He stepped out of the shower, the last remaining drops of water falling from his shoulders to the towel on the floor. Quickly, he engulfs himself in warm towel. The heat gets away nonetheless. The mirror casts an image of him, not all pleasing. Throwing a towel on his head, he moves to his bedroom and promptly falls into a chair. "Hangovers." He murmurs, " I hate hangovers."

Putting on some clothes,

he attempts to recall the sorties he was a member of that evening. A couple of female names come to mind, nothing familiar. He checks the trash. No condom wrappers, or other evidence. Not suprising.

"Well I guess I spent the night alone then." He wasn't sure if he was happy or sad about that.

Walking into the main room, he first notices the large number of beer cans on the floor.

"Shit"

The second thing he notices is the door to his apartment swinging ajar.

"Double shit."

He makes a quick scan of his apartment. Nothing out of place. TV, microwave, computer, bike. All where he had left them. Shrugging off the sudden emergency, he stumbles into the kitchen. He leans against the wall, as the coffee began to percolate. Memories where starting to come back to him.

"I hate this part." he said to himself.

He remembered being at a dance.

"I guess it was the semi-formal. Hrmph. Who did I go with?"

He reached for a coffee cup. His eyes went wide.

The memories had returned.

"Shit" His hand fell to the counter.

"Megan."

*****

Friends. They would go to the dance as friends. Sure it had all the romantic trimmings but they were just friends. That was the proposal.

"I hate dances."

She laughed.

"I know. But how will we find you a girlfriend if you....." She stopped when she saw him starting to leave.

"You're thinking about her aren't you?"

"No. Not her." He was thinking of someone but it wasn't her.

"Tyler please, get-over her. We've been over this before."

"I know Megan. I know."

"Then why are you thinking about her?"

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Megan, I'm not."

"Yes you are. I know your thinking of her when your forehead scrunches up like that. Means your either thinking a lot or your mulling over her again. Since we're not in class I can safely assume the second." She chuckles "Even in class I can assume the second."

"Thanks. And I'm not."

"Fine. Then what are you thinking about."

Shit. Can't tell her. What do you say? Think of something quick. Anything.

"..."

Perfect. Any words will do. Just say something other than what is in your head.

"I'm thinking about dinner."

Hopefully that will fly. Lets see.

"We just had dinner Tyler."

Shit.

She gave a 'I told you so' nod. He let it drop with that. Better to let it lie than argue it. She was saying something

"....you want to go or not?"

Say yes you idiot. Why have you stalled this long?

"Sure."

Thank god. Sometimes I wonder if you really like her or not.

Shut up.

She smiled "Good. Pick me up at 6?"

"Sure."

That's it just play it cool. Don't seem too anxious.

Again shut up.

Hey I'm just trying to help you out.

Help yourself out you mean.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

Alright, stop it before people start thinking we're crazy.

You stop it. And we're not crazy.

Sigh.

"What was that Megan?" Tyler awoke from fighting his inner demons.

"I said I was going to home. Man, you're really hung up with her still."

"Am not." He said as he started off in the opposite direction.

"Right. Talk to you tonight."

He watched her walk away, sighed, and started walking himself.

*****

Her was Kathryn. Tyler had met her his freshman year of college. He had fallen in love the first moment he saw her. Others said he fell into his crush but Tyler insisted it was love. He had had crushes, infatuations, even obsessions but this was something different. This was real. This was love.

This was not meant to be either. While Kathryn liked Tyler as a friend, that was as far as she was willing to let it go. She had made her feelings for him very clear. Tyler had chosen to ignore those warnings.

'If I hang out with her enough she'll eventually come around' had been his strategy. This approach only accomplished pushing Kathryn farther away. Blinded by his love for her, he didn't realize it.

Megan had been Kathryn's friend. Actually, she had been Tyler's friend first. She had been messenger, intermediator, and part time shoulder during this saga of Tyler's. Being so enthralled by Kathryn, Tyler had never looked Megan as anything but a friend.

This changed when Kathryn transferred to another college. It was the wake up call that all of Tyler's friends had been waiting for. 'She doesn't like you!' they had said. He didn't believe them then. He did now.

A year passed. Megan and Tyler became better friends. They'd talk for hours. Sharing experiences and dreams, the two became intimate on an intellectual level. And then Tyler had a dream.

Nothing as inspirational as anything Martin Luther King Jr. had had, granted, but to Tyler it was a wakeup call. In it Megan was his girlfriend. They held hands. They shared the look of love. They were in love.

Tyler woke, his mind stunned, his eyes wide. Did he have feelings for Megan? It was absurd wasn't it? They were just friends. He shrugged it off. He'd probably been thinking about her before he went to sleep. That was it. Last thought in his mind before he had fallen asleep. Had to be.

But it wasn't. The second dream proved that. And then third. The relationship never progressed but the dream remained the same. He and Megan were together.

Shit.

*****

Tyler returned home. Home was an apartment a couple blocks away from the college. As he walked in, he spotted his roommate in his usual place. The couch.

"Hellow!" Drew bellowed

"Hellow!" Tyler bellowed and flopped onto the second couch, horizontal to the one Drew was sitting in.

"How did it go?"

"Not good. I'm having trouble talking to her."

"I told you man, just play it cool. Just be her friend. Things will fall into place."

D

"Right. I've had a lot of luck with that plan."

"Seriously man. People don't just stay friends. She will eventually come around. She's a smart girl."

"But what if?"

"No buts. Just spend time with her. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing but?"

"Again with the but. You have a thing about butts Tyler."

"Shut up."

"Enough talk. Time for you to get your ass fucked." And with that he hit the switch for the gaming system.

"Time for you to?..shit" Drew gave him a sidelong glance.

"Shut up." Tyler grumbled.

*****

As much as Drew told him not too, Tyler wanted to tell Megan. Just tell her about the dreams. Tell her about the feelings he had been having. He had told her about his other dreams. Why not this one? She didn't have to say she liked him back. Even he admitted that was ridiculous.

"It's not ridiculous." Drew had countered "If you like her just spend time with her. If she likes you, she will eventually let you know. And it will let you figure out your feelings for her. Trust me, just hang out with her. You're better off that way. Girls don't like a guy who drowns them in their feelings. There's no chase. No intrigue."

He had agreed with Drew. Tyler had tried the 'These are my feelings, so what now' approach on a couple other girls and they had met with little success as Tyler's current position would suggest.


*******this is all I have now. Below are notes for the future, if of course I decide to persue this.


"Just because I loved one person, doesn't mean I can't love two." Leaves in silence.

She appears at the door and opens the ajar door. they stare at each other, the words in the air, neither able to mention them.