The Story of You and Me

Chapter 12

I head into the kitchen the next morning for breakfast and find Cole and Kyle both seated at the counter, chowing down on cereal. I pause in the doorway and they both look up. Kyle jerks his head upwards, in that stupid move guys do to say 'sup', and mutters goodmorning at me. Cole catches my eye and gives me a cocky, knowing smile, reminding me (as if I could have forgotten) what happened last night.

I hesitantly return his smile and step into the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and the cereal. I pour myself a bowl and then lean against the counter across from them to eat it. "How was last night?" Kyle asks.

I freeze, sure that he's talking about Cole kissing me. I shoot Cole a look but he gives a small shake of his head, telling me that he didn't say anything, he values his life to much. "You know, girls night?" Kyle prompts after I don't answer.

"Oh, right." I say, my heart rate slowing, "It was good, we watched that movie The Duff at Carly's house." Kyle nods and shovels the last of his cereal into his mouth. Right then my mom enters and I start to eat faster, wanting to spend as little time as possible in the same room as her.

"Oh Dylan, just the person I wanted to see." She says, Kyle and Cole both give me looks, as if to say "play it cool". "Have you mailed that college application yet? If you even want to have a shot at going to Western you need to get it in the mail by this weekend. Your grades will only get you so far you know."

Your grades only get you so far, what is that supposed to mean. "Um, I don't know if I really want to go to Western." I say after a moment. She looks at me like I've grown two heads, "Why not, it's a perfectly good school and it's not far away."

"Well, they don't have a medical program. I haven't exactly filled out that application yet, I've been working on the one for Duke." She purses her lips and gives me a disapproving look, "Are you sure that you want to go into the medical field? It's very rigorous, are you sure you can handle the schooling?"

I feel my mouth drop open a little bit, not believing that she's suggesting I'm not smart enough to handle medical school. I feel tears of anger prick my eyes as I respond, "I'm Beta club president and I've kept a 4.7 gpa for 3 years, it's not going anywhere. I think I can handle medical school."

Kyle, sensing that I'm about to cry, interjects before my mom can say anything else, "Yeah Mom, Dylan's the smartest person I know. If anyone can handle medical school it would be her." Cole nods vigorously, "Yeah, she really has what it takes to be a surgeon." He adds, giving my mom a charming smile, trying to diffuse the situation.

My mom opens her mouth to say something else but Kyle stands up and cuts her off, "We're going to be late." He comes over and takes my arm, leading me out of the kitchen, Cole following close behind. "This conversation is not over." I hear my mother say but none of us dignify this with a response.

When we hear the back door slam we know she's gone. Kyle turns to me, kissing my forehead, "I'm going to run upstairs and grab my stuff, be right back." He disappears up the stairs, leaving Cole and I alone.

I feel Cole's hand touch my arm and I tense up at his touch, "Are you okay?" He asks gently. Tears leak out of my eyes and I shake my head, biting my lip. "Come here," He says, pulling me into a tight hug.

I stand there stiff as a board, thinking about last night, until he whispers in my ear, "Let me be here, okay. I don't want things to be awkward between us and you know I can't stand to see you cry." Slowly I relax, letting him hold me as the tears flow freely down my cheeks. He buries his face in my hair and for a moment everything is normal between us. We're just Dylan and Cole and the rest of the world disappears.

When we hear Kyle's footsteps Cole pulls away, briefly gripping my shoulders and peering into my eyes. "It's all going to be okay, you are going to be okay." He says before dropping his hands and giving me his signature smile.

I return it with a small one of my own and wipe at my eyes. "Thank you." I whisper as Kyle materializes at my side. He hands me my bag and squeezes my shoulder affectionately. "Let's get out of here."

~*~

"Bye Lena." I call as I exit the gym after softball workouts. She waves goodbye and heads towards her car while I head towards Cole's truck. I reach it expecting to find both him and Kyle but instead all I see is Cole, lounging against the driver's door.

"Where's Kyle?" I ask as I approach. Cole shrugs, "I think he went home, I don't know I told him we were going out for some best friend time and he wasn't allowed to argue and should find another ride home." I rolled my eyes, "Best friend time?" I questioned.

He shrugged, "You've had a long day and I figured you might want to let loose for a little while." I walked over and gave him a quick hug, "That is exactly what I need." He grins and nods towards the truck, "Where are we going?" He asks. I give him a look, "You have to ask?" He laughs, "I figured you might say that, get in."

I head around to the other side and hop in, as soon as our seat belts are buckled he cranks the engine and pulls out of the lot. I start to open the glove compartment as he gets on the main road but he puts a hand on my arm.

I look up and he points to a cd case sitting on top of the dash. I lean forward and pick it up, smiling as I read the title, he knows me so well. I slide it in and hit play, the car soon filling with the opening beat of Footloose, my comfort music.

I lean back in my seat and belt out the lyrics as we turn onto our highway. He accelerates and I start to relax. I don't know why but something about driving, about the open road, is the biggest stress reliever I have. Holding Out for a Hero come on and we both start singing at the top of our lungs, it's my favorite.

After a while Cole pulls over to the side of the road and turns the engine off. I give him a confused look but he just smiles and throws open his door. I get out and he joins me on my side, "Come on," He says, turning and starting to walk away, "I want to show you something."

I follow him curiously, not even questioning the fact that we're walking through an empty field. We walk for a while, entering a wooded area and following a narrow, overgrown path.

Soon he stops and turns around to face me, I can see the trees thinning out over his shoulder. "Close your eyes." He says with a smile. I do as he asks and I hear him walk behind me. He puts one hand over my eyes and the other on my waist, guiding me forward.

"You better not let me fall off a cliff or something." I joke as we walk forward. He laughs and he's standing so close to me that I can feel every movement, "Oh, how'd you figure it out, that's exactly why I brought you here." Now it's my turn to laugh. He stops moving and I can practically hear the smile in his voice as he says, "Okay, open your eyes."

His hand disappears and my eyes fly open. I gasp, "Oh my gosh," I breath, taking in the sight before me. We're standing on a small cliff and you can see for miles. The setting sun is sinking lower and lower in the sky, painting the mountains with gorgeous colors. "This is amazing." I say, smiling.

"I knew you'd love it." He says, still standing behind me. "How did you find this?" I ask, suddenly conscious of the fact that his hand is still on my waist. "I came here last year to clear my head, I just started walking and accidently found it." I smile again, "I love it." I say, turning so that I can see his face.

He looks down at me and smiles, in the moment I want nothing more than for him to kiss me. He still has one hand on my waist as he stares into my eyes. Something crosses his face and for a brief second I think that he might actually kiss me. Then, as quickly as it came, it disappears and he breaks eye contact.

I turn slightly so that I can see the view again and then lean into him. He moves his hand from waist to rest across my shoulders, pulling me into his side. "Thank you." I murmur, "I really needed this."

He rests his cheek against the top of my head, "I know, that's why I brought you here. Don't let her get to you, just remember that you should never change. You're perfect just the way you are." He squeezes me tightly and brings another smile to my lips. I know, right then and there, that I am hopelessly in love with him.

__________________________________________________

A/N: The picture at the top is a sunset pic called The Burning Eye and was taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina by Dave Allen Photography.