┍━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┑
chapter seven
NINI AND DYLAN
┕━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━┙

(the storm pt i)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Dylan woke up the next morning, extremely tired. She had spent most of the night, writing the song EJ told her to and waiting for her dad to get home so she knew he was safe. When he eventually did get home, Sebastian saw Dylan sat on the floor of their living room and smiled before throwing a teddy at her head.

"You didn't think I would forgot did you?" Was what he said as she laughed at him. The man then stumbled up to bed, Dylan hearing him snoring not long after.

Dylan jumped awake when her alarm went off, her laying on her bed, notebook and pens sprawled next to her from the night before. She started to get ready when her phone rang. The brunette was confused as to who would be ringing her this early until she read caller id.

Her mother, Camilla Sanchez was phoning her and as much as she thought about letting it go to voicemail or declining the call, Dylan knew that her mum would simply continue to call and call and message and message until the girl answered. And so she pressed the green button and spoke to her mum.

Which was why, before going to rehearsals, Dylan was on a bench outside the school, snow falling around her, phone in her hand as she stared at the contact on the screen. She pressed the call button, the call going through to voicemail. Dylan sighed, thinking for a moment before deciding to leave a voicemail.

"Hey Nini. I know you're leaving for Denver soon and I probably shouldn't be calling you up and leaving you a voicemail to get all my feelings out but you're the only person who I've ever spoken to this about properly and you're the only one who understands it." Dylan sighed. "My mom phoned me this morning and she was really drunk and I'm pretty sure she was high too but phoned to tell me that she hoped I had a horrible Valentine's Day."

Dylan wiped a stray tear from her face. "I told her that my day was fine and then she went on a rant and told me that it shouldn't have been good or fine it should've been terrible because everyday since I was born her days have been terrible and it's my fault. She told me that she wished I was never born and I guess it's nothing I haven't heard before but then she said I didn't deserve any form of happiness."

Dylan placed her hand on her forehead as her leant her elbows on her knees, taking a deep breath and squeezing her eyes shut as if to not let anymore tears fall.

"And she's never said anything like that and I started to think, what if I don't deserve any happiness. I mean it's not like I'm the best person in the world, I'm literally burdening you while you're in a drama school with my silly problems and I have to go to rehearsals soon and they'll ask me what's wrong but I can't tell them because then I'll be burdening them and then I'll be on my own and..."

Dylan stopped, taking a few deep breaths when she began to hyperventilate. When she calmed down, she spoke once more.

"I just, everyone leaves in the end and I'm scared I'll be left alone, still here where you left me." Dylan spoke quietly, sighing. "This voicemail was a bad idea though so if you've listened all the way through I'm sorry for wasting your time, just forget about it and delete it, I'm okay."

Dylan then hung up the phone, putting it in her bag and wiping her tears. She grabbed her mini mirror, looking in it to see if she looked like she had been crying. When she was happy with her appearance, she forced a smile and made her way inside and towards the bomb shelter.

Dylan quickly looked around at everyone's happy faces before she turned around and walked back into the hallway. She made her way towards her own locker, sliding down the locker before she sat on the floor. Dylan swing her bag off her back, putting it in front of her as she grabbed her script - she didn't want to be with the group but that didn't mean she couldn't rehearse.

The girl sat there for a few minutes when Nini walked down the hallway. Dylan looked up when she heard footsteps, making eye contact with the girl and jumping up to hug her.

"I'd thought you would've left by now." Dylan spoke as she sat down again, Nini sitting next to her.

"I needed one more group hug." Nini explained. "But you weren't there so it wasn't the same."

The two looked at each other before Nini broke the silence. "I heard your voicemail."

"I told you to forget it." Dylan told her.

"I'm not gonna forget something like that." Nini looked towards the girl. "You know just because I'm in Denver doesn't mean I'll ever forget you, right?"

"I hope so."

"No, Dylan Valdez, you are my best friend in the entire world and we have gone through so much I'm never going to forget you, no matter where I am in the world and I knew that from the day we met, okay?" Nini reassured her firmly. "If everyone else leaves you, you will always have me. Always."

Dylan let out a wet laugh, "I love you."

"I love you too." The two girls smiled when a piece of paper caught Nini's attention, "Hey, this is the first song we wrote together."

Dylan looked over the girl's shoulder, nodding along. "You're right."

"For old time's sake, one last time." Nini looked towards Dylan who nodded.

"Let's do it."

"I didn't know what you were going through" Nini began to sing as the sat in the hallway. The two friends wrote the song when they were young, it being based off a project they were doing or something but the lyrics matched their situation scarily well. "I thought that you were fine. Why did you have to hide?"

"I didn't want to let you down but the truth is out." Dylan sang, as they held hands. "It's tearing me apart, not listening to my heart."

"I really had to go." Dylan nodded as Nini sang.

"And I would never stop you." Dylan shook her head.

"Even though it changed?"

"Nothing has to change." Dylan sang as they stared at each other before starting the chorus they both knew so well.

"And you can find me in the space between, where two worlds come to meet." The two sang together as Dylan leant her head of Nini's shoulder. "I'll never be out of reach. 'Cause you're a part of me so you can find me in the space between. You'll never be alone, no matter where you go. We can meet in the space between."

