Chapter 14: Rolling Away

< Shirley >
"They fucking deserted me in this unknown place all by myself," I complained, trying to carry my luggage outside the airport. I was beyond frustrated.
I glanced at the grumpy person walking by my side, hoping he would be kind enough to help out an innocent, kind girl like me.
Dylan just rolled his eyes and looked away.
"Stop rolling your eyes otherwise it may get stuck behind your head." I scowled at him, resulting in him rolling his eyes. Again.
I narrowed my eyes at his free hands, stuffed into his pockets. Dylan was lucky that his guards took care of his luggage, whereas I was stuck on my own, having to carry my own baggage, unable to find a trolly.
"You know, with an attitude like that, you will never be a gentleman," I commented.
"I'm not trying to be one either," he replied.
"Well, you should be. Everyone likes a gentleman," I told Dylan.
"I'm fine with no one liking me."
I sighed at his reply. That was the problem with him. He knew he wasn't likable, yet he never tried to fix it.
"We are all humans, okay? We can't live alone. We need people to like us for our own sake. If you still insist on denying your need for others, then I have to say you're inhuman."
"And you're stupid," he retorted.
"Who are you calling stupid, huh? I have done nothing to earn that title," I exclaimed with annoyance and stopped walking. I was well aware that I wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but that didn't mean Dylan could get away calling me stupid.
"Want me to prove it?" Dylan turned around to face me, with a smirk dancing on his lips as if he had found himself a great entertainment.
"I'm waiting." I pressed my lips in a thin line and crossed my arms over my chest.
The devilish smile on his face already screamed his victory which made me doubt myself.
For a few seconds, he just stood in front and tried to suppress his giggles, finally letting out, "Shirley, have you ever heard of wheels?" I arched an eyebrow. "They are these small, round black objects with no grooves that help us move around heavy things with ease." Noticing my confused frown, he added, "Would you prefer a definition from Google?"
"Wheels?" That term seemed very familiar. I tapped my index finger on my cheek and thought for a while before his words sank in. "Fuck, how come I never noticed it?" I let out.
I was so frustrated after getting off the flight that I never paid attention to the wheels that my luggage had and continued to carry it around like some duffle bag.
"Because you're an idiot who needs medical attention," Dylan stated and turned on his heels.
"Why am I such an idiot?" I cried out, cupping my cheeks dramatically.
"It's in your genes," he muttered, hearing me.
I shot him a glare and opened the zipper to the handle and pulled it up. I let out a sigh in relief that I wouldn't have to carry it anymore. But how could I forget luck was never on my side?
The luggage stayed put in its place, refusing to move an inch on the marble floor. I kicked the bottom of the luggage, muttering, "Stupid luggage, get moving."
Irritated, I applied more force which only made the situation worse as I saw two circular things rolled down the shiny floor.
Ignoring that, I bent down to check the bottom of the luggage, only to realize the wheels were missing.
"Did Dylan steal my wheels or what?" I asked myself, wondering where they went.
Someone cleared their throats, grabbing my attention. As I looked up, I found Dylan glaring at me from two feet away. I raised an eyebrow, and he gestured to his feet, where two small wheels were resting in front of his brown shoes.
There was a moment of silence between us as I just stared into his grey orbs blankly, trying to process what actually happened.
"My wheels rolled away to you!" I exclaimed with surprise, grabbing much-unwanted attention.
I didn't know what it was about the situation that Dylan found so hilarious. Because to me, it was a tragedy that my wheels went rolling away just when I had intended to use them.
Dylan placed a hand over his mouth, wrinkles forming in the corner of his eyes.
Was he trying not to laugh?
As if to confirm my suspicion, once he glanced into my wide animated eyes, he burst into fits of laughter.
I should have been wondering what was so funny, but I couldn't just remove my gaze from him.
There was something about his laugh that made me want to watch him forever, something that warmed my heart to the core. Maybe it was the pride of making an emotionally-constipated person laugh out loud. Or maybe it was the fact that he looked so dangerously adorable.
In my language, though I struggled to find the accurate words to describe him, he looked chubby-chubby, mushy-mushy type handsome.
I had not realized that I was smiling like a creep until a teen-aged girl threw me a disgusted look.
Mentally slapping myself for having thoughts like that, I hollered, "I hate you, Dylan Lewiston!"
"T-the feelings ar-are mutual, Shirley Hamilton," he managed to respond between his laughter session.
"Stop laughing!" I demanded before standing up on my feet.
"Just how rotten can a person's luck be? Your wheels rolled away? Like how is that even possible?" Dylan laughed as if that was one of the biggest, funniest mysteries of his life.
"Happens a lot with me." I frowned, clearly not amused by the situations that bad luck got me into. If it weren't for my awesome luck, I would have never bumped into Dylan that day in the basement and almost got myself killed.
