One in a Million

For the next few days, Aalia didn’t speak to anyone. . All she could do was think about that pitiful conversation she’d had with him. She felt so stupid. She’d had him right there, right on the other line, and she’d hung up so quickly out of sheer fear. She suffered through barely an hour of sleep each night, earned pitiful tips from her customers at work, fell behind on homework, and kept Caroline completely in the dark about what was bothering her. She came to the conclusion that no matter what she did, no matter how far away from him she tried to get, he would always be there somehow.

Her stress only increased when she arrived at work one day. It was a Wednesday and she was already ready for the weekend just to get away from the restaurant. Her coworkers had been irritating her from the moment they opened and her already snappy attitude only made it worse. When her shift began to wind down, she finished scrubbing down the tables and swore under her breath when she saw George approaching her with a concerning expression. He stood in front of her with his arms crossed and didn’t say anything for a long time.

“What?” Aalia asked quietly, only concerned with getting home.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Aalia reached for her car keys from within her pant pocket and shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” George began taking wild guesses, “Break up with a boyfriend?”

His amused tone told her he was just joking around as always, but she couldn’t help but feel insulted. She whipped her head around to glare at him.

“It’s none of your business,” she snapped.

George looked momentarily surprised before his face also turned defensive.

“Look, Aalia, I’m just trying to talk to you. Help you out if I can.”

“I don’t need your help.”

Aalia walked around him towards the exit, but she paused as he began to speak again.

“I like you, Aalia,” he said, “You’re one of my best employees. That’s how I know something’s wrong when I get complaints from customers saying you forgot their order or charged them extra or were just plain rude. If you don’t want my help, fine. But don’t let your personal life interfere with your job performance. Not when you have your reputation, my reputation, and the reputation of this restaurant at stake.”

Aalia continued walking and left the building without a look back at him. She was sick of that mindset. Constantly worrying about a stupid reputation brought back nasty memories that she tried to shrug off as she drove home.

Back at the apartment, she showered and took a seat on the couch, pulling her laptop onto her lap. She’d been in touch with Dylan ever since she’d returned to Arizona, but she had had to make a new, alias email address after the entire world’s population of obsessive teenage girls somehow got a hold of her old one.

She read her friend’s latest message:

Hey, Al :)

Training today was rough. I think I’m just having a bad week but I’m really tired of it. My manager keeps wanting more money and I don’t think I can hold him off anymore. Looks like my whole plan is falling apart. Maybe I just need to clear my head for a while and take a break. Think you can make time for me if I come down to visit? I’d love to see you and C again. Love you and hope you’re good.

-Dylan

For the first time in a while, Aalia smiled. She wrote back immediately, telling Dylan it would make her happy if she came home for a while.

After a terrible day, she’d come home to her first piece of good news in weeks and could finally look forward to something.

-----

Dylan ended up coming to Arizona much quicker than Aalia had predicted. By the next week, Aalia and Caroline were waiting impatiently in the airport, eager for a glimpse of their friend. They spotted her by the landing gate and ran up to hug her.

“I missed you guys so much,” Dylan sighed into Aalia’s hair as the three of them shared an embrace.

“Nothing has been the same without you,” Aalia told her.

Dylan spent extra time on Caroline, cupping her face in her hands and looking at her sadly. They had finally come clean to her about everything that had happened. About the baby, at least. And much to Caroline’s appreciation, Dylan never once said “I told you so.”

The three girls picked up Dylan’s luggage and made their way towards the exit. Aalia tried not to notice a few dirty looks being sent her way by a group of girls by the airport café. She was rarely recognized because she never went anywhere but school and work, so it scared her that those girls might know who she was.

Dylan spotted her apprehension. “What is it?” she asked.

Aalia looked down at the ground, hiding her face from the glaring girls. “Nothing.”

Dylan was quiet for a moment, but then she smiled. “Those chicks, right?”

Aalia nodded. Dylan was a Jonas fan. She must’ve known all about what the stupid fan sites would be saying. Aalia thought she’d be on their side, but she wasn’t in the slightest.

“They’re just jealous of your beauty,” she said, smirking.

