Love Is A Crime

Someone TP's My House

Dylan Fowler POV

As soon as I walk in the front door, my dad is there to greet me. He must've just gotten off work; he's still in his uniform.

"Hi, sweetheart." He says with false cheerfulness. "How was Dr. Nelson?"

"Umm, great." I stutter. He knows I didn't go, I can tell.

"Now, do you want to tell me where you were today?" His foot is tapping the floor a mile a minute. I don't know how to answer him; I can't lie directly to his face, but I can't tell him the truth either.

"Uhh..I was...Just uhh...shopping. Yeah, I was shopping."

"Shopping, were you?" I nod my head in response. "Shopping where?"

"At Target."

"Shopping at Target? For what?"

"Umm, feminine care products?" My voice gets higher at the end, like I don't even know what I was shopping for, but at the mention of feminine care, my dad immediately backs off.

"Oh, well, next time just find a more appropriate time to do your," He pauses for a moment, searching for the right word, "shopping."

I say, "Gotcha'," and pound my way up the stairs. Once in the safety of my room, I sit down in my beanbag chair to Skype Astrid.

"What's crackalackin'?" Astrid says when she answers.

When I first called her, I'd planned on telling her about Dylan, but now I'm not so sure.

"What's going on in the life of Dylan Fowler?" She says, acting like a news reporter. For a couple seconds, I just sit there and try to think of what to tell Astrid while she uses the Skype camera to fix her short blonde hair.

I start by saying, "I had a pretty wild day."

"Ooo, how exciting!" Astrid exclaims. "I love stories."

"Well, I was in my car at Dr. Nelson's office, fixing my purse, when all of a sudden, this gorgeous boy opens my door and climbs in."

"No way." Astrid interrupts, her mouth hanging wide open

"I know, right. He started yelling at me-telling me to drive. At first I just sat there, but then I actually started to drive. A little later we started talking. Turns out, he has the same name as me."

"You two must be soul mates." Astrid swoons. "I need to see a picture of him." She declares.

"I didn't take a picture of him, A. That would be creepy." I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Do you think you'll ever see him again?"

Before I can answer, my dad calls me down for dinner. I say bye to Astrid, shut down the computer and go downstairs.

"What's for dinner?"

"Pizza, your favorite." My father responds with a chuckle. These days, he seems to be aging years in a matter of minutes. His hair, or what's left of it, turns more and more grey every day, while his eyes sink farther into his face.

I offer to set the table for him and head into the kitchen where I grab two plates and sets of silverware.

"How was your day?" Dad asks during dinner.

I shrug. "Not much happened." What a lie. "How was your's?"

"Actually, quite interesting." He responds. "I was at the station when I got a call saying a young man had somehow hacked into the tv display at Best Buy and projected an image of his genitalia. When I went down there to check it out, I saw the offender running away. I tracked him pretty far, but lost him at Pershing and Cooper. Kid must've had a get away car somewhere."

At the mention of Pershing and Cooper, I almost spit out my food. That's exactly where Dylan jumped into my car; my dad must have been the one chasing him. Oh gosh, act natural, I tell myself.

"Wow, what an eventful day." Even to me, my voice sounds tight and strained. I clear my throat and finish the rest of my dinner quickly.

"Did you hear that, sweetie?" Dad asks me.

"Hear what?"

Without answering me, he goes to the front door and walks our onto the porch. A couple seconds later I hear him shout, "You kids better leave! I'm a cop you know," then come back inside and slam the door shut.

"What was that about?" I ask him.

"Nothing," He sighs, "Just some kids playing pranks and TPing a bunch of houses."

I frown and head to my room. I wonder who would do that, I think to myself then grab my phone. On Instagram I see I have a follow request from dylangray. Without thinking, I hit accept and follow him back, since he's not private.

I turn my phone off and try to go to sleep, but now all I can think about is Dylan Gray. It seems like that's all I've been able to think about for a while.