Relatable

09

The next day at school, Dylan seemed more upbeat than usual. In class, we were making jokes as though we have always been friends and just laughing with each other. He told me he wanted to crank a study session in before the big football game coming up this week. 

He was a pretty busy guy, with football practice, working at the ice cream shop, and just school in general. I admired how he even made time to be social because I knew I would be worn out. 

We had agreed to study together after school today before he had to go to practice, giving us a good 45 minutes to spend alone. I was absolutely giddy and Layla could see the change in my mood. 

"Well, well, well," she said with a teasing smirk. "Looks like Ellie's fallen in love." 

I rolled my eyes at her dramatic take on it. As though I haven't been in love with Dylan since I first saw him, anyway.

"I'll let you know how it goes later today," I said before heading off to my last class of the day.

Throughout the entire class, I had scribbled some notes down, but ultimately kept thinking about Dylan and I. I was trying to calm myself down because I was getting nervous as time neared the end of class, even though I was excited at the same time. 

The second the bell rang, I slowly gathered everything in my backpack, trying to compose myself before heading to the benches in the field to find Dylan. I took slow strides, giving myself pep talks in my head, before I saw the back of Dylan's head. 

He was sitting on the bench, taking some materials out of his backpack. He just looked so sweet and even though I was nervous, I couldn't help but remember that he just really is a nice guy. 

"Hey," I greeted as I made myself comfortable on the bench. 

"Oh, hi, Ellie. I'm so glad we could do this homework together. This is my least favorite class," Dylan said, flipping his notebook open.

I nodded in agreement. Not that I found the class too difficult, but definitely the most time consuming. 

The first ten minutes were pretty harmless. Dylan and I just talked about homework and math, nothing interesting. A word problem approached where the fictional person's backstory included a bunch of siblings.

Dylan said, "Damn. I couldn't imagine having 5 brothers and sisters."

Finally, we could get personal. As much as I wanted to know all about him and who he is, I was really curious to know about Nina and what happened between them.

"Same here. I don't even have any," I replied, boxing in my answers.

His jaw dropped. "None? I didn't know you were an only child."

I nodded and shrugged. "Yep, it's just me. What about you?"

He went on to talk about his two sisters. One older and one younger. He mentioned being protective of both of them, regardless of their age, but always having their back. It made me sad that I never got to have that kind of relationship or sibling dynamic. But hearing him speak so lovingly about his sisters brought a smile to my face. 

"I'd kick any guy's ass if they hurt them, too," he added, smirking. 

My eyebrows raised. "Oh, I'm sure they'd love that," I said somewhat sarcastically. 

He just chuckled and I smiled. 

"So Cam tells me that you like DiSanto's pizza," Dylan started.

I nodded my head, recalling that time Cameron ordered pizza from there when Layla and I went over to his house. It was a weird thing to bring up but it was nice of Dylan to remember. I also appreciate Cameron dropping my name here and there in between conversations with Dylan. Clearly, it's working.