Ashley's P.O.V.
I sit in my desk and Mr. Newcome begins to lecture. I pull out my book. As soon as I start reading somebody taps my shoulder. There was a second I thought it was the teacher again, but it's Dylan. "Hey, what book are you reading?" He whispers.
A lot of people are staring at us, but Dylan doesn't seem to mind. "Oh it's a Stephen king book." I whisper back.
"I've never read any of his books."
"You should. They're amazing."
"Yeah, you'll have to help me pick out a good one."
"Okay." I smile. Again. He sits back in his seat just as Mr. Newcome turns around to observe the class. Mr. Newcome looks around, then turns back to the board.
The bell rings, finally dismissing us for the day. Dylan walks over to my desk and smiles. "Shall we?"
We walk silently over crunchy leaves, somewhere towards where Dylan still won't tell me. "Why are you talking to me? I mean, uhm, just nobody talks to me, and then uh, y-you talk to me, and I'm just curious. Why?"
He stays silent for a second, then finally responds. "You seem like you need a friend."
I smile. "Yeah, but you've probably lost a ton of friends just for talking to me. I heard about how you uh, got mad at Jason."
He stops walking and looks me in the eyes. "Ashley, people are jerks. I honestly don't care if people stop talking to me because I want to hang out with you. You shouldn't worry about the things they say."
"But I do. I guess that's my problem, I care what they say, cause I know it's all true."
He takes a step closer to me. We are almost touching. He begins to whisper. "It's not true. The things they say. You're beautiful, and smart, and you deserve to be happy. And I want to make you happy."
"I'm a mess." I whisper too, because it seems like I should. "You don't want to get stuck with me."
"I do. I want you."
"You don't even know me, once you get to know me, you'll leave."
He takes another step closer and reaches for my hand. We are now standing fairly close. "I promise I won't leave." We stand there, letting those words hang in the air. He finally releases my hand. "Come on, we're almost there."
