Relatable

11

I met with Dylan at the empty bench by the football field and smiled at him. I wasn't really in the mood to do math homework even though I liked spending time with Dylan.

All I could think about at the moment was whether or not he knew Cameron was going on a date with Nina. If he did, he seemed completely unbothered by it.

Before I could take out my notebooks, Dylan said, "I got to be honest. I know I texted you earlier, but I do not feel like working on homework." Dylan stretched his arms, showing that he was pretty tired.

I zipped my backpack, and started to stand up. "Okay, no worries," I replied.

"Wait," he said, stopping me. "I don't mean I want you to leave."

My heart started beating slightly faster. I sat back down and nervously smiled.

After a few seconds of silence, Dylan said, "So, you doing anything tomorrow night?"

I almost widened my eyes in shock, but I tried to remain cool, calm, and collected. "Um, not that I know of. No," I said.

"How 'bout we go get that pizza then?" Dylan asked, with a smirk.

I looked away from his intense gaze and smiled. "Sure," I said. "That'd be nice."

The next few minutes went by with Dylan telling me about his upcoming football game and how much he is looking forward to it but all I could think about was Nina and her connection to both Dylan and Cameron.

Knowing that Dylan had practice coming up soon, I decided to take advantage of the moment. "I don't know how true this is, but didn't you just get out of a relationship?" I asked, purposely not mentioning Nina's name.

Dylan's smile slowly left his face and he bobbed his head down to his lap. "Yeah, actually. I wouldn't really..." he cleared his throat before continuing, "...call it a relationship."

He went quiet for a moment but I didn't have a reply to that, hoping he would continue.

Dylan sighed, "Listen, Ellie. I'm not trying to make me seem like some poor, innocent guy but she played me. Her and a few of her friends made some bet that I don't really care to the know the details of. But she won and it's over."

My heart fell. I was not expecting this kind of explanation. I know Dylan didn't want this to be made public information so I assured him that it would stay between us. "I'm sorry she did that. That's kind of fucked up," I said honestly. What kind of teenage drama movie are we in right now?

He nodded, and lifted the mood by smiling and saying, "Thanks for being someone I can trust."

I smiled widely, "Anytime. Good luck at practice," I said, getting up from the bench, but not before Dylan could wrap his arms around me and give me a warm and much-needed hug. I hugged him back, but not for too long in fear that he could feel my heart beat increasing.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ellie." Dylan waved at me as he jogged towards the rest of the team on the field.

I'm so telling Layla about that hug later. I smiled to myself as I walked to my car, feeling on top of the world. 

Until I remembered Cameron's date with Nina. Oh no. Cameron's also going to get played.

After I drove home, and yanked my backpack off of my shoulder, I headed to my room staring at my phone screen the whole time.

"Well, hello to you, too," my mom called after me as I walked up the stairs.

"Hi, mom!" I yelled back to her without breaking my gaze.