So first I want to say thank you once again for the reviews so far. ^^ Thank you RamandusDaughter23, lilmissmonique, digigirl02, and ChaylorTwilightQueen10. So I'm going to try and put in more couples in these oneshots so we can mix it up a bit. But it's all being done one step at a time. So that brings us to this chapter, which I give credit to RamandusDaughter23 for the idea. I hope it turns out nicely. C=
Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or the characters from the movie.
Chapter Seven Summary: Dylan's becoming a little self-conscious. He's ready to graduate high school and he's never gotten a girl. He's never even had a crush before! How hard is that to believe? So will he finally get a girl or is he going to need some assistance from the parental patrol?
Chapter Seven: First Crush
"Dude, check it out!"
Dylan turned away from his locker and to his friend Cooper. "Whatchya got?" he asked, referring to the sheet of paper Cooper was now waving.
"Another lady's phone number." Cooper smirked, throwing it in Dylan's palm. "Read it and weep, Dill."
Dylan just smiled politely and shook his head. This had to be too good to be true; it always was. And as soon as he read the digits, he burst out laughing. "Dude, this isn't a girl's number!" he chuckled. "It spells 'hello' upside down!"
"What?" Cooper's eyes widened as he snatched the paper from his friend. He moaned as he threw it on the floor. "Oh man! Tricked again!"
"You're always tricked, dude." Dylan stated.
"Not always." Cooper lied.
Dylan began counting off each memory with his finger. "Grade nine, Emily Randsack, she gave you the numbers one through three. Grade ten, Rhonda Lloyd, she turned you down in five different languages. Grade ten again, Hannah Nuddle, the only number she gave you was seven. Last year, grade eleven, Daley Hales, she just laughed in your face. And now, this."
"Gee, thanks for the support." Cooper muttered sarcastically. "And when was the last time you got a girl?"
Dylan opened his mouth to counter, but Cooper beat him to it.
"That's right, never." he laughed.
"I just never had a crush. That so hard to believe?" Dylan asked.
"For a guy, yeah." Cooper nodded. "C'mon man, there's gotta be one girl out there somewhere."
"Nah, I don't think so." Dylan shook his head. He took out the last book he needed and closed his locker.
"Dill man, you're eighteen." Cooper insisted. "You need to get a girl before you head to college."
"Ok...why?" Dylan inquired.
"Cause you ain't gonna be cool if you don't. and what would other guys think?" he replied.
"I think I'll worry about that when they start making fun of me. Besides I have more important things to worry about than thinking about and making some googly eyes at..." His voice slowly trailed off as he watched one of his classmates pass by. Her skin tone was a little lighter than his and Cooper's, and her brown hair had a slight wave to it and went just past her shoulders. About an average body for a girl and no taller than five foot four. Dylan got lost as his eyes followed her, "...some really...really...really..."
"Hot girl?" Cooper laughed, finishing him off.
"Pretty." Dylan corrected, nodding eagerly.
"Wait, pretty but not hot?" Cooper asked. "C'mon, you're not insulting her by saying she's hot. Or smokin."
"Yeah...but..." Dylan stammered as he continued watching the girl.
Cooper raised an eyebrow and followed the direction that Dylan was looking. "Dude, do you know who that is?" he gasped as the girl stopped at her locker. "That's Kiara Connors! She's one of the smartest girls in school and gets to design all the posters for school events!"
"I know. How cool is that?" Dylan asked, all flustered just thinking about it. Or rather, her.
Cooper hit his forehead. "Ok man, that's it. Your first crush in like, ever. You gotta go for it."
Dylan hung his head in disappointment. He shook it and turned back to his friend. "I don't think so. She probably doesn't know I exist."
"That's what everyone says when they get a crush." Cooper stated.
"What's your point?" Dill asked.
He sighed, "Look your work has been in all the art shows. You almost always go to school events. You have a hand in with most of the clubs at school. You're always on head for things like dance committees. And you're not so dumb yourself."
"Gee, thanks." Dylan said sarcastically.
"My point is, with all that you got goin on how can she not know about you?" Cooper replied.
"Cause she's probably got better things to do than watch guys like me. Or any guys for that matter." Dylan said.
