to die would be an awfully big adventure

“You know it’d make me so happy, but I can’t ask that. It’s your own choice, Dillon.” Steph smiled at him. “Awwww, that’s the sweetest thing any guy has ever offered. Why can’t they all be like you? Oh! You don’t?! I love mushrooms. Especially portobello mushrooms. They’re gigantic and very, very tasty. Anyway, if you don’t like mushrooms, we can find other alternatives, but Dillon, only if you wanna give it a try, okay?” She asked her. “Nope, nothing. But I want some vegan tacos. It’s what I generally have here. Again, no sour cream.” She chuckled. “But we can have it with some pico de gallo.”

“I’ll give it a try. I probably won’t like it but it’s worth a shot, right?” He asked, his smile growing bigger the more they talked. “If more guys were like me, they’d all be short and awkward. That’s not a good combination.” He laughed at his own joke. “Yuck. I absolutely hate mushrooms.  I’ll try something else. Anything but mushrooms.” Dillon scrunched his face to show his dislike for mushrooms. He truly did hate them. “What’s pico de gallo?”

Steph gave Dillon a warm smile, reaching out for his hand, squeezing in lightly. “You’ll become a vegan?!” Steph asked him, shocked. “Dillon…” She took a deep breath, blushing slightly. It was really cute for a guy to actually consider becoming a vegan. “Maybe.” She shrugged. “But I promise you, you’re gonna like it. There are soooo many alternatives for meat. Do you like mushrooms? Right mushroom with the right seasoning tastes exactly like meat, you can’t even imagine!” She smiled  “Alright!” Steph said, looking at what’s in a chalupa.” Uh-huh… That’s how I’m gonna have it. No cheese and sour cream; beans instead of meat! How does it sound?” She turned and asked Dillon.

“M-maybe just when you’re around. I think it’ll be hard to give up all together. At least all at once.” He shrugged, hoping that wouldn’t upset her. “But I won’t eat it around you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He shook his head hesitantly at first. “I don’t like mushrooms at all, actually...” His voice trailed off. “One time at Burger King, I had a veggie patty. It was okay, but it tasted kind of weird. It wasn’t bad though.” His heart almost sank when she said no cheese or sour cream. He loved both of those. “So,  beans, lettuce and tomatoes. You don’t want anything else on it?” It didn’t sound too appetizing to him but he was willing to try it with the right amount of hot sauce.

Reaghan stifled a laugh, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “God, Dillon you’re so freakin’ cute. I’m just messin’ with you. Besides, if you were gay, you could do waay better than him. You’re a total babe.”

“You’re about the only one who thinks so.” He stated with a stiff laugh. “You’re right, I could. I’m totally out of his league. Right?” He asked, questioning his confidence.

“Good it. Sweeter and dry. I thought the second one would get drier than the first, maybe I should change a few things so both end up good…what do you think, would you be willing to try it again?”

“Both were good though. Don’t get me wrong. The first one was just better. Sure, of course. I’m always down to eat cake. I love it.  What changes are you going to make?”

I thought you always had that kind of GPA though. Oh school is going pretty good for me. I think I got all my basics out of the way so I can focus on my interior design type classes. Yeah and it really sucks that we don’t talk much anymore.

“I do. It’s just hard to maintain lately.  I’ve just been overwhelmed by things so school isn’t as easy as it once was.  Interior design? Cool. So I design the buildings and you design the inside. Our majors are perfect matches. Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I’ve just been distracted.”

“I was going to dress as Erin from Ghostbusters for Halloween, now I have to wear a fancy gown. Ugh.. Halloween should be scary not glamorous.”

“I think I’m going to be Tate from American Horror Story. I just need to find someone to paint my face in that skeleton makeup. But who is Erin? I’ve never seen Ghostbusters before.”

“Okay, so I am trying new things that I saw online and I need your input, which of those cakes taste better for you?”

“The first one was my favorite. It was sweeter. Also, the second one was good but kind of dry.”

“I- What? Me? I - I don’t like guys?” Dillon told her in a puzzling tone. 

“Yes! Please don’t care about what those jerk say because you’re awesome.” Steph smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. “Huh?! It’s gonna be all meat, right?!” Steph said with a shocked expression, only to laugh a few seconds later. “It’s okay, Dillon. I don’t approve it but it’s your choice. Just because I’m a vegan doesn’t mean that people should be vegan too. Although they should be because the methods those cruel… creatures use to cut those animals is just so vicious and humane and they’re totally helpless.” She shook her head rapidly. “Wait, what?! Really?! That’s so cute! But no, don’t do that. I can’t ask you to do that… I mean, only if you want. Because vegan food is sooo delicious, you might actually enjoy it.”

Dillon gave a genuine smile as his cheeks reddened even more. “Thanks. That means a lot coming from you.” He listened as she spoke about what happened to the animals. Dillon loved meat, especially steak but if the girl he liked didn’t eat meat, he wouldn’t eat it around her. Plus, he was trying to impress her so avoiding meat seemed like the way to go. “Sure, I can go without. Besides, who knows? Maybe I’ll like the vegan way and become one too. So you pick out what we order. Okay?”

Oh how is school going for you? I’ve been in my own little world the past couple of weeks. 

“Pretty good. I have a 3.7 GPA. I’m pretty excited about that. I wish it was a 4.0 though. What about you? Feels like we don’t talk much anymore.”

“When you least expect it, you will see.” Bea nodded, looking at him. “Besides the birthday fiasco you had, sadly, how have you been, Dillon?”

“What’s that mean?” He asked curiously. “I’m okay. I mean, I’m - nevermind. Yeah, I’m okay. You?”

“Why wouldn’t it count?” Steph interrupted. “She was not a sex doll or something, was it?” She joked. “Ah… well that’s stupid. Don’t mind what people say, Dillon.” Steph realized how awkward it was for Dillon to talk about this so she decided to change the subject. “Did you know that my meeting with PETA went great and they accepted me as an intern?”

“I don’t know. It just didn’t to some people, I guess.” He shrugged, looking away. “Whatever. I don’t care.” He took a deep breath and gave a fake smile, trying to mask the fact that he felt like vomiting from embarrassment. “Wow, really? Well Ms. Peta Intern, you’re probably not gonna like what I order at Taco Bell. Actually, never mind that. Whatever you order, I’ll order too. No meat.”

“I dunno, man. That is what I am trying to find out.”

“I’m gonna be sick. That’s awful, oh my God.”