Something New

by Amanda Abram

  She was right. It was good advice. And I wasn’t planning on screwing things up with Dylan. I was, however, planning on finding a way to get Elijah to forgive and forget—just like I had done with him weeks ago.

  I wasn’t about to let Dylan lose his best friend.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “Sweetie, are you feeling okay?”

  I blinked up at my mom from the untouched bowl of cereal in front of me. It had already turned to mush in the milk because, before Mom spoke to me, I hadn’t even realized I had just been swirling the cereal around with my spoon instead of eating it.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” I lied.

  I was dreading going to school. I didn’t want to see Elijah. I didn’t want to know what exactly the fallout of last night was going to be. Would he just ignore me and Dylan? Would he try to pick another fight? Would the whole school already know that Dylan and I were together? All questions I wanted to avoid answering.

  I had considered faking an illness to get Mom to let me stay home sick, but I knew I could only keep doing that for so long. Eventually, I’d have to go back to school and face Elijah, so I figured I might as well just get it out of the way now.

  Mom placed her hand on my forehead to check for a fever. “You feel a little warm.”

  “Probably because she’s thinking about her new boyfriend,” Caitlyn chimed in from across the table, flashing me a big, goofy grin.

  Dad cringed and cleared his throat uncomfortably as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Mom had filled him in on why Dylan and Elijah had gotten into their fight last night, and now he was dealing with the fact his oldest daughter already had a new boy in her life. As much as he seemed to like Dylan, he didn’t seem to like me having boyfriends. Because in his mind, I was still practically a toddler.

  I gave Caitlyn’s shin a swift kick under the table. She winced in pain and slid down in her chair to try to kick me back.

  “Girls, no violence at the breakfast table,” Mom warned as she poured her own cup of coffee.

  Caitlyn and I glared at each other as my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that Dylan had just sent me a text.

  Your chariot awaits.

  I smiled as I pushed my chair back and gathered my stuff. “Dylan’s here.”

  Caitlyn frowned. “What? He’s not coming to the door?”

  “Nope,” I said with a smirk. “I specifically instructed him not to, so he wouldn’t get harassed by you.”

  With a huff, Caitlyn aggressively shoved a spoonful of cereal in her mouth. “Not fair.”

  “Oh, yeah, speaking of things not being fair, that reminds me,” I added, flinging my backpack over my shoulder. “I forgot I have to work tonight, so Dylan won’t be over to watch Baker’s Dozen with you.”

  Caitlyn gaped at me with a mouth full of chewed-up flakes. “Who cares if you’re working? You don’t even watch the show, anyway. Dylan and I can watch on our own.”

  I shook my head. “No, you can’t. He can come over tomorrow instead. It’s not a big deal.”

  “But it is a big deal! We need to finish the recorded episodes before the finale!”

  I ignored her as I said goodbye to my parents and then hurried out the door.

  Dylan’s car idling in the driveway was a sight for sore eyes. Despite the fact I wasn’t looking forward to going to school, I was looking forward to seeing Dylan, and spending some quality alone time with him on the way to school. Even if it was only for a few minutes.

  Our gazes met as I made my way down the driveway. My heart skipped a beat when he flashed a crooked smile at me and lifted two fingers off the steering wheel in a subtle wave.

  I smiled back as I opened the passenger door and climbed into the seat next to him.

  “Hi,” I said, setting my backpack on the floor next to my feet.

  “Hi.” As soon as my door was closed, he leaned over and gave me a light kiss on the lips. It was short and sweet, yet still managed to activate all the butterflies in my stomach.

  “How are you?” I asked.

  “I’m good, thanks. And you?”

  “I’m also good.” My eyes lowered to his jaw. “How’s your face?”

  He smirked. “Just as handsome as ever.”

  I rolled my eyes and he chuckled as he gave himself a quick glance in the rearview mirror. “Oh, you mean where Elijah punched me?”

