Sooner than later

Sooner than later
#DYLAN'S PENTHOUSE

DYLAN’S POINT OF VIEW

The movie had been playing for a while.I knew that because the screen had changed scenes at least five times.Different lighting.Different angles.Different people talking.But none of it stayed in my head long enough to make sense.It was just… noise.Background noise.Because my mind wasn’t in the room.Not even close.

I dragged my hand through my hair again as I walked past the couch for what felt like the hundredthtime.Step.Turn.Step.Turn.Back again.I couldn’t sit.Every time I tried, something inside me pushed me right back up.Restless.Uneasy.Like my chest was too tight to stay still.

“Dude.”I didn’t respond.Step.Turn.

“Dude.”Still nothing.Because if I stopped moving I’d start thinking properly.And if I started thinking properly I’d remember her face.The way she looked at me earlier.The way her eyes softened when she smiled.
The way she leaned into me like she trusted me.Like I deserved it.My chest tightened.Step.Turn.

“DYLAN.”I stopped.Not because I wanted to.
But because the tone made it impossible not to.Slowly, I turned around.All three of them were staring at me.Zayn had paused the movie.Brian was leaning forward like he’d been watching a live show.Johnson looked like he’d been done with me ten minutes ago.

“You done?” Zayn asked.I frowned.

“With what?”

“With whatever this is,” Brian said, gesturing at me. 

“Because if this is a performance, it’s getting repetitive.”I rolled my eyes slightly.

“Shut up.”Johnson crossed his arms.

“You’ve been pacing for almost half an hour.”

“Twenty-nine minutes,” Zayn added.Brian nodded.

“Yeah. We timed you.”I scoffed.

“You guys seriously have no life.”

“We were watching a movie,” Johnson said flatly.
“You’re the one who turned it into a walking marathon.”I exhaled and turned away again, dragging my hand through my hair.

“I’m fine.”There was a pause.Then—Brian let out a short laugh.

“Okay, no. That was terrible.”Zayn shook his head slowly.

“Try again.”

“I said I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Johnson said immediately.I clenched my jaw slightly.

“Why do you guys care so much?, just focus on your movie”Zayn leaned back, studying me.

“Because you only act like this when something’s seriously wrong.”Brian added,

“And because it’s annoying.”I shot him a look.He grinned.

“Mostly because it’s annoying.”I let out a breath, pacing again but slower this time.They were watching me.
Waiting.And I knew them well enough to know they weren’t going to drop it.
Not tonight.Not when I looked like this.
Zayn’s voice came again, calmer this time.

“What happened?”Silence.The question hung in the air.Simple.But heavy.I didn’t answer immediately.Because saying it out loud…Made it real.Made it something I couldn’t ignore anymore.

“I tried to tell her.”The words came out quieter than I expected.The room went still.
Zayn sat up slightly.Brian blinked.Johnson’s gaze sharpened.

“And?” Zayn asked.I swallowed.

“It didn’t come out.”Brian frowned.

“What do you mean it didn’t come out?”I let out a frustrated breath, running my hands over my face.

“I mean I started to say it… and then I just—stopped.”

“Why?” Johnson asked.I laughed softly, but there was no humor in it.

“Because I’m not stupid.”Zayn tilted his head.

“That’s debatable.”I shot him a look.He raised his hands.

“Okay, continue.”I exhaled slowly.

“Because I know what happens after I say it.”Silence.No jokes this time.No teasing.Just understanding.Brian leaned back slightly.
“Yeah…”
“That part sucks,” he admitted.
Zayn rubbed the back of his neck.
“But not saying it doesn’t make it disappear.”I looked away.

“It kind of does.”
“No,” Johnson said firmly.
“It doesn’t.”
“It just gives it time to get worse.”
I clenched my jaw.
“It’s just the bet.”The second I said it....I regretted it.Because the room went quiet in a way I didn’t like.Not casual quiet.Not teasing quiet.Serious quiet.Zayn stared at me.Long.Hard.

“…Say that again.”
I frowned slightly.
“It’s just ........”
“It’s not just a bet anymore,” he cut in.
His voice wasn’t joking now.At all.....And that threw me off.Brian nodded slowly.
“You crossed that line a while ago.”
Johnson added quietly,
“Way past it.”I looked between them.Confused.Frustrated.

“Why are you guys acting like this is such a big deal?”Zayn let out a short laugh.

“Because it is.”

“It started as a bet,we all know” Brian said.
“But that’s not what it is now.”He said and I nodded.

“You’re in deep.”I let out a breath, running my hands through my hair again.

“I don’t want to lose her.”There it was.The truth.Raw.Unfiltered.And the moment it left my mouth.......The room shifted again.Because now…Everything was real.The words I had just said echoed quietly in my head.And somehow… hearing them out loud made everything worse.Because now I couldn’t pretend.Couldn’t brush it off.
Couldn’t hide behind the idea that this was still something small.

Zayn leaned back slowly, studying me like he was trying to figure something out.
Brian rubbed the back of his neck.
Johnson just… watched.
Waiting.Always waiting.

"You have to tell her because if you don't and she gets to find out one way or the other it'll be bad......I mean we're not obviously going to tell her but you never know how she might eventually find out"

“Yeah… that’s even worse.”I shot him a look.

