Dylan

Yawning, I struggled to pry my eyes open to keep my eyes on the lecture board in front of me.

The words seemed to be swirling into one too bright blur that was stinging my sleep-deprived eyes. Rubbing them with the back of my fist, an article sprung to mind about how  people rubbing their eyes was actually bad for them because it put pressure on your brain... Or something along those lines. I needed to stop doing that.

The lecture seemed to drag on all day in my sleepy state and I was kicking myself for bothering to even show up in the first place. It wasn't like I took any of it in.

"You look stoned."

Blinking away the blurriness, I realised Kai had plopped himself in the seat across from me in the dining hall. After my lecture had ended, I had moved here on autopilot. I vaguely registered Kai sitting down, but not really.

"Tired." I replied through a yawn.

"Doing what, exactly?" Kai tried wagging his eyebrows at me but couldn't quite pull it off.

I frowned, not quite sure what he was implying by that.

"Were you talking to Alex?" Kai cooed, making me bop my head.

"Yes, we had a lot to say. He's a really interesting guy and he has a vintage console at his place that he's going to show me." I gushed, excited.

"Who knew your perfect match would be an A-list celebrity?" Kai clicked his tongue, "You jammy dodger." 

As if on queue, my phone chimed with a text. 

Alex: I enjoyed talking last night. A lot. Make sure you get yourself a vanilla milkshake to perk yourself up- I'm knackered. x

"I cannot get over the fact you are casually texting the Alex Hill on our lunch break." Kai cawed, "No wonder everyone is staring at you."

"They are?" I scrunched up my nose, glancing around.

In my daze, I hadn't realised it but there was, indeed, quite a few people staring our way. 

"Why?" I kept my voice down, confused about what was happening.

"Dylan, you were seen getting into Alex goddamn Hill's car yesterday." 

All of the eyes on me and the whispers beginning to creep up in volume made me a little uncomfortable. I kind of wish Kai had left me in my ignorant bliss because now I couldn't ignore it. Why would anybody care whether I had climbed into his car or not? I began to shake my hands, wringing them, trying to calm myself down.

"I have a scandalous idea, Dylan." Kai cooed, "I know it's not the routine, but why don't we skip our afternoon lectures and take a walk down by the fountain. It should be quiet this time of day."

Glancing around the canteen once again, I slowly nodded. I couldn't think of anything worse than having to sit around staring eyes for the rest of today. I think the fountain and some fresh air was exactly what I needed.

Kai grabbed my lunchbox and waited for me to get up from my seat before pulling me along. Usually I would oppose to the unnecessary contact, but I let him since he was being a good friend and helping me avoid this weird attention I was getting.

"Let's study and chat about your new love life." Kai hummed, "It'll be a nice afternoon, I promise, so don't worry."

Nodding, I steadied myself on me feet and began to keep up with Kai instead of just being dragged along. The walk to the fountain was short and I found myself calming down from my heightened state with every step we took. 

"So, other than video games, what did you guys talk about last night?" Kai asked.

"Lots of different things. He told me about work, his sister, his usual routine and his personal trainer." 

"It feels so surreal that we're talking about the same Alex Hill, Dylan." Kai sighed, "Props to you for not totally freaking out. I'd be freaked."

Looking down at my feet, I studied my shoes as we walked. I had a vague suspicion that there would be more social media stuff out there by now, just like what Kai had shown me last night. 

"Kai, what kinds of things are they saying online?" 

I knew that he would have spent all of last night keeping up with it all.

"People are trying to dig for more information on you." Kai knew to tell me the truth, "You're pretty lucky you're a hermit because nobody can find much, but they are trying. People get weirdly possessive over celebrities, I wouldn't threat too much on it. It'll blow over and you'll be old news, I promise."

I took my usual seat on the fountain wall and let the sound of the water trickling calm me. 

Kai took out his notebook and began to scribble away while I rummaged in my bag for my law textbook. Flipping, absent minded, through the pages, I groaned at how little I knew. I was royally screwed for my upcoming exams.

"Kai, Dylan?" 

Both of our heads whipped up, looking at who had addressed us. 

Nate stood there, looking rugged in a way that Kai would call handsome. Blinking, I made sure that it was actually him in front of us. I was incredibly tired, after all. 

"Hi, Nate." Kai replied, his voice an octave higher than usual.

I nodded at Nate, too drained by this point to talk. A lot had been happening today and it was getting to be a bit overwhelming. 

"Do you two mind if I join you? I've got studying to get on with for exams, too." Nate rubbed the back of his neck and looked right at Kai, despite addressing both of us.

I glanced between the two, my eyes narrowing. Since when were they chummy? 

"Sure thing, take a seat." Kai scooted over, his arm brushing mine.

I scooted over to give him room, rubbing my elbow where it had brushed Kai.

Silence fell over the three of us as Nate settled down with his laptop, typing away on some essay. Wringing my hands, I focused on the water, instead. The sound way very relaxing but I couldn't wrap my head around why on earth Nate was here all of a sudden.

Tuning back into the people around me, I realised that the silence that had settled was not the comfortable silence that Alex and I had but rather the awkward kind. Kai had a pink tinge to his cheeks and was bouncing his knee repeatedly, which I found rather annoying as it kept hitting the book I had on my lap.

Taking out my phone, I tried to shift my focus. I realised I hadn't texted Alex back and frowned, feeling bad about it.

Me: Sorry, I was walking with Kai. People at Uni are staring at me... I feel very empathetic. x

Alex's reply was almost instant.

