Chapter Eight

Tuesday I'm back at school and nothing has changed. Kayden gives me a hug in the hallway like he usually does and tries to give Destiny one, but she rejects him. Latrell bumps into me in the hallway accidentally on purpose so I have to cause him bodily harm by shoving him into a locker. My friend Zoe from AP Lang asks me for the homework yet again.

The only thing that's different is the new guy in my fourth-period Physics class. It's not unheard of to transfer halfway into the school year, but it's still rare so the new guy is a hot commodity. Everybody has been talking about him all day and I was waiting until I got a chance to see him. When he showed up late to my fourth period I was surprised. He wasn't totally disgusting. He was actually kind of attractive. The problem is I wasn't the only one who noticed. The girls who sat behind me squealed as soon as he walked into the classroom.

I learned from them that his name was Dylan and he just moved from Atlanta. The boys on my left side apparently think he is going to be this dope rapper who can take them with him when he gets rich and famous. The girls know more about him then the guys do which I'm not surprised about. They probably Insta- stalked him as soon as he walked through the doors. They learned that he was a Virgo and his favorite color is Red. He has an adorable puppy named Baxter and an older brother in college at Morgan State. I stopped listening after that because that was a little too weird even for me.

When Dylan walked into the class, I noticed two things: his cross necklace and perfectly straight teeth. The guys next to me noticed his nice waves and fresh new (name I didn't remember) sneakers. The girls noticed the dimple on his right cheek and "sexy" physique. The teacher talks to him for a minute and the girls hold their breath praying that he'll sit in the empty seat in front of them.

They finish speaking and the teacher continues teaching as Dylan sits in the chair next to me. The girls send praises to God considering he is sitting in the spot they wanted him to. I don't know why they are so grateful considering that he had to sit there since it was the only open seat.

Dylan turns to me with a charming smile and I push back the groan that was about to leave my lips.

"Hey. Dylan." His voice is unnecessarily deep and Southern. I jerk my head up to look at him.

"Welcome to this extremely mind-numbing boring class, Dylan!" He laughs a little at my fake enthusiasm. "Scarlett."

"Make any friends yet, new kid?" He is looking around the class probably trying to memorize the faces

"A few people have come up to talk to me, but they seem," His eyes cut over to the girls who were openly staring at him and they started waving rapidly. I facepalm in the embarrassment of what my gender has become. "Too enthusiastic. Any advice?"

"Those girls are Ciara and Kacey. They aren't too bad, exceptionally smart, they just spend too much time invested in hunting down attractive guys," He raised his eyebrows at me. "What? I don't have to be interested in you to think that you're attractive." He raises his hands in defense. "Anyway, those guys over there nodding at you, are wannabe rappers who think you are their path to fame and fortune."

"But I don't rap."

"Sure, but they don't know that." He nods in understanding. "What period lunch do you have?" He answers with six, the same as mine. "Meet me outside this classroom before lunch and you can sit with me and my friends." It was actually a perfect day because Kayden sits with us on Tuesdays when he doesn't have practice during lunch.

"Bet, thanks-" He pauses for a second trying to remember my name

"Scarlett." His charming smile returns and I give him my number in case he needs any more help. The bell rings and he gives me another smile as we walk out the door. Ciera and Kacey pester me for information about Dylan, but my lips are sealed. It's not like I could tell them anything they didn't already know. They leave me alone when I walk into my fifth-period class that I unfortunately also share with them. Kill me now.

The bell rings and I can't leave fast enough. I've never been a huge fan of math, but Mr. Phillips Algebra 2 class is insufferable. I see Dylan waiting for me outside our Physics class with one bookbag strap on his shoulder while the other hangs loosely. I don't understand how these people walk around like that, my arms hurt even with both of the straps on.

He sees me and sends me a small wave and I return it.

"Ready to go?" I asked and he nodded, following me to the cafeteria. He offered to hold my bookbag and I gladly accepted. People in the hallway gawked at us as I handed him my backpack. He didn't even flinch at the extra weight and I felt wonderful without it holding me down.

I say hi to people as we walk through the halls and he looks at me in amazement

"What?" I asked after I hugged my friend from computer science freshman year.

"How do you know so many people?"

"I've been going to this school for three years. I've probably had classes or mutual friends with them. It's not that hard just try and make an impression on everybody you meet."

"What if it's a bad impression?" I just laugh and we walk inside the cafeteria. He surveys the room like he's on a mission.

"Come on, my table is this way!" I raise my voice over the noise.

We walk past a table of freshmen playing Nintendo Switch and a group of boys rolling dice. Some girls walk past us and send Dylan some winks. He doesn't seem to notice them as he's trying to notice everybody. I'm about to tell him that it's impossible. I've been trying to remember everybody for three years and it still hasn't worked. Every day I see a new face and it reminds me that I'm only one out of fifteen hundred.

