“And at that moment, I swear we were infinite.”
- Steven Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Come on Lydia!”
“No, Dylan, I’ve got to study! I’m sorry…”
She wanted to go, she really did… But she couldn’t. Finals were coming up the following week and she just had to study. She still had at least twenty formulas to memorize, three sheets of Spanish vocabulary to learn, and so many other things to do. And besides, she, Lydia Sommers, was not the type of girl who went out the weekend before her junior finals.
Even if it was Dylan Lincoln asking. Even if she had been hoping for us to hang out outside of school for what felt like forever. Even if he had just finally broken up with his annoying girlfriend. Even if she dreamt of something like this happening every night…
But she had to resist. If she did go, she would probably end up regretting it anyway. Right?
Outside her window, the engine of Dylan’s beat up pick-up stopped. Now that his headlights were off, Lydia couldn’t make out what was happening outside, but she had a good enough idea.
“Dylan, don’t you dare ring that doorbell!”
“Say you’ll come, then!”
Even if she couldn’t see him, she could tell he was wearing that heartwarming, mischievous grin of his. The things this boy could make her do! On the other hand, if he rang the doorbell, her dad would be the one to open it and he would tease her about this for years. And she really, really wanted to go…
There was another alternative: run downstairs and answer the door before anyone else could get it. Without a warning, she took off. Still in shape from Lacrosse season, which had just ended, she sprinted as fast as she could. But halfway down the first flight of stairs, a regular ticking noise coming from her room made her stop.
Still running, she made her way back to it. One of her windows was open, but the other one was closed and getting hit by pebbles. Lydia could barely keep herself from jumping up and down. Dylan Lincoln was throwing rocks at her window!!! Raising her hands in surrender and waving them at him, she leaned out of her window.
“Cease fire! You win, I’ll come!”
And though she meant to sound sulky and defeated, it just didn’t work. She couldn’t wipe her exceptionally wide smile of off her face.
“I’ll be down in five minutes!”
In a frenzy, she ran into her bathroom, pulling on her favorite summer dress, doing her best to put on some mascara (she was not a makeup kind of girl, but this was a very special occasion), and brushing through the knots in her hair. Finally, she untied her messy ponytail and let her long, brown curls hang loose on her bare shoulders, like he had once told her he liked them best.
And five minutes later, there was Lydia sitting in the passenger seat, smiling as if she had never cried. As they drove into town and talked, neither of them could stop laughing. Not that this was unusual, he drove her to and back from school every day and the ride was always filled with laughs, but this time just felt different.
They parked just outside the center which was filled with cotton candy stands, a Ferris wheel, and other attractions. But Dylan steered her straight to the bumper cars and bought fifteen tokens. It wasn’t officially a date so Lydia got her wallet out and bought one.
“Only one? I plan on having fun tonight; care to join in?” he teased.
“Truth is, I’ve never driven one of these…” she admitted shyly.
“What? Well, tell you what, stick with me for a few rides, and then you can give it a try.”
“I guess that could work…”
“It’s settled then! Hop in, milady!”
And so they both climbed into one of the miniature cars. And when she said miniature, Lydia wasn’t kidding. Their legs and shoulders were pressed close together and she could feel his warm skin on hers. Dylan was taking it all very seriously and bumped into all the other cars. Most of the drivers were little kids who couldn’t steer them for their lives, but it didn’t matter. All Lydia cared about was the music blasting through the speakers, the touch of his skin on hers, and his smile. And at that moment, she swore they were infinite…