Chapter 3 

Mr. Player's Womanizing Way

ALEX 

I stare after Dylan as he walks away with that girl in the direction of the restrooms. Now that he’s not around and I can think clearly, I realize I sort of liked talking to him. I liked how he was slightly flirtatious and he called me “baby” even though I hate it when guys call you stuff like that, like they’ve known you forever, when they don’t even know your name. But most of all, I liked how he was actually interested in me.

Nobody ever notices me, like I said. If this was a movie, I’d be one of those faceless people walking in the background, those people who don’t have any real significance. They are just…there. Nobody watching the movie wonders about them, their existence. I mean, have you ever heard a girl say—“oh, who is that girl in the blue sweater behind the hot male lead of the movie?” No, you haven’t. Have you? Exactly. I’m one of those ‘background people’. And it’s really crazy that someone like Dylan, the equivalent to the male lead in the movie, actually notices me. And not just notices me, he also shows interest in me.

Who are you kidding Alex? He just wants some good sex, and he wants it from you.

"Wow!" Tia exclaims as soon as Dylan vanishes from the scene.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I ask with a confused expression on my face even though I know exactly what she means.

"Nice…”she mumbles. To be honest, I’d even forgotten Tia had been here. It’s like I’d forgotten where I was, it was just about me and him.

"What are you talking about?" I mutter.

“The school’s hottest guy showed interest in you, and you completely blew him off”

“You know what he’s interested in. And he’s not getting it; at least not from me, anyway. C'mon, let's enjoy, we aren't supposed to be waiting for him, are we?" I say and head back towards the dance floor, this time dragging Tia with me. We both start swaying our bodies to the music and talk along. I start enjoying myself thoroughly, completely forgetting about Dylan for a while and our kiss.

"So, what happened? How does he even know you?” Tia shouts over the music.

"Well...Uh...we kissed!" I say rather hesitantly.

"What?! If I'm not wrong, this was your first kiss?" I nod.

"Awesome!" she exclaims.

"What’s awesome about it?" I say, acting as if it’s not a big deal. But of course, it is a big deal. It was my first kiss after all, they only happen once.

"You kissed the school's hottest guy, not to mention it was your first damn kiss, what more do you need?"

"Tia! If I'm not wrong I'm not the only one who has kissed him. Till now he must have kissed thousands of girls, what difference does one girl like me make?"

"But still...he was the one who gave you your first kiss. It might not be a big deal for him. But to you, it most certainly is."

Sometimes I think my best friend has these super-powers. She’s always able to detect when I’m lying or say exactly what I’m feeling. It’s honestly very scary.

"It's just a kiss, besides, it's not like I was the one who wanted to kiss him." I say with a shrug, still keeping up my I-don’t-care façade.

"Just a kiss?" she says wiggling her eyebrows.

"What? No, it was just a dare. I had to kiss him. I didn’t want to, I was forced to.”

"Whatever, in the end you kissed him right? So how was it?"

"Umm...It was actually nice", I can't help the smile creeping my face.

"Cool!"

"Oh god, it was seriously awesome! I loved it!” I exclaim happily. It feels so good to actually say it out loud. I’d been secretly ignoring how amazing it had felt all this while, but now I was finally admitting it to myself. “Promise me you won't tell anyone about this, I mean about me enjoying that kiss, or for that matter kissing him. It's not like we'll be kissing again anyway. I don’t wanna be known as one of those girls who’s got involved with him."

"Of course I won’t tell anyone. You can count on me”

"Thanks... I hope he returns soon." I mumble. Tia’s eyes immediately snaps onto me. She looks at me curiously.

"Are you interested in him Alex?" she says slowly, like she’s scared to say it, like I’ll pounce on her or something.

"I don't know...maybe...sort of. Does it even matter though? I mean he's a player." And I know it doesn’t. He’s a player. He has a thousand girls wrapped around his fingers. He can have anyone anytime. But all the same, I must admit it to myself—I am interested in him.

****

I can't believe he still hasn't returned. I hopelessly look in the direction he had walked half an hour ago with that girl. Where is he? I don’t know why but I feel miserable. Can it be that Dylan had found someone much more interesting than me and got busy with them? Chances are, yes he has. My gaze flits around. You can find a beautiful girl in practically every corner, looking spectacular in her tight-fitting clothes, looking breath-taking. Of course he has found someone better.

