Party Boy Love Story

by Grace Wilkinson

  Dylan ran back into the corridor and I followed close behind. We were a foot away from the door when someone shouted from behind us.

  "Hey, Stop right now!" I heard. I spun my head around to see a big man with a mop and a bucket far away.

  "Dylan, hurry!" I hit his shoulder and we slipped back outside. He fumbled with the key as he tried to lock the door.

  We quickly ran back towards the car and slipped inside just as the janitor stepped outside.

  Dylan leaned his head back in the passenger seat as I watched through the rear view mirror. "I'm calling the police!"

  Dylan looked through the window and couldn't stop laughing.

  I started the car as the rush of adrenaline in my veins died down.

  Dylan looked out the windshield as I pulled back onto the street. He was catching his breath from all the running we just did.

  "You okay?" I asked, suddenly regretting the words that had sneaked out from my mouth. Of course he wasn't okay. He was far from okay, his mother just died and his father wasn't even sad one bit. He was already planning the funeral.

  "I would love if I could get a drink right now." He scratched his cheek and placed his arm down on the arm rest.

  "Fine, but were going to the hotel bar. This way, neither of us has to drive." I say, turning into an alley for a shortcut.

  "You're such a goody-goody," Dylan smirked. "But, at the same time you're bad."

  I shrugged my shoulders as we stopped at a stoplight.

  "You know, the first time I saw you wasn't at the party." He turned away from his window and our eyes locked. "The first time I saw you was when you were taking all of your things out from your car on the first day of college."

  I didn't know what to say so I let him continue. Usually, if someone was watching me I would feel violated but since it was just Dylan I didn't mind.

  He laughed as if he were remembering the day in his head. "We were wearing shorts and this v-neck that was so long it looked as if you were wearing it as a dress. I thought you were pretty."

  I smiled.

  "Then, I saw you at the party standing there alone and I realized that you were the same girl. I wanted to kiss you so I told a little fib and said we didn't have enough people to play 'suck and blow' when really, we had more than enough. I purposely dropped the paper and played dumb afterward. I knew you were a freshman."

  I bit my lip, "Dylan?"

  He nodded.

  "How many girls have you done that to?" I ask, parking the car and cutting off the engine.

  "If were telling the truth here, I did it to Natasha. I've known her since sophomore year in high school." He answered.

  My eyebrows rose. "Did you two date?"

  He frowned. "It was complicated. We both, kinda, wanted to. You know, lose our virginity so we did it a few times."

  Some part of me wanted to roll up in a ball and cry but the other part of me was perfectly fine with it. Dylan didn't know I existed when he was a sophomore in high school. I wasn't in his life yet which meant I didn't have to tell him right from wrong.

  "Hey." Dylan rubbed my shoulder, "Don't worry about Natasha and I, that's history. And, to be honest, right now I never want to talk to her again."

  I smiled as we stepped out of the car and back into the hotel.

  Chapter 36

  "Two vodkas with soda, please." Dylan said, reaching for his wallet as we sat at the bar.

  "I will need to see an ID." the bartender said, holding his hand out.

  I watched as Dylan pulled out his driver’s license and handed it to him. I pulled my fake ID out and he grabbed it with his free hand. I couldn't help but think about the last time Dylan and I went to a bar. So much happened that night, good and bad.

  As the bartender prepared our drinks Dylan looked down at the notifications on his phone and ran his hands through his hair.

  I didn't say anything. I didn't him to think I was sneaking peaks at his screen.

  "Here," the bartender said sliding our drinks across the wood surface and I grabbed a napkin as Dylan finished half of the small glass in one swallow.

  I took a small sip as I watched him set his phone back down on the bar and sigh. He looked up at the hockey game on the TV screen against the wall.

  "Everything okay?" I ask, tapping my nails against the glass.

  "Yeah, it's a little better."

  I smiled apologetically and he tried his best to smile back.

