My Cliche Love Story | ✓

Chapter 15

Finally Friday, I slump into the last class of the day, English. Jason's sitting in the spot next to me, and I smile as I slide into the seat. 

"Hey, Jason," I greet my friend, and pull out my stuff. I'm still shocked that I got a perfect score on my presentation with Dylan. I'm not sure what happened in those five to ten minutes. I actually don't remember them. They were kind of a waking up for my brain from that crazy night I'd had before while trying to finish it, though the forgetting of the actual presentation of said homework was an unmentioned part of it. 

Only minutes after I've entered the classroom and settled into my seat, he's the one that comes in, just short of being marked tardy. Sneaky bastard.

"Hey, friend," he smirks, and sits down in the desk behind Jason and I. 

I return the teasing look and reply a little too cheerfully, "Hi, bestie."

Jason's eyes flick back and forth between us. "Uh, guys? Last time I checked, you were all 'ew, you're disgusting, I hate you,' to each other." He looks at us expectantly, waiting for an answer.

I mean, it does make sense, what he's saying. If someone had come up to me a week ago and told me that I was going to become something like friends with Dylan Carter, I would have spat in their face and tore out their hair. 

Too much?

Dylan answers before I can think of anything to say. "Well, you missed a ton, Jason," he teases, and wiggles his eyebrows at him.

"Oh--oh," he realizes, and he smirks. "How was it?"

I practically scream. "That's not what happened!" I give Jason a good shove, and for Dylan, well, I give him a solid smack on the arm, as well as a sharp finger in his face. "You little--"

"Dylan, what are you doing with her? I thought I told you to stay away from that crowd!"

Dylan's face goes from a teasing smirk to a dark glare before turning back to neutral. "Hey, Katie," he says in a full monotone.

Katie doesn't seem to notice, as she's focused on me. "Turn around and play with your own toy, okay? Leave mine alone," she adds through gritted teeth.

My eyes widen, and I look down, as if saying, okayyy, that's enough creep for me. Jason eyes me up, but when I shake my head, he nods, understanding that I wouldn't do that to him. In fact, I'd never do that to anyone, even if it were Dylan. He's still just a person, I care enough to restrain myself. Besides, we're friends, remember? 

The whole hour, she keeps her eyes on the back of my head; I can feel them penetrating my skull, as if she's trying to learn my deepest secrets. Yeah, um, never gonna happen. 

When she finally scampers off to find her posse, I stick around with Jason and Dylan, where the latter is letting out a sigh of relief.

"She's gone," he breathes as the three of us make our way to the exit, and I knit my eyebrows in suspicious confusion. 

"I thought you liked her--somehow, in a sick and twisted way," I counter, but he shakes his head.

"Never, she's just somebody that I used to know," he replies, starting his way to the front doors of the school.

I roll my eyes, seeing the opportunity. "I didn't realize we were friends with Gotye, did you?" I angle my question to Jason, who laughs.

Dylan just grumbles, "Whatever." Regaining his composure, he clears his throat and continues. "Anyway, before I moved, she used to live next to my mom. We were friends in elementary school, but then she left to the...nevermind," he shakes his head.

"Left to the what, mental institution?" I tease, and Jason nods, contributing to the conversation.

"Dang right," he chortles, "did you see the way she looked at Alex? Dude, she's crazy!"

However funny this is to the two of us, Dylan just looks around, ducks his head down, and makes his way to his car. It looks kind of like a waddle, as he can't see anything in front of him, just the ground, and I giggle, jogging to catch up. 

"What's wrong with you, man? It was just a joke," Jason apologizes, while I snort unattractively at the face he flashes us.

"Nothing," he huffs, and, with his hand on the handle of the car door, he turns around and faces us with a dark, grim look in his eye. Now this would be a perfect movie moment, are you sure you aren't doing any acting jobs, Dylan? I think smugly, when he hits us two with the most unexpected response in the history of unexpected responses.

"That's just it, there was something wrong with her," he starts, and with a glance around, leans forward to finish his statement, "because the mental institution is exactly where she went."

Remember when I said this was all so cliche? 

Well, that went out the metaphorical window.

12/31/2015