Introvert

eleven

On Thursday, Edwin found himself in the library during lunch instead of the cafeteria. As he roamed the book shelves, he tried to find something to read, or at least, think of something to do. Although the better part of him thought that he should work on homework, he would rather procrastinate. His eyes landed on a book that seemed interesting. Pulling it off the shelf, he walked back through the isles to find a table to sit at.

That's when he saw her sitting by herself.

Dylan was alone at her normal spot because Austin had gone home earlier that day with a cold. She had both earbuds in as she worked on her sketch of two hands holding each other. Although she didn't hear him, the girl could feel a presence nearing her. Her brown eyes fluttered up from her art to Edwin who stood behind Austin's usual seat. She pulled an ear bud from her ear.

"Hey."

"Hey," she said back.

He smiled brightly at her. "What are you working on?"

"Something."

He laughed at her sarcasm, deciding that it was okay if he sat down across from her. "Didn't we agree to show each other our sketch books?"

Dylan narrowed her eyes at the boy across from her. What was up with everyone remembering her agreements? She had always thought she was forgettable. That no one would really remember her. Brandon's friends kept proving otherwise. "Yeah, I guess. But you don't have your's."

"Touché." Edwin pointed a finger at her. "If I promise to bring it tomorrow, will you show your's to me now?"

"Fine," she muttered, passing the sketch book over to the curly-haired boy. Edwin began to flip through the pages. "What are you doing in the library anyway? I thought all of you sat in the cafeteria."

"Well, Austin hasn't sat with us in like three weeks," he said. Dylan's cheeks began to turn a light shade of pink. "And Zion and Nick went off campus to hit up the dispensary because they are having a sale I think. Your brother took everyone ditching as a chance to hook up with Charolette in his car."

Dylan cringed at the indication of her brother having sex. "That's fowl."

Edwin rolled his eyes when he flipped to the page.

The girl had forgotten about her drawing from two weeks ago. When she caught sight of the drawing Edwin had stopped at, her face immediately went red. Dylan looked anywhere, but him, and attempted to hide her face in the palm of her hands.

The boy stared at the drawing in 'awe'. He instantly recognized his best friend's profile. The details that Dylan was able to capture were incredible, from his eyelashes to his mole. "This is amazing, Dylan." His brown eyes lifted away from the page. He noticed her lack of eye contact and smiled to himself. "You like him, don't you?"

She shook her head before looking back at him. "No."

"Yeah, okay." He flipped the page to the next drawing. "You're a bad liar."

"I'm not lying. He's just a friend."

Edwin turned his focus away from her artwork to the girl across from him. "Dylan, people don't just draw their friends without their knowledge."

"How do you know he doesn't know about it?" The girl said defensively.

Raising his eyebrows, Edwin pushed her book back to her across the table. "Really?"

Biting down on her lip, she realized that she couldn't really fool him like she thought she could. "Please don't tell him."

The bell rung over the intercom. Dylan began to gather her stuff and put it back into her back. Standing from her seat, she slung her bag over her shoulder.

About to walk away, Edwin's voice stopped her. "Dylan." She turned to look at him. His eyes were filled with Ernest as he spoke again. "He likes you too."

Turning away from him, she headed for the door. Edwin followed behind, but kept a safe distance.

He was surprised that they hadn't figured out their own feelings. Since they had all gone bowling, all of the boys knew that the two had to at least like each other. They were practically attached to each other the entire time. But then again, Edwin thought. Dylan was distant with practically everyone, where as, Austin pulled everyone in.