Parallels | Dylan O'Brien

34 - Puppy Interviews

Los Angeles
-Lydia Moon-

It's been a week since I've been back in Los Angeles, in my universe. And everything feels strange. Everyone at the internship is talking about the wedding we've planned and saying how I did a great job, but I can't say that I have. Because I haven't. Everyone is talking about it and I can't talk with them, because I wasn't there. The only thing that feels semi-okay is Justin. It was great seeing him again, and we caught up. He kept asking me how it went between Dylan and I. But I couldn't answer him. I don't know how it's going between me and Dylan because the Lydia that actually had a relationship with this Dylan isn't me. And I don't know how it's going between me and Parallel-Dylan, because nothing's going. We're stuck, without each other. The Dylan from this universe, I haven't seen since the evening of the return. He's been busy with his movies and some scenes from Teen Wolf he still needs to shoot. He's been texting me all week though, asking how I've been and if I felt okay. Uncle Richard has tried talking to me. He tried to figure out how I was feeling about being back. But to be honest, I don't think I actually know how I'm feeling. It's great seeing Richard again, seeing Justin and being back at the internship. But everything revolving around Dylan just feels so off.

From Dylan – Today 4:46pm
Can u pick me up from work today? Thought maybe we could go out for dinner or something x

I read the message, but I don't reply. Not yet anyways. I have to finish this spread first, the one for our next wedding uncle Rich has assigned me to. I've never done weddings, I only ever did conventions. One convention. Where it all began. I can't believe it's been longer than a month already. That's kind of mental. Time flies by when you're having fun.
"Loving you was young, and wild, and free,
Loving you was cool, hot, and sweet.
Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound
A steady place to let down my defenses
Loving you had consequences,"
I sing the song that's been playing in my head all day long. I don't think I even know that song, I've never heard of it. How am I singing it all of a sudden? I shake the imminent feeling off and concentrate on my work. I need to finish this by the time today ends.