  I looked around the bar to find a girl in the corner of the fancy restaurant area stirring the straw in her drink as she stared at Dylan. I slowly turned my head back towards Dylan and rested my hand on his thigh. He looked down from taking a sip of his drink. He stared at my hand then smirked up at me.

  I moved my hair out of my face as I slowly slid my hand up his jeans towards the bulge in his tight pants. The girl sitting at the table was looking. I thought she would turn away but instead she stood up and started towards up.

  I removed my hand and Dylan reacted by pressing his hand on my thigh. Suddenly, he was started by a girl greeting herself very loudly.

  "Dylan?" she questioned in awe.

  Who the hell is this girl?

  "Ava?"

  "Wow, how long has it been?" She threw her hands around him in a hug.

  Dylan hugged her back. "Hey, I was a sophomore and you were a senior."

  "Already a year? Wow!"

  She was loud and it annoyed me. She annoyed me in general.

  They laughed for a minute straight as I sat there awkwardly. I was finally brought into the conversation when she asked who I was.

  "This is, Emily. My girlfriend." Dylan moved his hand to my back and I shook her hand.

  "Oh." Ava exhaled. I couldn't help but look at her from head to toe. She was wearing a sparkly gold dress with nude pumps. Her dress probably cost more than my college tuition.

  Girlfriend? He called me his girlfriend?

  Dylan nodded as Ava gripped the purse in her hand. I watched as her skin turned red.

  "Well," she said looking down at her wrist, acting as if she had a watch, "I better get going, my limo is waiting outside."

  Dylan sighed with relief as she exited through the doors.

  "Who was she?" I ask.

  "My ex," he groaned.

  I slowly nodded.

  "So we're. Dating?" I joke, drinking the last of my drink.

  Dylan smirked. "Half of me was just saying that to make her leave but the other half of me wants to."

  I nudged his shoulder. "Wow, you're so romantic."

  He held a finger in front of my face "Hey, I can be romantic!"

  "Oh really, I’d like to see you try." I laugh.

  "Fine." Dylan stood up from his bar stool and slammed his hand down on the wood, smiling. "I'll show you right now, come on."

  I slipped a tip down on the bar as Dylan dragged me out of the restaurant.

  We slipped into an elevator and he hit the highest floor. Once we reached the top floor, he ran towards the end of a hallway till we reached a door that read, 'roof entrance'. Dylan pushed the door open and we climbed up a flight of stairs.

  The roof was covered with sky windows. You could see inside the pent house.

  "Look," Dylan grabbed my hand and walked me over to the edge. I looked at where his finger was pointing. I could see the whole skyline from up this high.

  "See! Speechless, loss for words!" Dylan screamed into the wind.

  I hit him as he threw me over his shoulders and pretended as if he were going to throw me over the ledge. I screamed and punched his back as he spun me around. He tripped on the platform for a window that looked down at the whole hotel. You could see the lobby all the way on the bottom and the thirty floors below us.

  Dylan lay down on the glass and caught his breath, I was skeptical about joining him. I was scared the glass would break and Dylan and I would plummet to the bottom.

  "Lay down." Dylan patted the bare spot next to him.

  I bit my lip.
<
br />   "It won't break, I promise. It's, like, thirty feet thick."

  I carefully stepped on the glass and lay next to him. He pushed me into him and my cheek brushed against the fabric of his jacket.

  "How many stars do you see?" Dylan asked, blinking up at the black sky.

  I turned to face the bare night sky. I saw two but then one started to move across the dark sky and I realized it was an airplane.

  "Not many." I answer.

  "Do you know why?"

  I shook my head.

  "Because of pollution."

  I never really thought of how much smoke and fuel exhaustion went into the air. Never found it interesting but I kept listening.

  "People ruined lots of things. People ruin natural beauty." Dylan started, closing his eyes. "Nothing is beautiful anymore unless you're out in the middle of nowhere looking up at the sky."

  "Have you ever been to Vegas?" I ask.

  Dylan opened his eyes and turned to look at me. "No."