"Doubt it." Cooper shook his head. "You gotta put yourself out there man. And you gotta do it before some other dude does it or consider your chance, and the girl, off the market." He pat Dylan on the back. "Good luck man." he encouraged before walking off.
Dylan let out a sigh as he looked back in Kiara's direction. She was still at her locker, conversing with a couple of other girls. And while they talked in a rather content manner, all Dylan could do was stare from afar.
---
Dylan moved his fork through his pasta rather slowly. His head was tilted so it was resting on his hand. He didn't touch his food or drink, not to mention he seemed rather distant. He had been like that all night, most likely still worrying about his girl problems.
"Dill.." his father repeated for probably the fifth time that night.
Dylan's head shot up. "Huh?" he asked.
"You haven't touched your food." Chad replied. "Is my cooking that bad?"
"Honey, your cooking was never that good." Taylor shook her head, not bothering to look up.
Chad's head shot over to her. "But you're eating it now."
"I know," she nodded. "That's just to flatter you."
"And that makes me feel so much better." Chad muttered.
Dylan just shook his head at his parents. He wasn't finding that completely funny for once. "I'm fine." he said. "I'm just...not that hungry."
"Then can I have your plate?" Six-year-old Cheryl asked eagerly as she reached her fork across the table to get a hold of Dylan's food.
"Finish your plate." Taylor told her.
Cheryl pouted and reluctantly started eating from her own plate of pasta.
Taylor shook her head and turned to Dylan. "Are you sure everything's ok?" she wondered. "Is it something at school?"
"No." Dylan shook his head. "Everything is fine. Nothing to worry about."
"Dylan you can't avoid whatever it is forever." Chad stated. "Trust me, it never works. I know, I've tried."
"It's ok." Dylan replied. "I'm fine. I'm just gonna go watch some TV, if that's ok." He slowly got up from his seat and pushed his chair in, then headed to the living room.
Chad sighed and took a sip from his glass. "He didn't pick up the stubbornness from me, that's for sure." he muttered.
Taylor just looked at him doubtfully and cocked her head. "Chad you should really go talk to him." she encouraged softly.
"Why do I have to?" Chad asked. "He's your son."
"He was yours first." Taylor rolled her eyes. "Chad, please check on him? What if something's bothering him that he doesn't want to talk about?"
"Like what?" Chad asked.
"Maybe some guy talk. And you're the only other guy in this house." Taylor said.
"Tay I can't help him forever. What happens if he goes away to university next year? Then where am I gonna be? Maybe he just needs to be no his own and think." Chad replied.
"In other words, you're not going to talk to him." Taylor summed up.
"Not unless he's going through some narcotic depression we should know about." he shrugged.
"Alright." Taylor decided as she went back to eating. "Then I'm not giving you a kiss tonight."
Chad blinked. "As in, one less kiss, or none at all?"
"None at all." she answered simply.
Chad practically jumped out of his seat. "I think I'll go talk to Dylan now." he decided as he went into the living room.
Taylor grinned proudly. "Works every time."
"So..." Cheryl finally spoke up, hoping to get her way now, "...can I finish Dill's dinner for him?"
"Hey Dill." Chad said as he saw Dylan sitting on the couch in the living room. "Somethin buggin you, kiddo?"
Dylan's head shot up as he looked at his dad. "No. No, I'm fine." he lied.
"Really? Cause you seem a little off." Chad noticed.
"Guess I'm just a little distracted." Dylan admitted. And that was all he was going to admit to.
"You're never distracted when it comes to school. And trust me, I've seen your grades." Chad said.
"So?" Dylan asked.
Chad thought for a minute. What always got him ticked when he was Dylan's age? He looked towards the dining room and could see Taylor cleaning up a minor spill from Cheryl's cup. Chad smiled as he watched. Wait a minute.... He slowly turned his head back to Dylan. "Dylan, are you having girl problems?" he asked.
"Who, me?" he asked nervously. "No, of course not. I don't get crushes remember?"
"There's a first time for everything." Chad replied. "So, you got your eye on a cute girl, huh?"
Dylan chuckled as Chad playfully hit him in the arm. "Well...maybe just a little..." he confessed sheepishly.
And now Chad was lost. He was going to need backup. His head spun back to the dining room. "Taylor! We got a situation in here?"
