Something New

by Amanda Abram

  I could sympathize with that last part. I could relate to it. But the fact that this realization of his had come after Dylan was all packed and ready to go to Seattle was too much for me to handle.

  “You are unbelievable, Elijah,” I muttered. I laughed humorously as I slowly shook my head back and forth.

  He arched and eyebrow in confusion. “Huh?”

  “I said you’re unbelievable!” I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation as I brushed past him. I didn’t even want to look at him, I was so mad. “You’re too late, Elijah.”

  “Cassie—” Elijah said, but once again, I wasn’t going to let him talk.

  “Why couldn’t you have just talked to Dylan after everything happened? You two could have talked things through. You could have worked things out.”

  “Cassie—”

  “And why couldn’t you have realized all of this sooner?” I asked through clenched teeth. I closed my eyes tightly and pulled at my hair with both hands. “Before you took everything from him? His friends. His best friend.” I swallowed hard before quietly adding, “And me.”

  “Cassie—”

  “Because of you, Dylan is leaving. And he’s never. Coming. Back.”

  “Cass.”

  “You—” I began but I stopped. My eyes flew open as my breath hitched in my throat. For a moment, I did nothing but blindly stare ahead at the dimly lit hallway in front of me. I slowly let go of my hair and dropped my hands to my sides. My bottom lip quivered as everything began to sink in.

  The voice I had just heard say my name wasn’t Elijah’s.

  It was Dylan’s.

  Quickly, I spun around to see him standing a few feet away, behind Elijah. He, too, was dressed in a suit and tie, although I could tell he had taken more time to get ready than Elijah had. Even his normally unruly hair had been tamed, making him look less like a lumberjack and more like a GQ model.

  Seeing Dylan again was bittersweet. Sweet because I literally thought when I left his house earlier that I would never see him again, and bitter because seeing him one more time did nothing but remind me of just how much I was going to miss him.

  “Dylan,” I croaked. “What are you doing here?”

  I noticed then that his chest was heaving, and he was struggling to catch his breath, as if he had just run the entire way here from his house.

  “I have something I need to say,” he managed to get out. He pointed between me and Elijah. “To both of you.”

  “Wait, Dylan,” Elijah began, taking a step toward him, but Dylan held his hand out to stop him.

  “No. I need to get this off my chest.” He began to pace back and forth in front of us. “Cass, after you left my house, I had a long talk with my dad. He could tell something was up between us, so I told him about everything that had happened over the last few weeks. About how I fell for my best friend’s girl and about how I lost both of you because of that. He assumed that was why I’d made the decision to move with him. And he was right.”

  “Dylan,” Elijah interjected again.

  “Please, let me finish.” He stopped pacing and ran a hand through his hair, returning it back to its normal, untamed state. “I made the stupid, rash decision to move to Seattle because I lost my best friend, and I could no longer be with the girl I wanted so desperately to be with. What was the point of staying here if I’d lost everything that was important to me? But then my dad told me that the solution to a problem is never to just run away from it. He told me that I needed to fight for what I wanted. So, that’s what I’m here to do.”

  “Dylan,” Elijah said with a sigh. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “No, I do,” Dylan disagreed. “Because I don’t want to move to Seattle. What I want is my best friend back. What I want is to be with the girl I love.” He turned to face me, and when his pained eyes connected with mine, we were suddenly the only two people in the hallway. Maybe even the world.

  “I love you, Cass,” he said, his voice low and tired.

  My breath hitched in my throat as a fresh wave of tears sprung to my eyes. This was the second time in a month I’d heard those three little words spoken to me by a boy. For Elijah, it took ten months of dating me and then one night of kissing his ex-girlfriend to make him say it. For Dylan, it simply took the threat of us never seeing each other again; something neither of us seemed to be okay with.

  Because I wanted to be with him.

  And he wanted to be with me.

  “Dylan,” I whispered as he took a step closer.

  “Maybe now is not the right time for us,” he said, “but I’m willing to wait around until it is. And not while I’m three thousand miles away and three hours behind.”

  My eyes widened as I stared up at him. As I slowly began to process what he said. “Wait, are you saying you’re not moving after all?”

  A small smile played at Dylan’s lips. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Cass, I can’t leave you.”

  I couldn’t help what happened next. I was so overcome with a flood of emotions—surprise, joy, relief—that I lost all ability to think; all I could do was react. And before I could stop myself, I was lunging forward, raising myself up on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck, and pressing my lips firmly against his.

  Dylan slid his arms around my back and pulled me closer; so close I could barely breathe, but I was okay with that. I was in his arms. His lips were on mine. And he wasn’t moving to Seattle anymore. Breathing could wait a few more seconds.

  It wasn’t until Elijah cleared his throat behind us that we finally broke apart.

  Elijah. I’d forgotten he was even there. Apparently, so had Dylan. As he slowly turned around, a look of guilt washed over his face.

  “Look, Elijah,” he said. “I’m sorry. I—”

  “Save it,” Elijah said sternly, cutting him off.

