Chocolate Deluxe with a side of Werewolf

Nineteen. The Talk

There were a handful of people lingering in the gymnasium after Emily's volleyball game finished, including Dylan and her friends. Emily walked up to them with purpose. Her eyes were on Dylan who looked rather nervous. He smiled when he caught her looking at him and Emily could've sworn she saw worry in his brown and blue eyes. 

Emily momentarily paused in her tracks and eyed her friends. What did they say to him? Emily focused, particularly on Lin. If there was anyone who'd say something out of the ordinary, it was her best friend. But Lin was her usual self, as ambivalent as ever. The only way Emily could figure out what happened was by asking directly. 

"Hey, guys," Emily said once she walked up to her friends and Dylan. "I see everyone has officially met." 

Willow nodded her head with a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, we didn't share any of your embarrassing stories."

"That's saved for next time," Zofia promised.

Dylan laughed. "Can't wait." 

Emily groaned. "Too soon! Plus, there's too many!" 

"Now, I'm intrigued," Dylan said. The worry Emily saw before vanished, replaced by his usual charisma and charm. 

Lin wasn't having any of the fun. She stared straight at Emily. Lin didn't have to say anything to her; she got the message loud and clear. 

"Right," Emily said, turning to Dylan. "Can we talk? Privately." 

Dylan's smile dropped momentarily before returning. "Yeah, for sure," he said and got up instantly, following Emily down the bleachers. 

Emily glanced over her shoulder on her way down. Both Willow and Zofia were giving her two thumbs up. Lin, on the other hand, held up both her hands, reminding Emily she had ten minutes. 

The clock started now. 

"Let's go to my locker," Emily said to Dylan. "I got to pick up my books." 

"Okay." 

"Did you enjoy the game?" Emily asked tentatively as they exited the gym. "I wish we won."

"Oh, yeah! You were amazing despite the outcome!" Dylan beamed. His reaction seemed a little too over the top for Emily's taste, but his dazzling smile quickly distracted her from her train of thoughts. 

In an instant, Emily turned into a puddle of ecstatic emotions. "Really?" 

"Yeah, I couldn't take my eyes off you." 

Emily didn't know what to say. All of a sudden, she became bashful, unable to look Dylan in the eyes. Thankfully, they reached Emily's locker where she could momentarily distract herself by returning her gym bag and retrieving her chemistry notebook from her locker. Emily prolonged swapping her belongings for as long as she could, grinning like a madman the entire time. She couldn't contain herself, but she needed the extra seconds to buy herself some time to figure out what to say next. 

It took only less than a minute of clarity for Emily to realize she forgot to say thank you. Emily whipped around, cursing her awkward self. Now it was too late to share her gratitude. Dylan gave her a compliment and Emily responded by ignoring him. Emily was going to apologize, but that's when she noticed that Dylan was standing quietly two lockers down from Emily's. The lockers may be narrow, but the distance was enough for Emily to notice, as was Dylan's tense posture. 

"Is everything okay?" 

Dylan eagerly nodded his head. "Yeah, totally," he answered in a heartbeat. "What did you want to talk about?" 

"Right," Emily said, closing her locker. She knew exactly what she wanted to ask Dylan, but the words were stuck in the middle of her throat. In the back of her mind, Emily wanted to practice open communication with Dylan, but her body froze. She became overwhelmed with nerves and fear of how Dylan would respond.