Taylor sighed as she walked over to the doorway. "What is it?" she asked.
"Dylan's having girl trouble." Chad answered, pointing to his son.
"Don't look at me. That's your territory." Taylor shook her head. "Just don't convince him that the way to a girl's heart is always getting in trouble." She walked back to the table.
Chad sighed and blew some hair out of his face. So much for backup. "Well looks like it's just us guys in here." he muttered. He looked back at Dylan. "So...you got your eye on a girl, huh?"
"Dad..." Dylan sighed.
"Hey, I'm not gonna make that big a deal out of it." Chad shrugged. "But she must be something special if she's your first crush. You know her?"
"Not directly." he shook his head. "She's just a classmate. And I don't even think she knows I exist."
"Well what's she like?" Chad wondered.
"Pretty. Smart. Creative. Well-rounded. Friendly." Dylan answered, smiling just thinking about her. But he snapped out of his thoughts and sighed. "But she doesn't even know I exist."
"How do you know that?" Chad asked.
"I've got like one class with her. And we've never talked." Dylan answered in fragments.
"Well you gotta make your move. And the first move would be to talk to her." Chad said.
"Haven't you ever gotten nervous around girls?" Dylan asked.
"Who, me?" Chad chuckled. "Nah, never."
"So what happened when you first liked a girl?" Dylan wondered.
Chad chuckled again as he remembered his first crush. "It took me a long time to ask her out. And the only reason I didn't make my move sonner was cause my friends would never approve of her. She was practically my opposite in every way. But you know something? That didn't matter. I shouldn't have cared what other people thought. Cause I was finally able to ask her out when my best friend was able to admit he liked a 'math freak' and if he could live with it, then I knew I could. So I spun her around to me as soon as I saw her in the gym and asked her out. And she said yes."
"You weren't scared?" Dylan asked doubtfully.
"Dill, the only thing to be scared of is rejection. But there's always gonna be something like that to deal with." Chad explained. "But that's the problem. If you don't put yourself out there then it'll hurt more if you see the girl you like with another guy and know you missed your chance. I had to learn that the hard way."
"So how did that work out?" Dylan cocked his head curiously. Chad smiled at his son and answered as he looked back towards the dining room. "How do you think?"
---
"Ok Dylan, you can do it. Just focus." Dylan kept saying to himself before homeroom the next day. "Talk to her. Talk to the girl. Don't freak out." He gulped and slowly walked to first period, which was the only class he had with Kiara. He was hoping to impress her and that his dad's advice would come through. And hey, if it did then it would be a new record. Twice in one year. The first time being with what kind of car to get...which Dylan still didn't get yet, but at least he knew which car he was going to get.
Taking one more deep breath, Dylan walked into homeroom and looked around the room. He spotted Kiara at her desk getting a few books out. He tried to fight his nerves and will himself to take steps forward and walk over to her. As soon as he managed to do that, he opened his mouth to speak.
"G-g-good morning." he stammered.
She looked up at him with her hazel eyes, about the same shade as his. "Hey." she greeted with a smile.
"Um...I was wondering if you...did the homework last night..." he continued nervously. Dang, why did he just say that? It was so stupid!
"Yeah. It was pretty easy, don't you think?" Kiara asked politely.
"Oh yeah, totally easy." Dylan nodded. Well, he thought a few of the questions were a little hard, but he wasn't going to admit to that. "So uh...how bout that test last week?"
"I did pretty well..." she nodded. "And yourself?"
"Beautiful." Dylan blurt out. He quickly covered his mouth. He was supposed to be talking about the test, not her!
"Yeah, it really was a looker." Kiara giggled. "You're pretty funny."
"No, I didn't mean it like..." Dylan started. He cut himself off when he overheard her. "Really? I'm funny?"
"Yeah. Maybe if I compliment the test on its looks I'll ace it next time." she stated. "So, did you hear about that new lunch special?"
Oh man, not the lunch menu! Dylan hated the food there so much. Well, most days anyway. Thursdays was the only day he'd ever eat some of the school's food. But it made him sick to his stomach just thinking about the new daily special. "N-n-new lunch special?"
