Mutual

13 - Get-Togethers

"Daisy!" Alana said loudly into her phone as soon as it stopped ringing.

"Lana!" She yelled back, matching Alana's energy.

"Oh, my god, Dais. I don't even know where to start."

"Maybe start with when and how you became friends with your boy."

"Okay, one, he's not mine. Two, are you and Anastasia talking behind my back again?!"

"Just a little bit," she completely ignored the first part. "She just wanted to complain about how dumb her sister and her ex were being. And she probably assumed that I was up-to-date on all your drama."

Alana groaned. "That's...probably fair," she admitted reluctantly.

"So, what's the lore?"

Alana was so done, but she started catching her best friend up on what's been going on. She started with the photography club and how that got them having regular conversations. Then, she went through her talk with Anastasia and the breakup. She went on to explain how Alana and Dylan continued talking, even when he and Ana were giving each other space. After that came Anastasia finding out about their secret friendship and Ana's threat if they failed to do something about their mutual feelings for each other.

She was practically at the end of her story when she vaguely heard the doorbell. She didn't acknowledge it until Ana yelled to Alana asking if she could answer it.

Not expecting anyone, she thought that maybe a package was being delivered. She went downstairs, still on the phone with Daisy. She unlocked the front door and opened it. She gaped upon seeing Dylan in front of her.

Once she got over her initial shock, she spoke, "I'm gonna have to call you back, Daisy."

She distantly heard her friend respond with, "Go get your man" before hanging up and stuffing her phone in her pocket.

"Hi," she broke the silence between them.

"Hey."

Alana stepped outside and shut the door behind her. It was a nice day, and she didn't want Ana eavesdropping, even though she'd tell her all about this later on.

She sat down on the step, and Dylan followed suit on her right side. He was close enough that their legs were touching.

"So," Dylan started.

"So," Alana echoed.

"I don't really know how to do this," he admitted.

"Just do what you did with Ana," she joked. "Whatever it was made her say yes."

He shook his head and snorted. "I think this would work better if you didn't bring her up in that way."

"I feel like I'm the one that's supposed to be telling you that."

"Well, nothing about how we operate is normal, is it?"

"That's true."

"So, um, I like you."

"I like you, too," Alana blushed, suddenly feeling shy. They didn't have serious, emotional conversations with each other. This was new, unexplored territory for both of them.

They were looking at each other when one of Dylan's hands came up to hold the side of Alana's face. "Is this okay?" He whispered.

Unable to speak, Alana nodded and leaned in.

Their eyes closed, and suddenly, they were kissing. It was even better than Alana could have hoped. She wasn't exactly sure what to expect but it was soft and sweet and gentle, and she couldn't get enough.

Unfortunately, they needed air, so they slowly pulled away.

Sometime during the kiss, Alana's left hand wound up on Dylan's knee. They were still so close, neither wanting to move too far away.

Alana couldn't help herself, "Hopefully that was better for you than what Ana said kissing you was like."

Dylan's hand dropped from her cheek. "And there goes that moment. You're such a-" he couldn't think of the appropriate word.

"I think the word you're looking for is skutch," Alana helpfully supplied.

"What is a skutch?"

"Like a brat or a pest. Ma called me that quite a lot growing up."

He laughed. "I've never heard it before."

"It's Italian-American slang, which is what we are—Italian-American."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"I can't tell if that's meant to be good or bad."

Dylan shrugged. "It's cute—your little quirks tied to your culture."

Alana felt like a middle schooler with her first crush with the way she smiled and blushed simply by being called cute for just being herself. He said it so casually, like it was an obvious fact.

"Thanks. Not everyone appreciates it." She thought back to an ex that thought she was weird for embracing her heritage the way she has. Suffice to say, that relationship didn't last long.

"Well, they don't know what they're missing."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, making him turn pink. "You're cute when you blush," which only made the blush more prominent.

"I hate it here," he muttered to himself. Due to their close proximity though, Alana heard and chuckled.

"Sure, you do."

"Why do I like you again?"

"I don't know. I'm wondering that, too," she meant to say in a joking manner, but it wound up coming out more earnest than intended.

Dylan noticed this and told her honestly, "It's because you're funny and—believe it or not—nice. And I really like the way you really care for the people you love."

"Who knew you could be so sweet?" She said with a smile.

"And then there's that."

"What?"

"That thing where you turn every serious or emotional thing into a joke."

"Oh, I'm sorry that I'm a little emotion stunted at times and don't know how to be serious."

"Never change, Lani. It may be annoying as hell sometimes-"

"But you love it," she finished for him.

"Yeah," he breathed out, trying to suppress a smile.

"In all seriousness, I had no idea you were such a sap."

"But you love it," he threw her words back at her.

"Yeah," she laughed a little. "I think I do."

Who knew that two people that started out disliking each other would be such saps and so sickeningly sweet when they got together? Dylan and Alana definitely didn't. But their relationship was never conventional, and that's not going to change now.