Dylan wrapped her arm around Aalia’s shoulders and turned to the group of girls, sticking her tongue out at them as they exited the airport. She, Aalia, and Caroline left just in time to see their glares turn to shock.

Caroline and Dylan erupted into laughs from the reactions, and Aalia tried to smile with them despite the worry that still existed inside her. They would never understand how she felt about it. She still couldn’t deal with the concept of people hating her.

Quickly, they hopped into Aalia’s car to head home. Dylan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, began playing with the radio. A familiar song came on and she laughed loudly, turning up the volume. Caroline laughed with her, but Aalia wasn’t as enthusiastic.

“It’s your favorites!” Dylan exclaimed over the upbeat Jonas Brothers song. “I still can’t believe you guys know them now.”

Aalia tried to enjoy the song. It used to be one of the ones she liked, but when Nick began to sing the chorus, she couldn’t stand it anymore and turned it off. She took notice of Dylan’s confused expression.

“What?” she asked.

When Aalia couldn’t respond, Caroline spoke for her.

“Nick’s a big jerk,” she told Dylan.

Dylan sighed. “Okay. What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” said Aalia.

“All I know is what the internet has told me and I don’t even believe any of that shit. You gotta fill me in, Al.”

“It’s not even important. We tried to be friends and it just didn’t work.” Aalia left out major details but she didn’t care.

“Friends? Those pictures I saw from you guys at dinner didn’t look like you were friends. He had his hand on your waist and everything. And he rarely does that with girls who are just his friend.”

“It’s not important,” Aalia repeated, wanting to just drop the subject.

“They were friends,” Caroline jumped to her rescue, “But now he’s parading around with some skank model.” She scoffed loudly. “Who’s so not as pretty as you, Aalia, might I add.”

Aalia could almost laugh at how wrong Caroline was.

“Hm,” Dylan smacked her lips, “Well, who needs him?”

Aalia looked over to see her smiling.

“Because we sure as hell don’t,” she went on.

“But they’re your babies,” Caroline teased, “You have them taped to your wall!”

Dylan blushed with embarrassment and shook her head. “If you ever say that in public, I’ll kill you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Caroline laughed from the backseat.

Aalia still felt uncomfortable. From the open discussions about Nick to the group of the girls in the airport, she was beginning to think she’d never get over him.

-----

Having Dylan at home was calming. Caroline would always be Aalia’s best childhood friend, but Dylan somehow always knew how Aalia felt. When she had filled her in on all of the Nick drama, Aalia expected her to try to convince her Nick wasn’t usually like that. But she never did. She took Aalia’s side despite being such a loyal fan of his.

Aalia made up her mind after so many disappointments from him. She wanted to say goodbye to all the reminders of him. Move on. Close that chapter in her life forever because he just wasn’t worth it.

“That’s the spirit,” Dylan supported her, “Find some new bait, Al.”

She laughed in response. “I should just swear off guys for a while.”

“Bullshit. That’s what they all say. Look, there are good guys out there. Better than Nick and definitely better than Aiden.”

Aalia still shuddered at the sound of their names, but she tried to smile.

“We’ll go out tomorrow night,” Dylan suggested, “Deal?”

Part of her wanted to say no and spend the evening at home doing nothing, but she knew she needed to get out there again.

“Deal,” she agreed, grinning back at her friend.

-----

Aalia wasn’t one to go out partying or clubbing all that often. The one time she’d gone willingly had resulted in her seeing Aiden, which was a complete disaster. But Dylan and Caroline insisted, and she knew she didn’t stand a chance in an argument with two against one.

“I’m fine with going,” Aalia told the girls as they hung out in her bedroom that evening, “But at least let me pick out my own outfit.”

Caroline had been raiding the entire closet, throwing out various dresses and holding them up to Aalia’s body to see what would look best.

“No, Aalia, you have to look as sexy as possible!” she exclaimed, “To hook a new guy.”

Dylan rolled her eyes. “C, Aalia looks sexy in fucking sweats and a t-shirt,” she laughed, “Seriously though, you’re obsessing for nothing.”

“Just let me have my fun, okay?”

Aalia and Dylan dropped the subject, and Caroline settled on a tight hot pink dress for Aalia and a black one for herself. As the others did their makeup in the hallway bathroom, Aalia sat on the bed to slip on her heels.