  I held my breath as I waited for him to react. I didn’t know what to expect. Sure, he had apologized to me a few minutes earlier and admitted he’d been a jerk about everything, but did he still stand by what he said? Or was he still angry and upset at the idea of me and Dylan being together?

  The answer came not in words but in actions. But instead of punching Dylan like the first time he saw us kiss, this time Elijah stalked over to Dylan and…hugged him. He threw his arms around him and proceeded to hold him tighter than I think even I had.

  Dylan stood perfectly still at first, looking as shocked as I felt, until finally, he slowly began to return the embrace.

  “I’m glad you’re not leaving, man,” Elijah said before giving Dylan a hard slap on the back and then pulling away.

  Dylan stared at him, slack-jawed. “Are you serious?”

  Elijah nodded solemnly. “Yes, I’m serious. Look, Cassie knocked some sense into me tonight, and she made me realize a lot of things—mainly that I was being a jerk.” With a heavy sigh, he hung his head low and stared down at the floor. “Dylan, I’m sorry. For everything. For how I reacted when I found out about you and Cassie. For accusing you of stealing her from me. For hitting you. For trying to turn the guys against you. That was wrong of me—all of it. I was being selfish and immature, and honestly, I’d understand if you never forgave me for any of it. But I’m telling you I’m sorry anyway, because I truly am.”

  Dylan appeared to mull over the apology as Elijah watched him, waiting for his response with pleading eyes. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Dylan inhaled deeply and held his breath for a few seconds before letting it back out.

  “It’s okay. I forgive you.” He held out his hand to Elijah, so they could shake on their truce, but then he quickly retracted it. “Wait. First, I need you need to forgive me.”

  I could tell by the look on Elijah’s face that it wasn’t going to be easy for him. Sure, he had admitted to being a jerk. Sure, he didn’t want Dylan to move away. But I knew deep down, a part of him still felt wronged by Dylan. And until he could fully let that go, their truce would mean nothing.

 
“I’m sorry I acted on my feelings for Cass, even though I knew you were still in love with her,” Dylan said. “I should have talked to you first. I should have explained everything—”

  “You didn’t have to explain anything,” Elijah interrupted with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You know, at first, the two of you together made no sense to me. But then I really started to think about it, and I realized you two are perfect for each other. You get along so well. You have fun together. You work well together. And the way you look at each other…” He smiled sadly as his voice trailed off.

  “It’s how you and Hannah used to look at each other,” Dylan finished for him.

  Blushing slightly, Elijah cleared his throat and said, “Well, anyway, what I’m trying to say is that while it might still take me some time to get used to the two of you, you know, being together, I can accept it. And I forgive you.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I just want my best friend back.”

  Dylan grinned. “I want that too.” He extended out his hand again, and Elijah took it this time. They performed their classic handshake of a palm slap, a backhand slap, a fist bump and finger snaps, and then ended it with another quick hug.

  And just like that, they were friends again. All was not necessarily forgotten, but it was forgiven. It probably helped that I had made Elijah recognize that his feelings of love were more for Hannah than they were for me. He knew now that Dylan never stole the girl he really wanted to be with. And I was okay with that.

  Despite everything I’d been through with Elijah, I wanted him to be happy. Hopefully, he’d be happy with Hannah again someday.

  Elijah pulled away from Dylan and raked a hand through his hair. “Well, um, my work here is done. I’ll leave you two alone now.” He glanced between me and Dylan. “Have fun in there tonight.”

  He turned to leave, but stopped when I asked, “Where are you going?”

  “Home, probably,” he replied.

  “But why? I mean, you’re dressed for the occasion. Albeit kind of sloppily.”

  Elijah chuckled as he looked down at his outfit. “Yeah, I was in a hurry when I left the house.”

  I took a step forward. “You know, there’s somebody in there right now that I’m sure would love to dance with you right now.”

  A touch of light pink colored his cheeks as his eyes shot over to the entrance of the gym. “Do you really think so?”

  I nodded with a small smile. “I know for a fact.”

  I could see the hesitation on his face, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the hope that was also there. The hope that maybe he and Hannah could start over and try again.

  “Maybe I’ll stay for a little while,” he said with a shrug. “The guys are in there, anyway.”

  I smirked. “Right. The guys.”

  He returned the smirk as he brushed past me and Dylan. “Wish me luck,” he whispered so only I could hear.

  I gave him a thumbs-up and he disappeared into the gym.

  “What about me?” Dylan asked behind me as soon Elijah was gone.

  “What about you?” I asked, turning back around.

  “Is there somebody in there who would love to dance with me?”

  I gave him a wicked grin as I glanced over my shoulder at the entrance to the gym. “In there? No. Out here, though, maybe.”

  Dylan put on his best hurt expression. “Just ‘maybe’?”

  “Yeah, well, it really all depends on how brave you are.” I pointed down to his feet. “Those don’t look like steel toe shoes.”

  “Oh, they’re not. But I’m willing to take my chances.”

  “Famous last words,” I said with a giggle.

  He chuckled and motioned his head toward the gym. “Shall we?”