"Yeah. It's supposed to be some odd leftover meatloaf or something." Kiara nodded.
"Oh well, I think..." he stammered. He opened his mouth to say more but no words came out. "I think..." Still nothing. "I..." Dylan didn't know what came over him. But the more he thought about the food, the sicker he felt. That, and maybe it was the nerves returning to him. after all, when has he really talked to a girl like this before? He desperately wanted to say something else, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak up again...
Kiara covered her mouth as she watched Dylan's reaction. Other students in the room turned their heads when they heard Dylan groan. That's when the teacher walked in.
"What in sam hill is going on here?" he demanded.
"Dylan just barfed all over the floor!" one of the students exclaimed.
The teacher sighed. "Dylan, nurse's office. Now." he demanded.
Dylan's face turned deep red. He never felt so humiliated in his entire life. He just wrecked his chance with his first crush. So much for everything working out. Trying to hide his face in shame, he turned around and sped out of the classroom.
---
"I think I can get used to this alone time." Chad smiled that afternoon as he sat on the couch with his arm around Taylor.
"Yeah, well enjoy it while it lasts, tough guy." Taylor teased with a smile. "This is one of the only two days we're both off, you know."
"All the more reason to enjoy it." Chad grinned. He leaned in to kiss Taylor until she held a hand in front of his face.
"Don't get carried away yet." she giggled. "We still have to pick up Cheryl from the bus stop in a half hour."
"She's in elementary school, Tay. She'll get off with the other kids." Chad assured her.
"Tell me that again when she starts middle school." Taylor said. "Remember, it's your turn to get her today."
"I know. I will." Chad promised. "So are you gonna leave me hanging forever?"
Taylor smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright." She kissed him and he returned it. Taylor pulled away and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'm gonna get something more than that tonight, right?" Chad asked hopefully.
"Maybe." Taylor teased. She snuggled closer to him and decided to change the subject. "So what were you and Dylan talking about last night?"
"Girl problems." Chad smiled.
"Girl problems?" she repeated, cocking an eyebrow. "Since when does Dylan worry about dating?"
"Since yesterday, apparently." Chad shrugged. "I think Dill's got his first crush."
"Aw, he does?" Taylor cooed. "Out little guy's growing up."
"Trust me, he's way past growing up. He's almost taller than you." Chad chuckled. "But if I do say so myself, I think he'll come home with a big grin on his face soon saying how he won the girl over."
And less than two minutes later, Dylan stormed into the house. "I can't believe I made a fool of myself in front of her!" he exclaimed.
Taylor raised an eyebrow and looked at Chad. Chad just froze in his place and blinked. "That's not what I was expecting." He straightened himself up in his seat and turned swiftly to Dylan, remaining on the couch. "What happened? You were so determined yesterday."
"Define determined." Dill replied coolly.
"Well it's an adjective with an origin from-" Taylor started.
"I'm not talking literally, Mom. "Dylan moaned.
"Slow down, kiddo. What happened?" Chad asked.
"What happened? What happened?" Dylan repeated. "I made a fool of myself, that's what happened!"
Taylor and Chad exchanged glances, then turned back to their son. "Care to expand?" Taylor inquired.
"How does throwing up right in front of her sound?" Dylan replied.
Taylor covered her mouth and Chad's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of his face. "Dill, what happened?" Chad gasped.
"Things were goin just fine till we started talking about the food at school. It made me so sick I threw up right in front of her! Been avoiding her all day since." Dylan pouted. He sat down on one of the schools at the kitchen counter and folded his arms.
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad..." Taylor tried to reassure him.
"Trust me, it was." Dylan replied. "How am I ever gonna impress Kiara now?"
"Dylan, sometimes you don't need to do anything to impress a girl." Taylor shook her head.
"No, I need to do something." Dylan said. "But even if I do, she'll want nothing to do with me. She'll think I'm a freak."
Taylor looked at Chad. "What did you tell him last night?"
"I told him that if he doesn't talk to her, he'll never know what she thinks." Chad shrugged. "What did I do wrong this time?"
"Nothing." Taylor answered, as much as she hated to admit it. But she quickly added, "Yet. You will be doing something wrong if you're late for getting Cheryl off that bus."
