| "You are such a freaking computer geek." Layla slouched on the couch across the apartment watching her best friend Dylan type away on the computer's Notepad. Dylan didn't bother to look from the screen. "I am not a computer geek." Layla rolled her eyes. "Yes you are," she said with a sigh, walking over to him. "I come over thinking you would wanna do something, but no, you leave me on the couch staring at the back of your head." "I did wanna do something," he protested, only looking from the screen for mere seconds while Layla perched herself on the side of the computer desk. "Get off that before you fall like you did last time." "That was because Ryan started to tickle me, I'm not gonna fall off while I'm just sitting here." She paused. "What did you wanna do, anyway?" "Rollerblading? Hit Josie's after it?" Dylan asked, finally giving Layla his full attention. "Their ice cream is better that Dairy Queen's and I've had a craving for it since I woke up this morning." Layla chuckled. "Craving, huh? D, you're not pregnant or anything, are you?" Layla asked, standing up and looking around the room for the rollerblades she always left at Dylan's apartment. Dylan looked down at his stomach when he stood up. "I hope not - being twenty years old and pregnant would screw up the rest of my life." Layla blinked. "D, you have got to start hanging out with Ryan and Ben a lot more often. Do guy stuff, play football, drink beer, watch Sportscenter, belch, scratch yourself... Anything, just..." She shook her head. "The pregnancy jokes have really got to be taken figuratively." "I'll be sure to remember that next time," Dylan said with a slight chuckle as he threw Layla's rollerblade at her. ~*~*~ AHL62682: hey dearie, how've you been? Layla smiled to herself as the IM from Michael, her online friend, popped up on the screen the instant she signed onto AOL Instant Messenger. PensGirl923: ive been great, just got back from rollerblading. yourself? AHL62682: the same, actually. i was just rollerblading with my best friend. weird how we always seem to do the same things, huh? PensGirl923: LoL maybe we were meant to be together AHL62682: lol maybe we are Dylan knew the girl he chatted with online as Marie. He knew she lived in the same Valley as he did, that she was eighteen and that she loved hockey. This was good enough for him. They had never seen pictures of each other, only given rough descriptions. They had been chatting online for over a year, and they had gotten to be good friends. They had gone to different schools, her nineteenth birthday was coming up soon; she was a little over a year younger than him. ~*~*~ AHL62682: so what do you want for your birthday? Layla scrunched up her nose when she read the question. They had been chatting on and off for about an hour, they were both watching The Mighty Ducks on the Disney Channel and the question was completely random. She thought for a moment and then typed in her answer. PensGirl923: how bout meeting you? Dylan's mouth dropped. Seconds later he got another message. PensGirl923: i have to admit, im kinda wondering who you *really* are Layla hoped she wasn't being too forward on this one; she was getting way too curious as to who her cyber-guy was. She knew she had to be careful when she was meeting people through the internet with all the news stories about rapes and whatnot. This was why she was going to bring Dylan. AHL62682: if you really want to, sure. but how about bringing a friend? PensGirl923: i was just typing that, i was gonna bring my best friend along. AHL62682: so your birthday's on thursday, why don't we meet at evolution? PensGirl923: thats perfect, i love it there. ill meet you at the front bar, is that good? AHL62682: yeah, that's fine. PensGirl923: kk... i gtg, ill ttyl AHL62682: ok, bye bye dearie. PensGirl923 signed off at 5:37:07PM. Seconds after she signed off, Dylan's cell phone rang. He put an away message up on AIM and picked it up from the table. Recognizing Layla's number, he smiled before he answered it. "You rang, oh almighty annoying one?" Layla growled. "Dylan, could you please not be such an ass? We're going to Evolution on Thursday." "I know. I was just gonna call you and ask you if you wanted to go," he said, wandering around the apartment. "Kickass. I'm meeting someone there, so you're coming with me," she said, twirling the phone cord around her finger. Dylan made a noise while he threw himself onto the couch. "Are you meeting that guy there? The one you've been talking to online?" Layla laughed. "Actually, yes I am. But you shouldn't be talking, you have your own little online girlfriend." "She is not my girlfriend, how many times have I told you that? Grr Layla..." He paused while he thought of his situation. "Well, I guess I really shouldn't be talking, I'm supposed to meet her there too." "D., it's my birthday," Layla said quietly. Dylan sighed. "I know dearie, I just-" "What did you just call me?" Layla cut off Dylan as she sat up abruptly on her bed. "Dearie?" Dylan asked, confused. "You never called me that before." Layla thought for a moment. "Umm, do you care that I call you that?" Dylan asked, still slightly confused. "No, not really... It's just that only one other person calls me that." "Who?" "Michael, the guy that I've been chatting with online." Dylan's mouth dropped. He suddenly put everything together... The numbers on Marie's screen name matched her birthday, which was also Layla's... Layla loved hockey... Whenever they went out, Marie would always seem to be just coming home from the same exact thing... He constantly called Marie dearie... And Marie was... "Marie." Layla wrinkled her nose. "Don't call me by my middle name." "You're Marie," Dylan said, jumping up from the couch in excitement. "Dylan, what the hell are you babbling about?" Layla asked, slightly confused. "PensGirl923. Layla, I'm Michael," Dylan said quickly. "What?!? You... D., you can't... Oh my God, Michael is your middle name." "And I love the AHL and my birthday is June 26th, 1982." Dylan paused. "I can't believe that I've been falling in love with my best friend for the past year without even knowing who you were." Layla was silent for a moment. "Falling in love?" "That's what I was gonna tell Marie when I met her. But now... Layla, you know I love you, right?" "Well, yeah, but-" "I really love you. I have, for the longest time. Come over, please?" Dylan pleaded. "Dylan, I..." Layla paused. "I'll be right over." "Okay, I'll see you soon." "Okay... Oh, hey, Dylan?" "Yeah?" "I love you too." |
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