Like Gods

[35] conversations

School on Thursday had been tense, as had Friday and then Monday. It was Tuesday now, the last week of school before winter break and Dylan was tired. He had been all week. Chris avoided his eyes, and that hurt, too.

Most things hurt. 

He picked further at his food, knowing in full that Felicia was eyeing him with worry.

"Dylan, are you alright?" Landon asked from the opposite side of the table. Dylan hesitated, looked up to Landon, then smiled.

"Yeah, just didn't get that much sleep last night." He looked back down at his food, but not before shooting a glance in the direction of Chris. Their eyes met for just half a second, and what he found there was more heartbreaking than anything else.

Nothing. There was no emotion, and sure, maybe he didn't have any right to wish there was, it was, after all, he who made the decision, but still, when he looked into those dark eyes and found nothing but indifference, it cut deep.

"You gotta sleep, dude," Shawn lectured, "good thing that it's almost winter break. You have any plans?" 

"Except for sleeping?" Dylan laughed. "No, I don't have any plans." Shawn huffed.

"Anyone else have plans?" 

Cole shook his head. "Thought we might get together at new years?" 

"Sounds like a good plan," Landon grinned, "how 'bout the football team? What do you guys say?" 

Francis turned toward the soccer captain. "Sounds great!"

"I don't think I can," Chris spoke up, and Dylan couldn't resist raising his eyes toward the football player, but the latter wasn't looking at him, "I'm going to Europe." 

A chorus of cheers erupted around the table.

"Damn, Mediterranian girls are fine, good going, dude," Jake smirked, to which Chris did the same. 

"Yeah," he breathed. Dylan bit the inside of his cheek. Okay, he thought, shoveling in food into his mouth to get rid of the nausea that washed over him. At least he knew that Chris had moved on, and he didn't have to wonder about that. Already. But he had no right to feel the pain that that brought, did he? Because he was the one who had caused it, essentially, and Chris had all right to move on.

"I'm going to go, uh... Mr. Morgan wanted to ask me about some assignment," Dylan got out, standing from his seat. 

Felicia eyed him cautiously and he already knew that she was going to question him about this, but he didn't care. He just had to get out, maybe get some air. Yeah, air was a good idea, he thought as he hurried away from the table. The doors closed with a thud behind him as he rushed through the school, finally getting to the exit and stopped.

"Geez," he breathed. In his pocket, his phone vibrated and he got it out. To no one's surprise, it was a text from Felicia.

'Dylan, are you alright?' It said, with a concerned-looking emoji next to the text.

He took yet another deep breath, the crisp air helping to clear his woozy mind. Before he could reply, though, he got another text.

'Do you want to talk about what happened between the two of you, it seems like you need it.'

He chuckled to himself. Of course, Felicia was right and he should have told her what happened right when it did. But he hadn't. 

'Yeah, let's meet up. After school?'

'Nah, let's do it now. Skip class?' Dylan smiled down at his phone. 

'Sure, I'm already outside so hurry,' he wrote back and pressed send. Barely two minutes later, Felicia emerged from the same doors that he'd just exited from with a tense smile on her lips. She took a few steps closer, looking quite worried.