Beautiful Mistake

xi

Two Months Later

"What're you doing this weekend?" Tessa shuts her locker and turns to face me.

"I'm probably gonna hang out with a friend," I say and then grab the hem of the shirt I'm wearing, "He bought this for me like a month ago."

"He?" Tessa asks panically and then grips my shoulders. She forces me to look her in the eye and I could see the fret of emotion in them. "Have you and Collin secretly broken up?"

I take her hands off of me and put them back at her sides, "Just because Collin and I haven't talked in two months doesn't mean we've broken up. I guess we're facing a 'teen-parent-problem'."

"Two months is 60 days Caroline, that's a long time for a couple to not talk..." She trails off and I finally shut my locker. "I'm not sure if you're trying to convince me or yourself."

Caroline!" I turn my head to see Dylan walking my way.

"Care, who's that?" I glance at Tessa and her jaw is practically touching the floor. Actually, every single jaw of the female species in the school have their mouths wide open.

"Hey! I was looking for you. This place is a lot bigger than the school I went to in Australia." He laughs and gives me a side hug.

"Uh, Tessa, this is Dylan. The friend I was telling you about." She nods and they both shake hands.

"So, how'd you guys meet?" Tessa leans against the lockers and looks Dylan up.

"We've been friends for a long time. Since we were five years old to be exact." Dylan says and then wraps his arm around my shoulders. "She's the best friend I've ever had."

Tessa sighs in awe and gives me the look of approval.

"Tess, I promised Dylan I was gonna show him around. Do you mind catching up later?" I ask and she nods in response.

Dylan takes my hand in his and I ask for his schedule. He hands me the paper he's been holding onto and I notice he has a few classes with me.

"Well you're in luck. You have three of seven classes with me." I look farther down the list and I see we both have the same lunch. "Looks like you won't be alone all day." I give him his schedule and for what feels like the eightieth time, Dylan and I run into Collin.

I slip my hand away from Dylan's and when I do, I can feel his eyes on me.

"And we meet again," Collin says to Dylan in an annoyingly sarcastic tone.

Collin's surrounded by his usual friends: Jordan, Gabriel, Evan, and Noah.

"I keep getting the feeling that you two have something going on? I mean, you seem to hang around together a lot these days." It's obvious Collin is mad. He's acting like he used to when he didn't even know I existed; a jerk who was high on the high school food chain.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but, we don't having anything going on." Dylan says before I could respond.

"I don't think I can take your word for it." Before Dylan can say anything else, everything I've been feeling for the last week, just comes up in word vomit.

"Excuse me? You're the one who's the liar! You said you'd be there for me but where are you? I haven't seen or talked to you in two months and you blamed me for getting pregnant! You can't walk around here like you're superior anymore Collin! All you are is a dead beat boyfriend and soon to be dead beat dad!" The second the words left my mouth I felt bad. His expression falters and in the moment I realize the hallways were extremely quiet. My eyes scan the corridor around us and everyone's stopped in their tracks and staring.

Without giving him a chance to answer, I start to walk away and I hear the quick footsteps of Dylan following me.

When we get to a empty hallway, I stop, lean against the wall, and try to catch my breath. The confrontation left me feeling really emotional. Dylan gently grabs my head and without hesitation, rests his forehead on mine. He stares me directly in the eyes with his dark blue ones and then starts to take deep breaths.

My breathing slows down automatically and I feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulders.

"What did you just do?" I ask in a hushed tone, my hands were gripping his shirt tightly and the second it comes to my conscious I let go.

"Remember when we were little, every time you cried I would do this to you? You told me it always made you feel better." His forehead still rests on mine, my body, standing between him and the wall.

"I totally forgot about that. It's been a long time." I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him.

"We still have a lot of memories to recount," We stand there for a little while, enjoying the quiet scenery of the corridor.

The window next to us was cold, I can feel it on my legs.

"What time is it?" I pull away from him and take my phone from my back pocket.

7:52

"The bell is going to ring in a few minutes. If you want I can walk you to your home room?"

"If you're up for it then yeah." Dylan says in confirmation. The both of us walk back around the corner of the hall and keep walking.

When we make it to his home room the first bell rings. "Thank you for walking me. I'll see you later Care." Dylan gives me another hug that lingers for a few extra seconds.

When he lets me go, he turns and walks into the classroom.

I sigh and start to walk to Miss Gideon's class. On the way there, I look out one of the many windows that line the corridor.

There, in the middle of the courtyard, is Collin and another girl. I look closer to see that the girl is his ex-girlfriend, Liliya. (Lily-YAH)

Liliya is a cheerleader and the captain of the girls soccer team. They were talking, but by how close they're standing it seems like their breathing in each other's carbon dioxide.

Staring at them makes me feel like a stalker. Before any of the loitering students notice I'm standing here a little too long, I walk as fast as I can to my home room.

Once I open the door, Miss Gideon looks up at me and greets me by playfully saying, "You're gonna be late one day if you keep coming to class a minute before the late bell."