Relatable

12

"So is he picking you up or are you meeting there?" Layla asked on FaceTime. I propped my phone up against my drawer so she could see my full outfit. She was referring to Dylan, who had texted me a couple hours ago to confirm our date. No big deal. 

I was in the middle of trying on a couple of outfits, trying to see what would fit best for my pizza date with Dylan. 

"He's picking me up," I replied, showing Layla my options for shoes. "Classic white sneakers or cute sandals?" 

She tilted her head to the side, "Hmm, with that dress, I'd go with sneakers to dress it down a bit. Remember, you're just going to get pizza."

I shrugged, still wanting to look cute. Layla moved on from talking about my clothes to her birthday. When she changed the subject, I noticed I still hadn't gotten her anything for her birthday and that I was so caught up with Dylan and Cameron, it slipped my mind. I mentally reminded myself to find a birthday gift for her later.

"I'm actually so excited for tomorrow night. I miss hanging out with you, even if there's going to be three boys crashing the party," she smirked. 

Her birthday party was tomorrow night and I was also looking forward to it. Not only is it a comfortable setting, but I also missed hanging out with Layla. I almost forgot about the boys coming. I haven't really talked to Cameron about last night. 

I saw him earlier this morning when he had someone drop him off to get his car from my house, but there was no real conversation then. 

"I can't wait, even though I don't even know which movies we're watching," I replied with a chuckle.

I barely slept last night, because all I could think about was what Dylan did with Yasmin, and how it affected Cameron. I didn't want it to change the way I saw Dylan because I know he's still a good guy no matter what, but a part of me wasn't going to forget what he'd done. Loyalty to friends is very important to me. 

But Cameron had to just explain at such a bad time. I was going to be going on my first unofficial date with Dylan and now he's messed with my head so bad I could barely feel all giddy about it.  

"That's okay, it'll be a surprise," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. "Danny and Marco had some good options that made the cut." 

I smiled thinking about them. I kind of missed their rowdiness and playful behavior. The time was nearing seven o'clock and Layla and I ended our FaceTime. Dylan should be picking me up any minute. As the time got closer to seven, I started to feel nervous and excited. I was waiting for this feeling to arrive earlier, but I was distracted by my thoughts.  

Cameron knew about me getting pizza with Dylan today, and normally I probably would've received an encouraging text message, but he was somewhat quiet and distant today. I assumed it was because he feels as though he overshared last night, and he isn't much of a talker. Especially when it comes to him and Dylan. 

When I saw the headlights of Dylan's car brighten up the walls through my bedroom window, I quickly sped down the stairs to head outside. 

"Bye, mom! Bye, dad!" I said hurriedly, so I could avoid any lingering questions. 

"Hey, hey, wait," my mom, called, stomping my plan to the ground. "Don't be home too late, okay, El?"

I nodded my head, and walked out the door before she could ask me any more questions. She was pretty excited for me to finally go out with Dylan because it's not like my crush on him was a big secret. Basically, everyone knew because I'm so horrible at playing it cool.