No Time Like Goodbye

Chapter 4- Dylan

I had barely walked into my own house after dropping Hazel off when my phone rang. I pulled it out and glanced at the name scrolling across the screen. Fahari.

With a sigh, I answered reluctantly. "Hey Fahari."

"Hey Dylan." Her smile was evident in her voice as she spoke. "I was just calling you to see why you were acting odd earlier."

"Um, I wasn't," I replied, just a bit too fast. My voice shook a bit. Could I trust her with the real reason I was acting different?

"Yeah you were. Now tell me, what's up?"

"Well, um..." I trailed off, thinking for a long moment, trying to figure out how I was supposed to say this. "You know Hazel's leaving, right?"

"Yeah of course I do."

"And she's never coming back?" My voice cracked a bit.

"She'll come back one day Dylan. I bet she'll come back for all her breaks." Her voice was confident, as though there was no way she could possibly be wrong.

"But still. She's leaving..."

"Yeah but it will be fine, Dylan... Why didn't you apply for Yale if you are so worried about her leaving?" She knew exactly why.

"Because I'm not smart enough." I sighed. "What if she doesn't come back, Fahari?"

"She will." She assured me. "You can ask her, even just to clarify that. But she will Dylan. Just like Ryan will come back from California after he leaves in August."

"But..." I bit my lip, pacing my small bedroom at this point.

"But what, Dylan?"

"What if she forgets all about me? What if she finds some new guy, and forgets me?"

"Do you really think she going to forget you? She's been best friends with you since Kindergarden. There's nothing that could make you two not friends."

She was right, of course. I knew that, somewhere deep down. But I was still scared.

I nodded a bit and sighed. "But what if she meets some guy at her new fancy smart people college?"

"Why would that matter?" She asked, confusion in her voice.

"Because...."

"Because what?" Her interest had obviously been piqued.

"Because I think I'm in love with her," I mumbled. I had never been admit that, even to myself. But here I was, saying it outright.

"Aww! You should tell her!"

"What?! No! I can't!" I nearly shouted, my eyes widening in panic.

"She loves you too, you know that right?" I froze in my pacing. What?

"No she doesn't, we're just friends." I shook off the thought without abandon.

"Yeah she does. I can tell."

"How?"

"It's a girl thing. You'd understand if you were one." Her telltale smile had returned to her voice.

"Okay. Thanks Fahari."

"Anytime! Bye Dyl!" Fahari and Hazel were the only ones who ever called me Dyl. The only ones I allowed to.

"Bye Fah." Again, another nickname only a select few were allowed to use. "Wait, can I ask you one more question?"

"Ask away!"

"Are you sure? You know, that she actually likes me?"

"I can tell by simply seeing the way she acts around you."

"Okay. Thanks." I smiled a bit.

I decided not to ponder it. It would do me no good to stay up all night thinking about it. I needed sleep, so I could get up early tomorrow.

Fahari, Ryan, Hazel, maybe Alana- Ryan's twin sister-, and possibly her boyfriend would be coming over and spending most of the day, talking and watching movies, maybe playing a few board games or something.

I ran a hand through my hair and looked around my bedroom. It was a usual teenage guy's bedroom, full of trophies and posters, but there was one thing that differed. One entire wall was covered in drawings. Hazel's drawings.

She had given me dozens of drawings, each of inconsequential things: the tree that grew outside of the English classroom, a deer that used to stand outside her bedroom window every few days, stuff like that. Hazel would draw anything and everything she saw. I couldn't remember a time when she didn't have a sketchbook and pencils with her. Now, they were pinned on my bedroom walls.

I pulled off my shirt and decides to just sleep in my jeans, not bothering to change.

I pulled the blankets over me and almost immediately fell asleep. My mind was filled with dreams of Hazel, and Fahari, and, strangely enough, something about purple octopi. Sometimes my dreams were just weird.