Forever

Chapter Twelve

The clock read nine at night when Dana stepped foot in her home. The quietness was usual since her parents went to bed fairly early. She lugged all of her items upstairs and went straight to her room to lay across her bed. Her phone buzzed in her pocket the moment she rested her head at the corner of the sheets.

Chandler Beckett
Make it home safe?

The smile on her face grew bigger as she typed every letter. She never thought he would be checking in on her or cared about her safety. She didn't even think they would exchange words for the rest of her life. It was such a small gesture, but to Dana it was huge! Did he really care about her? Was she more than just a girl he wanted around to do homework with?

Then again, he could just be doing this as a sign to show he's a good friend. She didn't want to get ahead of herself. It's only been a few days and she still didn't know much about him. He didn't share much and she wasn't the type to over explain herself either.

Lana
OMG! You rode in his car?! You were with him tonight!

Jess
Why are we just not hearing about this??

Lana
Obviously she didn't want us on her back!

Lana
You go girl! Love that for you!

Jess
Well time to cross him off my list! Nobody is taking my best friends man!!

Dana held her phone tightly to her chest and let out a squeal. The night couldn't get any better. Knowing she got to see Chandler tomorrow and sit next to him made it hard for her to sleep. She kept imagining his brown eyes and soft bouncy hair.

"Who is he?"

Dana quickly lifted herself up to a seating position before she locked eyes with her mother who was standing in her doorway. "What?! Huh!" Sandra rolled her eyes as her daughter tried to act clueless.

"The clothes. The coming home late. The smile on your face." She then sat right next to Dana who was feeling a hint of embarrassment. She didn't know how obvious her crush on Chandler was. "Who is this boy? He must be something super special to get you out of your desk chair."

Dana wanted to gush all about him but she didn't know how silly she would sound if she did. Her mom has never been one to not listen so she knew she could tell her anything. Was Chandler worth sharing yet or was she thinking too far ahead once again.

"Oh... you know!" She combed her hair with her finger tips. "Just some boy from school. No big deal." Her mom rolled her eyes. "Okay! It's like a really big deal! I've liked him for weeks and he's finally taking an interest in me. Tonight he told me I was really smart."

Sandra smiled as she took a seat on the empty side of the bed where her daughter clung to the edge of the bed. "You know, I had a first crush before." Dana sat up eagerly waiting for more information on the topic her mother was building up to. "His name was Jonah. He was a running back on our high school football team and I was boy crazy about him." She looked up to the ceiling to reminiscence on her youthful past. "He took me on one date after I helped him on a project. I realized soon after that he might be the man of my dreams."

The long pause as Sandra looked down at her thumbs that fumbled over each other. It caused a drop of sweat to bead on Dana's head. "And what happen?" Her nails were not being nibbled on with her teeth.

"I met your dad. He was super smart. A dedicated and goofy guy. I bumped into him when my car needed a jump outside of the grocery store I actually was going to so I could buy a birthday gift for Jonah." Dana pretended to faint at the chaos of a story. "He gave me his number and told me if I ever needed anything to call him and he will come running. Later on I went to give Jonah his birthday gift and he told me he had to focus on his football career. I was so devastated. But then there was your dad. I couldn't pass up the opportunity of a guy like him."

Dana smiled at her mom as she saw the spark and the love still crashing around in her eyes as if it was the day her and her dad first met. Dana wondered if she would ever find a love like that. One that has her heart in a knot as she's telling her kids about it.

"I'm glad you chose dad. He's the best dad and you're the best mom," she grinned. This caused Sandra to give her a tight hug before standing up to fix her dress. "I love you."

"I love you, baby. Just don't forget that whoever this guy is, he will show himself. You don't ignore it when he does."

She wasn't sure what that meant and how it applied to Chandler. For the most part, he was sweet and genuine. There were a lot of things about him that she wished he would come out and express. In the meantime, he was quiet and kept a lot of his thoughts to himself. It often left Dana wondering if she was the one coming off desperate. Having such intense feelings for a guy who can barely express his.

She laid across her bed alone and in her thoughts. She felt that she had a lot on her plate. From school assignments to college plans now she has to add on the fact that she has developed her first crush. Dana had always been good at juggling multiple items on her plate. Now she doesn't know if her bites should be big or small to digest it all.

Her phone buzzed on her stomach and she saw that Jessica sent her a picture of the partner list. Dana was in advanced English and Jess was in general English. They were assigned partners from another class and had to do a short essay on the difference through interview questions.

Jessica got paired up with Dominique, Chandler was paired with Haley, and Dana... well she got Rachel.

Jess
Isn't that his ex?

This was a question she didn't want to answer. It left a bad taste in her mouth to the previous things that Rachel said about the mystery girl Chandler was inviting over. That girl was Dana. Would she have to face the music sooner than she'd like?