Why would he even return Alex? You’ve been nothing but rude to him since you’ve met. You won’t flirt with him; in fact you’ve made it clear you won’t do anything with him. He’s obviously found a girl who’s more than willing to do…things with him.

That little voice in my head is right. It is saying the truth, and the truth hurts. I’ve been so happy to know that a guy was actually interested in me. But now it hurts to know he isn’t so interested that he would drop the chance to spend some ‘quality’ time with some hot chick.

"Tia, I better go and see where he is. I mean he still hasn't returned." I say to Tia. I know I am being stupid, rushing after Dylan when he has clearly forgotten he has asked me to wait for him.

Maybe he forgot he asked me to wait. Maybe he got busy with someone.

‘Busy’ right! I know what kind of busy he can be.

I keep walking, feeling impatient. Oh god! This isn't how I'm supposed to feel. I mean, I feel like it's wrong. I've never been interested in any guy like this. In fact, I hate guys. And what's more? I hated him too. Until tonight. Tonight I don’t know why I feel so anxious. I feel weird. Is this the side-effect of kissing him?

Guy's don't hold the best of my interest, but he does, at least he does for now. Since he’s kissed me tonight, something has happened. No, I don’t like him or anything. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it really is the kiss. It had been intoxicating, addictive, flawless, amazing…perfect.

What is wrong with me?

I stop thinking about our kiss and keep walking, trying to keep my mind blank. At last I am reach in front of the rest room. I have gone through an empty corridor and come here. I can hear a strange noise from the inside.

Let me just see.

And I come inside. I can hear strange noises. No, it isn’t just any noise. It seems as if it’s the noise of a girl...moaning? It is coming from the corner. I walk over. My heart is thudding dangerously against my chest. Please tell me I’m assuming thing, please tell me I’m wrong.

I feel shocked beyond belief to see what I see right now. It’s like I’ve received a huge smack on my face. I suddenly feel dizzy and there’s a weird pain in my chest. In front of my eyes I see that drunken girl I saw earlier. She is kissing and moaning with delight. And guess who is kissing her oh-so-passionately? Dylan!

He is so into that kiss, and so is she; so much in fact that their minds don’t register my presence. For a second I just stand there, looking at them as they make-out. As the girl moans and they kiss each other furiously, I feel my vision blurring. Then I am not able to take it anymore. A single tear-drop falls down my cheek.

Of course, he found someone. He probably got so bored talking to you that he jumped at the first chance to get away from you. He saw this girl and what’s more she is a hundred times better looking than you and he grabbed the chance to ‘help’ her. You see how he’s ‘helping’ her? He’s probably glad he got away from you.

I don’t know why I suddenly feel betrayed—heartbroken. Why am I feeling like this? It’s not supposed to feel like this. He’s just kissing a girl for god’s sake! He’s a player, that’s what they do. Kiss one girl here; sleep with the some other girl there. They mess around. Why do I care anyway? It’s not that he means anything to me.

He doesn’t mean anything to you, but it hurts to know that he finds you so boring and uninteresting.

Suddenly Dylan opens his eyes, and they fall square on me. My heart immediately responds by beating really fast. He immediately pushes that girl away from him and steps back, like he has been caught red-handed committing a crime. I quickly wipe off the tears welling in my eyes before he can notice them. My eyes narrow down on him on their own accord. I don’t feel hurt anymore; it’s only anger and disgust.

"Oh c'mon Dylan" the girl slurs. It’s pretty obvious that she’s completely wasted.

"No!" Dylan pushes her off as she smashes her lips to him again. But the girl pulls him back. He pushes her back. His gaze snaps onto me. He looks really guilty.

Asshole.

"C'mon baby..." she pleads.

"Get lost!" he exclaims angrily as he pushes her off again and comes towards me.

"Stop! Stop right there! Don’t come close...don’t you dare." I say angrily. I’m sure as hell pissed and nothing he does can change that.

"Please, I can explain…" I wonder why he needs to explain to me, and I wonder why I’m on the verge of crying. He doesn’t need to explain me anything. He can do whatever he wants. Why do I care? I hardly know him!

"You don’t need to."

"But—“

"Go away. Leave me alone!" and then, without another word, I turn around and run out. I just want to get away from him. Not just him, this party. I feel so disgusted. He is a player. I knew he was.

One girl here, another girl there.

It’s all just a game for him. He was kissing me what, just about an hour ago? And now he’s with her. What does he think of himself? This guy is clearly never going to mend his ways. How could I have been interested in a guy like him?