Out of the fifteen minutes it took Dante to get home from HQ, he kicked himself for fourteen of them. Why did he always have to be so weird around Angie? Someone as bright as her would notice him almost bursting through the wall like the Kool-Aid man to escape her.
It wasn't a crush. There was no way these confusing feelings swirling around in his head were because of a crush.
Why not? A frightening thought rose to the surface, silencing the rampant emotions.
Why not? Because it made no sense! He had never shown interest in Angie before, so why would he start now? He had more important things to worry about, like how he would pay for college. What college could he even attend? What would he even do after tonight?
A girlfriend, let alone Angie, is so far from being at the front of what he should focus on that it's not funny. Even knowing that didn't detangle the knot in his stomach when he thought of the small and fierce girl he would regularly trade barbs with.
The one person he had to make sure noticed him—the one person he wanted to keep him in their thoughts, good or bad.
The more he thought about her, the more he realized she had been one of the only people to see the honest side of him when he wasn't bouncing off walls trying to get people's acknowledgment.
The more he thought about her, the more he realized she had been one of the reasons he decided to change. To be more himself.
As he reached the doorstep of his house, Dante banged his head against the door.
"I am so screwed." He mumbled to himself.
Tired of the thrashing his brain was giving him, Dante unlocked the door and marched in, making a beeline for the last person 'two years ago' Dante would have ever gone to for advice: his mom, Barbara.
She was another reason the old Dante had to kick rocks. All the undeserved stress he brought into her life. The antics, the disrespect, the disregard. He acted like the woman who bent over backward for him wasn't worth even calling her "mom".
That all changed when a Cross almost killed her.
Because of him.
Dante felt the weight of an anvil crash on his shoulders as his head hung low at the memory. Ever since that night, he promised never to push her away like that again.
He set his book bag on the couch and headed for her office room. She sat at the computer, her brown hair tied back into a tight bun as her fingers flew over the keyboard at lightning speeds. Her brows were furrowed in concentration as her eyes scanned left and right.
Dante didn't want to disturb her from working on her latest work project. So, instead, he just quietly turned the other way back towards the living room.
"Something you need, honey?" She called out to him.
Dante must not have been as incognito as he thought. That or that sixth sense mothers had kicked in.
"It's nothing, mom. I'll let you get back to it." I said.
The keys on her computer stopped clacking for a second before they continued at their former pace.
She knew he was lying, but she also didn't want to risk sabotaging their improving relationship by pressing on. It could also be that she saw he was becoming a man and wanted to handle things independently.
She was right, but that didn't mean he wouldn't want her help. It just couldn't be at the expense of the job she enjoyed. The one he almost got her fired from when she had to leave to beg for him not to be expelled from school for spraying everyone with a water hose.
In his defense, it was to prevent a zombie apocalypse...
... even though that was his fault too, wearing that Dwarven Butler's top hat had given him some weird lice that spread throughout the school and became a whole thing.
Another chapter in the "Dante's Biggest Screwups." book.
No, he'd handle it (whatever it was) alone.
He'd heard his mom's chair slide backward. "Shoot! Your graduation is tonight, isn't it?"
"It's not for another four hours, Mom," Dante explained. He didn't know why schools did that, made them wait before they could walk down the aisle and get that damned piece of paper. "You should finish what you're working on. I've already got my suit ready, and I'll catch a ride with Lyle to the ceremony."
She scoffed. "And miss the biggest day of my baby's life? Perish the thought."
Her cell phone came to life, vibrating softly against her desk. She glanced at the number before a strange look that Dante couldn't quite place crossed her face. She answered, "Hello? Yes? Ok, I'll be sure to get on that." She clicked the phone off before turning towards Dante reluctantly, "Sorry, Dante. The boss called and said he needs the project due by eight tonight. I'll have to stay here a little longer than expected. Is that okay?"
Dante felt a string of disappointment pull across his chest. But he hid it well; after all, he had made plans so she wouldn't have to take off working on whatever project she was working on.
"Of course, like I said, I can catch a ride with Lyle."
His mother still looked uneasy, guilty. "Was there anything you wanted to talk about? I know you didn't come to remind me of the graduation." She laughed.
Dante didn't want to burden her with his issues. But she was already feeling bad about being unable to make it to his graduation, so he could at least let her help him with this Angie problem.
He leaned on the wall. "Well, it's about this girl. Angie."
She cocked her head to the side, clearly trying to remember who he was talking about.
"Small girl. Bit of a firecracker?
"Oh, yes! She always hung around you, Lyle, and ... Wayne?" She tried to remember.
Dante smiled. She could never remember both Lyle and Wyatt's names. "Wyatt, mom. And yeah, she's an old buddy.
"What's going on with her? You like her?" She immediately concluded.
Dante could feel his heart leap into his throat. "Uh, no! What makes you say that?"
"Other than your face going beat red, you mean?"
Dante gave a defeated sigh as he hung his head back against the wall. "She's too good for me, mom. I don't think she'll ever see me as someone other than the problem child of the group, and I have bigger things to worry about than her." My emotions spilled out of me. Repressing them hadn't done him any good.
His mom placed a gentle yet firm hand on his shoulder. "Dante, no one is too good for you. You have to stop thinking that you're not enough. No matter what happens, whether she likes you back or not, you are enough. And if she can't see beyond the old Dante, it's her loss. Because everyone can see how much effort you put into becoming who you are now."
Dante couldn't help but smile at that reassurance. "Thanks, mom. I really appreciate it."
She smiled back. "It's the least I could do. Now, you better get ready. I still need to take plenty of pictures of my baby graduating!" She squealed.
"But, what about-"
"Oh, they'll be fine for a few minutes. Now, let's get you into suit number one!"
"Wait, 'suit number one'?" Dante gulped.