Alex: Empathetic? x

Me: You know, I feel sorry that you have to put up with all of the attention. I can imagine it can be very frustrating. x

Alex: I miss you. x

I bit my lip, feeling my insides surge with that strange, addictive feeling. It didn't feel quite real that Alex was a person that liked me. It had never happened to me before and Alex was so wildly attractive and endearing that I felt pure adrenaline whenever he said those sweet things to me.

"Flirting with lover boy?" Kai teased, peering over my shoulder.

I glanced at Nate and blushed, embarrassed at the public address of my not-relationship with Alex.

"You're seeing somebody?" Nate asked, taking me back.

I didn't think Nate would actually take Kai's teasing bait. He seemed genuinely, casually, interested. Kai looked at me with a look, as if asking if I was okay if he shared it. Half of the Uni knew anyway, so it wasn't exactly a secret. I nodded.

"Alex Hill." Kai whispered, beaming.

Nate cocked an eyebrow, looking at me with an incredulous look. I looked down at the floor, studying the lines on my trainers. They needed a wash after all of the muddy path walking in the park.

"You're pulling my leg, right?" 

"No, seriously. Dylan didn't even know who he was and they hit it off in some meet cute. It's seriously mind blowing. I mean, what a hottie. I'm jealous, Dyls."

It felt weird to be spoken about like this, let alone to Nate. At least the conversation had broken the awkward silence between them.

"Whatever." Nate huffed, returning to his book.

Even I could tell that Nate was suddenly being very hostile towards us. Kai glanced at me and mouthed 'what the hell' but I didn't know what to say. That was very bizarre. Nate then, very suddenly, slammed his book shut. The sudden sound made me jump and my hands twitched, wanting to cover my ears.

"Shit, sorry, Dylan." Nate apologised, awkwardly.

It seemed like his sudden anger was gone again.

"It's fine." I wrung my hands, bopping my head.

I rose to my feet and hesitated on the spot, feeling bad about leaving Kai with Nate.

"I'm actually going to head back to my dorm to nap. I didn't sleep much last night." I made my excuse, ducking my head and quickly leaving.

The atmosphere there was too tense for me to handle. I didn't glance back at Kai because I'd feel too guilty, but I also couldn't stay without losing my head. Maybe I was a bad friend.

Letting myself into the flat and then into my room, I collapsed face first into my pillows. The room was dark, with the curtains pulled, and I fully intended to lay there for the rest of the afternoon.

That was, until a phone ringing took my attention away from the abyss of sleep. My phone, that is.

I groaned, internally, not wanting to speak to anybody else today. My social battery was well and truly drained. That was, however, until I saw Alex's name flash up on the screen. I hit the answer button immediately.

"Dylan? Sorry, it's Alex, am I interrupting something?" 

"No, not at all." I reassured him, sitting up on my bed.

"I'm sorry about the I miss you thing. It's been a long while since I've dated anyone and I suppose I forgot that kind of thing comes across a certain way, as Jake keeps telling me. I just thought I'd be honest and tell you that you were on my mind a lot."

I let him speak, listening quietly to him rant. It was hard to believe that this man had been single for so long.

"I miss you too." Alex finally stopped speaking long enough for me to get a word in edgeways.

I heard him breath a sigh of relief at that.

"I walked home from the park and forgot to reply. I didn't mean to leave you on read, I'm sorry." I explained.

I completely understood Alex's panic because I had felt the same way after I had sent that first text yesterday. I had even checked that I had the right number six times because I was devastated at the thought that I had gotten it wrong and sent it to a different number. 

"Nice time with Kai?" Alex asked.

"Actually, not really." My voice sounded small all of a sudden.

"What's up, Dylan?" Alex's voice was laced with concern.

"Nothing, really, it's fine. I just get overwhelmed sometimes." 

"Overwhelmed with other people?" 

"Yeah. Overwhelmed with everything, really."

"I can relate." Alex hummed, "Do you want some alone time? I'm happy to give you peace."

It felt different being around Alex. It was like being with Kai; it wasn't draining because I could just be myself. There was no pressure to respond right away or react the right way. They just accepted my first reaction as the right one. I felt bad about abandoning Kai earlier, but being around Nate was too much. Too unpredictable. Alex was predictable.

"Kind of the opposite." I whispered, "I did say I missed you, did I not?"

There was silence on the other side of the phone for a moment.

"I can be there in ten minutes." 

That made my stomach swarm with butterflies.

"You don't have to!" I squeaked out, suddenly alarmed that he might feel he has to come see me.

What if he's busy? He must be a busy guy. 

"I want to, Dylan." 

His voice was very clear; he wanted to see me and he wasn't just saying that. I placed my hand on my heart, feeling it pulsate under my skin rapidly. The guy was going to send me into cardiac arrest if I wasn't careful.

I looked around my room, my cheeks flushing. I was going to have a man here in ten minutes. Oh god.

"Dylan?" 

"I'll see you in ten!" I rushed out before hanging up, diving off of my bed to start spinning around my room.

I couldn't decided what to tackle first, so I just continued to spin. Due to Nate's friends, I often ate in my dorm, so I had dishes at the end of my bed. That was the place to start. Kitchen. Wash up. I had never scrubbed plates so furiously fast before and it still took forever. I then stared at the posters above my bed in disdain. Would he think I was weird? My mum said they were but Kai didn't seem to mind.

My phone dinging with a text snapped me out of it. It was too late now, anyway.

Alex: I'm here. Where do I go? x

Shit.