“How is that worse will it be, I mean like you've said there's no way she'll find out that it started as a bet except you guys tell her?”

“Dude Because it means you didn’t even see it coming,” he said.

“And now you’re stuck in it.”Zayn nodded slightly.

“Then why are you acting like ignoring it is going to help?”
“Because I don’t have a better option,” I said quickly.
Brian frowned.
“You do.”
“No, I don’t,” I shot back.
“Yes, you do,” Johnson said firmly.
“Tell her. Dude”I laughed.Short.Dry.
“Yeah. Great idea.”
“It is,” he replied.
“You just don’t like the outcome.”
“Of course I don’t like the outcome!” I snapped.
“You want me to walk up to her and say—what? ‘Hey, by the way, everything started as a bet’? You think she’s just going to smile and say it’s fine?”
“No,” Zayn said.
“She won’t.”
The bluntness of it made my chest tighten.
“She’ll be hurt,” he continued.
“Probably angry.”
“Maybe she’ll walk away.”
Brian added quietly,
“But at least she’ll hear it from you.”
I looked at him.
“And if she doesn’t forgive me?”
He held my gaze.
“Then you deal with that.”
Simple.Too simple.My hands curled slightly.

“You guys are acting like this is easy.”
“It’s not,” Johnson said.
“It’s just necessary.”
I exhaled sharply, turning away again.
My chest felt tight.
Too tight.Like every breath wasn’t enough.
“Do you know what the worst part is?” I muttered.
No one answered.
Because they knew I was going to say it anyway.
“She trusts me.”The words came out quieter this time.Almost like a confession.And that… that was the part that hurt the most.Zayn didn’t speak.Brian didn’t joke.Even Johnson stayed silent.Because there was nothing to say to that.
“I see it,” I continued.
“The way she looks at me.”
“The way she talks to me.”
“Like I’m… safe.”
I swallowed.
Hard.
“And I’m about to ruin that.”
“You already are,” Johnson said softly.
I froze.
Then slowly turned to look at him.
“What?”
He didn’t look away.
“You’re ruining it right now.”
My brows furrowed.
“How?”
“By letting it continue like this,” he said.
“Every day you don’t tell her… it gets worse.”
Zayn nodded.
“He’s right.”
Brian added,
“You’re building something on a lie.”
“And the longer it stands… the harder it falls.”
I shook my head slightly.
“No… it’s not like that.”
“Yes, it is,” Zayn said.
“No, it’s not,” I repeated.
“It’s not fake.”
“I didn’t fake anything.”
“That’s not what we’re saying,” Brian said quickly.
“You didn’t fake your feelings.”
“But the start?” Johnson added.
“That part matters.”
Silence again.
I looked down at the floor.
Jaw tight.
Mind racing.
Because they weren’t wrong.
That was the problem.
They weren’t wrong.
“I thought it would just… end,” I admitted quietly.
Zayn frowned.
“What would?”
“The bet,” I said.
“I thought I’d win… and that would be it.”
Brian let out a breath.
“Yeah…but that didn’t happen.”
“No,” I said.
“It didn’t.”Instead....Everything changed.She changed it.Without even trying.Without even knowing.

“I didn’t plan this,” I muttered.
“I know.......we all know,” Zayn said.
“But that doesn’t change where you are now.”I ran my hands through my hair again, pacing a few steps before stopping.
“…What if she hates me?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
And this time—
No one rushed to answer.
Because this wasn’t something they could fix with jokes.
Zayn looked at me.
Straight.
Honest.
“She might.”
My chest tightened instantly.
Brian sighed.
“Yeah… she might.”
Johnson nodded slowly.
“That’s a real possibility.”
I let out a quiet breath.
Like something inside me had just dropped.
“Great,” I muttered.
“But,” Zayn added quickly.
I looked up.
“But what?”
“But if she finds out from someone else?”
His expression hardened slightly.
“That ‘might’ turns into ‘definitely.’”
That hit harder.
Much harder.
Brian nodded.
“And it won’t just be anger.”
“It’ll be betrayal.”
Johnson added,
“And that’s worse.”
Way worse.
I looked away again.
Because I could already imagine it.
Her face.
The shock.
The hurt.
The way her eyes would change.
And suddenly—
I didn’t know which was worse.
Telling her…
Or letting her find out.
“I’m screwed,” I muttered.
Zayn let out a short breath.
“Yeah.”
Brian nodded.
“Pretty much.”
Johnson added calmly,
“But you can still choose how it happens.”I leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.My mind spinning.My chest heavy.A week to prom.Everything building.
Everything fragile.And right in the middle of it......This.The truth.Waiting.Growing.
Getting harder to say with every second.
“I hate this,” I muttered.
Zayn smirked slightly.
“Yeah… accountability tends to do that.”
I shot him a look.
He raised his hands.
“Too soon?”
“Very.”
"You have to tell her dude........I mean I'm also scared with all this, if my dad finds out that I was part of this whole bet thing he'll be super mad and disappointed at me. Especially now that he's going to marry Violet's mom.....Dude I'm in a hot mess too, The sooner you tell her the better"Zayn said and I sighed and sat down weakly.