Just as she bent down, her phone vibrated from on top of her side table.

Mystery Boy came on the screen and she scolded herself for never changing the ID to his actual name. That term reminded her far too much of how things used to be.

She shut her eyes tightly and then reopened them, expecting to see the name gone as if she’d imagined the whole thing. But it never disappeared. The only thing that took its place was a notification that she’d received a new voicemail message.

A voicemail from him.

“Aalia! You ready?” she heard Caroline calling her from the hall, “It’s almost eleven! We’re gonna be late!”

She tried to snap out of her momentary state of alarm to reply.

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

After grabbing her purse and stuffing her cell phone inside, she met the girls out front and took the driver’s seat, trying to focus more on the road than on him.

Dylan blasted loud dance music that Aalia usually enjoyed but found obnoxious at that time, and Caroline danced along in the backseat. Aalia felt as if she’d been thrown completely off balance by him once again.

When they reached the venue, Aalia escaped to the bathroom almost instantly. It was packed with girls putting on too much makeup and spraying on too much perfume, so she locked herself in a stall and pulled out her phone.

She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. She didn’t need to.

But something inside her told her she couldn’t just ignore it.

“Hey,” she heard his recorded voice and tried not to feel excited about it, “Um, you’re probably busy at work or something, I don’t know. But uh, I just wanted to call and see how you are. I never got to say thank you for um, calling me on my birthday. So…thank you. Yeah. That’s all.”

When the message ended, she kept the phone pressed to her ear, waiting for it to continue because that couldn’t possibly be it. When she realized it was, she felt angry. After all he did, after he abandoned her, that’s all he had to say. Thank you.

She swiped her finger over the touch-screen and deleted the message, annoyed that he thought so less of her. Suddenly more determined than ever to have a good time that night, she escaped from the stall and made her way outside, heading straight for the glowing dance floor.

-----

Those lights were back, and this time she was thoroughly enjoying them.

She’d been dancing in a tight circle with Caroline and Dylan for most of the time, positioning herself comfortably between them to save herself from being forced to dance with any guys just yet.

The beat of the club music was loud and her mouth was beginning to feel dry in the heat of being surrounded by so many people, so she turned to Dylan.

“I’m going to go get a soda or something!” she had to yell over the music.

“Want me to go with you?” Dylan yelled back.

She shook her head. “I’m good! I’ll be right back!”

She made her way to the bar and ordered a Diet Coke, turning around and leaning her elbows back on the table to watch Dylan and Caroline still dancing. She smiled at the sight of them looking genuinely happy and was thankful she’d agreed to go with them.

“Why don’t you order something a little more exciting?” she heard a voice beside her and suddenly jumped, thinking it was Aiden. But when she turned to look at the blonde-haired guy staring back at her with a smile, she was relieved. “I can offer some suggestions if you’d like.”

She laughed, knowing he was trying to hit on her.

“Trying to pick up girls at a bar,” she said, “Very original.”

He laughed, embarrassed. “First time I’ve tried, actually.”

“Wasn’t so bad. I’ve heard worse.”

She looked at him and he really was quite good looking with green eyes and cute dimples.

“I’m Elliot,” he told her, extending his arm for her to shake his hand, “And I promise I’m not just trying to get in your pants.”

She took his hand and shook. “I’m Aalia,” she said with a smirk, “And I don’t believe you for a second.”

He grinned, still embarrassed. “Do you want to dance?”

Aalia’s eyes darted to the dance floor where Dylan was already dancing with a guy and Caroline was creeping on her and Elliot, dramatically mouthing at her to say yes.

“Sure,” she said.

He led her to the dance floor, right in the middle, and she took the lead, grinding her backside against his front. His hands found her hips and held on as she let herself escape, thrilled at the new feeling of being wanted. It was exciting for her. She hadn’t felt sexy or desirable in months, and she had to admit it was a nice feeling. Something she could definitely get used to.

Aalia spent the rest of her time at that club with Elliot, dancing with him and drinking with him and even just talking with him in the back lounge. She didn’t learn much about him as he wasn’t very open about the little, insignificant facts about himself, but she didn’t mind much. She was just glad she had someone new to talk to.

