Cynical Souls

5- Questions & Misconceptions

Dylan's PoV:

The sound of rain hitting the ground and the outer surface of my Getz failed to fill in the uncomfortable silence that lingered in the air hanging between Sophie and I.

We've been driving for whole 5 minutes, and I have absolutely no idea where her house is. Subsequently, I take the circumstance to my advantage in trying to lighten the atmosphere by starting a conversation.

"So, you mind telling me where you live, or are we driving here all night?" I ask, and for the first time since she got into the car, she takes her eyes off the damn window, tilting her head forward,
and looks straight ahead to the windshield.

Great, from one glass to another.

Clearing her throat, she seems to contemplate her words.
"You could be a stalker for all I know" Her tone all defensive and accusatory in a joking way.

My eyebrows shoot to my hairline due to surprise? Bewilderment ? Amusement?Annoyance?
Probably all 4 mixed together.

"If you thought I was a stalker why would you get in, in the first place?" I retort curiously, wondering how her mind works.

"Ok, maybe I didn't think this through. Besides, I wouldn't have needed the ride if I hadn't had detention, which is kind of your fault.
But you're not a stalker, right? Neither a serial killer for that matter?"

Her eyes are focused on me now, and though mine are concentrated on the road that lay ahead of me, I could feel her gaze on me.
She asks her question while laughing nervously, afraid I'll stop the car and carry her to the trunk at any point.

To ease her tension, I chuckle.
"What the hell? It was your fault too that I got detention too.
Needless to say, I knew you were a nerd but I didn't think you'd be into mystery thrillers".

Her eyebrows furrow in response to my statement, a pout forming on her pink lips, and I sense that calling her a nerd straight to her face wasn't the best thing.

"I may not be popular like the cheerleaders you hangout with, or attend parties like your cool friends but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm a nerd, nor gives you the right to call me that when you don't even know me"

She ends her statement with such poise and calmness that it actually makes me wonder what layers hid beneath her surface.

"Sorry I called you that. It's just what everyone at school does and you've never stepped up to correct them. I thought you were cool with it"

She's been called that since freshman year and it's the beginning of senior year now - almost 3 and a half years- and she never once bothered to correct the misconception about her.

"Just because you see me carrying a stack of books every once in a while doesn't automatically harness me an A+ in all classes. Damn trigonometry, though"

She ends with a laugh while shaking her head, and a grin plasters on my face uncontrollably. So she struggles with trigonometry..

"Back to basics, are you planning on telling me your address or maybe this was your polite way of wanting me to take you home with me?"

I tease her jokingly, and her head snaps to my direction so fast, I swear I heard the whiplash.

As the blinkers repeatedly drag on the glass, wiping the accumulated raindrops, I take a sneak peak of her from the corner of my eye, noticing her blushing cheeks.

"I don't think your girlfriend Lexi would appreciate it that much" she counters clearly disturbed by the thought of a taken guy hitting on her, and Bam! What a comeback to put me right in my place.

My girlfriend Lexi.

She'd be scathing mad if she knew I gave Sophie a ride. But I can't let her possessiveness prevent me from helping someone, especially in this situation where she would have had to walk home in the rain carrying a heavy load of books.

Clearing my throat from embarrassment, I try redeeming my image in her eyes. "Of course not, it was just a joke obviously".

I hope she hears the sincerity in my voice, that even if given the chance I would never cheat on my girlfriend. She'd beat my ass if she heard me earlier..

The uncomfortable silence in the beginning of this roller coaster car ride could not compare to this one. It seems that by one unintentional harmless comment, I killed the whole vibe.

The silence that followed my clarification only allowed more space to think about the words I said, immediately regretting how I came off as this dude who hits on any available girl once his girlfriend isn't around.

Suddenly the streak of dragged on silence is broken when she shifts slightly.
"Um, can you please drop me off at the next turn?"

"Sure" I do as she asked, taking the next turn and stopping the car near the pavement.

She opens the car handle and grabs the pile of hardware books tightly that rested on her lap, in her arms, turns to me "Thanks for the ride" she offers.

"No problem" I tell her and drive off once she's out of the car.

I grab my phone from my pocket to check the time, and to my dismay I find 5 missed calls from Lexi.

Lexi. Which takes me back to my comment earlier.

Suddenly, I'm drenched with overwhelming guilt, and release a huge chunk of air from my lungs I didn't realize I was holding.

°°°

A/N:

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