Dixie

June

+

It's been a month. A whole month since Noah Beck kissed her.

They were happy. Sure, it was a little difficult at the beginning between getting through Noah's  trust issues and getting through the rumors and stares they attract at school when they're together, but for the most part, they were happy. They were 10 days away from graduating and Dixie was more excited than she could ever be.

She'd just received her acceptance letter to both Stanford, Colombia, and she knew Columbia was the right one for her. Noah was a big deciding factor in Columbia, as Columbia is in New York and Princeton, where Noah  was planning on going is in New Jersey. They'd be closer together. Noah  encouraged her and was equally happy for her.

They laid on her roof as they looked up at the stars and gazed up, there was a rumor going around that there's supposed to be a shooting star tonight.

She looked over at him and he looked over at her.

As they leaned in for a quick kiss, he suddenly stopped.

"I'm afraid."

Dixie was confused. "Of what?"

"I'm afraid of falling."

She sat up and looked over the edge of the roof. "You're not going to fall, silly."

"Yes, I will. And that scares me. I'm afraid the closer we get the more I'll fall for you. And it's terrifying because I've never fallen in love with anyone before and it makes me want to both hide and enjoy it while I can, and that's more confusing than anything." Noah  says, shifting his eyes to the stars again.

Dixie can't say she understands, because she doesn't, but she tries as best she can to make sense of what he's saying. She's already fallen for him, hell, she was already in love with him when he asked her for a ride last March. She's head over heels for him and has never known what it's like to be scared.

So she just stays silent. She doesn't know what else to say, she doesn't know how to help.

"Every time I look at you, there's this danger that I feel. I don't know why, maybe it's because you're so easy to love." noah  pauses and looks over at her with a hint of a smile. "It sounds funny but I feel like I was meant to hit you with that door the first day we met."

She smiles. "I think so."

Dixie shivers. He looks back out again at the vast expanse of houses and the city. "We should probably get inside. It's getting a little colder."

He stands up, taking a moment to gather his footing and then holds his hand out to help her up. They leave the roof together and he says goodbye to her dad, who officially likes Noah, maybe a little too much and then kisses her goodbye and leaves.

The next day, Dixie wakes up and marks her calendar down, she's counting the days until graduation.

As she's getting ready for the day, her phone rings and she sees it's her friend Layla. She clicks accept.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hey chick, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. You never sit with me at lunch anymore, I miss your cute face. You should sit with me today." Dixie smiles, she's missed Layla too, but she always eats with Noah. After all, that's where she belongs, next to Noah.

"Sorry Lay, I have plans with Noah at lunch." She says, he usually takes her off campus for lunch because the cafeteria food is a health hazard.

There's a long pause at the other end of the line, and Dixie pauses what she's doing.

"Layla?"

Layla sighs over the phone. "You know, I don't know why you're settling for him. He isn't very good for you, he's just using you."

A sudden flash of annoyance crosses over Dixie.

"I'm not SETTLING for him. I like him, just because I decided I want to be happy with someone for once doesn't mean I'm settling. He makes me happier than I've ever been and I'm sick of everyone criticizing me for being happy." She exclaims, exasperated from everything that's been going on the past month. "So do me a favor, Layla, and just leave us alone. He would never use me."

Dixie hangs up before Layla can get a word in, sighing. There's a honk outside and she knows it's Noah picking her up for school. She grabs her dwindling-filled backpack and she walks out the door to greet her boyfriend.

Leaning up against his Audi, he smiles when he sees her and everything else fades away he smiles at her. All the stress from the conversation with Layla, all the stress of graduating, all fades away with one jaw dropping knee-weakening smile from him. when

She pecks him on the lips as he opens his car door for her to get in. She's so familiar with this, with their little routine, that sometimes she forgets what it was like a month ago when he was cold and hostile towards her.

Finally when they reach their school, they get out and he walks her to class, always ignoring the stares and whispers they get that still hasn't died down since they started dating. When they get to her classroom, they quickly kiss and she goes in.

Later on, at lunch, they drive to their favorite diner and share fries and a milkshake. All the sudden, she notices Noah become serious.