Just after two in the morning, Dylan and Caroline found Aalia, and the three of them decided it was time to head home.

“Nice talking to you,” Aalia said to Elliot with a smile as she stood, straightening her dress. She was about to walk out when he spoke up.

“Wait! Can I call you sometime?”

She blushed. She hadn’t given her number to a man since Aiden.

After digging out a pen from her purse, she grabbed his hand and scribbled the digits onto his skin, receiving a grin from him.

“Call me,” she said, “Screw the ‘maybe’ part.”

He laughed and nodded before letting her leave. Once she met up with the girls, they shared a few laughs and Dylan teased her for being such a flirt.

“I’m really not,” Aalia laughed, “It was just too fun not to play along.”

“You played along damn well though! Had that guy practically begging for you.”

“Nah,” she shook her head, “He probably won’t even call.”

But she was so wrong.

The next morning, as the three girls were out at a café for a late breakfast, Aalia’s phone lit up with an unknown number and, apprehensively, she answered. She was always living with that fear of the world finding her phone number. But when the voice on the other end introduced himself as Elliot, Dylan and Caroline squealed, pushing her to start a conversation.

“I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me,” he suggested, “Tomorrow night? If you’re not busy.”

Aalia nervously bit down on her lip. She wasn’t expecting that to escalate so quickly.

“Sure,” she answered, not completely sure what she was doing.

“Great, I can pick you up at eight.”

The brief conversation ended after Aalia gave him her address, and she hung up, turning to the excited faces of Dylan and Caroline.

“Well?” Caroline demanded an answer.

“He asked me out.”

“Yes! Al’s still got it,” Dylan exclaimed, shooting her a high five.

Aalia smiled, trying not to blush, but her excitement was weak.

It just didn’t feel right yet.

-----

The next morning, Aalia woke up early to hit the gym with Dylan. She needed a hard, sweaty workout to clear her mind for her date. She had no reason to be afraid, but at the same time she couldn’t help but feel as though she was doing something wrong. Something that didn’t belong. Her thoughts were foggy, clouding her logic behind the situation, and she wanted that gone.

She turned up the incline of her favorite treadmill and increased the speed to a comfortable sprint, losing herself in the sound of her feet hitting the belt. For the most part, she focused on the reasons why going out with Elliot was a good thing. She deserved someone better than the guys she’d already been involved with. She needed to finally move on and meet other people. And it wasn’t even like she was committed to him yet. It was just one date. How could it be so wrong?

After cooling down her muscles and stretching, Aalia checked her cell phone, and that’s when all her reasoning was scrambled up again.

He’d called and left another voicemail.

She swore under her breath, cursing him for doing it again. For interfering whenever she tried to distance herself from him.

She didn’t want to hear the message, but her fingers worked against her and before she knew it, his voice was back in her ear.

“Uh, hey…It’s me. Just wanted to uh, see how you were. How your day’s been. Mine’s been good. Went to lunch with a friend, and then uh, spent some time in the studio. We have a new album coming out soon. Maybe you could spread the word. It would be—"

She turned it off before he could finish, fuming with anger. She was infuriated with how casually he could talk, how easy it was for him to act like nothing had ever happened. She shivered at the notion that she knew exactly who that “friend” he went to lunch with was, and how dare he try to use her to promote his music! Her rage made her delete the voicemail immediately and set off to find Dylan.

“Does your trainer still work here?” she asked her friend once she found her by the loose weights.

Dylan noticed the infuriated look on Aalia’s face. “Uh, yeah.”

“He’s the one who wanted my number before, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Give it to him,” Aalia said, “And tell him to call me. Soon.”

“Al, what are you—"

“In fact, give my number to every last guy in this stupid gym!” She spread her arms and raised her voice in an enraged, humorless chuckle. “Tell them all to call me!”

Dylan approached her quickly, pressing down her arms.

“What has gotten into you?” she asked.

Aalia was quick to transform into weakness once again, falling limp in Dylan’s arms and trying not to collapse onto her.

“Aalia, what happened?”

She let her head fall on her friend’s shoulder, and she cried because no matter how hard she tried, he ruined everything and he ruined her.