Dylan lifted her head, looking towards her best friend as she sang alone once again. "And nothing can stay the same. It's growing pains."

"Be proud of all the scars. They make you who you are." Nini sang, holding Dylan's hand in her own once more. The two girls stood up, Dylan having already placed everything in her bag as they began the next verse "I know you have to stay."

"But I'll never really leave you." Dylan sang. When Kourtney told Nini she had sent her application into YAC, Nini had spoke to Dylan, the Valdez girl extremely excited for her friend's success. Nini knew something was wrong with Dylan and when Dylan expressed her scaredness of her friend forgetting her and finding other friends, Nini suggested Dylan try and audition for YAC too. Of course, Dylan declined, knowing she could never leave East High.

"Nothing has to change." Nini sang before Dylan joined the two singing over each other.

"Even though it changed." The two began to walk in opposite directions, their hands dropping as they did.

"And you can find me in the space between, where two worlds come to meet. I'll never be out of reach, cause you're a part of me so you can find me in the space between. You'll never be alone no matter where you go." The two best friends sang together before standing at opposite ends of the cafeteria. "We can meet in the space between."

"There are no words left to say." Nini sang as the came to stand next to each other once more, singing to each other at the top of the cafeteria balcony.

"I know you gotta find your place." Dylan sang, the two now tearing up as they sang.

"But this is not the end." Nini sang, shaking her head.

"No." Dylan harmonized. "You're part of who I am."

"Even if we're worlds apart." Dylan once again rested her head on Nini's shoulder, the two holding hands before they turned to look at each other once more. "You're still in my heart it will always be you and me yeah."

The two girls pressed their foreheads together, smiling as they sang. Both girls then belted out the high note before making their way to opposite ends, both walking down either staircase in sync.

"You can find me in the space between." Dylan sang.

"Where two worlds come to meet." They sang together.

"I'll never be out of reach." Dylan sang holding an arm out towards Nini.

"I'll never be out of reach." Nini sang, doing the same, her singing higher than Dylan.

"'Cause you're a part of me so you can find me in the space between." They sang together as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"You'll never be alone." Nini shook her head, walking around the tables.

"No matter where you go." Dylan harmonized, doing the same.

"We can meet in the space between, yeah." The two girls harmonized, smiling at each other.

"No matter where you go." Dylan sang, sitting at one of the tables.

"No matter where you go." Nini repeated, standing not too far from her.

"We can meet in the space between." The song finished as the two girls stared at each other before Nini huffed, sitting down next to Dylan.

"It's okay, boys are idiots." Dylan spoke up, turning to Nini.

The two remembered the day they met like it was yesterday. They were in kindergarten and they had a trip for the young ones to go and visit East High School. During their lunch, the kids were allowed to sit in the cafeteria and after Nini had an argument with Ricky she slumped down in the nearest table, coincidently next to Dylan who was sat alone.

Now Dylan wasn't shy by any means, she would speak up and state her opinion wherever she wanted but back in kindergarten that didn't make her a lot of friends — well none in fact hence why she was sat alone. It was also the reason she leant over and made the boys are stupid comment, praying that the pretty girl who actually like her.

" Yeah, especially that one." Nini replied, shrugging just as she did many years before. "You're cool."

"So are you." Dylan nodded. Dylan remembers feeling so happy that the girl agreed with her that she thought she'd die from happiness.

"We're friends now, I'm Nini." Nini held her hand out for Dylan to shake, which she did hesitantly, alarmed but happy with the girls sudden friendship.

"Dylan."

"We're going to be the best of friends, I can feel it." Nini cried, holding her hand over her chest just as she did before.

"I love you Neens." Dylan spoke through tears.

"I love you too Dyl." Nini nodded, hugging the girl when Miss Jenn walked in, telling Nini they had to go.

"Have fun in Denver, tell me everything that happens." Dylan ordered, letting go off the hug.

"You have fun with this crazy lot." Nini smiled, both of them wiping their tears as Nini walked towards the door.

"I'll try." Dylan laughed. Nini stepped towards the door, turning around when she reached it to wave goodbye once more, both secretly knowing they didn't want her to leave.

Once Nini finally left the cafeteria, Dylan took a breath looking around. She was just starting to feel alone when two voices calling her name caught her attention.

"Dylan!"

"What are you doing?" Dylan turned to see Ashlyn and Gina running down the stairs as if they had been looking everywhere for her.

"Nothing much." Dylan told them.

"Well come on you're supposed to be at rehearsals! We can't do it without you." Ashlyn told her, the two girls linking arms with Dylan and guiding her out of the room.

As the three friends walked down the hallway towards the bomb shelter, Dylan realised that no matter what her mum said, she did deserve happiness and she would never be alone. Because, EJ was right — though she'd never admit that aloud — she had the best support system and the best friends in the world, who knew her and would never leave her behind.

They loved her and she loved them and she wouldn't have it any other way.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗟 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦
i LOVE nini and dylan's friendship theyre the literal best !!
also this was a bit of insight into dylans relationship with her mum
credit to this idea goes to @rafealacamimorais