Chasing the Reddened Dream

Chapter 6

"So you're really dating then? Like legit?" Dylan asked Nick as they walked into their classroom.

"Yeah, man. We went on a couple of really amazing dates and I knew I had to ask her. I know this sounds super corny, but I truly have never felt this way about anybody else. It's almost like she makes me a better person and completes me."

"So you could really see yourself being with her for a long time?"

"It's still a little early to tell, but at this rate, it's a strong possibility."

As they took their seats, the redhead girl walked in. Nick turned to Dylan.

"Come on, man. You gotta talk to her before you miss out."

"Well, today is the day. Right after class I'm going to "bump" into her and start up a conversation."

Nick smiled. "Good. I'm glad you are finally coming to your senses. I know plenty of guys who constantly talk about getting the girl and strategies, but never pursue it. They're dreamers, Dylan. And dreaming will only get you so far."

"Ok, class. I will begin the lesson." Julia said. "I must admit that I'm super cliche and since it's close to Valentine's Day, I would like to turn our focus today on dealing with emotions, specifically love. Just to warn you guys, I'm a hopeless romantic." The class laughed. "Let's first talk about interpersonal and personal love. Can anybody tell me the difference?"

After a bit of hesitation, the redhead girl raised her hand and the teacher called on her. "Interpersonal love is a love between two human beings, whether it be a family member, friend or significant other. Impersonal love on the other hand is love for a material object, principle or activity. Like people "loving" their job."

"Excellent answer. I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's turn to the physiology of love. Scientists aren't exactly clear about this, but some studies have shown that love or falling in love borders on addictive or obsessive. There is a high release of dopamine and people want more of it." She looked at the class with a serious look. "You might not take me too seriously and may laugh at this, but love is not to be taken lightly. I have seen many couples say those three little words without giving it a second thought. They sometimes say it without meaning it. Love is very dangerous at times. It can leave you disoriented and at the mercy of your significant other. Be careful with who you fall in love with. It could hurt you in the end. Love has teeth and it can bite. It is risky business and people put a lot of of time and effort only to find out that it can't work. But being the fact that I'm a hopeless romantic, I think that any relationship can be fixed. It just takes honesty and communication. Some people just don't want to give the effort to do so and relationships can fall apart without either of them realizing it."

Dylan raised his hand, surprising even himself doing it. "I don't know about that." he started. "I agree with the part about honesty and everything, but I don't know if all relationships can be fixed. Both people have to want to fix it, and even then it may be irreparably broken. If one person cheats on another and they don't break up, there may be a miniscule crack in the relationship and while they may have put a bandaid on it, that only temporarily fixes it. The crack will grow and expand until it swallows it whole. Then neither of them can fix it. They may have regained each other's trust, but there will always be a seed of doubt in the roots of the relationship."

She looked at Dylan. "Well, aren't you cynical about love?" she said in a teasing manner.

He shrugged. "I'm not so much cynical as I am realistic. I just don't think every broken thing can be fixed and not everybody can be saved."

Julia nodded. "So, let's get back to the lesson."

The class ended and as Dylan and Nick left, the redhead girl passed them. Nick cleared his throat and nudged Dylan. He deeply sighed and hurried his pace to catch up to her before his nerves got the best of him. He was almost next to her when he said hey. She turned and smiled.

"Hello." she responded in that voice of hers. Her smile made his heart skip a beat and didn't think he could ever tire of look at it.

"I thought your knowledge of love was impressive. You must be an expert" he teased.

"Well, when you've been as single as long as I have, you learn to research the subject."

"And how long is that?" he inquired.

"My whole life actually."

"A girl as pretty as you is single?" he said, horrified that he blurted out his personal thought.

She giggled. "That's sweet of you to say. Not many people see me that way."

"They mustn't be looking properly then." Dylan began to curse his ability to talk before thinking.

"Oh!" she said suddenly. "I never noticed the colors of your eyes before. They are lovely."

He laughed. "Thank you very much. I'm glad you like them. I'm happy to have such unique eyes."

"You know, they say that eyes are the window to the soul."

"Is that right?" Dylan responded.

She nodded. "I believe that you can learn a lot about a person by looking into their eyes."

She made eye contact and Dylan grew nervous. She looked like she was digging for secrets and he was nervous for what she might find.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I have to go this way." she said pointing to the opposite direction Dylan was going. She stood there hesitant for a moment before parting ways. Dylan knew that it would be a good time to ask for her number. Right before he did, an unease began to grow inside of him. It wasn't out of nerves, but rather something that he couldn't explain. He pushed it aside and decided that he didn't want to blow this moment.

"Hey if you ever want to talk more about love or eyes or something, I could always text you." Dylan said knowing it sounded stupid.

She laughed. "Yeah, that sounds good. Let me give you my number."

Dylan handed her his phone and she put it in. He was thrilled and couldn't believe that he did it.

"See you around." she said after handing him back the phone.

"Bye." he said waving to her.

He looked at the contact information and finally saw her name. It was Gloria.

...

"Holy shit, Dylan! You actually got her number?" Nick shouted

"Yes, sir. I couldn't believe it myself." Dylan said smiling.

"Looks like you do have some balls after all. Tell me about how it went down."

"Well, we got to talking and she had to get to her class. We were gonna walk opposite directions when I decided to ask her. I was terrified, but I gathered some courage. She actually said yes!"

"I knew you could do it. Congrats, man. Maybe now we can go on a double date. Just so there is less tension."

"Sounds good to me, Nick."

Nick went on talking about the date plans as Dylan looked at the landscape. His friend seemed more anxious and excited about it than he did. Nick was just happy that Dylan finally found someone and he was even happier that he found a girl for himself.

Although the scenery was brighter than it had been last time, there was something forlorn present if one looked close enough.