It wasn't until a few more seconds that he stopped and straightened up. I noticed him touching his cheeks as though they were hurting from laughing so much. I wouldn't be surprised if his stomach was hurting by that point. Or maybe he just wasn't used to laughing.
"Excuse me," he mumbled and turned around. I could have sworn I saw something unusual flash in his eyes. As if he had done something he shouldn't have.
"Wait, Dylan," I called out, but he had already exited through the checkpoint.
I was more baffled than ever. One moment, he was laughing like a free person. And the next moment, he walked away like nothing ever happened.
I didn't understand Dylan. I wondered if I ever would be able to.
Sighing, I looked back at my luggage that was actually missing wheels now, meaning I had to carry it.
"Can I just go back home?" I huffed.
Then the thought of meeting one of my best friends crossed my mind which somehow provided me a surge of energy as I rushed out of the airport with my luggage, almost at an insane speed.
________
"Rianna, I'm coming," I said in a singsong voice. I was in the car with my three female friends on our way to the wedding venue after changing our outfits in the hotel we were staying at. "Yay, it's Rianna's wedding, and I'm coming," I continued singing while doing my weird happy dance in the backseat; something that I and Rianna used to do when we were over the moon.
"Stop it. You're embarrassing," Violet muttered from beside me.
"You know you want to do it as well," I told her with a mischievous glint.
I had already forgiven my friends for practically deserting me at the airport because they explained the situation to me. They had gotten in some trouble with the airline agency.
Violet chuckled, slapping my arm playfully, finally giving in to her wild desires, and swayed her hips with me.
"You two are such embarrassments," said Savannah, glancing at us from the rearview mirror.
I ignored her and continued singing.
"Can you stop singing? As a professional singer, your awful voice is making my ears bleed," exclaimed Grace with annoyance.
"Then go and visit a doctor in deaf-land," I replied, making Grace and Savannah glare at me.
At last, when the car came to a halt, I hopped out of the car, ready to dash in and wrap Rianna in a tight bear hug.
Just after crossing a few feet, I bumped into someone's back, making them wince.
"Are you fucking blind?" hissed the person in front of me as a dark aura started surrounding him.
I gasped, hearing the familiar murderous tone, and called out, "Dylan?"
"Ms. Disaster?" Dylan immediately turned around, coming face to face with her. "No wonder why I felt like a tornado hit me." He sighed.
"Why?" I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
"Because you bring along disasters wherever you go."
"Whatever." I frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to attend an old friend's wedding. What about you?"
I was about to reply but from the corner of my eyes, I saw a beautiful girl in a white gown get down from a car. Without giving another thought, I walked past Dylan and rushed towards the bride.
"Did you just fucking ignore me?" I heard Dylan exclaim before I appeared before Rianna.
Rianna's amber eyes twinkled with tears before pulling me into a hug. "I can't believe you're really here, Shirley," she mumbled in a taut voice.
I patted her back, understanding that she was in the midst of having cold feet when I appeared. "Yes, I'm here," I whispered to her.
I pulled apart and blinked a few times to adjust my vision that was clouded with tears and complimented, "You look gorgeous."
She chuckled. "So do you."
After that, we started catching up since there was still some time left before she had to make her grand entrance, eventually our other friends caught up too.
In the middle, I had become very emotional, thinking of the way my friend grew up very fast. Rianna was an orphan, so we always tended to look after her more than others. Now that she was getting married, I was overwhelmed.
And before we knew it, Rianna was already in the aisle, in front of the man she was handing her life over to. Seeing them exchange vows, I couldn't help but imagine my future husband.
Would he look at me the way her husband was looking at Rianna, full of love and warmth? I couldn't help but wonder.
Soon the wedding ceremony was over, and Rianna came to hug everyone. After embracing her grandmother, she came for a hug. It made me tear up. I pulled her in a tight hug, almost knocking the air out of her.
"Easy there, buddy. You don't want me dead tonight, do you?" Rianna joked, making a smile crack on my face.
"Don't talk about death today," I scolded. I was about to lecture her more, but my phone buzzed.
Sending a smile at her way, I excused myself and went to a corner to check the new message.
Mr. Creepy Stalker: Tick tock tick tock.
You are running out of time.
21 minutes left.
P.S. you look beautiful in that dress.
I huffed in annoyance, slapping my palm on my forehead. I had totally forgotten about him as soon as I landed in Manitoba. And yeah, I saved his name to be 'Mr. Creepy Stalker'.
He had spoiled my mood completely. I was in such a jovial, bittersweet mood, remembering my days with Rianna. I was beyond pissed now, so I started typing angrily.
You: Yeah, you made it clear that you can count. Anything else? If not, then please fucking leave me alone. I don't want to have anything to do with your annoying ass. I don't care if there are 21 minutes or 21 seconds left before 8 o'clock. Go fuck yourself!
It was too late to realize that it was a wrong move on my part because the next text he sent left me speechless.