It's Wednesday. Tuesday flew by and I never got the chance to ask for Dylan's number. I guess later at the book club would be the perfect time, I thought. I was so excited about going to Dylan's house that the day went by quickly. During study hall, Dylan passed me a note:
I'm excited to see you later.
I responded by saying:
Me too! Should I bring anything?
He passed it back to me and it said:
Nope!

After he passed it back to me, the bell rang and we walked out of the classroom together.

"See you later!" He said with a huge smile on his face.

"Bye, can't wait!" I said back. I walked to where my Aunt was parked in the parking lot and hopped into the front seat of the car.

"Hey, how was your day?" She asked me.

"It was good! It went by really quick though," I would never admit it was because of the book club later.

"Don't forget, we are going over to Mrs.O'Brien's house later."

How could I forget I thought.

"Right," I said pretending I forgot. After a few minutes of talking, we were home and I started my homework immediately so I would be ready to go later.

I finished my homework and had dinner and before I knew it, we were in the car again on our way to the O'Brien's house. On the way, I asked,"what book are you reading for your club?"

"The Great Gatsby" she replied.

"Do you like it so far?" I asked.

"It's amazing, maybe you could read it when I'm finished," she answered.

"That sounds like a good idea!" I said. By then, we were at the house.

Within a few seconds, a woman answered the door.

"Cassie! Please come in," she said. We walked into her house and it was comforting and welcoming at the same time.

"Hello Lisa. This is my niece, Nicole," Aunt Cassie said.

"Nice to meet you, Nicole."

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs.O'Brien," I replied.

"Oh, please," she said. "Call me Lisa. Whenever I hear Mrs.O'Brien, I feel so old." she said and laughed. "One second." She walked over to the staircase and yelled, "Dylan, Nicole is here!"

After she called up the stairs, I heard shuffling and Dylan appeared at the top of the staircase. "Hi Nicole," he said and motioned for me to go upstairs.

"Have fun reading," I said to them and waved as I went up the stairs. " Hey Dylan."

"Follow me," he said. As I followed him, I heard Lisa and Aunt Cassie talking. "I'm so glad they are friends," Lisa said. "Me too," my aunt said. "Especially since Nicole is going through such a hard time." The conversation grew quiet as I continued to follow Dylan.

We entered a room and he said, "Welcome to my man cave."

"Man cave?" I asked.

"Okay, it's more like a teenage boy cave," he said and started to blush a little.

"I like it," I said with a comforting smile. I noticed there was a lot of Mets memorabilia scattered around. "You like the Mets?" I asked looking around.

"Yeah, they are my passion. I would like to be the manager for their team one day. They inspire me so much. Did you know..." he stopped what he was saying and looked down. "Oh, I'm rambling again." he started to play with his fingers. "I'm sorry."

"I didn't think you were rambling," I said, comforting him. "I wanted to hear what you were going to say. I'm a die-hard Mets fan as well."

He looked up and said. "Well, did you know that the mascot was once a mule?"

"Really? I'm glad they changed it to Mr.Met," I said with a laugh. "Thanks for telling me that Dyl."

Then, I realized that I made a nickname for him, Dyl.

He noticed too because he said,"Huh, Dyl. I like that, but only when you say it." That made me happy to know that I could call him that. I never really had any nicknames for anyone throughout my life.

"Do you..." we both said at the same time which made us laugh.

"You first," he said.

"Okay, do you think I could have your number? So we could text each other?" I asked.

"Of course! I was actually about to ask you the same thing," he replied. We exchanged numbers and Dylan's contact name was:

Dylan O'Brien, the future manager of the Mets

When I showed it to him he laughed . He then showed me my contact name for his phone and it said:

Nicole Sparse, my partner in crime

That made me laugh, and that was one of the first times I've laughed that hard ever since I moved.

A little later in the night, I decided to tell him why I moved.

"Hey, Dyl, do you think we could talk about something a little bit more serious for a sec?" I asked.

"Of course." When he said that, he gave me a look that showed that he was listening.

"Okay so a few years ago, my dad passed away because of cancer. He didn't tell us he had it until a few days before he died."

"Oh my gosh, Nicole. I'm so sorry." He pulled me into a hug and I started to cry. I didn't know why I was being so emotional about this topic all of a sudden. Ever since I moved, every time I said it aloud was like I was experiencing it all over again. I cried on his shoulder and he was comforting me, just like a best friend.

"It's going to be okay, you don't need to talk about it until your ready, okay?" He was stroking his hands through my hair and it was comforting, something I hadn't felt in a long time.

"Thank you Dylan...For everything...I'm glad you're my best friend," I said in between sobs. After a few minutes of crying, I calmed myself down and stopped crying. My mascara was running and I felt terrible.

"I look like a hot mess," I said wiping away my final tears as we pulled out of the hug.

"No you, don't. You look beautiful." I smiled. He was so understanding and comforting and that was amazing. "There is a bathroom around the corner," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," I said and went into the bathroom. I cleaned off my face and met back up with Dylan. By then it was already 9:30 and it was time to leave. We went downstairs and Aunt Cassie was saying goodbye to everyone.

"Bye Dylan," I said. "Thanks for understanding and being there for me." I said with a smile and pulled him into another hug.

"I'm here for you Nicole, and that's all that matters." We pulled away and Aunt Cassie and I walked out the door.

"Good night!" I heard Dylan call out the door. I turned around and waved. I got into the car and we drove home.