Disclaimer! I do not owe Lemonade Mouth
The last step of Dylan's elaborate plan to regain Lemonade Mouth's trust now fell into play. Stella was the last member of the band that hadn't forgiven Dylan. Dylan didn't know how but he thought a good place to start might be breaking up Stella and Ray
Most of Lemonade Mouth stood behind Dylan for breaking up Stella and Ray. They remembered the torment they'd had under Ray's hand. The only one not totally with it was Scott mostly because he liked having Ray back as a friend. Dylan was trusting Mo to straighten out Scott.
The thing was Dylan didn't want to break the two up. They seemed to complete each other—even though they fought a lot—in a way that Dylan could never comprehend. If they were happy then Dylan wasn't going to step between them. All he wanted to do was be close to Stella. If he couldn't be her boyfriend then he would settle for a best friend—assuming that he could get back in Stella's favor at all.
Dylan had already apologized to Stella several different times. He'd even begged her on his knees for her forgiveness. Each and every time she had ignored him however. Now Stella went so far as to avoid him wherever she could. When she couldn't she pointedly looked through him or busied herself with Ray. The only thing that gave him hope was the texts Olivia and Mo showed him. Each one complained about Ray or gushed about how much Stella missed Dylan. Those kept him going more then anything else.
With Stella avoiding him everywhere, Dylan couldn't really find a time to talk to her. Even when he did find her, Stella acted as if he was little more then a wall flower. The other members tried to help him out but Stella caught on after a while and began to stop coming to various things when they asked. Dylan thanked his friends for trying and said he'd find his own way.
Surprisingly, his chance came when he turned a corner at school. Almost immediately the scene that presented itself to him made him stop dead in his tracks. Ray was kissing Jules the cheerleader, in plain sight of everyone. Dylan wanted to punch the jock, knowing now that Ray saw girls as little more then conquests for him to make. Before he could move, Stella appeared.
Taking in the scene, Stella's face darkened dangerously. Dylan turned around to leave but Stella had seen him too. "Don't move Dylan. Ray needs a little greeting from you." Dylan turned around shaking his head. Ray had stopped kissing Jules, looking at Stella in shock. "Come on Dylan punch him!" Stella started to tap her foot with impatience.
"I'm not getting between you two Stella. This isn't my uh fight. I'd like it to be but it's not." Stella glared at him before marching up to Ray and slapping him. Ray put a hand to his cheek still shocked. His mouth opened but Stella wasn't done yet. Dylan watched in amazement as she pulled back her foot, planting it squarely between Ray's legs with a solid kick.
"Consider that our official breakup" Stella snarled as Ray groaned kneeling over while Jules screamed. "Let's go Dylan. I feel pissed enough to talk to you." Stella said grabbing Dylan's wrist. Dylan was silent, letting his ex drag him to an abandoned classroom. "Talk. I don't know why you keep trying to apologize after I plainly didn't accept your first apology. Now explain why."
Dylan noticed she hadn't let go of his wrist but he decided not to mention it. "I want us to be on good terms Stella." Her name tasted like the best chocolate after so long. "I'm not saying we should date again…" He resisted adding that he'd like to. "But I do want us to at least be comfortable enough to talk to each other. I don't want you ignoring me because I'm an idiot that can't reason properly." The corner of Stella's mouth twitched upward.
"I agree with you being an idiot but I don't know about talking. It hurts just to look at you knowing what you did to me." Dylan winced slightly looking away. "I heard what you did for the rest of the band. Taking those golf balls for Charlie must've hurt." She kissed his cheek. "Thank you." Dylan closed his eyes trying to breath in her scent. A scent that only Stella could make with strawberries and chocolate no matter what other girls tried.
"One thing I'm trying to make sense of" Dylan said softly. "…before you go back to not talking to me." Stella frowned slightly at that but nodded. "Why didn't you kick me when we broke up?" Stella smiled punching him in the arm with a slight laugh. Dylan smiled as well but looked at Stella expectantly.
"Ok two things. One you were already in a hospital bed. I couldn't really hurt you any more without feeling bad." Ok you liked me Dylan thought checking off one of his unanswered questions—better known as a list of questions for Stella. "Second…we'll see about the not talking. You gotta prove you're different Dylan." With that, Stella walked out of the
Dylan smiled following her. He waited for a bit to give Stella her space before walking to class. He felt so good that it wasn't until he was halfway to class that he decided to glance at the clock. Dylan had never run so fast in his life.
Lunch brought another surprise for Dylan. Stella was sitting with Lemonade Mouth, looking irritated. Dylan sat down across from his ex, almost ready for her to look through him. Instead she scowled at him. Olivia laid a hand on Stella's arm, throwing Dylan an apologetic look. "You got me detention" Stella said in response to Dylan's confused look.
