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CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT " SOMEONE WHO LOVES YOU "
DYLAN STOOD ON THE STRIP, her hands shoved in her coat pockets and her breathing forming clouds. She was waiting for Steve's red BMW to cross her vision and walk with her into the movie house. But Dylan was greeted with a different familiar face, one with bright red hair.
Max stepped out of the clothing store next door, pink bubblegum popping from her mouth, a few paper shopping bags around her wrist. Lucas stepped out a moment later, his expression slightly less enthralled. It was Dylan who had inspired Max's desire for shopping so it was safe to say she was the culprit of Lucas' displeasure.
"Dylan!" Max shouted at her in greeting. Lucas looked up from his feet, his features turning from dead to almost intrigued.
"Hey, guys." She put her pack of cigarettes that she was planning on smoking back in her pocket as they approached.
"Want to see what I got?" Max asked excitedly.
Dylan nodded. "Yeah, let's see your style evolution, kid. Impress me."
Max pulled out various clothing items in various patterns and colours. There were sweaters, skirts, jumpsuits, much different than her usual uniform of baggy jeans and beat up sneakers. Dylan also noticed a pale, glitter eyeshadow on her lids and a shiny lipgloss on her lips. She looked a little older and it had only been a few weeks since they last seen each other. That's what getting a boyfriend did to a teenage girl.
"Nice." Dylan said coolly, giving Max the affirmation she needed.
"They better be nice we spent about 3 hours—"
Lucas was cut off by Max continuing to talk. "So I hear you dumped my brother."
Dylan shrugged, sheepish. "Yeah, guess I did."
"That sucks," said Max with a deep frown. Lucas muttered something to the tune of 'your brother sucks' which caused Dylan to smirk for a second before hiding it from Max. "I was hoping to see you around more."
"You ever need anything or someone to talk to," Dylan was trying to take on her older sister role but she'd never been very good at it, not even with her real sister. "Give me a call. Seriously. But Billy... is Billy. And that was never going to last."
"I'll hold you to that," Max was back to her original chipper demeanour. "C'mon, Lucas—let's go grab that burger you wanted."
The two tweens linked arms and walked in the opposite direction. The turned back before they passed the corner, waving goodbye enthusiastically. Dylan gave them a half-hearted wave back, amused, before lighting up the cigarette she'd been waiting for.
It wasn't too much later that Steve's car pulled up in a hurry, almost going up over the curb in its haste. Steve stepped out with a very familiar flustered expression. "I'm so sorry I'm late. Dustin had this strange science experiment—"
Dylan chuckled, taking a drag and breathing it out. "Say no more."
Dylan threw her smoke to the ground, grabbing Steve's hand instead, and he led her into the theatre. A long line was starting to pool at the box office but luckily Dylan had got her tickets while she waited for Steve. Concessions, however, was a different story. They waited for what seemed like forever to get their snack of popcorn. Which Steve ordered and graciously paid for.
Dylan sipped on the ice-cold Coca-Cola they had to share while Steve excitedly drenched their popcorn in butter.
"Remember when I told everybody that you loved Star Wars," Steve smirked as he recalled the memory. "So we could go see all of them without any of the boys making a joke."
"Yes, I remember," she snatched the popcorn from his grip before he could soak it anymore. "Carol gave me shit for weeks each time one came out. Thanks for that."
"No, thank you," his smirk still ever-present. "You made it so I could see every Star Wars movie and never ruin my rep."
"Whatever, that's how I got Reed to like me anyway," she shrugged, palming some popcorn and crunching down. "He said it was 'cool,' and I wasn't 'as shallow as the other hot girls.' What a fucking weirdo, I see now."
"He asked about you the other day, at practice," Steve's faced hinted at annoyance. "Said something gross, like 'I'd still like to get her out of that uniform.'"
She gagged. "Did you punch him?"
"No," he looked down at his feet. "Billy did."
"Oh."
Steve found a prime spot in the back of the theatre and he and Dylan squeezed past those already sat. They sat and watched the previews, when they were settled in, Dylan took Steve's hand and entwined it with hers. A soft smile crossed his features but he stared straight ahead at the bright screen.
Dylan slumped back in her chair, contemplating what had been said. The movie didn't intrigue her, she'd seen it a trillion times, and only chose it to make Steve happy. She realized that it was going to take a lot more than just a Star Wars showing to cheer him up.
Billy punched Reed for her. But it was Steve who was her boyfriend. In the kingdom of the alpha male, where Billy and Steve could often be found struggling for dominance, that was enough to dethrone reigning Steve. Dylan was 'Steve's girl' (though she hated being branded by such terms) and it was Billy who stood up for her. It was petty. The testosterone made this situation complicated.
Billy hovering around her life confused her. When Steve had kissed her at the winter dance, she had thought that had been it. He had lashed out at her in front of the whole school, and he had every right to be angry, but he crossed a line when his insults turned all too personal. Normally, when someone crossed a line, they never planned on turning around and coming back. But Billy had crashed and burned whatever relationship they had and now wanted to rebuild with the same foundation. It didn't work that way; this was a tear-down, write-off situation. He was naïve if he thought anything else. Dylan never would have chosen that word to describe him.
Steve whispered in her ear. "This is my favourite part."
Dylan glanced at the scene, knowing exactly what scene it was going to being, and still amused by the choice. "You're such a nerd, you know."
Han was struggling to see, encompassed with confusion. Someone in a full space suit stood over him. "Who are you he asked?" then the woman takes off her helmet and Princess Leia is exposed, "Someone you loves you." The two kiss.
Above all the action, all the aliens, and just the excitement of Star Wars, Steve's favourite scene is the romance that blossoms between Han and Leia. It wasn't surprising, if one knew him, but it was something she liked about him. No matter how predicable or cliché he was, there was always an oddity that made him stand out. That's what made them best friends. Lovers, now, she thought.
OK SO I WROTE THIS CHAPTER A WEEK AGO AND LITERALLY LOVER IS A DYLAN AND STEVE ALBUM!!!! And I ended this chapter with "Lovers, now, she thought." Taylor's INFLUENCE. Listen to Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince and tell me it's not them. Anyway, sorry for the Taylor stan™️ jumping out..... Stream Lover, ladies. P.S. thank you for all the lovely and funny comments, you guys literally inspire me to keep writing this!
