My Roommate’s Bestfriend

CHAPTER 4

“Well, are you okay? Do you want me to come over?”. Dylan asked Elizabeth who he was talking on the phone with . His lecture had just ended and he was seated on a desk, waiting for Miles, who was still in a class.

“I’m fine Dylan. I was tired of the relationship anyway. I just had to end it today”. Elizabeth said.

“I’m coming still. StuyTown, right?”. Dylan asked

“Yes, but don’t come. I’m fine. Really”. Elizabeth tried to reassure him.

“Liz, your break-ups don’t always turn out pretty in the end. When that kid back in elementary school broke up with you, you tried to drink a freaking bottle of hand sanitizer so you'd get sick and not have to come to school for a week because you were too embarrassed to face him”. Dylan stated.

“I was eleven. I was too young then”. Elizabeth defended.

“Okay, how about when Tyler broke up with you in high school? You tried to jump off the roof. You were sixteen then”. Dylan asked and Elizabeth sighed.

“If you still think you were young then too, this one happened last year when Jake broke up with you. You went on a shopping spree with his card which he thought he had lost, not knowing you had taken it from his pocket when he was sleeping. You said he was paying for the emotional damage he cost you. He almost called the cops on you”. Dylan said again.

“Alright fine. That’s enough”. Elizabeth said. “All those times, I was broken up with, but this time, it’s me who broke up with him. There’s a difference”

“Whatever you say, I’m still coming”. Dylan said, leaving no room for argument.

“Dude, let’s go”. Miles called suddenly from the door and Dylan got up to go after picking up his bag.

“See you soon Liz”. He said and ended the call before Elizabeth could say anything.

“Elizabeth?”. Miles asked and Dylan nodded. “You’re going to NYU?”

“Yeah. Do you want to come with?”. Dylan asked, but Miles shook his head.

“NYU is like thirty minutes away from Fordham. I have to be somewhere by six and we won’t be back before then”. Miles said.

“Alright then. I’ll see you tonight at Luke’s party. You’re coming, right?”. Dylan asked

“Of course. Wouldn’t miss it”. Miles replied and they did their bro handshake thing before parting ways.

Dylan got in his car and drove all the way to NYU, bopping his head to the beat of the music blasting in the car, and tapping his finger on the steering wheel. His mind suddenly drifted to Isabella. He began to wonder what she was doing at the moment.

He had sent her a text earlier but she didn’t reply yet and he had patiently been waiting for her reply before Elizabeth called. He thought that she must have been busy and decided not to bother her.

As he drove, he decided to stop at McDonald’s drive-through to get something for his best friend, after which he stopped at Think Coffee to get himself coffee because he'd be staying up all night.

He walked in and took out his phone from his pocket to check if Isabella had replied to his text. That was when he heard his name.

“Dylan?”

He looked up immediately and he could not believe his eyes.

“Woah. What are you doing here?”. It was the first thing he said.

“Working”. Isabella replied.

“I mean, why do you work here of all places and let us meet like this?”. He asked, amused, and she just shrugged.

“I guess that’s what people call a coincidence”. She said

“That’s not it”. Dylan said, “Fate. That’s the word. It means we’re meant to be together.”

“Yeah, slow down tiger and tell me what you want”. Isabella said, slightly amused by his wittiness.

“Ah right. Iced americano”. He said and pulled out his card, handing it to her. He just stared at her with an excited and slightly amused smile as she did her thing. She looked up to give him his card and caught him staring. She just shook her head.

“Staring is rude, you know”. She said as she got him his glass of iced Americano.

“Well, I can’t help it. You’re prettier in person”. He said, taking a sip of his coffee, and Isabella scoffed.

“Well, that’s a first”. She said and handed him his coffee. “People normally say I look better in pictures.”

“That’s not true, trust me”. He said. She nodded and attended to another customer who had just come in while he moved to the side. “So what do you think about me?”. He asked when she was done.

“What about you?”. She asked

“Do I look better in person?”. Dylan asked with a smirk and Isabella scoffed.

“You wish”. She said.

“I know you’re lying, Bell. I can see it in your eyes”. Dylan said.

Isabella scrunched up her face at the name.

“Eww. Don’t call me that. I’m not a bell”. She said and Dylan laughed.

“Well, I like it, Bell”. He said and she rolled her eyes.

“So what brings you all the way here? You said you go to Fordham”. She asked.

“Oh yeah. Liz just broke up with her boyfriend so I came to see how she’s doing”. Dylan replied.

“Why wouldn’t she be okay? She was the one who broke up with him”. Isabella stated.

“You don’t understand. Her brain takes a different turn whenever she’s heartbroken”. Dylan said with a chuckle. “She’s attempted suicide twice since I’ve known her because she was embarrassed that she was broken up with”

“Well, she’s totally fine. We had classes together throughout today and nothing seemed off about her”. Isabella reassured him.

“Still, I have to see for myself”. Dylan said, “When do you get off work?”. He asked

“Six. Why?”. Isabella replied and he shrugged.

“No reason”. He said and went to sit down at the closest table to the counter, facing Isabella and continued staring at her, smiling. “I’m gonna be here. Do your thing”. He mouthed and nodded to a customer who just walked.

Isabella just sighed in annoyance and attended to the customer. Whenever she looked up, she saw Dylan staring at her shamelessly. She just rolled her eyes and continued to work.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t decide whether she liked him or not. Not that kind of like, but like, as in, like his personality. She thought he was cool and somehow funny but also somewhat cocky and annoying in a way with a little bit of arrogance, but what does she know? She just met him.

She decided not to jump into conclusion and get to know him better before deciding whether he was alright or not.

Meanwhile, as Dylan stared at Isabella, he couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful she was. He liked her before they met but fell in love with her the moment he set his eyes on her, behind the counter, in a work shirt and apron, with her hair tied in a messy bun, and a tired face. Not the best way to meet your crush for the first time, but he thought she was still pretty.

He made up his mind to make her fall in love with him no matter what.

To Dylan, it was her or no one else.