Alex

"Alex, I'm telling you not only as your PR manager but as your best friend, going to his dorm right now is a bad idea."

I knew Jake was right, of course, but I couldn't care less. 

"At least your job is interesting lately." I offered before hanging up, spotting a flustered looking Dylan jogging over to the car park.

I opened my car door, keeping my hat down low as I crossed the car park to meet him. I wanted to hug him but I didn't want to overwhelm him, so I kept my arms by my side and offered him a smile instead.

He looked absolutely adorable.

He was, once again, bundled up in a too-big hoodie that absolutely drowned him but looked beyond cute on him. He had told me last night about his brothers clothes being his favourite because they were baggy on him and it had brought to mind too many mental images of him in my shirts.

Pushing that inappropriate image of Dylan out of my head, I focused on the Dylan in front of me now.

"You got here fast." Dylan breathed out a pant. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you run here." I chuckled, my heart melting at his tinged red cheeks.

His hair was blowing in the wind slightly and he had a faint smile on his lips. He also bopped his head every time he spoke, which was an adorable movement he tended to do a lot.

"Are you coming up?" Dylan asked, bluntly.

"I didn't want to be presumptuous. I'm cool if you wanted to go somewhere else, if you don't want me in your dorm, I mean." I rambled, trying to keep the pressure off of Dylan.

"I'd rather be alone." Dylan instantly replied, taking me off guard.

He seemed to realise how it came across and turned red, shaking his head rapidly.

"I don't mean for that reason! I just mean I've had enough of people for today and I'm sure you would rather not be stared at, too."

He was truly adorable and thoughtful.

"You're absolutely right, Dylan. I've had a day of it with all this PR stuff." 

"Tell me about it inside?" Dylan smiled, leading the way to his dorm.

My heart pounded at that smile, falling in step with him as we made our way there. Everything around us melted away and Dylan became my sole focus as we made our way through corridor after corridor to get to his dorm. It was an absolute that somebody had seen me but I truly didn't care.; I was entranced.

The dorm blocks were a bit of a maze and I was relieved when we eventually arrived at a door that he had the key for. He swung the door open and we came face to face with two other people. They stared at us and we stared back of them, silence hanging over us.

"So much for a nap, hey, Dylan." Kai teased, tutting.

"I seriously thought you were taking the piss when you said he was seeing Alex Hill." The other guy said, who I recognised as the journalism student who interviewed me.

I nodded at the two of them and placed my hand at the bottom of Dylan's back to coax him to keep moving. His head whipped to me when I did that and I backed off, removing my hand. 

"That's not his 'don't touch me' face!" Kai hooted, "That's a new face entirely. Oh my gosh, this is too much."

Dylan went entirely red and moved to his room, stepping through the door. I tried to supress my smile at that, but I couldn't. I was beaming as I followed Dylan into his room. Albeit, I felt bad that his friend had exposed him. 

Entering Dylan's room felt like I stepped inside his mind itself.

It was cramped, which is something I expected from a Uni dorm, but it was incredibly personable. The basic, blue corkboards were covered in posters from everything he was interested in. He had a keyboard crammed into a corner littered with hand written scraps of music and song lyrics. I was in awe at how amazing he is.

His windowsill was lined with teddies, figurines and such. One teddy, however, stood out from the rest. I picked him up, his head flopping forward with age. It was obviously a childhood teddy. It was sweet that he had brought it to Uni with him.

On the floor of his room he had a pile of video games next to his console. I crouched down and picked up the game on top, checking it out.

"Oh, I've been meaning to play this one." I nodded, "With work and everything I've been too busy."

"Wanna play?" He grinned, taking a seat on the floor.

He happily sat crossed legged, switching on the television and console and setting up a second controller. He barely glanced at me twice as he settled into a comfortable position, completely zoning out as he indulged in his hobby. It was really nice to see somebody take pure enjoyment out of something unashamedly. It was refreshing.

Shrugging off my jacket and kicking off my shoes, I settled down on the floor next to him and picked up the controller.

We began to play the game while chatting and laughing over every little thing and my heart was truly happy.

It had been so long since I had felt like a real person. Sitting on the floor and hanging out like this was exactly the social recharge that I needed. I felt human. Dylan had began to break that routine that I had become stuck in and had shone some much needed light back into my bleak life.  

I died. Again. 

I was so lost in my thoughts and happiness that I died more times than I cared to admit. Dylan, on the other hand, was a pro. He completed every level singlehandedly. Watching him was rather impressive, even if my ego was a bit hurt.

"It's not often people buy the physical game anymore." I remarked, eyeing the stack of games.

"I prefer it." Dylan mused, "I hate the whole 'redeeming games online' thing. I like the retro stuff."

"You'll have to come to mine to see my retro stuff." 

"I can't wait." Dylan beamed, genuinely.

I leaned back, dropping my controller and watching Dylan play. It was truly mesmerising to watch him experience pure joy. It was very nearly on the same level as watching him sing. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"Because you're incredible." I spoke honestly.

Dylan blushed and bopped his head, looking down at his lap where he played with his fingers. I reached out and took a hold of his hand, enjoying the feeling of it in mine. Sparks ran between us and I stayed very still, letting him get used to the sensation. 