"What's up?" She asks him, knowing that something is up.

"I need to ask you something, and I want you to promise you won't get mad," Noah says, as he chews on a fry.

She furrows her eyebrows. "Okay, I promise. Just ask me."

"Will you write a letter of recommendation for me so I can use it for my Princeton application?" Noah asks, he looks a little shaken while asking as if she's going to say no. "It's a requirement to have a friend write one."

For a moment, Dixie doesn't say anything. Her mind goes back to her conversation with Layla, and even though she doesn't want to, she can hear Layla's voice in her head. "He's just using you."

Convinced that she's just being ridiculous, she agrees.

"Of course I will. I'd be really happy to."

10 days later, graduation.

"Dixie Damelio." Beaming, Dixie walks up to the stage of her high school and over to the principal, handing the diploma to her. "Graduating with honors, and multiple scholarships, she is planning to attend Columbia University in New York. Thank you for being an exceptional member of this school and good luck in college."

Everyone applauds, and she can hear her dad and Noah cheering for her over the deafening clapping sounds of the rest of the student body as she shakes hands with the other honorary teachers of the school and the mayor.

"Dixie Damelio." Dixie perks up and cheers as she watches her boyfriend walk up on the stage in his cap and gown, looking even more attractive if that was possible. "Graduating with honors, and a scholarship to attend the ivy league Princeton University in New Jersey, we thank you for being a part of this high school and the school is sure you'll be just as amazing in college."

He takes his diploma and everyone cheers as he shakes hands with the mayor.

After the ceremony, Dixie looks for her dad and  Noah. When she spots her father's greying light brown hair, she taps on his shoulder excitedly as he turns around.

"Hey! I'm so proud of you! My little girl, now has her high school diploma." Her dad says as they hug joyously, his voice cracks a little and she knows if he cries, she'll cry. They pull away from each other with watery eyes. "Your mother would be so proud of you. I know she's proud of you, even if she can't be here with us physically."

"Oh, dad," Dixie says, smiling and trying to stop her eyes from watering, not wanting to ruin the makeup she spent 10 minutes attempting to apply.

All of a sudden, she feels two arms wrap around her from behind and she feels at home.

"Guess who, babygirl." He says, and she laughs. Of course, she knows who he is. She'd know him if she was blindfolded and had to find him. By now, she knows his scent, his touch, and the sound of his voice.

Dixie looks up and him, still smiling and pulls him down for a kiss.

"Hey hey hey! I'm still here! Come on Noah, my daughter just graduated with honors and a scholarship but you still know the rules." Her dad says and Noah laughs, his laugh vibrating through his body and against her back.

"Trust me, I'm well aware of my girl's accomplishments. But yes, I know the rules, Mr. Damelio, I just couldn't help myself." Noah says as he glances at her lovingly. She always gets goosebumps when he does that, he never ceases to amaze her.

And with this, she hears a feminine voice call out Noah's name and they both turn around to face a woman Dixies never seen before, but immediately she notices the woman's blue eyes, shockingly similar to Noah's.

"Mom." Noah says, as he takes Dixie's hand and guides them over towards his mom. Dixie knew that his mom was around, she'd just never met her, Noah didn't talk about her much.

"Well well well, is this the lovely Dixie I've heard about?" His mom says, smiling at Dixie, which Dixie gladly returns.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Beck. Your son here is really something special." She says, meaning every word she says. Dixie looked forward to meeting Noah's mom, but she was also very nervous because she knew how Noah was when they first met and didn't know how his mom would react to her.

"Oh you're just the cutest little thing. Definitely prettier than Noah mentioned." His mom says, looking between the two of them and then looking back at Dixie. "And we're very grateful to you for going along with his little plan, which I'm sure you know about by now. Convincing you to write the recommendation letter by pretending he likes you? I couldn't have thought of it better myself."

All of a sudden, time stops. The air gets knocked out of her lungs. For a moment, she can't breathe. All she hears is Noah's  pleading to stop and listen to him.

And then she takes off running.