With You┃Dylan O'Brien ⓵

Chapter Seven : Day & Night

Dylan's POV

I set Anita into the passenger seat of my car and she buckles up as I shut the door closed. I go and get the rest of the things from the beach and put it all in the trunk, except for Anita's bag which I hand to her as I climb into the driver's seat.

She pulls out her phone and calls her dad to let him know that she'll be home in an hour while I start the car. The clock shows that it's seven o'clock and I realize that I was totally unaware of how much time we'd spent together. I waste no time in pulling out onto the road and heading back home.

On the long drive there, Anita's keeping herself from falling asleep by singing along to every song she knows. I thoroughly enjoy the sound of her voice and I could listen to it all day; I don't tell her this though. I simply drive in silence and listen to her angelic voice as she sings quietly to fight off the exhaustion threatening to take her over.

We get back into the city and when we hit a red light I look over to watch her as she stares at nothing out the window, singing at a low volume. The street lights hitting her face really make all her delicate, pretty features stand out among the rest of the dark car and I can't look away. I don't look away until the car behind me honks its horn and I realize the light has been green for some time now.

I accelerate quickly and thankfully Anita didn't notice the ordeal at all. Ten minutes later we're pulling into the large driveway of her gigantic house and she lazily turns her head to look at me.

Her smile is wide and enchanting before she speaks, "Thank you for today. You're the best friend I've ever had."

I can't tell if she really means that or if it's just her tired-talk. Either way, I grin back at her, "Of course. I'm glad you had fun."

She unbuckles herself and opens the car door, "Can you get out of the car for a second?"

I look at her, "Why?"

"Please?", she practically begs, and I have to get out then.

As I'm standing up I wonder what the point of this is and she immediately comes running over to my side of the car. Suddenly she engulfs me in a hug and I'm sincerely caught off guard for a while. I haven't hugged anyone since the ninth grade, besides my mom and grandma. It was weird but amazing.

After that moment of initial shock, I put my arms around her and squeeze back. She feels so small and fragile, like she'll break into pieces if I'm not careful. She's an entire foot shorter than me and I inhale the scent of salt water from her hair before she lets go.

"I thought I just had to give you that," she tells me.

I look at the ground, "Uh, thanks I guess." Smooth.

"I'll talk to you later," she smiles at me as she starts walking backwards towards her front door.

"For sure."

I climb back into the driver's seat and watch her disappear into her mostly dark house before I tear my eyes away and peel off into the dimly lit road, back to my own home.

It's a little after eight by the time I get to my house, which is almost completely dark. The porch light is on as I turn the key in the lock, trying to be as quiet as possible; it's my mom's day off so she's probably sleeping. I shut and lock the door softly behind me and take my shoes off in the front room.

My cat Esmeralda weaves between and against my legs in a greeting and I bend over to pet her when the hall light at the top of the stairs turns on. To my slight surprise, mom is coming down the stairs in her pajama's with a tired smile on her face.