To Dylan – Today 5:15pm
Yeah sure. Text me the address x

By the time I get in my car, which is half an hour after I replied to his text, I receive an answer with the address. I'm not even sure if I want to have dinner with Dylan, but I guess I have no choice. Not today. Maybe he can help me figure out where I got the song from. It's been constantly replaying itself inside my head and I've got no clue where it came from. Even after listening to One Direction and Taylor Swift in the car, it's still in my head when I enter the building Dylan had told me to go to. In the hallway, I meet his PA and she leads me to where I find him, on the floor with three puppies in his lap and cameras all around him. He glances at me when I walk in and gives me an acknowledging smile before getting back to the puppies and cuddling them.
"Even though Teen Wolf is over, do you thin Stiles and Lydia will still end up getting married?" the interviewer asks, and I jump a little hearing my name being mentioned. If I hadn't heard the first part of the question, I would've definitely felt spoken to. Dylan looks at me again for a brief moment, for the same exact reason, the mention of my name. He answers the question and many more after that, but I'm too distracted by the puppies and the big puppy in the middle – I mean Dylan – to hear what he's actually saying.
"Okay, last question," the interviewer then says, "If you weren't an actor, what career could you see yourself doing?" Dylan is distracted by the puppies for a moment, but then answers the question anyways. He grabs the three puppies and put them in his lap, stroking and patting each one of them.
"I'd work... with little puppies," he says, then bursts out laughing.
"Alright, that's it," another member of the crew says, and I see the cameraman stopping the camera. Dylan stays put for a while, not wanting to move away from the puppies.
"Come say hi, Lydia," he then says to me, and I don't hesitate to walk up to him and sit down in front of him to say hi to every puppy. He hands me the white one, while still holding on to the other two.
"Hey, buddy," I coo to the puppy, "Oh my God, you have the best job ever," I blurt out, but don't take my eyes off the puppy. We talk to the crew of Buzzfeed, who interviewed Dylan, and play a little longer with the puppies until the Animal Rescue Centre tells us it's time for the puppies to go.
"Right, then we'll go too," Dylan says to me with a smile. We say goodbye to everyone, to Dylan's PA too and hop into my car to get to dinner.
"Where do you want to go?" I ask him as I take a left turn to the city.
"Are you up for Japanese? I know this really nice sushi restaurant on Garey Street," he says.
"Yeah, sure," I say and halt in front of a red light. A silence falls over the car, but it's comfortable. Only the subtle sounds of the car radio filling the silence. My thoughts wander off to the project I've been working on all day until Dylan turns up the volume. My voice sounds through the speakers with the song that's been playing in my head all day. I slowly turn my head towards Dylan and he looks equally as shocked as I do. How is this even possible? I've never heard of this song, neither have I ever sung it anywhere except for at work earlier today.
"That's you, right?" Dylan asks, confusion in his eyes, and I nod. "I've been hearing this song all day long and I've got no clue where it comes from or how I know it," he explains, and the light turns green, but I don't notice until cars behind me start honking. I step on the gas and drive off again, taking the next right.
"I've been hearing this song too, all day long..." I say to him.
"It's your voice as well. That's so weird, why is it on the radio?" he wonders out loud. Then I remember the magazine that appeared in New York, the one from this universe. The one with him and Lydia on the front cover.
"Maybe it's the psychic- universe-thing," I blurt out with no explanation.
"The what?" I glance over at Dylan for a second, and sigh.
"Back in the other universe, a magazine and a paper showed up on Dylan's porch. It was one from Los Angeles and the magazine had you and the other Lydia on the cover, about you two kissing at the club. The whole "Dylan's mystery girl", kind of thing," I explain briefly, but clearly.
"So, you're saying this might be your parallel-self, you know, the girl I've spent a whole month with, in the other universe? She's singing this song right now?" I slowly nod my head as I come to a halt in the parking lot of the Japanese restaurant.
"You have a connection with her now, right?" I ask him when we get out of the car and walk into the restaurant. Dylan nods his head.
"Yeah, but I don't think our connection would be that strong," he mumbles, then smiles at one of the guys at the restaurant. "Uh, table for two please," he says politely. The man nods and motions for us to follow him, so we do. He brings us to a table for two in the back and then leaves us with a couple menus. Dylan grabs the menu but keeps his eyes on me for a second. "How can this be possible?" he then whisper-shouts. I shrug and scan the menu.
"I didn't think it was possible to travel between universes. Hell, I didn't even know there was something like the multiverse," Dylan chuckles a little and reads the menu too. We both stay silent for a moment, trying to decide on what to eat and how to interpret this. The man from before comes back and takes our orders before disappearing with the menus again.
"Whatever this is, we have to figure out what it means," I tell him, voice hushed so no one can overhear our conversation.
"Maybe we have to write down what she's singing. Maybe it's some sort of message," he suggests, then sits back in his chair. I'm not even sure if I can remember the lyrics. I don't even know if I can find the melody again. I take a deep breath and exhale it straight after, the melody coming out with it. The words too.
"Loving you was young, wild, and free,
loving you was cool, hot, and sweet,"
I say the words out loud, making Dylan look up to me.
"Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound,
A steady place to let down my defenses,"
He continues softly, as if he doesn't believe the words he's saying.
"But loving you had consequences,"
We both say the last line at the same time. That's it. That's the message. She misses him. She misses him so much that she's making songs about it. That's why I've been feeling such an immense sadness around me, like there's some sort of darkness inside of me. It's because of her. It's what she's feeling. She feels empty without him. Travelling back, leaving Dylan behind, left a void inside her soul.
"What does it mean though?" Dylan then asks, and I raise my eyebrows.
"Are you that daft to feelings?" I chuckle a little, "Dyl, she misses you. I've been feeling this immense darkness around my heart all week long and I have no clue where it comes from. It's her. She misses you, leaving you made her empty," his eyes widen at my words. I know he knew that in the back of his head, he just didn't want to believe it. "We need to find a way to get her back," I then tell him consequently. The waiter puts our order in front of us, but I'm suddenly not that hungry anymore.
"I know someone who might be able to help us with that," Dylan says, and I raise my eyebrow. "Uncle Rich," he clarifies. How would uncle Rich know about all of this?
"Why him?" I question, and Dylan laughs a little while putting some sushi in his mouth. I watch him as he chews, then swallows.
"He has travelled through the multiverse before," he states, "He's not your real uncle, he's from the other parallel," I frown. Uncle Rich from the other universe died in a car crash. "The other Rich... he died travelling through the universes," he says softly, as if saying the words more quietly will hurt less. It doesn't, it still hits me like a bomb.
"You can die from that?" I ask softly, and Dylan nods his head.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, Lyds," I sigh and drop my chopsticks.
"No, it's fine... It just means that if we try and switch us back..." I trail off, not wanting to finish the sentence. I don't even want to think about it.
"One of you might die," Dylan finishes my sentence, and I really wish he hadn't. "It's okay if you don't want to do it, Lydia. I get it," he tells me, but I'm too distracted by the immense pain I feel in my chest. It's almost as if my heart is being ripped out, thrown on the floor and stepped on it, multiple times. The muscles in my hand ache, and I can't feel my fingertips for a moment. "Lydia? You okay?" I hear Dylan ask, but I can't answer, not until the pain leaves my body. It only takes a good minute before it's completely gone.
"Yeah... I-I'm fine," I reply, confused at what had just happened.
"We'll go to uncle Rich together tomorrow and ask him if there's anything he can do," Dylan suggests, and I nod. That's the only way. We have to switch us back. Parallel-Lydia being this unhappy isn't healthy. Not for her, and apparently not for me. Our connection must've gotten stronger as we switched places, twice. Maybe that's why I feel everything she's feeling. Maybe that's why we hear her sing. We need to figure something out. And quickly.