Whatever Happens

Chapter 8

I headed down the hall and toward the stairs, feeling the tears threatening again. I wished I were stronger and had the ability to hold my emotions in, just a little. Just long enough for me to get back to my room. But I knew I'd never make it.

Once I was in the stairwell, I completely lost control and started sobbing. Why did no one want me? Jackson was the only one who really ever did, and if what Ben said was true, I wasn't even special in that regard. He'd probably have a different girl in his room by tomorrow.

I made it down one flight of stairs before I decided to remain in the relative solitude of the stairwell. I'd be able to hear if Jackson decided to follow me, in enough time to get away. Sitting down, I took off my glasses, put my head in my hands, and just cried.

"Becca?" someone said after a while, making me cringe. I didn't look up, so I wasn't sure who it was. At least, I knew it wasn't Jackson, since he would have come from behind me.

After a minute, he sat beside me. I still didn't move.

"Are you alright?"

I cried more, realizing who he was. I didn't want Dean to see me like this. I'd already been embarrassed in front of him once today.

Who hadn't I been embarrassed in front of today?

When I didn't answer, he gently pulled me up so that I was looking at him. He didn't ask again. He just waited for me to answer.

"No," I squeaked out. It's not as if he'd believe that I was fine anyway.

Watching me sympathetically for a second, he pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. As embarrassing as this was, I was glad to be able to lean on him. He let me cry into his shirt until I was able to calm down a little.

"Do you want to come sit in my room for a little bit?" he said, still hugging me.

"I don't want to see Ben yet," I mumbled into his shirt. "I'm still mad at him."

"I think he'll be gone for a while. You shouldn't have to worry."

That didn't exactly make me feel better since the reason he was occupied, was probably Hailey. But at least I wouldn't have to worry about running into him right now.

"Okay. Thanks."

He helped me up and walked me to his room, which wasn't too far from Jackson's. So, I guess Ben really had seen the parade.

I sat on Dean's bed for a while and eventually calmed down enough to stop crying completely. Now I just hiccuped occasionally and had to blow my nose a few times.

Dean didn't ask for an explanation. He just quietly sat beside me, letting me cry. I knew he had to be curious though.

"Ben was right," I muttered, looking at the floor. "All Jackson wanted was to sleep with me."

Dean was quiet for a minute. When he spoke, he sounded angry.

"Did he try-?"

"No." I quickly looked at him. "He just made it pretty clear that that's all he wanted."

Hearing that, he didn't seem quite as angry, but he still didn't seem thrilled.

"I'm sorry," he said.

I shook my head. "I just...thought he was nice, you know?"

Dean gave me a sad smile before putting his arm around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder and just sat for a while.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked. "Get off campus? We can go for coffee or something."

Sitting up, I gave him a small smile. "That sounds good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe you've never seen The Princess Bride," Dean said as we sat in the little cafe, sipping coffee. He was mainly trying to distract me, but his incredulous astonishment was fairly genuine.

I smiled and shrugged. "I'm not a big movie person," I said. "Besides, didn't that movie come out before we were born?"

"It's a classic! No wonder you didn't know R.O.U.S.' were a thing."

I laughed at that. During one of our hangman games in Algebra, Dean played "rous". And of course, I objected.

"It's still not a word. Or real."

Dean chuckled. "Alright, fine. I'll give you that. But we're going to have to fix this. Everyone should see the movie, at least once."

I laughed again. "If you say so."

He smiled at me for a second before looking a little uneasy.

"Would you...maybe want to go out sometime?" he asked.

Considering the fact that we were "out" now, he could only be asking for a real date.

"What?" Before this moment, I'd been sure that he didn't see me as anything but a friend.

He flushed a little and shook his head. "Forget it," he said quickly.

"No," I said. "I just didn't think that you..."

"That I wanted to ask?" he guessed, seeming amused. Like I might be crazy for thinking that.

I nodded. "You never did before. I just thought..."

"I never asked because I thought you and Ben had a thing," he said.

"Oh." My face felt warm.

"And then he started dating Hailey, but you still seemed..." He searched for the right word. "I don't know, but I didn't think you really liked her."

I looked at the table for a minute, not sure what to say. Dean was incredibly perceptive. He even guessed that I hated Hailey.

"But with that other guy today..." He shrugged. "I guess I was wrong before."

Of course, he wasn't wrong, but I wasn't about to correct him. Instead, I gave him a small smile.

"So?" He raised his eyebrows, looking hopeful.

I nodded and smiled a little more genuinely. "I'd like that."

Seeming relieved, he smiled.

"So," he said after a moment. " You haven't seen Princess Bride, but you must have seen E.T., right?"

Smiling, I shook my head.

He huffed and pretended to be offended. "Titanic?" he tried. "Casablanca? Ferris Bueller's Day Off?" With each title, he seemed more stunned when I gave no positive response.

"The Wizard of Oz?" he tried desperately.

"Oh! I've seen that one!" I said, excitedly.

"Well, that's something."

We talked and laughed for a long time and I thought about how strangely this day had gone.

For possibly the first time in my life, I was really angry with Ben. We'd had a fight now and then, but I'd never been quite this mad at him before. And I wasn't sure that was going to be changing for a little while.

Just a few hours ago, I'd had a completely different opinion of Jackson. Now I wouldn't mind if I never had to see him again.

And now Dean. I'd been positive that he wasn't interested in me, but judging by the way he'd seemed so nervous when he asked me out, and his reaction when I said yes, I was very wrong about that.

Honestly, if I'd had any idea, I wouldn't have gone to Jackson's room at all. Of course, if I hadn't, I might not have known about Dean's apparent feelings for me.

Overall, it was a very strange day, and amazingly, it had turned out to be pretty good.