  "Do you know that when they're done with all those neon lights they just dump them in some big graveyard in the middle of the desert?" I started, "Don't you think that's sad? Abandoned, never lit up again."

  Dylan rested his hands behind his head and took a deep breath, "I'm going to find them one day. I can light them up."

  I laughed, and he smiled up at the darkness.

  "Is that even possible?"

  He shrugged.

  I think the alcohol was getting to us because our conversation was started to make no sense at all.

  "It's getting late. I think we should go to bed." I lifted my head up but he pulled me back down, pressing me against him again.

  "Wait," he said, "The funeral is tomorrow. I want you to come with me."

  I felt a knot in my stomach as the words came out of his mouth, "Okay."

  "One thing," Dylan lifted himself up. "My sister and my dad are going to be there and they might not be that nice of people."

  I furrowed my eyebrows. "You have a sister?"

  He slowly nodded his head.

  "How come you never mentioned her?" I ask, sitting up.

  "Because her and I don't get along. She sided with my dad on this whole situation ever since my mother was diagnosed."

  My lips parted.

  "If I go to the funeral with you will you go to the wedding with me?"

  He bit his lip. "I don't know, Emm."

  "Please!" I begged. "My mother won't be there."

  Dylan thought for a few minutes before agreeing.

  We quickly hopped down from the window and started back towards the door to the roof when my phone buzzed.

  "Who is it?" Dylan asked, holding the heavy door open for me.

  I looked down at the screen. "Jas, again."

  Dylan narrowed his eyes. "Just answer."

  I frowned. "Really?"

  He nodded.

  "Hello?" I answered.

  "Emily?" Jasmine shouted. "Where the hell are you?"

  I stayed silent as Dylan leaned against the wall with his bottom lip between fingers.

  "Emily, I almost called campus police!"

  "What? Why do you care about where I am?" I yelled.

  She stayed silent.

  "Occurring to you, we aren't friends anymore."

  "Just please tell me where you are." She begged.

  "That's none of your business." I answer, removing the phone from my ear and hanging up.

  Chapter 37

  Dylan and I checked out of the hotel room later that night. We decided that we should head back towards campus so we could change into a fresh pair of clothes and get ready for the funeral tomorrow afternoon. The valet in the front of the hotel handed me my keys and we started back towards the dorms.

  "You can just stay over at my place if you don't want to see Jasmine." Dylan offered, I was going to turn down his offer but I thought about how awkward it would be sharing the small space with her tonight. She would ask too many questions and we would get in a bigger fight then we're already in.

  "Okay, that does sound better then sleeping there." I hit my turn signal and turned into the dorm complex parking lot.

  "Let me get my things and I’ll be right down." I say, swinging open the car door and walking towards my room. The hallways were empty, after all, it was really late at night.

  I trudged up the stairs and pulled out my key. I slowly opened the door to reveal an empty room. I didn't notice the small sticky note on the ground until it got stuck to my shoe. I ripped it off the bottom of my boot and read: Don't worry about me, I’m across the hall.

  Not that you care anyway.

  -Jas

  I crumpled the note up in a ball and threw it in the trash. She was right. I didn't care at all anymore.

  I quickly stuffed extra clothes and the prettiest black dress I could find into a bag and grabbed my tooth brush and makeup.

  I quickly stepped out of the room and rushed down the hallway; paranoid that if I didn't leave fast enough I would run into Jas.

  I ran back out into the dark towards my car. I could see Dylan in the car, the light from his phone screen hitting his face.

  I threw my bag in the backseat and collapsed into the driver’s seat. I shut the car door and started the engine.

  "Was Jas there?" Dylan asked, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

  I shook my head. "She's staying with Ethan."

  "Well, that's good. At least you didn't run into her."

  I nodded. The car was silent for a few minutes, until Dylan broke the peaceful silence.

  "I can't believe I’m going to my mother’s funeral tomorrow." Dylan whispered, playing with his fingers in his lap.

  I reached over and entwined my hand with his. "It will be okay. Don't think about it that much."

