Things Left Unsaid | ✓

Chapter Two: Breathe

II. Breathe

I wrinkled my nose in disgust once I had walked through the main doors to my school. Oh, how I did not miss the mixture of sweat, cologne, and desperation in the air around me.

My eyes scanned the hallways looking for Bree or Dylan. Even facing him would be better than running into some rude guy or some snobby girl. I finally caught sight of Bree, thankfully, all the way down the hallway. She saw me too and started to wait for me by her locker. As I struggled to make my way over to her through the crowd, I ran into someone. That someone would be Ashleigh Steele, also known as Dylan's ex. Of all the people to run into, it just had to be her.

Dylan broke up with Ashleigh because of me. She hated that we were so close and was certain that something was going on between us, and even though both of us swore that there wasn't, she still remained extremely jealous. She threatened me, tormented me, and tried to make my life a living hell. When Dylan found out about all that she did, he dumped her in the blink of an eye. We even discovered later that she was hooking up with some other guy at the same time anyways, so she became an enemy to the both of us. Although they were no longer together, Ashleigh still had it out for me and was determined to ruin my friendship with Dylan.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Little Miss Homewrecker," she sneered. "How're things with you and Dylan? Has he dumped your sorry ass yet?"

Her snide comments meant absolutely nothing to me and I simply rolled my eyes in disgust.

"Hey Ashleigh, how was your summer? Hooking up with anyone new?" I asked sarcastically. "Oh, and by the way, if i remember correctly, I believe it was YOU who got your sorry ass dumped by him."

Her pernicious green eyes burned holes through my head, and I resisted the urge to shudder.

"Whatever slut, go take your skankiness somewhere else," Ashleigh spat. She flipped her glossy black hair over her shoulder and strutted away.

That comment only made me want to laugh, rather than feel hurt like she had intended. She had the nerve to call me a slut while she hooked up with just about every guy in our grade?

I shrugged and continued to find my way to Bree. I knew this little meet-up wouldn't be the last I saw of Ashleigh.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I approached my best friend, I could tell that she saw the whole confrontation by the way her big brown eyes filled with concern.

"Hi Kay, are you alright?" Bree asked, trying to hide the worry that laced her voice.

"I'm fine," I laughed. "She's a psychotic chick that needs to learn where she stands. But anyways, how was your summer?"

"OMG my summer was so amazing!!!" she squealed with delight. "We went to Tahiti and everything was so beautiful. We went snorkeling, hiking, shopping, and so much more!"

I smiled at my bubbly friend as her tiny little body quaked with happiness. As she continued to ramble about her amazing adventures, I listened intently. I wished I could've done as much as she did during the past three months. The highlight of my summer was going to a lake with my family for one day, while she went to a beautiful, exotic paradise. I couldn't help but feel a tiny pang of jealousy towards her.

"OH and then we went on a tour and the tour guide was so cute! He was -"

Her words were cut off when my body knocked into her little frame. Someone nearly ran me over in the hallway, which was ridiculous because we were by the wall at Bree's locker.

"What the f-"

My words caught in my throat as I turned and caught sight of those dazzling royal blues.

"Nice to see you too Kaylee," he smirked, eyes shining with amusement. "Better watch that language. We are in school you know."

I rolled my eyes at his teasing. I could tell that he was proud of being able to knock over me and Bree together and causing me to go into a mini rage. That smug little fool thought he was hot stuff. Well...maybe he was, but he didn't have to act like it towards me.

"Damn you Dylan, you're such an ass!" I yelled as I playfully punched Dylan in the arm. "You could've killed us both, and on the first day of school too!"

"Yeah, death by school hallway. That totally makes sense," Dylan retorted with a laugh, putting emphasis on the word totally to be overly dramatic.

I was about to say something else when his strong arms pulled me into a hug.

"I've missed you Kay," he murmured in my hair.

Chills ran down my spine and I was terrified that his words would break down the very basis of my "just friends" act. I managed to keep my composure, however, and hugged him in return.

"I've missed you too Dylan," I sighed.

We remained like that for a while and my thoughts flew in a million different directions. Was this just a friendly hug? Did he miss hanging out with me or actually miss me as a person? Could this be the start of something new? My uncontrollable thoughts came to a halt when Bree's voice rang in our ears.

"What am I, a piece of ham?" she teased.

"Of course not, Bree. Come here!" He broke away from our hug to go hug her instead.

I couldn't help but silently curse at my closest girl friend. It wasn't Bree's fault though, since I haven't told her about my crush on Dylan yet. I thought it would've gone away by now and I was too embarrassed to tell her that I was friend-zoned. Or, even worse, best friend-zoned.

After Dylan broke away from their hug, we all talked about our summers. Apparently, I was the only one with a very pathetic and unproductive summer. Dylan helped out at the animal shelter and tutored some kids from our old middle school. Why did he have to be such a good person? And of course there was Bree with her trip to Tahiti and apparently a second trip to New York. My friends led way more interesting lives than I did.

After I summed up my boring summer, we compared schedules. I had three classes with Bree and two with Dylan. It was less than the amount I had with him last year, but I knew it'd still be a struggle for me to be alone with him that much. Each day that passed would only mean me falling for him more and more. He was so sweet, funny, charismatic, good looking...

"Earth to Kaylee!! What's up with you?"

I snapped out of my "Dylan daze" and saw Bree waving her arms frantically in front of my face. She looked annoyed and confused as to why I was zoning out so much. I looked to her left and there was Dylan, who was just staring at me with a humored look on his face. God, he was cute. I swear if he could read minds, I'd never live this down. As I tried to stop the blood from flushing in my cheeks and opened my mouth to respond, the school bell sounded throughout the hallways. It was time for the first of many classes with Dylan this sophomore year.

"Ready to go?" he asked me as he slung his arm around my shoulders.

His blazing blue eyes gazed into mine as he waited for my answer. My heart fluttered and I knew I was a goner. This year could be even harder than I thought.

Breathe, Kaylee, breathe.

"Yeah."