Parallels | Dylan O'Brien

11 - A Part Of Your World

New York 

- Lydia Moon -

It's the day after our day at the beach, and to be fair, I've really enjoyed spending time with Dylan. It reminds me of the days I used to be with Ashton, for some reason. Like the first few days when I met him and we were just getting to know each other, but I knew something was there. That's how I feel right now. And it's weird, because I've been in love with Dylan before. Or, had a crush on him. But it's different. This is a different Dylan from the one I'm used to. This one talks to me and actually cares for me. This one doesn't go off to an adventure to pursue his acting career.  I had woken up to a missed FaceTime call from him. I vaguely remember him telling me he'd FaceTime me until I fell asleep, but I guess I fell asleep before he could even call. I also fell asleep on the sofa, that might've given it away how tired I was. So, now I'm calling him back in hopes he's awake and in hopes I can speak to him. Maybe even arrange another date. Which reminds me of the date he promised me. It only takes a few rings before he picks up, but he looks tired. As if he'd just woken up and I it was my fault. His hair is messy, but I like it that way.
"Morning," his voice sounds husky and thick with sleep. It sends shivers down my spine.
"Morning," I greet back, a little chirpier than him.
"Someone's slept well," he then says as I watch him get up from the bed. Him being shirtless doesn't help me stay calm this morning. Neither does my heart. Or my crush on him. It might've just sky rocketed due to his appearance.
"Ehm, yeah, very well. The couch makes a good bed," I say, patting the couch I'm currently sitting on. Dylan chuckles.
"You didn't make it upstairs then?" he asks and I just shake my head in response. I stare at the screen as shirtless Dylan makes his way down the stairs and to the kitchen. "Hey, what are you doing today?" he asks, not even looking at his phone, but at the fridge whilst looking for something to eat or drink. My heart leaps five feet in the air when he asks that. He actually wants to see me again and I didn't even have to ask.
"I was thinking about giving my friend Julia a visit today," I tease him a little, giving him a sly grin. He looks at his phone now, disappointment clear in his eyes. But then his face lights up when he realizes what that means. It genuinely makes me even happier to see how glad he is I was planning on coming over either way.
"What do you want to do then? My parents aren't home, but my sister is. So, we can practically do whatever we want," he says as he closes the fridge and walks somewhere else, I can't tell where. I look outside for a moment and see the dreary, rainy weather outside.
"Watch a couple of movies, maybe?" I suggest and Dylan nods.
"Yeah, sure. Sounds good," he gives me a smile and I smile too. My phone buzzes in my hand as a notification pops onto my screen.

From mother: Our flight arrives at 11. See you soon.

