The first part of the day wasn't off to the best start, but that didn't stop Taraya from making it better. She had a party to go to and she was going with Dylan. She didn't care what anyone else thought.
Her first few classes were a breeze since all they did was watch movies. She didn't really have interest in them, but continued watching them anyways since she had nothing else to do.
By the time lunch had come by, she had already been on her way to a table. Almost as soon as she sat down, Dylan came up behind her and grabbed her waist. This alarmed her for a small moment, but her body relaxed just as fast as it had tensed. His grip was gentle and slightly firm. She could feel the heat radiating from his face on the back of her neck.
"Okay, okay. Not right now, Dylan." She said smiling to herself. "You do know that my brother and I share the same lunch schedule, right? If he sees us like this, he'll freak out. You know that." She said, her tone persistent and steady.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So when can we tell him that we're a thing? It's been almost a month now and you haven't said a word. What's up with that?" He asked her, his eyes fixed on hers.
"It's nothing. I'm just not ready to tell him. For now, we'll just have to keep acting like we aren't together." She frowned at her food, but began eating none the less.
"I guess." Dylan said, blandly. He went to the other side of the table, opposite from her, and began picking at his food.
"But what about you and Vanessa? Aren't you guys still technically together? I don't want the guilt of ruining something like that." She said, very voice full of concern. She didn't talk to Vanessa much, but she didn't want to feel the weight of ruining an entire relationship.
"I cut that cord a week ago. I found out that she was cheating in me with that exchange student. In a way, he snitched himself out." He said. "We were all talking and I guess he didn't know we were together, because he started talking about that they did in the bathroom. After that, I talked to her and told her we were through."
Taraya was sort of taken by surprise. How could he move on so fast? She said to herself. But something else caught her attention; This was proof to her that he didn't just go from girl to girl. He had reason for leaving Vanessa. She hurt him.
"Oh. Well I'm sorry to hear that." She said, frowning at her food.
"Hey," he started. "Don't be. We weren't working out anyways, okay?" He smiled at her which seemed to melt all of the sorrow away. But she couldn't help but think about how quick he was over her. It surely took her way longer to ditch any feelings she had for someone. She looked up at him and opened her mouth as if she needed to say something, but she had realized that she just shouldn't say anything. She kept thinking about what she had said to Dylan about playing it safe.
Taraya didn't want Dylan to think that she was avoiding him, she just wanted to play it safe. She didn't need her brother to do everything for her. She wasn't a kid anymore. She was in high school which meant that she could do things herself.
As if on cue, Sam sat at the table, regarding his sister and then Dylan. He didn't say a word and started eating. Taraya didn't even look at him. Instead, she pulled out her phone and looked through her notifications. She got twenty-nine missed calls from an unknown number. Twenty-nine? That's insanity. She thought. She swiped away the notifications and opened Instagram.
As soon as she started scrolling, Sam thought it was a good idea to start talking.
"When are you going to stop being mad at me?" He asked, desperation in his tone. He hated being on bad terms with his sister.
"Maybe as soon as you stop treating me like a child." She shot back. Sam could almost feel the hostility in her voice.
"I wasn't treating you like a child. You just need to pay attention more often. It's guys like him that end up hurting people like you." Sam said, throwing his arm in Dylan's direction. "And since we are on this topic, how many girls have you slammed through this year?" He said. He scowled at Dylan like he was ready for a fight.
Dylan looked at him with a flash of anger but said nothing. He just kept his focus on his food.
"I'm sick of you always calling people out on their mistakes! When do you ever just take a second to worry about yours?" She snapped, gazing right at her brother. He didn't have anything to say to her. He just stared, embarrassed.
"That's what I thought." She said, looking back down at her phone. In that moment, Sam had nothing else to say. He got up from the table and sat elsewhere. Taraya looked at him and back towards Dylan.
"You didn't have to do that. He's still your brother." Dylan said to her. His words seemed caring and elegant to her.
"And now you're taking his side? After you were ready to fight him earlier?" She barked.
"Taking his side? Are you kidding me?" He said, angrily. "Why would I take his side? All I said was that you didn't have to snap on him like that." He said.
"Why are you snapping on me all of sudden? You called him out for not being straight. I told you not to bring it up in front of him! I wasn't even supposed to tell you." She barked. She was getting mad and she could feel the blood rushing to her face.
"I don't have time for this. I wasn't on his side, I was showing respect. Maybe you should try that sometime." Dylan shot back. With that, he grabbed his jacket and left to another table.
Now she was sitting there by herself. She felt bad and pulled out her phone once more. She checked her messages and Erin had texted her.
I had to go home early today. The message read. Great. She said in her mind. She had no one to talk to for the rest of the day. Sam was upset with her and Dylan had just ditched her. I'll just apologize when I see Dylan again. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to him. While she was typing, she had began to feel horrible. She had told Dylan that her brother wasn't straight. That was a complete betrayal in her eyes and probably Sam's too. She frowned for a moment, but then she remembered what happened that morning. And what Erin had said to Dylan. She wasn't too happy with Sam or Erin at the moment for how they were treating Dylan. If Sam could be an asshole, then so could she.
She texted Dylan her address and told him pick her up at five for the party. She put away her phone and smiled to herself, hoping that today would get better.
She was not going to wait for her brother. She was going with Dylan and Sam would have to deal with it.
Going to that party was her first mistake.