In Dear David, Dilla is Laras’ former best friend who gets bullied at school due to Laras’ dishonesty. Dilla is played by Caitlin North Lewis.
Laras is a model student and a good daughter to her mother. She is a scholarship student as well as the president of the student body. Perhaps that is why no one suspects her when her fantasy stories about her crush, David, get leaked.
It does not take long for David to figure out who wrote the stories that made him so popular at school. As David suffers because of her, Laras promises to make it up to him, and David wants her to help him get close to his crush and Laras’ former friend, Dilla.
Why did Dilla distance herself from Laras?
When David does not tell anyone that Laras is the writer of the stories, Laras decides to help set him up with Dilla. David tried pursuing her, but Dilla was not interested in dating him.
Laras buys a camera as a peace offering because she knows Dilla likes photography. She goes to Dilla’s house and apologizes for whatever she did, but the fact that she does not know what she did to offend Dilla does not help her case.
At school, Laras notices Dilla bunking a compulsory seminar and follows her. She tells Dilla that she misses her and all the things that they did together. Dilla wants her to prove it by sneaking out of the school with her, something that Laras has never done before.
The two girls sneak out and spend the day eating roadside snacks in the rain before going to Laras’ house. When they are alone in Laras’ room, Dilla tells Laras why people at school started slut-shaming her.
A boy named Arya asked Dilla out. She refused, but the next day, the whole school thought that she had slept with him. The students started slut-shaming her and mocking her, but Laras did not stand up for her friend.
Laras was so busy being the president that she forgot to be there for Dilla, who assumed that perhaps Laras did not want to be friends with someone like her. Laras apologizes to her, and the two girls go back to being best friends.
Dilla continues to get bullied and ostracized at school because everyone assumes that she wrote those stories. However, Dilla does not know that Laras is keeping secrets from her.
Dilla and David’s relationship
Dilla is not interested in David, but she notices that Laras has a crush on him. Laras keeps inviting him to hang out with the two of them, which bothers Dilla. She starts paying attention to David to annoy Laras.
Soon, Dilla gets suspended because she refuses to apologize for something that she did not do; the principal confiscates her phone and calls her an attention seeker. Dilla stands up for herself and is sent home.
The adults, including her own mother, do not understand her or listen to her. An upset Dilla tries to call Laras. When Laras does not pick up her phone, Dilla dresses up and shows up to David’s soccer game. She kisses him in front of everyone and tells him that he can be her boyfriend.
Although Dilla is dating David, she does not like him. She asks him to call her by the nickname that Laras had given her while kissing him, and the two still fail to get comfortable with each other.
How does Dilla discover the truth?
When David returns from the church retreat, he breaks up with Dilla, which upsets and confuses her. However, by looking at his messages, she finds out that Laras is the writer of the stories.
She takes a picture of the messages as proof and tells David that she hates them both; they both knew the truth but never came to her defense and watched her get bullied. She reveals the truth to everyone the next day.
When Laras confronts her about it, she accuses Laras of being selfish and always thinking about herself. In front of other students, she tells her that she is ashamed of the fact that they were once friends, ending their friendship once again.
Does Dilla forgive Laras?
Laras visits Dilla’s house to win her forgiveness. She even gets hurt while forcing her way into the house. Dilla reluctantly agrees to drive her home, and it is then that she admits that she is used to being hurt by Laras.
She has been in love with Laras, who only loves her as a friend. Dilla always knew she was different, but she never admitted it because she did not want Laras to think of her as a freak.
Laras assures her that she does not think that Dilla is a freak. Instead, she is glad to be loved by her. She does not want her friend to go through this alone and promises to be there for her. Dilla and Laras finally reconcile.
Laras then goes on to publically apologize to her friend and call out the students, teachers, and the principal for bullying her.
While Laras starts dating David, Dilla meets a girl named Anya. Dilla seems to be interested in her, implying that she is moving on from Laras.
Also Read: Dear David ending explained: Does Laras end up with David?
