Dylan grew up in a small family of three in the small town of Holland, to his father
Sean, a hardworking local handyman, and Jill, a housewife. He's had a bad life for as long as he can remember which took great effect on his overall state of mind. The few good memories he has are all before the age of 10, when his family was whole, and although not wealthy, they had a loving relationship and a warm place to call home. It was sometime after his 10th birthday that he started noticing his first neighbor coming around the house more frequently than before. At the time he didn't think of it too much, but the shock came when one morning he woke up without a warm breakfast waiting for him in the kitchen, his clothes were not neatly laid on a chair besides his bed for the new school day and there was no sign of his mother. Just a small note left on that plaid tablecloth that simply said "Sorry".
It took a while for him to get over the fact that his own mother walked out on them, but his wounds healed eventually, garnering a certain hatred towards her.
In high school, few years later, he met his best friend,
Jacob and a girl he didn't think of much at first but that would soon change.
Claire was his perfect counterpart and he struggled for a while with the thought of doing anything to endanger their friendship, but one drunk Saturday night they kissed in junior year and from then on their young love would only grow stronger. The three of them, with Jake, used to go each day up to a small hilltop outside Holland to drink beer and enjoying the sunset together dreaming of things to come.
Unfortunately, as Dylan knew best, good things never last. During his routine job, his father was struck by lightning while doing some handywork at someone's house. He passed away on the spot leaving young Dylan in shatters and officially an orphan. Not only did he lose his home and feeling of safety, he had lost one man who raised him to be a forgiving and caring human being, one that taught him so many things during his 16 years of life. Losing his only source of income, his house was soon taken away along with rest of his belongings. Luckily he had Jacob and his gilfriend to look to. Young Dylan, crushed from inside would never be the same, but he still had people who cared for him. They noticed immediately he had changed from a cheerful and optimistic young man to an empty and resentful shell of a boy, spiteful towards the life he was given. Although he would act out at school he never turned away from Jacob, at whose house he was now living, and Claire, who still managed to creep out a smile out of him now and then.
For a few years things were looking better. The three finished college and Dylan finally had a break in his life. He was hoping to go to college sometime in the future, unable to pay for it at that moment, so he decided to work two jobs at a time just to gather enough money for his future. Both Claire and Jake went to find their luck elsewhere in the US, studying at different universities, while Dylan had to stay behind. It was a tough decision to make, but love eventually prevailed and him and Claire decided to try long distance, despite all odds. And with all the little bumps and bruises, in the end it worked out as he was now able to finally afford university. He decided to go not too far away, and applied at the University of the nearby city of Ann Arbor, trying to pursue a career in economics. After a few months, his two favorite people were back in town and were ready to come see him in the big city, but as fate would have it, they would never arrive. A careless truck driver went into their lane and collided head on into their car, leaving both of them dead.
Dylan, severely depressed and feeling very much alone, considered suicide every time. But he could never do it. Each time he'd reach that hilltop and consider leaping over the edge he'd always remember that one day when the three of them sat right there on that very same ridge overlooking their small town and talking about their futures. He thought it would be selfish to rid himself of his life and not fulfill at least one dream they had. So even in their deaths they would push him onward, molding him into a very resilient and self-reliant, yet lonesome individual. He eventually got a dog that would keep him company seeing as he now tried to avoid any type of attatchment, fearing it's repercussions. He returned to Holland and got a job at Lou's Vinyl, a job he previously worked at before going to college, an old and kind man who acted as his new father figure after his old man died. He's currently taking a year off from college trying to collect his thoughts after the loss and lives at Lou's shop, in a small room behind that used to serve as a storage unit.
Lou is the only person he still talks to frequently.
I thought the misfortunate might be a little over the top, personally. But hell, I wanna play an emotionally broken man. I was actually torn between having his best friend and gf die in a car crash or fall in love at college and just kinda "dump" him. Figured death is less painful. Who knew.