Sylus adored that awkward, 15-year old Darlene. He makes it absolutely sure everyone knows that she's not someone to be messed with.

Darlene didn't know what to do with all this affection of his. All her life, it's always been about awkward stuff that preteens like her naturally go through. To her, life was still all about scraped knees and gaming consoles and overdue homework, not devotion and love being whispered against her temple or looks being sent her way as if no one else exists in that room.

she simply didn't know what to do with it, let alone should she even reciprocate or not.