The message is dry and nothing I'm used to from my mom. She would've at least put 'I love you' or a little 'x' after. This one is cold and so not mother-like.
"What is it?" Dylan asks me when he notices my change of expression. Without noticing, my smile had faded away.
"M-My parents are coming home," I stutter, confused about how I should react to that. Dylan opens his mouth to say something, but then closes it again as if he's decided not to. "What do I do, Dyl?" I ask him, panic taking over. My hands are shaking and probably Dylan's screen as well. I can feel my lungs failing to take in the oxygen like normal and it's as if someone's stepping on my throat. My eyes are anywhere but on the screen. I have no clue what Dylan's doing right now, but I don't care either. I need to get rid of this panic attacks.
"Hey, Lyds, look at me," he says calmly, "look at me," I look at him on the tiny screen, still not being able to breathe properly. "You're fine, sweetie, okay? I'm going to count and you're going to take a deep breath. When I count again, you're going to hold that breath, then breathe out when I count again, then hold it. Okay?" I nod, as that is the only thing I can do right now. "One, two, three," I breathe in deeply, but it's a little shaky. "One, two, three," I hold it in. "One, two, three," he counts again and I breathe out. "One, two, three," I hold it in again. We keep going until my breathing has stabilized and I don't feel as panicky as before. "Good job, Lydia," he says proudly. "You're going to wait until your parents get home, okay? You did an okay impression of our Lydia the other day with my sister, so I want you to do the same with your parents. Just tell them you're going to see Julia and leave, alright? I'm going to be here for you when you get here, okay? You'll be okay," he reassures me and I nod every time. "Alright, good. It's nearly ten past eleven, so they'll be there any second. I'll see you in a bit," I nod again.
"Thanks, Dylan," I thank him and he just gives me a smile in return. We end the phone call just when the key turns in the front door. Two people enter the house, but only one I recognize: my mother. The man that stands beside her, I don't recall ever seeing before.
"Lydia, you look a mess," is the first thing my mother says. Then I realize how terrible my hair must look from sleeping on the couch and how weird it must be for them to see me with Converse on. Yes, I forgot to take them off too. "Where are your precious Loubitins?" she questions, pointing at my shoes. I roll my eyes, hoping that'd be something Lydia would do, as I didn't do it on purpose. I just hate families like these.
"These are Julia's, mom. I got sore feet, so she gave me them," I lie to them in my best Lydia-way possible. "In fact, I'm going to bring them back now," I say and before she can react, I make my way upstairs. I take a quick shower, do my makeup and hair, and put on some Lydia-like clothes on. Would Lydia wear that one pair of jeans often? I might hope so, because I'm so not going to Dylan's in a skirt. I grab the pair of black jeans and paired it with a white top. On my feet, I put a nice pair of heeled ankle booties. I hope that'll do. I make my way downstairs again with my phone and the Converse in hand and my mind going over things I could say to this awful copy of my parents. Or, my mom. Who knows where dad is? Maybe Dylan knows what happened to them. I hope he does. Not knowing makes me go absolutely mental. My mom and dad are best friends, soulmates, why can't they be in this universe? What's so different about this universe that they can't stay together?
"Where do you think you're going?" I hear my mother's voice ask when I pass the kitchen to the front door. I'm really not up for this. Not now. I need to get to Dylan.
"Nowhere," I reply bluntly and open the front door whilst taking one of the keys from the table near it. My mother yells something, but I can't hear her. Neither do I want to. I push the button on the key, hoping one of the cars will blink. To my luck, the red Toyota Yaris that has been there since I got here does what I need it to do. I get in and hope my driving skills are still the same. To be quite fair, I'm a great driver. Even uncle Rich told me that. However, he did say I'm really bad at finding the way. I just hope I find the way to- Oh my God. I didn't ask Dylan for his address. He's spend so much time at mine, that I never got to go to his. I have no idea where he lives. God dammit, Lydia. I grab my phone and dial his number, completely embarrassed.
"Hey, Lyds. You okay?" I hear him ask when he picks up after three rings.
"Yeah, no. Ehm. Where do you live?" I hear him chuckle a little.
"I'll text you the address," he replies and hangs up again. Seconds later, I receive the text and I can leave my house that is now doomed with two parents who I don't even think are really mine. They're completely different people and I don't like it.
Within ten minutes, I arrive at the O'Brien house. I get out the car, leaving the Converse in there, and walk towards the door. After ringing the doorbell, it only takes a few seconds before a familiar blondie opens the door. She looks surprised when she sees me.
"Hey girl," I greet with a smile, equally as surprised. I'd expect Dylan to open up, but when I hear the drums in the distance, I know why he didn't. I also didn't know he played the drums.
"Hey Lydia," Julia replies and opens the door a little more to let me in, "What are you doing here? I mean, not that I mind. I'm just surprised," she rambles whilst closing the door behind us.
"I ehm, your brother asked me to come over," I reply honestly, pointing towards where the music came from. The blondie in front of me raises her eyebrow.
"You and my brother get along quite well, don't you?" she questions, now crossing her arms.
"Yeah... He's kind of been there since the thing happened," I reply, forgetting Julia doesn't know about the thing.
"What thing?" she asks, loosening her arms again.
"The Justin-thing," I quickly make up. That's not even that bad.
"In that case, if my brother helped my girl navigate some turbulent waters. Well then, Julia O'Brien approves," she says, putting her hand upon her chest. I smile at her, realizing this is the least Lydia-like thing I have ever done.
"Come here," I then say and open my arms for a hug. We only break apart when I hear a girl's giggle resounding throughout the whole house. "What's happening down there?" I ask, trying to hide my jealousy the best I can.
"Oh, Tyler and Arden are here for rehearsal. They're a band," Julia explains and leads me towards the sound. We go through the hallway and down a couple of stairs to what I think might be the basement. There are two microphones set up in the middle, one is occupied by Arden, who I know as Kira Yukimura in Teen Wolf. The other one is used by Tyler, who also plays the guitar. Behind them stands a drum kit with Dylan sitting behind it.
"We have an audience!" Tyler says excitedly, making Dylan look up from his instrument. A gigantic smile appears on his face, one that reaches his ears and makes his eyes squint.
"Let us hear something!" Julia commands sweetly as she sits down on the sofa facing them.
"One, two, three, four!" Dylan shouts, hitting the drumsticks together. Him and Posey start playing and soon, Arden starts singing. I knew she was a great actor, but I had no idea she could sing. However, I recognize the song immediately. It's Adele's 'Water Under the Bridge'. They know that song here too? 

