Who Run the World? Girls.

20 - What Should've Been Done a Long Time Ago

Dylan picked up the photo frame from his bedside table. It was a picture of himself and Alice at prom. He remembered that night so perfectly; her long, red dress flowing behind them, and his matching tie that was way too long. He thought of her blonde hair on his shoulder as they danced and the feel of all his friends slapping his shoulder when he was announced Prom King. It was the best night of his life, yet it was a memory that brought tears to his eyes. A memory that he thought of all the time even though it had been seven years.

He set the picture down again and removed his phone from his pocket. Things had to change and he knew that. He just needed time to adjust, and he had to make sure Chloe understood that because he wasn't sure if she had the day before. He dialled her number and anxiously put the phone to his ear. After a few seconds, she picked up and said "Hello?"

"Chloe, we have to talk..." he demanded.

There was a silence. "What about? I thought you said you needed space," she said. It sounded so neutral, almost cold.

"I never said I needed space. I said I needed time before we rushed into any-"

"Why are you so convinced that I want to rush into anything? What, just because I kissed you?" Chloe snapped.

"No, not just that. Look back at the past two months and tell me we didn't click. Tell me that you didn't feel even a flicker of something more than friendship towards me." There was another pause from Chloe. "There you go."

"Do you?" Chloe asked.

"What?"

"Think of me as more than a friend?"

Dylan sighed. "Yes, I do. I've been trying to deny it and I even told myself that I wasn't ready for someone new, but that sounds so rediculous. I've had six years, and now it's time to pack all the memories into a box and move on. So what do you say?"

"I... I don't know, Dylan. I'm worried I'd be competing with a ghost. I think I need time to think about this too. I have to go," Chloe concluded.

"Chloe..."

But she'd already hung up. Dylan put the phone on the table and looked down at his chest. He pulled the string hanging from his neck from beneath his shirt and inspected the ring that dangled on it. That ring had not been parted from him since Alice died. But it was time to start a new chapter in his life.

He slowly untied the string and set it down next to the photo frame. "I'm sorry, Alice. But I should've done this a long time ago," he whispered.

***

Beca carried the shopping into the kitchen and set it down on the counter, stopping quickly to breathe after her rush to get back home. Fat Amy had returned from Tasmania and was coming for dinner later that day at Beca's suggestion.

"God, this is going to be crazy weird. We lived with her for three years and now we're inviting her to dinner as a guest. Man, adulthood is so... Formal," Beca scoffed.

Chloe smiled, somewhat weakly Beca noticed. "Its Fat Amy. I'm telling you now, it's not going to be formal."

Beca watched as her best friend sat down with a book in her hand with obviously no intention of reading it. She opened it before staring into blank space, in what appeared to be deep thought. But Beca knew something was bugging Chloe, and it was her job to find out what.

"Hey, what's up?" Beca asked.

"Why do you ask?" Chloe said, now pretending to read more convincingly.

"Mainly because it's seemingly obvious that there is something bothering you..." Beca told her.

Chloe put the book down and sighed. "Okay, you got me. I could do with your opinion on this anyway. Dylan-"