  “Yeah, smartass,” I said, nudging his shoulder.

  He smirked and turned back so I could see for myself. “It’s doing okay. As you can see, it’s still red and swollen, and it’s starting to bruise.”

  I leaned over to take a closer look. “I think it makes you look kind of sexy, though. It’s like a battle scar.”

  “Sexy, you say?” he teased in a dramatically deeper voice. “Well, I guess I’ll have to get into some more fist fights in the future. If you think this makes me look sexy, just wait until you see me with a black eye.”

  “Please, no,” I groaned as he put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. Once we were on the road, I asked, “Does it hurt?”

  He nodded solemnly. “Yeah, it does. But I think the pain is more emotional than it is physical right now.”

  We both fell silent at that. The subject of his fight with Elijah was obviously still raw, so I made sure to quickly change the subject.

  “So, how was dinner with your parents last night?”

  “It was fine. Somehow, they managed to be civil with one another all night, so that was good. Although halfway through dinner, Mom took a phone call from Tim—you remember Tim, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. He’s your mom’s friend who likes dogs, right?”

  “That’s the one. Anyway, my dad seemed interested in finding out who he is, and exactly what kind of relationship he has with my mom. She wouldn’t tell him much of anything, though, which was driving him crazy.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Jealous, is he?”

  “He’ll never admit it, but yeah. I think so.” He paused as he slowed down for a stop sign. “But besides that, we mostly just talked about my dad leaving.”

  “Oh yeah? So, what did he have to say about that?”

  “Just that he claims he’s going to fly back to visit me every chance he gets. He promised to come back for every major holiday, maybe even some of the minor ones, depending on his schedule. He even suggested I fly out to visit with him during either spring or summer break, but I’m going to pass on that.”

  “Why?”

  He cocked his head to the side and glanced over at me. Flashing me a grin, he said, “Because I wouldn’t want you to miss me too much.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s real sweet of you, but you don’t have to worry about me. Spring and summer breaks are months away; I’ll be sick of you by then and won’t even notice you’re gone.”

  He clutched his fist to his chest. “Damn, Briggs, that was brutal.”

  With a giggle, I gave his arm a gentle pat with my hand. “You know I’m joking. But seriously, when the time comes, you should go if you want to. Yes, I would miss you, but our short time apart would only make our hearts grow fonder or whatever.”

  “We’ll see.” He drummed his fingers lightly against the top of the steering wheel. “So, how are you holding up after last night?”

  That was a good question. I lost a lot of sleep last night; I stayed up well past midnight brainstorming ideas on how to make this all better. But by the time I finally fell asleep, I had come up with nothing, and in the morning, all I had to show for it were dark circles under my eyes and a craving for a gallon of coffee.

  “I’m doing okay. I called Lauren last night and talked to her about what went down.”

  “And what did she have to say?”

  “After she said, ‘I told you so’, you mean?” I snickered. “She said she still wants to go ahead with her project of getting Elijah and Hannah back together. She thinks it will still help him get over everything.”

  He turned his head t
o look at me. “And what do you think?”

  I stared out the window next to me. “I think right now it’s all we’ve got. Maybe if Elijah realizes he’s still in love with Hannah, he won’t be as upset about us anymore. It’s far-fetched, but it’s worth a shot.”

  Dylan nodded slowly, a frown forming on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

  “Nothing,” he said, quickly turning the corners of his mouth upward. “Oh, yeah, how did Caitlyn take the news that I wasn’t going to be over to watch Baker’s Dozen with her later?”

  There was something bothering him; his sudden change of subject gave it away. But I wasn’t going to push the issue. The whole situation with Elijah was much different for him than it was for me. I had already lost Elijah as a boyfriend. Dylan was in the process of losing him as a best friend. It couldn’t be easy for him.

  “She was so mad. “Not at you, but at me for having to work. I think that show is the single most important thing in her life right now.”