"If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently
Don't pretend that you don't want me
Our love ain't water under the bridge
If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently" Arden sings the chorus beautifully. I whisper the lyrics along as I'm not the greatest singer. I love it, I'm just not good at. Julia next to me, can't sit still either. They're so good together! When the song ends, Julia and I applaud and cheer for them, either one getting a slight blush upon their cheeks.
"You know that song?" Dylan asks, forgetting about Arden and Julia who don't know I'm not from here. My eyes widen in shock and so do Tyler's.
"Of course, she knows it, dumbass," Julia replies, completely unaware of why he'd ask that, "It's been number one for many weeks now," she shakes her head and we all chuckle nervously.
"Yeah, right," says Dylan and he scratches the back of his head.
"You play any instruments?" Posey then asks curiously, slightly plucking at the strings of his guitar. I nod a little.
"Yeah, I play a little bit of piano. I can play like one or two songs," I reply honestly.
"Alright, start playing and we'll back you up when we know it," he says and I nod. I get up from the sofa and go to sit on the stool behind the piano. I touch the keys before playing the song I know best. Arden gives me an excited smile before singing along with me.

By the time Dylan and Tyler back us up, they've changed their instruments for acoustic variants.
"When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love, love to explore that shore up above?
Out of the sea
Wish I could be
Part of that world....
Out of the sea
Wish I could be
Part of your world"
Her voice is so strong and powerful, it gives me chills. We end the song, all of us smiles on our faces.
"Yay, Little Mermaid!" Arden exclaims, clapping her hands excitedly. We all chuckle. I get up from the stool, but Posey gives me a confused look.
"What are you doing?" he questions, "We aren't done yet," he acts like I'm actually in the band.
"Yeah, we are," Dylan comes in as he gets up from his stool as well. "Sorry, bro, but I've got other stuff to do today. We'll rehearse again this Friday," Posey looks at his best friend with his brown puppy eyes. He's actually disappointed and I feel kind of guilty for that.
"Oh, okay. I'll- I'll see you later then," he says and takes Arden with him upstairs. I look at Dylan, giving him an apologetic look.
"It's okay, I completely forgot they were coming over today. It's my fault he's mad," I nod slowly, signaling that I understand. The three of us go upstairs too, Julia soon leaving us to go to her room. Dylan and I settle ourselves on the sofa. "How was it?" he then asks as he turns on the tv.
"How was what?" I ask, not sure what he's talking about.
"Seeing your parents for the first time," he clarifies whilst starting up Netflix.
"Not so good," I start softly. Being reminded of what had happened wasn't the most fun and uplifting, "My mother is a bitch here and my father isn't my father. I don't know if he's my stepdad or my actual dad here, but he wasn't my father, you know?" I explain to him and he nods. I watch him for a moment and I can tell he's thinking about something. I'm not sure if he's thinking about whether or not this is my father or how to tell me that he is or isn't.
"When your uncle died..." he then starts, he clearly knows something, "your mother cheated on your father and married this pig only a couple months ago. He's awful to Lydia and probably will be to you," he says it like it's a warning.
"Oh, great," I reply and roll my eyes, a sigh leaving my body.
"Hey," he says sitting up more and looking me in the eyes and cupping my face with one hand, "If he ever lays a hand on you, please, call me. I don't want that happening to you. Not to our Lydia and not to you, okay?" his honey brown eyes are making me weak and unable to speak, so I just nod. His thumb rubs my cheek soothingly.

"Thanks, Dyl," he smiles at me and for a second, I swear, I'm in a completely different world. One where it's just him and me. No weird parents, no friends I don't know, no spells to bring us back. Just us.
"Maybe I should take you on that date I promised you tomorrow," he suddenly says, retracting his hand from my cheek and turning to the tv again.
"Yeah, I'd love that," I reply, an undeniable smile on my face. Help. I'm falling in love with the parallel-self of my high school crush.

The rest of the day was spent on the sofa. We talked about music, the movies we watched and about Arden. I told him she was on Teen Wolf with them, playing the Kitsune and Scott's love interest for season 3 to 5. We talked about the panic attack I had that morning and how he has them quite often too since the audition for Teen Wolf. I don't think I made it home that day, but I'm not complaining. I'm just fine here with him, lying on his chest, sound asleep. No fears, no worries. Just him and me in our own little world.