Dear Dylan

i. again & again

I was listening to a podcast about The Ocean from my cellphone when I suddenly heard a loud thump. Turns out, a boy sat beside me. Everyone was eyeing him curiously, probably weirded out by the fact that he chose to sit beside the nerd. From the looks of it, we were total polar opposites. Why would a guy like him sit with a girl like me?

I shrugged the thought off and closed my eyes while listening to the documentary. After a few minutes, I felt a tap or two on my left shoulder. A bit annoyed, I turned to look at what the fuss was all about. The boy who sat beside me was smiling at me.

"I'm Dylan Howard. I'm new here so I don't really know how you guys work and stuff." he said shyly while rubbing the back of his neck.

I just simply looked at him like he was the most retarded human being in the planet.

"Okay?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

He must've found the conversation really awkward.

"Umm." he paused for a moment while rubbing both of his palms probably because of the cold temperature and most likely the awkwardness. "I was wondering if we could be friends, you know? Like walk to classes and eat lunch together. I think it would be a great idea."

I looked at him with a blank expression on my face.

"Do you see that guy over there?" I whispered while pointing to Spencer Daniels, the guy who practically ruled the whole school and of course, the guy who ruined me. "He would want to be your friend." I stood up, leaving him utterly speechless.

The bus doors opened, signaling our arrival at school. Everybody was cheering like crazy. The minute I got out of the bus, the sight of guys flirting, girls texting, and nerds being made fun of, embraced me.

"Hey, wait up!" Dylan screamed after me. He was starting to get into my nerves. So, I gave him the finger.

"Fuck off." I rolled my eyes, rushed to the locker section, and quickly skimmed my class schedule.

As of this morning, I had French, Art, and Geometry.

While rummaging through my locker, I heard swift movements behind me. I was fuming with rage and anger. What does this boy want from me?

"Jesus, you scared me. I thought I had lost you already." he said, continually gasping for air.

"What the hell do you want from me? If you wanted me to do your homework, go ask someone who actually wants to. I'm not your personal assistant so don't act like one. Oh wait, it's the first day of school. There are no freaking assignments. Since it's already settled, you may now leave!" I screamed at him which unfortunately gained the attention of some. He was as red as a tomato, making me feel a little bit guilty for screaming at him without a decent reason.

"I just wanted to be your friend." he frowned in confusion.

"Why me? I'm..." I paused for a while before finishing. "...different."

He was about to say something when I put my palm over his mouth to prevent him from saying anything foolish. Sure, he looked like a cool guy but I wasn't. Heck, I don't even know why he wanted to be friends with me in the first place. I wore baggy clothes and I listened to old documentaries, what's so fascinating about that?

"Don't even say anything. I'm gonna be honest with you, alright? People like you shouldn't be friends with people like me. Trust me, I've seen too much." I whispered to him and immediately walked away, trying to avoid the amused stares and dagger-like glares from the audience.

"I'm not giving up on you uhh random girl who listens to ocean documentaries!" he screamed from the distance and people started laughing at me. I mentally scoffed, anger inflating my head.