A/N: Sorry guys, I was out of town for two weeks. Allow me to make it up to you now by posting multiple chapters in two days :)
'Cause you caught me off guard
Now I'm running and screaming
- Hero/Heroine, Boys Like Girls
Chapter 4: Unexpected
Dylan had just written down the lyrics she knew she would never forget and started to pen some more, hoping to get a whole song out of the encounter she just had with Spencer, when she heard a knock at the door, then heard it open.
"My parents?" she thought. "No way, they're e not due back for another two weeks, at least. It must be a robber! God damn it, why do I never lock the door? Hold on, why am I still sitting here? I gotta do something!"
She then sprung up from her spot on the floor, bounding down the stairs, when she heard a familiar male voice say "Anyone home?"
Dylan made it down the last couple of steps to see Aiden standing in her living room.
"Hey Aid," she said flatly, once the surprise wore off.
"Hey," he replied. "Is Dad home?"
"When is he ever?" she snapped with an eye-roll.
"Damn. I needed to talk to him," Aiden said with frustration laced in his voice.
"I've given up on any form of communication between myself and either of my parents. They're never home, and when they are I think they would like to pretend I don't exist, so I stay in my room," Dylan said, and though she thought she hid her hurt with her feigned indifference and proper grammar, Aiden sensed it.
Aiden softened, really looking at her. He'd never really bothered getting to know her, though she is his half-sister. "I'm sorry Dyl. I hate him for what he did to our family, for what he did to my mom, leaving her for a younger woman, and I hate him for starting another family. I wanted to be mad at you too, but I know you see him about as much as I do, and none of this is your fault."
"Yeah," Dylan sighed with a slight nod. She glanced at the pictures in the living room. Most of them were of her father and mother together, or just her, but there was exactly one showing the three of them together. It was taken so long ago she barely recognized the girl with the snaggle-toothed grin standing between her patents.
Aiden wrapped her up in a bear hug, lifting her mood slightly.
"I'm sorry your parents are never around, and I'm sorry we're not close either. I want to change that. I was kind of a jerk before, but I was really mad at him, not you. I could never hate you Dylan."
"Thanks Aiden," Dylan said, hugging him a bit tighter, recognizing the first signs of crying and stifling them before any tears could fall. For once, she acknowledged the fact that she really was not an only child, though most of the time she felt that way, and though most people so easily assumed she was.
"So tell me about your day," Aiden said, breaking the hug. They both settled into the couch, and Aiden took off his sweatshirt, ready to listen rather than run back out the door.
At first Dylan questioned telling him about Spencer, but she really felt like Aiden was trying to get more involved in her life, and she decided that since Aiden really wanted to be there for her, she might as well tell him. Besides that, she really had no one to talk to about how she felt. Her conversation with Spencer had been the first conversation in a long time where she didn't feel the need to hold back, like she did with most of her "friends" at school. Now that Aiden was here, she could have another person to talk to, one who really knew the state of her home life, and one she didn't have to hide anything from. She felt like she could tell him about being gay or bisexual or whatever she is, because Aiden wouldn't judge – though he might drool at the thought of two girls making out (after all, he is a guy).
She began to tell Aiden, when he interrupted her.
"So this girl Spencer—"
"Wait, Spencer Carlin?"
"Yeah," Dylan said, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Why, do you know her?"
"You could say that," Aiden said, debating whether or not to tell her just how well he knew her. "I guess you wouldn't know about us, since you don't hang out with us, and I mainly avoided you before."
Dylan shot him a look that was at once confused and suspicious.
Aiden, nervous, opted for honesty. "Spencer and I used to date," he paused, feeling the tension in the air and recognizing Dylan's shock. He continued, "Only a couple of times though, before she realized she really wanted to be with Ashley."
"Oh," Dylan said, not knowing what to make of this newly gained information. "So do you know Ashley too?"
"Yeah," Aiden said, laughing a bit. "We go way back," he said, becoming more serious. "She's pretty hurt now that she and Spence aren't going out anymore." He chose not to mention his involvement in the breakup of Spencer and Ashley. "Yeah…" he decided in his head, "the whole 'Ashley still being somewhat in love with me because of the baby we almost had' thing can stay under wraps." Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts."So what were you saying? You and Spencer…?"
"Oh, um, yeah," Dylan said, not sure of what to say.
Aiden picked up on her nerves, surprisingly astute when it came to girl's feelings. Well some of the time, anyway. "Wait, are you two….?"
"Yes…no…I don't really know?" Dylan half answered, half questioned. "She drove me here and I invited her in, and one thing led to another…" she trailed off, hoping Aiden wouldn't ask for details.
"Listen, Dyl. I don't mind you going out with her, just watch yourself. I don't want this to become a repeat performance of me and her," Aiden said, genuinely caring and knowing how easily Dylan could get hurt in this.
"Hey, you're only my half brother, and we just started really talking. You don't get to go all protective on me…yet," Dylan said, with a huge grin, punching him in the arm.
"Okay," he said with a chuckle, ruffling her hair, and then making his way to the door. "If you need me though, I'll be around."
Spencer got home safely and without getting lost, and though she was having dinner with her family, her mind was elsewhere. She just couldn't stop thinking about her afternoon with Dylan, and how she had been so unlike herself when she kissed Dylan without thinking, but how happy it had made her in the moment. She had done a lot of things without thinking that afternoon, including promising Dylan a ride home tomorrow, but she knew she wanted to see her again.
"Hey mom, tomorrow I'm going to help that tutor that girl in calculus again, okay?"
"That's perfectly fine, just let me know if you're going to be home in time for dinner."
"Sure," Spencer said, smiling. She usually hated lying to her parents, but Dylan seemed to make her do all sorts of things she normally wouldn't.
The next day, in class, Spencer sat next to Dylan, and found it very hard to pay attention. She had her fingers interlaced with Dylan's under the desk, and Dylan was tracing small circles on the back of Spencer's hand with her thumb as she took notes. Class ended, but school wasn't over yet, and to Dylan, the rest of the day seemed to drag on like weeks. When she finally got into Spencer's car, a big smile spread across her face, and she tingled with anxiousness from being so close to Spencer.
"What?" Spencer said, in the same way she had before she kissed Dylan yesterday, looking over at her.
"You." Dylan stated simply, with the slightest of shrugs, as if the answer were obvious to everyone but Spencer.
Spencer blushed a bit, then turned her attention to the road, willing herself not to get lost again, knowing that the longer they were in the car, the less time they would have in Dylan's room.
It's her hands on my hips
I can't escape 'em
It's that mouth and those lips
Try not to taste 'em
- Girls Do What They Want, The Maine
