Sepia Makes Everybody Cry With a Dyle Fanfic

two

We convinced the boys to come out with us, traipsing through the streets and windowshopping. A few fans appeared, hounding us for pictures and asking questions. I didn't mind, though. It was a nice distraction. Some of them were really sweet, too. Kyle was really good with them. He really seemed to connect, joking around and asking real questions...

I shook myself, blinking out of the daze I'd fallen into and turning my gaze back to the phone held in front of me. The flash went off unexpectedly and I jumped. I looked down to find a fan under my arm, grinning and holding the phone. When did I do that?

She clapped her hands excitedly. "Thanks Dan!" I nodded with a distracted smile.

"Yeah... no problem." I hoped she took my distraction for my usual shyness. She didn't seem to question anything, just continued babbling along.

"Hey," I finally stopped her in the middle of a story about screaming and tickets of some sort, "it was nice to meet you, really. I kind of have to go, okay?"

Her face fell a little, but she hugged me again and ran off to her friends. I massaged my temples, still feeling the lingering affects of the drinks I'd downed last night. I couldn't remember how many.

"Let's go!" Kyle was suddenly at my side, grinning and trying to get us moving. "We have shopping to do. Do you think we'll find any cat t-shirts?"

I smiled. "I hope so."

I started walking down the street, motioning for Will and Woody to get going too. Woody gave one more hug and Will allowed one last picture before parting with the giddy fans. I smiled and sighed. It really was a sweet thing, how much they, inexplicably, adored us.

"If we don't start going now, we'll run out of time before we've even hit two shops," I laughed. Woody waved me off, saying we'd be fine.

"It's not like we really need anything," he pointed out. I nodded to the side.

We entered a quaint little store called Everest Mountain Goods with brightly colored backpacks, sweatshirts, and bags all over the walls. (It's a real place, I swear, and it's gorgeous.) I allowed myself to get lost in the scenery and I felt calm for the first time in... too long.

But the serenity shattered when Kyle suddenly appeared, tripping wildly and knocking over a display. He yelped and my primary instinct was to reach out to him. I didn't think as I stepped out and wrapped my arms around him, hauling him upright. I mindlessly stepped back and held his wrists, steadying us both. But then I looked up into his face and everything came crashing down on me.

He threw me a lopsided grin and began apologizing, but I jumped back and released him like he was made of pure flames. I vaguely sensed my mouth hanging open, but I could only stammer, "I'm s-sorry," and turn to dart out the door.

I heard my name called behind me but I couldn't stop. I felt all my breath leave me and I stumbled into a small park. The sky had darkened and it now looked a fitting dull grey. I collapsed on a bench and cradled my head in my hands. "What am I doing? I'm destroying everything. He's a friend... He's a friend..." I repeated the words for a while, trying to calm down.

I wrapped my arms around myself. It wasn't really helping.

"Okay," I said out loud. "What is a friend? What is it about him that's making me so confused?" I ignored the fact that I was talking to myself and started combing through my mind, putting logic to insanity and attempting to come up with a reason for all of this.

"He's funny..." I began with a sigh. "He makes me laugh when I feel bad." I nodded thoughtfully and slowly unraveled my knot of limbs. "And he's nice. It's probably the fact that he's giving me good attention..." I mused. "I'm probably just... craving the attention. And he's the one that's giving it to me."

I almost felt sad as I realized this. Some part of me would've liked it to be something more... real. Important. But life wasn't as complicated as I thought, truly. Tangled, twisted, forbidden romances don't just pop up every day. Especially not for me.

"A friend is someone who's there for you. Someone who you want around, and who makes you happy. He does that. That's it." I swallowed. I felt a little better. "I just need to give it time. It'll go away. I need a friend more than I need a... partner..."

I caught myself in the middle of a gasping sob. "S-Stop that," I scolded myself. "You're being ridiculous. Just go back, apologize, and we can all just forget about—"

I stopped mid-sentence as I heard a shout of my name. "Dan! Hey, Dan!" I looked up to see Woody jogging up the street. He looked winded and confused. I quickly turned around and wiped my hands on my face, trying desperately to not look like I'd been crying. I took a deep breath and forced a small smile.

Woody plopped down beside me and caught his breath. "You... You okay?" he asked. "What happened?"

I shrugged, not looking him in the eye. "Yeah, I'm fine. I got a little surprised, that's all. I needed some air. I'm tired, that's all."

Woody blinked. "Dan, seriously. What's up? You've been acting so weird lately. Come to think of it, mostly around Ky—!"

I quickly cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, no, that's not it. It's fine. I'm tired, I promise."

He eyed me and clapped my shoulder. "You can always talk to me, okay? Nobody has to be ashamed of anything. We've seen you drunk," he grinned. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks," I murmured. "I think I've got it under control now. Don't worry." Woody nodded and got up, stretching. "Sorry for running off like that," I said quietly.

"Nah, it's fine. Kyle and Will are busy fixing what that bloke knocked over. He's a clumsy nut," he laughed. "Come on, let's head back." I stood up myself and took another breath, running a hand through my hair. I tugged at it mindlessly, an old habit I'd never grown out of. As we started walking back down the road, he turned to me, "We don't have to go shopping, you know. You can go back to the bus and take a nap or something. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"No, no," I quickly assured him, "I'm okay. Really." I was going to need all the time around Kyle to start practicing... not feeling that way. Basically debunking the whole thing.