  I smiled and linked my arm with his in response. As soon as we stepped through the doorway, I stopped and glanced up at him. “So, you’re really not moving to Seattle anymore?”

  “Nope,” he said with a shake of his head. “You’re stuck with me now.”

  “I could think of worse fates.” I removed my arm from his and grabbed his hand instead, leading him over to an empty spot on the dance floor.

  “So, what was that all about back there?” Dylan asked. “Who wants to dance with Elijah?”

  I turned to him and clasped my fingers around the back of his neck. “I’ll give you three guesses.”

  He only had to think about it for literally one second. “Hannah?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Does she still have feelings for him?”

  “Big time.”

  “And does he still have feelings for her?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Dylan smiled as he slipped his hands around my back and pulled me close. Slowly we began to sway back and forth to the music. “So, you’re saying Lauren’s plan actually worked?”

  “Lauren’s plan?” I scoffed. “Lauren didn’t do anything. This was all me. I’m the one who made Elijah realize he was still in love with Hannah, and that he never really fell out of love with her.”

  Dylan studied me for a moment. “Really? And how does that make you feel?”

  I rested my head on his shoulder. “A little over a month ago, it would have made me feel terrible. But now, I feel relieved. I wasn’t just imagining things all that time; it’s comforting to know I wasn’t going crazy. Besides—” I lifted my head to gaze up at him. “It lets us off the hook. Now we don’t have to feel guilty about being together. That is, if you still want to be together.”

  He reached out his hand and ruffled my hair. “Of course, I still want to be together, snuggle kitten. I came here tonight to fight for you, remember?”

  Normally, I would have cringed at a nickname like that; but right now, it was like music to my ears. However, two could play that game. “Oh, that’s right,” I said sweetly. “I remember now, Dilly bean.”

  Dylan stopped moving to the music and pried me off him, holding me out at arm’s length. “Sorry, but I draw the line at ‘Dilly bean’.”

  I laughed. “After all the ridiculous nicknames you’ve called me over the last month, I’m not allowed to call you even one in return?”

  “Nope.”

  “How is that fair?”

  “It just is.”

  “Okay, then you need to stop calling me nicknames.”

  “Nope.”

  “Ugh.” I gave him my best mock glare and he pulled me back in.

  “I’m never going to stop giving you cute little nicknames,” he murmured against my ear. “Deal with it, Briggs.”

  I shivered as I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck. “I suppose I could maybe get used to them after a while.”

  The truth was, I already had.

  He planted a gentle kiss on the top of my head. “Good. I’m glad.”

  I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes. “I’m so happy you’re not leaving.”

  “Me too.”

  “I don’t know what I would have done if you’d actually still gone.”

  “Ah, you would have been fine,” he said. “It might have taken years, maybe decades, to get over me, but I’m sure you would have gotten there eventually.”

  I snorted. “I think I would have missed your modesty the most.”

  Dylan chuckled as I pulled back slightly.

  “So, um,” I said nervously, “about what you said earlier. That you, you know—”

  “That I love you?” he said bluntly.

  “Yeah, that.” I searched his face, looking for any possible traces of regret. I found none. “Did you really mean it?”

  Reaching up, he brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “With all my heart.”

  I beamed up at him. “Well, then, I guess it’s only fair that I tell you I—”

  My declaration was halted by Dylan’s index finger pressing against my lips. “Shh,” he said. “You don’t have to feel like you need to say that to me right now. After all, we were only together for a few days our first time around
, and we just got back together literally only minutes ago. Save it for a special occasion. For the right moment.”

  But every moment with Dylan now felt like the right moment because I did love him.

  I had almost lost the opportunity to tell him that. I wasn’t going to make that same mistake twice.

  “Dylan, I love you, too,” I said boldly. “And I don’t care if it’s too early for us to be saying that. This is the right moment. And you can disagree with me all you want, but—”

  My words were cut off as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a simple but sweet kiss. It was gentle, tender, and just innocent enough to keep the chaperones at bay. But by the way his grip tightened on me, I knew we’d be doing this again later—without a room full of our friends and teachers watching us.

  I couldn’t wait.

  When we finally broke apart, our eyes locked, and we smiled.

  “Who said I disagreed?” he asked softly, resting his forehead against mine.

  My heart danced inside my chest and a wave of butterflies fluttered back to life inside my stomach. “You really are whipped,” I whispered with a smirk.

  Dylan chuckled. “You’re damn right I am,” he whispered back.

  The slow song ended and was replaced with another upbeat dance track, but we stayed in our embrace in the middle of the dance floor anyway. Maybe some of the other kids were giving us weird looks for still dancing slowly to a fast song, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was that Dylan was here with me right now. He was in my arms once again.

  And this time, I wasn’t letting him go.

  EPILOGUE

  “I can’t wait to see how I did on my project,” Lauren said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. “I’m pretty sure I nailed it.”

  “I’m sure you did great,” I said. Even though I was talking to Lauren, I was staring across the classroom at Dylan, who was busy scribbling something in his notebook and therefore not paying any attention to me.

  Lauren leaned over to me and whispered, “Why don’t you just take a picture? It will last longer.”