Mutual

15 - Conclusions

"Uh, well, you guys already know Dylan." Alana chuckled awkwardly.

"Is this the part where I say, "I told you so?"" Her mom asked after a moment of silence. They were all in the living room. Alana was sharing the loveseat with Dylan, while Anastasia and their parents sat on the couch.

Alana facepalmed, shaking her head.

"I'm curious about the story behind that one, Lani."

"Oh, so he can call you that, but we get scolded if we do it?" Her dad piped up.

"I never actually told him he could call me that. He originally did it to annoy me."

"But now, you like it."

She blushed, betraying her automatic, "No."

Dylan smiled a little, thinking about how cute his girlfriend is, even when she wasn't trying to be.

"Sure."

"Is dinner ready?" Alana asked in an attempt to change the subject. She wasn't the type to get super shy, but that didn't mean she liked being the center of attention, especially when they were teasing her.

"It will be in a few minutes," Aspen answered and got up to check on things in the kitchen.

Isaac broke the silence, "It was the photography club, wasn't it?"

Alana, not expecting the question, laughed, causing Dylan to laugh, too. "Yeah, dad. It was the photography club."

It came out sounding sarcastic, but there was some truth to the statement. If he didn't join, they might not have talked as much as they did post-Dylan and Ana's breakup.

"See, I knew what I was doing," he claimed.

"Sure, you did," Aspen commented, overhearing the conversation from the kitchen. "Can you help me with something, honey?"

Isaac got up to assist his wife in the other room.

"I'll give you your alone time, but can I ask what the deal was with you two?" Anastasia let her curiosity get the best of her. "Why didn't you like each other?"

Alana let out a dry laugh. "We got paired up for an assignment, and he was kind of an asshole."

"Me? You wouldn't stop pestering me about it," Dylan defended.

"I wanted to make sure the work got done, so I could get a good grade on it. He barly answered messages, and when he did, they were such non-answers," she said the last part to Anastasia.

"I was having a tough time then," he voice grew softer. "A family member had just died, and I wasn't in the best head space. But I wasn't about to dump that onto some stranger."

Alana felt a pang of sympathy for her boyfriend. "I'm sorry you were dealing with that. But you could've been vague about it. You could've said, hey, I'm having an off week. Or there was an emergency I had to deal with. Or my mental health is not it right now. And I would've backed off."

Dylan looked a little sheepish. "I guess we both could have handled it a little better."

"Agreed," Anastasia said. "And on that note, I'm gonna let you two soak in that." She got up to join her parents, leaving Alana and Dylan alone in the living room.

Dylan subconsciously moved closer to Alana.

"Sorry, we started off on the wrong foot."

"Well, it got us here, so how wrong was it?"

"You make a good point, Lani."

"By the way, I think they're offended that you get away with calling me that." And just like that, the somber mood was broken.

"I can see that actually. It's a cute nickname for a cute girl. I don't know why you don't like it."

"I don't mind it coming from you, I guess. From others, it tends to feel patronizing for some reason."

"Well, you sure do know how to make a guy feel special." Before Alana could come up with a response, Dylan switched topics, "Can I ask about the "I told you so" thing?"

"You can," she said simply.

After a few seconds, he realized she wasn't going to say more and snorted. "Care to explain?"

"Not particularly."

"Skutch."

Alana beamed.

"I think you're supposed to be more offended by that."

"But you remembered."

"Of course, I remembered. I have to insult you in a way I know you'll understand. But the story?" He wasn't going to let her get off the hook that easily. He wouldn't push if it was something she genuinely didn't want to talk about. But her refusals all seemed to be teasing.

"Daisy and ma called it from the beginning, and they were right."

"Called what?" He was confused.

"Us."

"Us?"

"Mhm. I complained about you to Daisy, and she said we'd be like enemies to lovers. And ma said something pretty similar that first time you came over for dinner."

"The first time? Like the day I was introduced to your parents?"

"Yup, that day."

"But that was ages ago."

"I know. Trust me, I know."

"Did you like me back then?"

"No," she answered honestly with a grin. "I recognized that you treat Ana well, but my personal opinion of you at that time was not the greatest."

"I liked you by then. I mean, I didn't dislike you. I thought there was potential that we could become friends."

"Is that why you joined the club? Because you wanted to be my friend?"

"Pretty much." He shrugged. "But I kept going because those people take really cool pictures."

"They do."

"But also, it was a good excuse to talk to you."

Alana smiled and kissed him. It didn't last long, just a few seconds, as they were aware of Alana's family members in the next room over.

"Well, I'm glad you went."

"Me, too."

"Okay, saps," Anastasia called, as she carried a plate of food from the kitchen to the table. "Dinner is ready."

"We're coming," Alana responded. She grabbed Dylan's hand and dragged him to the dining room.

Things were good, and Alana wouldn't have it any other way.