Lifeguard

thirty-three

*Daniel's POV*

Gabby and I are sitting on a bench in a little park on campus. I have her hand in my own and I'm tracing up and down her fingers, just thinking.

"Babe? Are you alright?" She asks.

I look up at her and see her staring at me, her gorgeous eyes full of concern.

I sigh, then place her hand on my thigh, covering hers with mine.

"I'm just worried about Wes. Don't get me wrong, I'm still worried about Sage too, but Wes is changing so much. I'm worried I'm gonna lose my best friend."

Her eyes fill with sympathy and she takes her free hand and places it lightly own my cheek.

"I know babe. I really don't know what to tell you though. I said that Trent would do this. He's a terrible person. I just wish Wesley would've listened."

I nod, "I know, I know... Oh my God Gab! This is the first time I've ever legitimately debated on punching him in the face."

She chuckles slightly before silencing herself and kissing me.

She then pulls back and pushes my hair back while looking into my eyes.

"Maybe you should have Dustin call him. He seems like the kind of guy who could talk some sense into him."

I shake my head, "We're not that tight anymore."

She tilts her head, "What?! How did I not know that?"

I shrug, "Never really came up I guess."

"Why? Was there any bad falling out?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. We just grew apart."

"But, maybe he'd still be able to talk to him. I mean, I'd say try Tanner, but he'll just tell him to have sex with every hot girl here."

I laugh a little, "Yeah, Tanner definitely wouldn't help this situation. However, he wouldn't be too happy to see Wes like this. Wes has always been the glue, you know? He was the loving one. He was the one who always knew the right thing to do. He was just... He was the perfect friend. And now, he's just not! And it's only been two days!"

She puts her free hand on top of mine, "Call Dustin then. Call him now. He's a good guy. If you need him, I'm sure he'll pull through."

I sigh, but pull my phone out.

I then pause and look at her, "I haven't talked to Dustin in months..."

She raises her eyebrows, "Perfect time to catch up then."

I bite my lip, but go to my contacts list and click on Dustin.

It rings for days until he finally answers.

"Hello?" He greets, sounding confused.

"Hi Dustin."

"Um... Uh, hi Daniel. What's up bro?"

"Look, I know we've kind of drifted apart, but I really need your help."

There's a short moment of silence before he says, "Yeah, of course dude. What's going on?"

"Well, I'm visiting Gabby at her college, and Wesley basically forced himself into coming with me. He was convinced that somehow, he would see Sage and everything would magically work out between them, but it turns out that she's been in a relationship for six months now, and he kind of lost it."

"Shit..." He sounds intrigued and worried, "How so?"

"Well, he kind of joined forces with this frat full of assholes and is trying to get revenge on her or something, and somehow, he's turned into a dick over the past two days. Like, he fucking attacked Sage with water balloons with his new little friends, and then basically hooked up with this hella slutty girl right in front of Sage. He's just out of control, and I don't know what to do."