by Fathiah Zarafi
A/N: Hey guys, first of all I am so so sorry for the lack of update. My life has been a chaotic mess lately and I couldn't handle the pressure very well. Anyways, I had to cut chapter 5 into two parts because of the length. Enjoy!
Dylan didn’t exactly know when realization dawned upon him but one thing he was sure of is that prom night was a living hell. Tabitha had literally dragged him from the limo—which she demanded that he rent—to the photography booth where they took a little too many of clichéd pictures. He sulked in each one of them.
His night became worse when Dylan spotted Sophia and Hunter chatting away at the refreshments table. He wanted to recoil away in disgust but his eyes refused to leave the girl in his sight. Sophia was relatively simple, or as some people would put it; plain. She wore a strapless knee-length coral dress along with a pair of gold ballet flats. Her red hair was curled slightly in wavy locks and held in place by a rose barrette. Compared to other girls in the gym, Sophia would be considered as a Plain Jane but somehow, under the dim light setting and people slow-dancing around them, she took his breath away.
The worse had yet to come.
It was when he was drowning out Tabitha’s loud ramblings over his lack of attention towards her when he felt it. Dylan was watching Sophia dancing with Hunter to be precise when a strange sensation bubbled up inside of his chest. Kind of, like, jealousy.
Jealous? He scoffed why would I be jealous of Hunter?!
Because Sophia agreed to be his date, you bumbling buffoon.
Naw, man, why would I be jealous over that? It’s not like I love her or something.
No, you’re not. You’re in love with her.
Dylan left prom before it can fully start.
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Needless to say, Dylan didn’t get much sleep that night, or, any other nights for the rest of the week. It had been two weeks since the prom and he hasn’t spoken to Sophia ever since. It was driving her over the wall with all the possibilities of why he was ignoring her. They were in every class together, yet somehow Dylan managed to avoid confrontation. However, whatever comes around goes around. Eventually, a frustrated Sophia finally managed to corner Dylan while he was buying a drink at the vending machine.
“What the hell are you doing?!” she spat. Dylan raised an eyebrow at her anger. “I’m buying water,” he stated as nonchalantly as he possible could. Sophia took another step closer, successfully trapping Dylan between her and the vending machine.
“Don’t you play coy with me, Mayer,” hissed Sophia, “ever since prom night, which was two weeks ago, you’ve been avoiding me!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sophia. I’ve been busy,” he lied. “The hell you are!” Sophia shrieked. Dylan hastily glanced around them to see if there were spectators. Of course, giving his luck, almost all of the student body had their eyes on them.
“If you’re gonna act as if I don’t exist anymore, at least do it with a little bit of subtlety,” she choked out, tears swimming in her eyes. Dylan immediately felt his wall crumble around him at the sight of her. His arms automatically wrapped themselves around Sophia and brought her to his chest. “I’m sorry, Sophie, I’m so sorry.”
Dylan could hear her sniffle softly against the fabric of his shirt and it only adds more to his ever-growing guilt. “Just tell me what I did wrong,” she mumbled. He pulled her away at arms length at stared at her watery green eyes. “No, Sophia, you did nothing wrong. It’s me. I—I thought you wouldn’t want to talk to me again since I, uh, yelled at you the other day,” Dylan lied again.
“Dylan, why would I ever want that? You’re my best friend.”
And those words hit him hard like a ton of bricks. Yes, they were best friends yet a new side of him wanted more than just pals. His desire to achieve just that was deadly; he had to refrain himself from pulling her into his arms and kiss her senselessly.
“Yeah, I’m stupid,” he laughed shakily. Sophia smiled back up at him as the spectators around them began loosing their interest and went back to their own businesses. Well, except for one certain voluptuous blonde girl.
“Dylan-poo, where have you been?” she berated as she flipped her hair over her shoulders. Dylan put on a plastic smile and let himself being dragged by Tabitha back to the cafeteria. Sophia pulled her game face on when Tabitha glared daggers at her the whole way. She breathed in deeply, calming her overwhelmed emotions before walking back to the hell hole people called the cafeteria. Everyday, Sophia had to put on a brave face and willed herself not to crack in front of Dylan and just confess everything like she had always wanted.
You are a strong girl, Sophia. You. Are. Strong was the phase she repeated in her mind in an endless loop. As her sneakered-feet entered the cafeteria, Hunter’s grin was the first thing she noticed. It was the only thing keeping her sane lately.
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Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. Before they knew it, senior year was approaching its final halt. The Avenue had done countless of gigs and shows but they still had no contract with any record. Dylan and Sophia were at their wits ends; meeting managers, being told they were still too young and repeating the process with other managers. Zach suggested that they just give up but alas, his young mouth spoke too soon. It was a Friday night; the band had just finished a show and was hanging out by the club, sipping their Cokes.
“Luke, you disgusting douche, stop spitting on the ground!” Sophia nagged. Luke merely grinned and wiggled his eyebrows unceremoniously at Hunter.
“Dude, your girlfriend is already nagging. Wait till you marry her!” he laughed. The whole band erupted in cat calls and hoots; everyone except for Dylan who continued glaring at Hunter’s curly head.
“Shut up, freak,” Hunter grinned, shoving Luke by the shoulder, “we only went to prom together as friends. Not that big of a deal.” Sophia’s face turned light pink, even as she tried her hardest to suppress the blush. “Yeah, guys, stop talking about it already,” she muttered. Luke bared his teeth in an evil grin, ready to attack Sophia again but Dylan cut him off immediately.
“So guys, any plans for tomorrow?” Dylan interrupted. “Well, I wanted to—“
“Excuse me, are you The Avenue?”
Labels: It's Just You and Me Honey