"I'll make a run for it." Chad nodded as he jumped off the couch and ran out the front door.
"Why the school's food?" Dylan moaned. "Why couldn't she bring up something else?"
"You're making too big a deal out of it. There's no way she could ever think something was wrong with you." Taylor promised.
"You're a mom. You have to sound positive." Dylan sighed.
"Yeah, well try and sound more positive when you answer the door." Taylor said when she heard a knock. "Go on, maybe it's one of your friends."
"No offense, but you're not helping." Dylan sighed as he pushed himself off the stool. He walked over to the door and opened it. He blinked in surprise, feeling the nerves come back to him. "K-K-Kiara, what are you doing here?"
She smiled faintly and moved some bangs out of her face. "Hi..." she replied quietly. "I...I just came by to see if you were ok. You seemed kind of pale before."
"Oh...um, yeah.... Yeah, I'm fine..." Dylan stammered.
Taylor took this as her cue to leave the two alone. "You know, I think I left some dishes in the dining room from lunch. I'm going to go take care of that..." she said as she disappeared out of the room.
Dylan rubbed the back of his head and kept his eyes on Kiara...when he wasn't looking at his feet.
"So..are you sure you're ok?" Kiara wondered.
"Yeah. Yeah." Dylan nodded. "Thanks for checking."
"Oh, it's no problem." Kiara said quickly. "If you need anything else you can always tell me.... If you want to."
"Yeah...I'd kinda like that. I mean, really like that." Dylan smiled nervously. "Hey um...maybe, you know, if you wanted to...maybe we could...get together...and do some homework...?"
"That sounds really nice." she smiled. "We don't even need to get any food from the school's cafeteria."
Dylan chuckled. "You're gonna haunt me with that forever, aren't you?" he guessed.
"Yeah, probably." she giggled.
Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "You're pretty funny yourself. Maybe we could...go out sometime? Just the two of us?"
Kiara acted like she was thinking about it for a minute, swaying her body back and forth. "Would next Friday night be cool?"
"I think so. I could...call you sometime?" he suggested, the nerves almost completely exiting.
"Sounds great." Kiara nodded with a smile. "So...I'll see you in school tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Definitely." Dylan grinned widely.
Kiara looked down at her feet and smiled. "Well...bye then..." She looked up once more and then quickly waved goody-bye before walking away.
Dylan just smiled as he leaned up against the doorway and watched her leave. For a minute he was just lost in his daydreams thinking about his first date. Until....
"Dill's got a girlfriend! Dill's got a girlfriend!" Cheryl laughed as she jumped up to the house, giggling as she pointed at him.
Dylan's mouth dropped, "She is not my girlfriend! I mean...not yet! I mean...just be quiet! Who asked you?" He started chasing her into the living room and up the stairs.
Chad raised an eyebrow as he walked in with Cheryl's backpack. He put it down and closed the door behind him, then turned to Taylor as she walked in from the dining room. "Did I miss something?" he wondered.
"Well, not that I was eavesdropping or anything..." Taylor replied innocently, "but I might have overheard a few things..."
"Like?" he raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Like how Dylan might be planning a date with his crush girl!" Taylor couldn't help but exclaimed. "Chad, I don't know what you told him last night, but you'd better give him another pep talk before he goes on that first date!"
Cahd grinned widely and hugged her. "Trust me, I'm gonna give him all the guy advice he's ever gonna need! Looks like he's on his way to that dream girl." He pulled away from Taylor and smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Looks like he finally got the girl. Pretty soon he'll be seeing them all over college and dating even more, then going off and getting married and raising his own girls."
"One step at a time Chad." Taylor giggled, resting her head back on his shoulder. "Besides if he can handle a girl like you can, he'll be just fine."
How was it? I spent all afternoon after school working on this so I hope it turned out decently. Now it'll only be a matter of time before Dylan takes the girl home...wait a minute, am I gonna have to write a chapter bout that, too? XD Thanks again for the suggestion, RamandusDaughter23, I hope it turned out well. If anyone else has any other suggestions I'm happy to hear them. Besides, what if I write a chapter no one likes? What fun is it to read something you hate? Power to the readers, right? ^^ And now I am off to eat some dinner cause all this writing really works up an appetite! XD