  “Yeah, because she has a big crush on Grant,” he said with a snort. “He’s not that good of a chef, you know. His good looks are the only thing that have kept him in the competition for so long. The judges all know he brings in the ratings, so they won’t cut him before the final episode. But he’s not going to win, and Caitlyn is going to lose five bucks.”

  I shook my head in mock disappointment. “I can’t believe you’re actually going to take money from my little sister.”

  “You better believe I’m going to take money from her. And then I’m going to spend it all on her big sister.”

  I widened my eyes and gasped dramatically. “All of it?”

  “Hell yeah. You want a cup of coffee? It’s all yours, baby girl. A pack of gum? Whatever flavor you’d like. Money is no object.”

  Dylan’s eyes, twinkling with amusement, met mine and we both dissolved into a fit of laughter. For a moment, I think we both forgot all about Elijah. About what happened last night. We forgot that we weren’t just Dylan and Cassie—two crazy kids who fell for each other while pretending to be married for a school project. We forgot that in just a couple of minutes, we would be arriving at school, and we had no idea what would be awaiting us there.

  As our laughter finally began to die down, we settled into an uncomfortable silence. When I could see the entrance to the school’s parking lot up ahead, I sighed and said, “Are you ready for this?”

  I didn’t have to explain which “this” I was referring to. He knew. I could tell by the way his mouth formed a straight line and his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

  “Yeah, sure. Elijah’s not going to assault me on school grounds. He doesn’t want to get suspended.”

  While I was certain that was true, I wasn’t worried about any more physical altercations between the two boys. I was more worried about an emotional standoff between them.

  “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” he continued as he slowly drove toward the student parking lot.

  The answer to that question came as soon as we neared the area where most of the juniors parked. None of the students had assigned parking spaces—it was technically first come, first served—but there had always seemed to be an unspoken rule that after you’d parked in a space for the first time, it would unofficially become yours. And kids, for the most part, tried to honor that rule by never parking in what is widely known as being somebody else’s spot. For the last few months, Dylan and Elijah had parked in the same two spots—right next to each other—and not a day had gone by where either one had parked anywhere else.

  Until today.

  Today, parked in the spot next to Elijah’s was another vehicle I recognized. A black Jeep.

  “Is that Nick’s Jeep parked next to Elijah’s car?” I asked, pointing.

  Dylan furrowed his brow as he slowed down to a stop behind it. “Yep.” He shook his head and chuckled humorlessly. “We’re going to play games, I see,” he muttered under his breath.

  It was no coincidence that Nick was parked in Dylan’s spot the day after Elijah found out about me and Dylan, and it was obviously Elijah’s idea to have Nick park there. It was an incredibly petty move, but if that was the worst thing Elijah could do to get back at Dylan, I guess we didn’t have too much to worry about.

  Dylan proceeded to the back of the parking lot, where all the part-time drivers parked, and pulled into one of the spaces there. Turning off the car, he sighed heavily as he pulled the keys out of the ignition.

  “I guess it’s safe to assume Elijah is still pissed,” I said.

  Dylan nodded. “So pissed that he can’t even stand the thought of our cars being next to each other in a parking lot.”

  “I can see this is going to be a fun day,” I mumbled. “Should we head in now and just get it over with?”

  “We might as well.”

  We gathered up our stuff and exited the car.

  As soon as I shut the door behind me, I squinted into the distance at the school’s front door. “We’re so far away now,” I complained with an exaggerated groan.

  “You want me to carry you?” Dylan asked. “I could throw you over my shoulder, fireman’s carry style.”

  He moved like he was going to attempt to throw me over his shoulder, but I backed away and held out my hand to stop him.

  “Don’t you dare,” I warned with a giggle.

  “How about a bridal carry, then?” he tried again. “After all, you are my bride.”

  “If you pick me up in any sort of carry, you better never let me down, because as soon as you do, I will kick your butt.” I got into a fighting stance and held my fists up in front of my face to show how serious I was.