"How did I get you detention?" Dylan asked exasperated. He was getting a little sick of Stella's shifting attitude toward him. One minute she was ignoring him the next she seemed genuinely happy to be talking to him and now she was pissed. Was this regular behavior for a girl?
"You didn't hit Ray for me so now I have detention and my foot feels all slimy" Cause that's all my fault too Dylan thought glaring at Stella. She glared back at him until Mo appeared. Then the three girls started talking about how horrible Ray was. It took all Dylan had not to throw his hands up.
"I know how you feel" Scott said under his breath. "Mo has those weird mood flashes too." Dylan looked at Scott in surprise, his mouth falling open. Scott laughed "Your face is really easy to read for a guy who has gone through the same things Dylan." Dylan nodded turning back to his own lunch. The guys sat in silence while the girls chattered on and on like they had no time left in the world.
When the chatter turned toward the dance that was in a few days Dylan perked up. Maybe he could use the dance to get back in Stella's good favors. She wasn't going with Ray anymore so… "Hey Stella you want to go as friends to the dance?" Dylan asked quickly before the subject changed again. Who knew how fast girls could change subjects?
Stella looked at him suspiciously. Olivia and Mo shared a look before urging Stella to do it. "Go on Stella do it. You'll have fun and you can evaluate whether you can be friends or not. It'll be great!" Mo said softly, Olivia nodding her support. Dylan just glanced at the two in thanks before returning his gaze to Stella. She captured his entire focus as she bit her lip in contemplation.
"Alright I'll go. Dylan you better be nice and proper because this Friday is your evaluation." Dylan nodded, bowing for effect while the girls began talking about dresses. Stella popped out of the huddle for a few seconds to say "Dylan you are not allowed to go dress shopping with me. I want my dress to be a surprise." Dylan's head hit the table before Scott, Wen and Charlie burst out laughing. Dylan allowed himself a small smile as he lifted his head. He had gotten Stella back for a little bit. Even if it was only till the dance he was ok with that.
Stella avoided talking to him for the rest of the week. She'd give him a smile or a long look but it was almost as if she didn't trust herself to talk to Dylan. Olivia assured him that it was just because Stella didn't want to let slip what her dress looked like. Dylan doubted it after one look at Stella's face. She was always biting her lip whenever she looked at him now. So she either was preventing herself from talking to him or she was trying to think of something to say. Whatever the reason, Dylan let dark thoughts cloud his mind until the night of the dance. Sophia noticed his mood around then.
'What's wrong Dylan?' She signed to him. Dylan just shook his head scowling slightly. He couldn't get his tie on right and it was bothering him. Sophia frowned stepping in front of him to fix his tie. After she was done, she looked him in the eye. 'What is bothering you?'
"Stella" Dylan said quietly. Sophia's face fell with pity for him. She had seen what the breakup had done to him. Sophia didn't want that to happen again. Neither did Dylan.
Before Sophia could say anything to comfort him the doorbell rang. "I got it!" Trina yelled shooting past them in her hurry to get to the door. "I'll be sure to embarrass you Dylan!" Dylan tore after her, Trina giggling as they raced toward the door. Dylan almost stopped when he remembered that Stella was standing behind it and Trina beat him to it. "I win!" She giggled opening the door to reveal Stella.
Stella stood nervously in the doorway, shifting from side to side. She was wearing a tight black dress that hinted at what was underneath but didn't give anything away. Her face seemed to shine, the setting sun just behind her head. "Hey Trina. Hey…Dylan." She said softly.
Her voice shook Dylan from his stupor bringing him back to reality. He shut his mouth and smiled at Stella, stepping forward. Stella smiled back at him, waiting for something. "Ready to go?" Dylan asked not sure what she was waiting for. Stella sighed as she nodded turning towards his car.
When they were in the car, Dylan noticed Trina making kissing faces at them. "I am not related to her." He murmured starting the car. Stella giggled waving to Trina. Trina waved back before heading back into the house.
The silence in the car became awkward, stretching while they drove to the dance. Neither knew what to do since they hadn't been alone since their breakup. Several times Dylan opened his mouth but words escaped him every time. He couldn't think of a single thing to say that wouldn't led back to the two of them.
Dylan parked the car and looked over at Stella. "Stella…are you sure you want to do this?" She glanced over with a determined look before nodding. Before Dylan could say anything, Stella climbed out of the car. Dylan followed suit, heading around the car to offer Stella his arm. She took it and together they walked into the dance.
