” he assured, glancing deep into her emerald eyes, “we’ve been together for 7 years now. I won’t leave you.”

Sophia felt her eyes watered at his touching words. She instantly felt incredibly guilty of lying to him when he had done nothing but be a good friend to her. Friend. Just friend.

“Besides,” he continued, “whom am I going to have a tickle fight if it’s not with you?”

Because her brain was a little fogged up, what he had just spoken registered a bit late and as she realized what he meant, it was too late. Dylan had already attacked her ribs mercilessly with his fingers while she writhed and gasped under him.

“Dy—Dylan!” she laughed, “Stop it, you cow!” Dylan found himself laughing along with her, his fingers wiggled all over her ticklish spots.

“Say ‘uncle’!” he demanded playfully. Sophia shook her head no but immediately regretted it when he smirked evilly down at her. “You shouldn’t have said no,” he snarled.

The next thing she knew, Dylan had pulled her shirt up so her stomach was exposed and blew raspberry onto it. Sophia choked with laughter until her face turned red and tried in vain to push him away.

“Uncle!” she managed to gasp between the fits of giggles, “Uncle!!”

Finally, Dylan ended her misery by withdrawing his hands. Sophia gasped for breath and tried to sit up by grabbing Dylan’s shirt as leverage.

“So what do you want to do now?” he muttered after she had successfully calmed down. Sophia shrugged her shoulders.

“We watch t.v I guess.”

They’re eyes were fixated on the television where an alternative band was performing. Dylan seemed to enjoy it as he bobbed his head synchronized with the beat. However, it was a different case for Sophia. Her mind kept replaying Dylan’s words in her head in an endless loop.

Sophia, no matter what happens, we won’t be apart. We’ve been together for 7 years now. I won’t leave you.

She has been keeping this feeling to herself for exactly 7 years too and it was driving her insane.

Perhaps it’s time for me to move on, her inner-voice pointed. Yes, Sophia has to move on.

Labels: It's Just You and Me Honey

Prologue by Fathiah Zarafi.

A pair of green eyes stared longingly at the stone that was engraved with her fiancé’s name. She felt tears stinging the back of her eyes and was mildly surprised that she was still capable of producing tears after the endless nights she spent curling up under the covers and cry.

“Mommy?”

The sound of her child’s voice brought her back to reality. She forced a painful smile on her face to mask the hurt from the innocent child gazing up at her curiously.

“Why mommy cwy?” he inquired upon seeing the wetness on her face.

She scooped up her son and held him close to her chest. “Nothing, baby. Mommy was just thinking,” she answered.

The child raised a chubby hand to wipe his mother’s cheek. “Mommy don’t cwy no more. Dawyl’s here for mommy.”

She smiled again at her son’s concern. He was two years old now and everyday he grew more and more into his father. His chocolate-brown locks that matched those similar brown eyes were the spitting image of Dylan, even the infamous pout. She felt what was left of her heart shattering once again at the thought that he would never get to see his son grow and follow his footsteps.

“Sophia?”

She whirled around at the mention of her name and saw a black figure running towards her. Her eyes squinted against the glaring sunlight trying to figure out the person. The black blur became bigger as the distance between them was shortened and Sophia finally recognized the person.

“Heather?” she inquired in surprised. The woman proceeded to enveloped her in a hug despite the protest of Daryl who was squished in between them.

“Oh my god, Sophie! It’s been what, 10 years since I last saw you!” Heather squealed excitedly. Sophia was forced to fake a laugh for her own sake and returned her glee.

“Yes, I know. The last time I saw you was that picture day in eight grade before you moved,” Sophia spoke softly. Heather laughed wholeheartedly before eyeing the small child hiding his face in Sophia’s arms.

“Well, who’s this little brat?” she questioned jokingly. Sophia’s smile faltered a little but fortunately Heather was too absorbed in pinching Daryl’s chubby cheeks to notice.

“Aren’t you the cutest little boy,” she cooed when Daryl turned his face towards her. Heather suddenly stopped laughing. She studied Daryl from head to toe and emitted and loud gasp.

“Oh my god, he looks just like Dylan! Oh, I never thought you two would end up together,” she giggled. Sophia took in a sharp breath at the mention of Dylan. It had been two years since his death but it still hurt her deeply when the topic of him sprang up.

Heather saw Sophia’s eyes glistening with tears. She suddenly remembered that they were at the cemetery and Sophie was probably still upset over a death.

“Sophie, are you okay, hun? Whom are you here for?” she inquired gently. Sophia brushed away the tears before they could drop and smiled bitterly.

“Dylan.”

Heather’s mouth bobbed open and close but no words were uttered from the extreme shocked.

“You might want to sit down,” Sophia offered.

Labels: It's Just You and Me Honey