  Dylan looked half-amused and half-impressed at that. “Wow. You bring a girl to the gym to hit a punching bag one time, and suddenly she thinks she’s Muhammad Ali.” He gave the top of my head a gentle pat. “You’re so cute when you act tough.”

  I snorted and swatted his hand away with my own, and he grabbed onto it and laced his fingers through mine.

  Motioning his head toward the building, he said, “Shall we?”

  My gaze flickered down to our joined hands. “Do you think we should be doing this at school?”

  “Why not? Elijah knows about us now. We have no reason to hide.”

  While that may have been true, was it a good idea to parade our newfound love in front of Elijah anyway?

  Still, his hand felt nice and warm in mine, so I didn’t argue as we began our extra-long trek toward the front entrance.

  Lauren spotted us as soon as we walked through the front doors. Rushing over to us, she fell into stride next to me as we headed down the hallway.

  “Hey, lovebirds,” she sang, bumping her shoulder into mine.

  “Hey, Laur,” I greeted her with a smile.

  “So, how’s everything going?” She glanced past me over to Dylan. “Hey, Fight Night, how’s your face doing?”

  I didn’t even have to look at Dylan to know he was rolling his eyes.

  He turned toward her to show her the damage. “It wasn’t even that hard of a hit.”

  “That nasty bruise begs to differ,” Lauren snickered. “So, have either of you seen Elijah yet?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. You?”

  “Yeah, I saw him with Nick a few minutes ago near his locker. Dude looks like he’s in a foul mood.”

  That wasn’t surprising to hear, but I had still been holding onto the slightest bit of hope that maybe Elijah—after a good night’s sleep—had calmed down and realized he was happy for me and Dylan after all.

  I guess he hadn’t.

  “Well, that’s great,” Dylan sighed. “I can’t wait to run into him between classes. Or see him at lunch. Or in Life Economics.”

  “You can sit with us at lunch,” I offered, motioning between me and Lauren. “That will at least remove one uncomfortable situation from the list.”

  “Thanks, but I’m going to have to face him sometime
. I mean, I won’t be able to avoid my lunch table for the rest of high school, right?”

  “You might have to,” Lauren said. “Sometimes, boys are even worse than girls when it comes to holding grudges. Especially when a girl is involved. It’s possible that Elijah might stay mad about this for the next year and a half.”

  “Lauren,” I hissed, smacking her arm before turning to Dylan. “But I’m sure that’s not the case here.”

  “Yeah, probably not,” Lauren agreed, although she didn’t sound too convinced. “Hey, I’ll catch you guys later. I’m gonna go say hi to Tiana.”

  I nodded as she waved goodbye and took off in the opposite direction.

  “Don’t listen to Lauren,” I said as soon as she was gone. “This will all blow over within a week. Right?”

  “Right.” Dylan gave me a weak smile as we continued down the hallway. “So, new topic. What are you doing next Friday night?”

  “Next Friday, huh?” I pretended to think about it for a moment. I knew right away what next Friday was: it was Valentine’s Day. The holiday I dreaded every year because I never had a boyfriend. Usually, Lauren and I would just spend the day together mourning our lack of love lives, but that wasn’t going to be the case this year. Because this year, Lauren had a love life.

  And if Dylan’s hand holding onto mine was any indication, so did I.

  “I think I’m free,” I said finally. “Why do you ask?”

  We stopped walking and he stepped in front of me. “Because I want to take you out on a date,” he said with a grin. “I want to make this official.”

  “You want our first date to be on Valentine’s Day?”

  “It doesn’t have to be our first. I’ll take you on a date tonight. And tomorrow night. And every night between now and next Friday if you’d like me to.”

  I giggled. “How about instead of Valentine’s Day, we make it Valentine’s Week and a Half?”

  “I know you’re just joking, but I’d be down for that.” His grin widened. “So, what do you say? Will you be my date next Friday? Will you be my Valentine?”