After they entered the dance, Dylan sat down at a table while Stella headed onto the dance floor. Lemonade Mouth found him pretty fast, popping out of thin air. "Why aren't you dancing with Stella?" Olivia asked breathlessly as she sat down next to him. Dylan shrugged.
"I don't think she wants to dance with me." He replied. Olivia shook her head looking around. Wen appeared with two cups and Olivia accepted one from him. After taking a drink she turned back towards Dylan.
"Have you even looked at her while she's been dancing?" She asked looking at him skeptically. Dylan shook his head, looking down at the floor. "Well she's been watching you the entire time she's been on the dance floor. I swear she hasn't looked anywhere else since she walked onto it." Dylan looked up in surprise. Sure enough, Stella was gazing steadily at him as she swayed to the music. "You better get up there when it's a slow song." Olivia growled. Dylan glanced over in surprise.
"Do you really want us to make up that badly Olivia?" Dylan asked as the song ended. Olivia sighed closing her eyes. Mo appeared with an exasperated look on her face. Dylan could tell she had been listening to their conversation.
"Why are all guys clueless Olivia? Look Dylan, we've never seen Stella happier than when she was with you. Even our music had a certain energy to it that it lacks now. We want Stella back to that energetic person." Dylan sighed looking up as another song started. Stella seemed to be begging him to dance with her eyes.
"Alright I'll dance but remember this you guys. This is to see if we can be friends. It's not as if we're getting back together or anything." The girls exchanged a look before he pushed his way to Stella on the dance floor. Stella tapped her foot impatiently as she waited. When he was finally close enough, Stella grabbed him and pulled him into a small space she had cleared on the dance floor.
Pulling herself close to his chest, Stella wrapped her arms around his middle. Dylan shuddered slightly at her touch, memories rippling to the surface. Then he wrapped his arms around her. Together they danced to the music and Dylan felt joyful for the first time in months.
With a mischievous smile on her face, Stella began to dance around Dylan. For a while he watched her trying to draw out what she wanted. She sighed in frustration before she stopped dancing. That was when Dylan stepped up to the plate. Trina always told him that his dancing was scary but his girlfriends had said it was sexy. Without really thinking, Dylan slid around Stella, flowing like a shadow. Her breathing quickened when she felt him get nearer. After a short time, his smooth moves faded away and their dancing returned to normal—if you could call it that.
The song ended abruptly startling both of them. Stella was breathing hard as she grabbed Dylan's hand. Without a glance at Lemonade Mouth, Stella began to drag him through the crowd. Dylan looked back quickly to see all of the band watching them disappear into the crowd.
"Stella where are you taking me?" Stella refused to answer until they were free of the crowd. Looking into his eyes, Stella took a deep breath. Dylan could feel a cold sweat breaking out. Had he failed his test?
"I need to know something." Stella said shifting uncomfortably. "Do you trust me?" Dylan nodded silently wondering what she meant. At the same time he felt relieved. She wasn't giving him an F…yet. Stella smiled slightly as she led him toward the stairs. "Good cause we're going to break a few rules."
Dylan smiled to himself. It wouldn't be the first time they had broken rules but at least they were breaking rules together. Stella steered him up the stairs and out onto the roof. There a spectacular sight met Dylan's eyes.
It looked like Stella had set up their own personal dance. A small radio sat at the corner of a square of the roof that had been decorated with flowers of every kind. Streamers had somehow been hung all around as well. Stunned Dylan turned to Stella.
"What's all this?" He asked. Stella just smiled pulling him onto the makeshift dance floor.
"You owe me a dance." Dylan opened his mouth to protest but Stella punched him. "A slow dance you idiot." Dylan nodded rubbing his arm. If anything Stella knew how to punch.
"Alright. May I ask why?"
"No" She turned away from him, heading to the radio. Pressing a button, Stella returned to him. She put a hand on his shoulder, twining the fingers of her other hand with his. Dylan's breath stopped at her touch, memories rippling to the surface. An impatient sound from Stella brought him back. He placed a hand on her waist and they began to dance.
Stella held Dylan's gaze, sparkling in the dim light. He knew he was staring but she looked back at him with the same intensity. For a while, their hearts beat as one. Near the end of the song Stella leaned forward. Their dance halted while Dylan responded, their lips meeting halfway.
It felt like heaven to Dylan but he knew it wasn't right. He hadn't earned this right. He hadn't earned her trust back. Stella must have known it too because when they pulled apart, she was crying. "We can't be friends Dylan." She said her voice calm. Stella started for the stairs and Dylan felt his heart break for a second time. "It just hurts too much."
Give me a second chance Stella. Dylan thought to himself as she disappeared. I can do it right a second time. Stella didn't turn around though and the ground was sprayed with little red drops—all that was left of Dylan's heart.