Dylan zoned out, didn't pull his hand away, but also remained very still. Worried, I went to pull my hand away in case it was too much, but he held onto it with a firm grasp when I tried. My heart soared. 

We sat like that for a while, silent. I enjoyed every second of it and found his timidness endearing. He was sometimes so blunt and forthright and other times so reserved. It was hard to keep up with but exciting. 

"What would you like to do on our second date, Dylan?" I eventually broke the silence, keeping my voice to a whisper.

"Is this not a second date?" 

I smiled at that.

"I suppose it could be. Would you like it to be?"

Dylan nodded, absent minded while playing with my fingers in his hands.

"So what are we doing on our third date, then?" 

Dylan stared at my hand in his for a while, obviously deep in thought. He considered everything so deeply and it was a trait I really admired about him.

"Not that I didn't like our first date, but I've much preferred this one." Dylan eventually spoke.

"Me too. I like being alone with you, away from everyone else." I agreed, to which Dylan nodded.

We fell back into comfortable silence and I began to think about what we could do on our next date. I didn't want this one to end because he had exams and it would be a while before I could see him again, so I was looking forward to the next.

"You said you were dealing with PR stuff all day?" Dylan prompted me to tell him about it.

"It's nothing really; Jake is just obsessed with me not pissing anyone off. I don't care what other people think about me and, unfortunately, it's kind of my job to. People are just obsessed with my private life. I want to be left alone."

Dylan listened to every word, nodding along and continuing to play with my fingers.

"I get it, I mean it's like earlier everybody was staring at me and whispering about how they had seen me with you. It was horrible and yet that's only a taste of what you have to handle, so I get how frustrating it is."

I squeezed Dylan's hand, trying to be comforting. I felt bad that he was now caught up in all of this because of me. I voiced as much to him and he simply shook his head, thinking about it.

"It's worth it."

I felt a tear well up in my eyes at that and I cleared my throat, letting go of Dylan's hand to swipe at my eyes hastily. I don't know why I'm getting so emotional; it was just sweet to hear Dylan say that he thought I was worth all of that trouble. 

"Is the PR stuff because of me?" Dylan asked.

I studied his face for a second and saw concern, which broke my heart.

"No, no way, Dylan. Regardless of whether I saw you or not yesterday, I had already come out by that point so it was going to be a media storm either way. Even if it was about you, you're worth it. Like I said, I'm not phased by that stuff. I just ignore it."

Dylan took a hold of my hand again and continued to play with my fingers. His hand was small and smooth, warm and caressing. Mine were still stained slightly pink from filming. A faux-killers hands.

As he stared at my hand, his lips pursed slightly and he continued bopping his head over and over, as if in thought. It took everything in me not to lean forwards and kiss him all over. I cleared my throat, leaning back further to resist the urge.

As if reading my mind, Dylan spoke.

"Which date do people start kissing?"

That made me burst out laughing, groaning in agony over how cute he is. God I wanted to kiss him.

"There's no rule for that; it's whenever both people are comfortable." I eventually explained.  

I wanted him to understand that there was no rush and no expectation of him to act a certain way by a certain time. I was happy to go at Dylan's pace.

"How will we know when the other is comfortable?" Dylan asked, concern laced in his expression.

I took his hand, softly, and held it in my hand.

"If you feel comfortable, take my hand and squeeze it twice, like this." I squeezed his hand twice, "Okay?" 

"And you'll do the same?" 

"Of course, Dylan."

Dylan hummed, seeming satisfied with that agreement. It sat well with me, too. I wanted to take it slow with Dylan because I wanted this to last and I didn't want him to get overwhelmed or pressured. I wanted to remain a person he felt he could go to when his social battery was running low and the world was a bit too overwhelming. He was that person for me, too, so I wanted to continue to be that for him.

After that, Dylan went straight back to his game as if nothing had happened. I, on the other hand, was left a little flustered. 

I was falling for him and quick.

The sun outside had began to set and Dylan was yawning every few words at this point. I suppose I had kept him up pretty late last night, after all. Stretching, I heaved myself off of the dorm floor with a groan.

I didn't understand how he could sit on the floor for so long. 

"Are you going?" Dylan seemed disappointed. 

"You need to get some sleep."

Dylan yawned, as if to prove my point.

He walked me to the exit door to the dorms and we said our goodbyes there; Dylan holding onto my hand the entire way. 

Crossing the carpark, I felt like I was walking on cloud nine. I couldn't remember the last time I had this much pep to my step pre-Dylan.

That was until I saw the hoards of people around my car. Shit.

I made a sharp left, pulling my hat back on and ducking behind a sign. There were so many students surrounding my car that they were taking up several car spaces surrounding mine. There was no way I could go to my car now.

Pulling out my phone, I was forced to call Jake for help.

"Well, well, well. Need help do we?" 

Jake was going to act like a dick about this.

"They're surrounding my car." 

"If only somebody had warned you that it was a bad idea. Oh wait, they did! I did." Jake's tone was dripping with sarcasm. 

He took joy out of this.

"Whatever, I was wrong and you were right. Now help me fix this." 

"Coming."