Once we left the classroom, Dylan looked at our hands and quickly let go realizing how awkward it was. We walked out of the school and followed a path that led into the woods.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"This is just an easier way to get to the place I want to show you," Dylan replied with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Alright..." I laughed at how vague he was being. After a few minutes of silently walking, I decided to say something. "So, Dylan, how long have you been living in this area?"
"All my life, I love it here, though. It's the perfect setting for everything I enjoy," he responded. "Why did you move?"
"Umm..." I looked down. I know I can trust him, but am I ready to talk about it to someone else?
"It's okay, if you feel uncomfortable, you don't need to tell me," he said with a comforting smile.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's because I don't know if I'm ready to talk about it with someone else yet," I said trying to sound polite. I looked up and gave him a small smile, trying to let him know that everything is okay.
"That's totally fine, if you ever need anyone to talk to about it, I'm here for you." He gave me a sweet smile. We then reached the end of the woods and we reached a nice park. The grass was a bright green and there was a beautiful pond with swans and ducks in it.
"Wow Dylan... This is beautiful!" I couldn't find any words, the view made me speechless. There was definitely nothing like this in Nevada.
"I know, this is where I usually go when I need some peace or time to think." We just stood there and looked at the view for a few minutes, it was breathtaking.
"Come here," he motioned me to follow him, and I did. He sat down on the grass overlooking the lake and I sat next to him.
"How often do you come here?" I asked.
"As often as I can," he replied. "There isn't any other place in New York that is quite this beautiful." He took a deep breath, and so did I, taking it all in.
I snapped out of my thoughts when he said,"We should probably start heading back, it's getting a little late."
I looked at the time at my phone and I agreed, it was starting to get late. He stood up and offered his hand to me and helped me get up. "Thanks," I said while brushing the grass off of my pants.
We started to leave the park, but not through the woods this time. We walked on the sidewalk and talked about a bunch of random stuff. Wow, Dylan was so funny, bright and has a great personality.
I think we are going to be friends for a while since we get along so well and understand each other.
"Where is your house?" He asked.
"34 Beacon Road," I replied.
"Mine is just around the corner, I'll walk you to your house."
"No, it's fine, Dylan. You don't need to do that."
"I insist," he replied.
Next thing I knew, we were standing in front of my house. I looked over at him and he looked shocked and a little overwhelmed.
"It's my aunt's house, I live with her now and I'm still not used to it," I said trying to make him realize that I was still overwhelmed, even though I lived there.
"Well," he said breaking the awkwardness. "I'll see you tomorrow at school!"
"See ya," I replied. I walked up to the door and before I opened it, I turned around and waved to him. He waved back and I went inside.
   "Aunt Cassie! I'm home," I said.
   "Oh!" She said running down the stairs. "How was your first day of school? I want to hear everything!"
   I decided not to tell her about the girls cutting my hair, I thought she would overreact. Anyway, it's not that noticeable. "Well, I met this really nice boy named Dylan and..."
   "O'Brien?" She asked cutting me off.
   "Yeah, why?" I asked confused.
   "I'm really good friends with his mom! We go to the same book club every Wednesday. I'm glad your friends with him."
Me too. I thought to myself and a smile started to spread across my face. "Anyway, Dylan showed me around the neighborhood and he brought me to this really beautiful park and I was completely speechless."
   "It sounds like you had a great day!"
Except for the whole hair incident. I thought, but oh well, I had better things to think about, like my amazing time with Dylan after school.
   "You know what," Aunt Cassie said interrupting my thoughts. "Mrs.O'Brien is holding the next book club meeting at her house, why don't you come with me so you can hang out with Dylan?"
   "That would be great!" I replied trying to hide how excited I was on the inside. Happiness just filled my body and I hoped it wasn't too noticeable.
   "Let me go text her and ask if that's okay."
   "Okay!" Just then, I realized I didn't have Dylan's number. Would it be too soon to ask? I'll try to find the perfect time to ask tomorrow.
   After I finished my homework, it was time for dinner. I sat on the stool at the island in the kitchen. Aunt Cassie placed a plate of steak and carrots in front of me and she sat down next to me.
   "Thank you so much for dinner, Aunt Cassie."
   "You're welcome, Nicole. It's the least I can do."
   I looked over to her and smiled. She smiled back, but I saw sadness in her eyes. We never really talked about the situation that caused me to move, but I still wasn't ready to talk about it.
   After we talked for a bit and we finished our dinner, I decided to go upstairs and unpack a little.
  As I was unpacking, I came across the same bear my dad got me when I was packing to leave.
  I hugged it as hard as I could and whispered, "Oh Daddy, I miss you so much. I wish you were here to protect me and tell me everything is going to be okay." A small tear fell down my face and it didn't stop there. Within a few seconds, I was crying as much as when I heard the news that he passed away.
  "Come here," I heard a voice behind me say. I turned around and Aunt Cassie was standing in the doorway of my bedroom. I got up and ran over to her, crying even more. "Shhh," she said soothingly and brushed her hands through my hair. "It's going to be okay sweetie, it's going to be okay."
   I looked up at her and I realized that she was crying too.
   I went to bed that night thinking about the events that happened that day. The girls bullying me, Dylan standing up for me, him showing me the park, and my aunt and I having an emotional moment with each other. Even though I basically restarted my life, that doesn't mean it is going to be easy.