  He nodded, never lifting his head up.

  I pulled into the driveway. Surprising the house was empty. Dylan and I were alone in the huge house.

  "I wonder where they all are." I asked as Dylan and I stood in the kitchen.

  He handed me a drink and took a sip of his. "Probably at some party."

  I took a sip of the mysterious substance. "True."

  I grabbed my bag off the floor. "I'm going to put this upstairs." I lift it over my shoulder and start towards the foyer.

  "I'll rent a movie for us to watch." Dylan says, disappearing into the living room.

  I nodded as I walked up the stairs. I walked down the long hallway and opened Dylan's room. His room was a complete disaster, clothing scattered across the floor and hanging out of draws, his cologne scattered across his dresser along with his lotion.

  I set my bag down on the chair by the door and shut the door behind me, not touching one thing. I didn't want to get him mad and I also didn't want to look through his stuff.

  I was about to shut the door when, I noticed a navy blue thong lying on the ground, rolled up in the sheets.

  My eyes widened, at first I thought it belonged to someone I had never met but then I remembered Jasmine telling me that she and Ethan had used Dylan's room.

  How do you forget to put your thong back on?

  I threw it in his trash bin underneath his desk and continued back downstairs. Dylan had already begun watching a movie.

  "What did you rent?" I asked. He was eating the popcorn he must have made minutes before.

  "300." He answered.

  I groaned, "I have to watch fighting the rest of the night."

  He smirked. "Yes!"

  I slouched back onto the couch and leaned my head against Dylan's shoulder. He offered me popcorn but I turned it down. I wasn't hungry.

  I must have fallen asleep at one point in the movie because Dylan woke me during the credits. The wood floor creaked as he was walking into the kitchen. I slowly lifted my head and he turned around, smiling.

  "Good morning, sunshine."

  I looked towards the window. It was hardly even light outside. "What time is it?"

  He looked at the clock o
n the stove in the kitchen. "Three in the morning."

  I stood up and walked over to him as he pulled me in for a hug. "If you want to sleep go upstairs to my bed."

  My face curled up in disgust. "I prefer the couch. You might want to wash your bed sheets."

  Dylan leaned his head back and cursed under his breath. "Ethan and Jasmine-"

  I cut him off. "Yeah, it's bad."

  "I'm gonna fucking kill him." Dylan said, sprinting upstairs towards him room.

  I couldn't help but laugh.

  I ran up after him, as I entered the room all of his dirty sheets were laying on the ground in a ball.

  "This is so gross." His mouth curled into a frown.

  "Here give them to me, I’ll wash them."

  I walked downstairs and made my way towards the laundry room, I threw a few sheets in the washing machine.

  I walked back out towards the living room to find Dylan lying on the couch.

  "We can share the couch? Unless you want to sleep in Max's room or something." Dylan said, resting his hands behind his head.

  I shook my head and lay next to him. The thought of sleeping in Max's room made me uncomfortable.

  "Goodnight," I whispered.

  "Night." Dylan whispered back, wrapped his arm around me and pulling me closer to his warm body underneath the covers.

  I sat in the car with Dylan. We were facing the cemetery. He stared blankly in front of him. He was wearing a black suit with a black dress top and black shoes. His skin was pale today and his eyes were a dull color of jade.

  "Dylan," I rested my hand on my shoulder, "the burial starts in ten minutes."

  He shook my hand off and nodded, "I know."

  "We should probably start walking over there." I tried my best to sound caring.

  He stepped out of the car and walked ahead of me, my heels stuck into the grass and I struggled to keep up with him. He had been fighting back tears ever since he woke up. I didn't blame him, though.

  As we approached everyone waiting and speaking, a young girl that looked just like Dylan approached him.

  "Imogen," Dylan sighed, "If this is about you telling me you were right. I don't want to hear it." Dylan began to walk away but she grabbed ahold of him.

  "I did tell you she would say she wanted to go when the time was right." Imogen whispered, "You did the right thing, Dylan."