Chasing the Reddened Dream

Chapter 2

Dylan sat in absolute silence as he was driving to his friend's house. He figured that this world had enough distractions and he didn't want to contribute to any. He also had his best and deepest thoughts during his various car rides. He wanted to have a clear mind and be able to think, rather than have noise in his ears. It wasn't a far trip to get to his friend's, so he didn't bother turning the radio on. It was a better decision anyway because he friend loved to talk. Dylan really enjoyed his company and loved listening, but sometimes he wondered if his friend talked simply to fill in the awkward silence. He never said anything irrelevant or out-of-the-ordinary and he was a natural conversationalist. He was a big charmer and could start a conversation with virtually anybody and instantly make them feel comfortable. Dylan was quite envious of his friend, but was glad to have him because he made him feel more confident. He was coming out of his shell more and was improving his conversation skills.

He finally reached his friend's house and called him. He finally picked up on the sixth ring.

"Hello?" he answered groggily.

"Hey, Nick. It's Dylan. I'm waiting outside of your house."

"Oh shit." said Nick with a start. "I must have overslept. Give me 5 minutes. I'll be right out."

"Ok, man, but hurry your ass up. I don't want to be late for school."

While he was waiting, Dylan looked over at Nick's house. He had only been inside a couple times, but he felt very comfortable in there. It was a very basic, modest house with one story and a handful of windows. It was white in color and was medium-sized. Dylan also thought it was funny how Nick could end up with a grand personality with a house like this. It always seemed to Dylan that Nick wanted to be bigger than his house. He wanted to live extravagantly and amount to something. Dylan really liked Nick's house and wondered if he was living in the wrong one because Nick's really suited his personality better. Dylan was just happy that his friend allowed him in his house at all. He knew that he really trusted Dylan and he was grateful for that.

After a few minutes, Nick came running out of his house with a half eaten sandwich in one hand and his bookbag in the other.

"So glad you could make it, man." Dylan said as Nick got into the car.

"Shut up, Dylan. I must have slept through my alarm. I set two of them, but it still didn't wake me up."

"Just make sure that it doesn't happen again and be careful with that sandwich. I just cleaned this car."

Nick gave him an exasperated look, but he scooped up the piece of sandwich he just dropped. Dylan wasn't a very neat person and he worked extra hard to clean it, so he was proud and didn't want anybody to mess it up.

"Oh!" Nick said suddenly. "Do you remember that girl I was telling you about?"

"Which one?" Dylan joked.

Nick was a ruthless womanizer. He always seemed to have a new girl every other week. He was a one-night stand type of guy, only his affairs seemed to last about a week or two before he got rid of the girl. Although Dylan wasn't the type to do that, he was jealous at the ease in which his friend could get girls. He made it look as easy as tying your shoes. Nick was also admittedly more attractive than he was and that helped him get more girls also.

"Very funny." Nick said. "It's the girl, Patrice. The girl with the amazing ass."

"Well when you put it that way, I certainly remember." Dylan laughed.

"Ok, well let me tell you this girl turned out to be completely crazy. After we finished, you know..." Nick said with a wink, "she turns to me and asks me if March would be a good month to have our wedding. I thought she was joking at first, so I laughed and said, 'Sure, whatever.' She was so excited and immediately called her parents. I started to freak out, man. She was being serious and when she got off the phone I told her I was just kidding. Do you know what she said?"