Nonsocial Butterfly

Chapter 2

If you've ever watched football you know that it is a very violent sport. Sometimes during practices I have to turn my head away when Dylan is pushed to the ground and I almost cheer when Logan busts his ass. I don't care too much for the sport but I know that it means a great deal to Dylan, so I routinely attend his games and occasionally paint my face for him. My dad loves coming to the games, he says it reminds him of when my brother Tony was in high school.

Today during practice it looks like they aren't doing much as far as drills and plays but really just running. Dylan takes the lead in suicides and they all follow. Dylan is co-captain and Logan is the captain. When doing suicides Logan takes up the back so that no one gets left behind. I watch for a minute until I look at Logan and see that he's already looking at me. I quickly put my head down while my mind races. Why was Logan staring up here? Well, maybe he wasn't, maybe we just did that awkward thing where you're thinking and staring and someone feels your stare so they glance over. Yeah, that's probably what happened. I focus back on my homework and before I know it Dylan is running up the bleachers towards me ready to pick me up in a sweaty bear hug, that he knows I find disgusting.

"Dylan, don't! I swear if you do it-" At that moment he lifts me up and swings me around in his disgusting smelly arms.

"Oh Iz, you know you love my man smell." I almost puke.

"Dylan, please, place me on the ground." I'm getting a little dizzy from the spinning. He puts me down and I smack his chest when I'm steady.

"Shepard! Back to the field, captains meeting!" I hear Logan yell from behind Dylan.

"Gotta go beautiful, I'll be back shortly though." He winks at me and trots back down the bleachers towards Logan. I look past Dylan to where he is and see him smirking up at me. He winks and then throws his arm around Dylan when he reaches him. I'm confused. He winked? Maybe he was looking at Dylan. I get my things together and head towards my car. Dylan will know that's where I am.

I sit in my car for so long that I fall asleep and miss every phone call from Dylan. When I wake up it's to a tapping on my window. I jump up ready to fight and notice Logan standing beside my car laughing so hard he can't breathe. I look at the clock on my dash and see that it's almost 10 o'clock. Oh god, my dad is going to have a cow.

"Iz? Why are you still here?" Logan says calming down.

"I was waiting for Dylan and I fell asleep." I say wiping my eyes trying to clear the sleep from them.

"I took him home about an hour ago. He said he thought you had gone home and then when we got there he saw your car wasn't in the driveway, we've been looking for you since." He said shrugging like it didn't really matter to him that they couldn't find me.

"Well, here I am. You can go now." I say sitting up to start my car.

"What? No thank you for finding me Logan? Or how about you're my savior and I am forever in your debt?" he says egotistically.

"Why would I say any of that? If anything I'm angry because you woke me up. Have a good night Logan." I roll up my window and speed away from him in the school parking lot. Looking back in my rearview mirror I see him under the streetlight with his hands in his pockets watching me go while he shakes his head.

The next morning is utter chaos. My mom is trying to leave for a flight and she keeps running around the house complaining that she's late. My dad is getting ready for a court case that he has to be at in an hour and to top it all off, my brother is calling non-stop asking for money to pay for a trip the college is going on. I sit quietly on the couch and watch mom and dad run around the house for about an hour and then see them off when they're running out the door. I don't think I'll ever understand my parents. They're so loving and kind when they don't have to be at work but when they're trying to be somewhere, don't stand in their way.

After they're gone I go up to my room to get my backpack and my car keys. My parents have always been sticklers for keeping the house clean so my things are never out of my room. I exit my house and go towards my car where I know Dylan will already be waiting. He's always talking about how rides to school are not only best friend privileges but also neighbor privileges. When I hop in I poke Dylan to make him lean into his own seat, which he does and then falls right back to sleep.

Dylan doesn't have an easy home life. His parents are divorced and he lives with his dad during the week and then goes to visit his mom every other weekend. She doesn't live far, maybe a two hour drive from our street but it's still too far to try to drive every week. Sometimes I take him up to his moms' house and I usually get roped in to staying the weekend, so of course I've learned to pack a bag.

When we pull into the school parking lot I immediately feel a sense of loathing. I see hearts, pink, red, glitter, and shimmery girl things everywhere. I nearly forgot, the football banquet is next weekend. You could probably say that our little town doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day, we celebrate football in these parts. I elbow Dylan to wake him up and he snorts awake and immediately scoffs like I knew he would.

"Damn it, I hate banquet season. We're a bunch of guys that play football, not a bunch of guys that are supposed to wear penguin suits and dance the stupid waltz." He grunts and groans some more and finally collects his backpack to exit the car. The whole time I just sit and watch him. He'll be such a grumpy old man.

"Are you coming?" he finally looks at me. I nod and get out of my Jetta, locking the doors.

"I thought you'd have fun finding a date this year and going all out for the banquet, considering it is your last year and all." I laugh and push him with my shoulder.

"Really Iz? Did you forget?" he cocks his head at me and scrunches his face in disbelief.

"Forget what?" I rack my brain trying to figure out exactly what he's referring to.

"The deal we made when we started our freshman year. If neither of us were dating anyone by the tie the banquet rolled around our senior year then I would take you." He said.

"I thought we were joking! Oh Dylan, you could practically invite a complete stranger and she'd say yes. Don't limit yourself to me, I'd definitely be no fun. Besides, don't you want someone you can take home at the end of the night?" I wiggled my eyebrows at the last part and he laughs.

"I guess so, but Iz spending my night with you wouldn't be a waste. I'd have fun and I think you would too, and I want you to go to the after party with me. I hear that there will be alcohol a-la-plenty." He smiles really big and I frown.

"Dylan you know I-" I didn't have time to finish before Logan rushes up and pulls Dylan away from me. Oh well, I guess the school day has officiallybegun.