We finally get over to the table where Destiny and Erika are in a heated argument over who's better: Cardi B or Nicki Minaj. Kayden is on Destiny's side for obvious reasons and the two teams are just yelling song lyrics at each other. I sit on the table in between them and Dylan shows up in front of me.

"Ladies," I start, but they ignore me and keep yelling. "LADIES!" They stop speaking and lookup startled to see me. "I'd like you to meet, Dylan." They look up at Dylan and basically fall out of their seats to introduce themselves.

"Hey, I'm Destiny!" She gets really close to him and I roll my eyes sliding into a seat next to Kayden

"I'm Erika!" They both look equally ridiculous as they shake his hand with a huge grin on their faces.

"I'm sorry about these girls, Dylan. They usually act better trained than this!" Dylan doesn't seem bothered by their insane nature. They turn to glare at me then look back at Dylan. Both of them are talking a mile a minute, trying to tell them their best attributes. I've had enough of this when Destiny starts touching his biceps.

"Girls!" They snap their heads up and suddenly remember their sanity. I trade places with Destiny as she slides back next to Kayden. Erika returns to her seat and Kayden stands up.

"Hey man. I'm Kayden." They do the weird dude handshake thing before Kayden sits back down.

"Thank you, Kayden for being the only one with

any actual manners." He nods and takes a sip of his Gatorade.

"They aren't usually like this I promise," I tell Dylan

"I like them." He shoots them a wink and they almost pass out.

"Dylan, where you from?" Kayden asks.

"Atlanta."

"That's cool. Know any rappers?" He shakes his head. Kayden looks away from Dylan and back to Destiny.

"Want to hang out after school, Des?" He looks at her hopefully. She isn't even looking at him just staring down at her phone. I snatch it out of her hand.

"Hey!" I nudge my head in Kayden's direction and she slowly turns to make eye contact with him then switches right back to me. "I'm thirsty, come with him to the vending machine Scarlet!" I don't get a chance to respond before she pulls me out of the cafeteria and into the bathrooms next to the vending machines.

"What the hell, Des!" She looks around frantically.

"I don't want to date, Kayden!" I roll my eyes. "Hey! I'm allowed to have a type and I know he's not it!"

"Why don't you give him a try?"

"Please stop pushing this!" She pleads with her eyes and I sigh

"Fine I'll stop pushing, but I think you're making a mistake," I drag her out the bathroom and make her look at him. He's laughing at something Dylan said, eyes crinkled at the edges, his lips turned up in a bright smile. "Just look at him, Des. He's gorgeous!" She rolls her eyes and turns back to me

"Then you date him!" I wrinkle my nose.

"No," She raises her eyebrows. "But I know what you need and what you want and it's Kayden!"

"But it's not. I'd probably destroy him."

"He'd be into that!" I say trying to lighten the mood.

"Scarlet, no." I sigh in defeat

"Fine, just let him down easy." She nods.

"Now, enough about me, what about you?" It's my turn to raise my eyebrows. "You and Dylan! I can see it now, you'd be so cute."

"I thought you were rooting for Jace." She waves me off

"He's a distant fantasy, Dylan is right there." She emphasizes motioning to him.

"And so is Kayden!" She facepalms and drags me back over. Kayden looks up at her expectantly. "Sorry Kayden, but no." She says walking away to a nearby table.

I try to pull her back but she's gone too fast. Kayden at me with sadness in his eyes. Erika gives him a look of pity. Dylan just looks confused

"What now, Scarlett?" I shrug. I don't know how to get through to her.

"I don't know, Kayden. Sometimes it's just not meant to be." He excuses himself from the table and walks outside probably going to the gym. He usually plays basketball to reduce stress or in this case heartache.

"Damn, that was intense," Dylan said, interrupting the silence.

"Tell me about it, I've been trying to get them together all year!"

"Does she want to be with him?"

"You don't understand. Her taste in guys is terrible," Erika nods in agreement. "She needs a guy like Kayden who really likes her and understands her to show her how she's supposed to be treated."

"You can't force somebody into a relationship."

"It's for her own good. They have a connection, I've seen it. She is just too blind to notice." He nods in understanding and Destiny comes back to the table.

"What was that? You said you would let him down easy!" She looks me in confusion

"I said sorry." She muttered

"Seriously, Des?"

"I'm not apologizing for what I said, at least I didn't lie."

"All I'm saying is you could've been a little nicer."

"I said what I said and I don't regret it." She snapped and I sat back down. I wasn't trying to get in another argument.

I learned something new by the end of lunch. Dylan is very funny, he had everybody at the table cracking up. He could make a joke out of anything. I learned that in Atlanta he was in a church choir. He was also on team Nicki Minaj because and I quote 'She's a real OG'. We clicked well, he was a nice new addition to my friend group even though it was only the first day. I could see myself truly getting to know him and hanging out with him outside of school which is something I feel with almost nobody at this school. Dylan was cool. He was fun. He was easy. I could see him getting along with my parents. He was the kind of boy they would want me to be with.

But not the kind I would ever want to be with.