reckless 【 the outsiders 】

five.

She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing this.

Leigh's brother skipped school one day, which isn't uncommon this year for him, so she had to walk home. She felt like she was walking forever. It felt so long because shortly after she got off school grounds, Winston met up with her. He'd start off with his usual sleazy lines and she'd fire back with her, usually witty, comebacks. She began to really like this cycle after it went on for about a week or so. She began walking home voluntarily because she'd meet with Winston. She always had an excuse for why she was walking. She was really just beginning to enjoy the company of the New Yorker.

"You moved here from New York? That's crazy." She had so many things she wanted to ask him about the place but knew he wouldn't give her the answers she wanted. No matter how bad it was, she could never imagine leaving a dream city for someplace like Tulsa.

"Yeah, well it ain't all roses or whatever everybody's always sayin' about it."

She could almost feel him getting comfortable around her just as she was him. She started to think that maybe Dorothy wasn't the only one she could handle daily contact with. "I think that New Yorker accent makes me hate you a little less."

Dallas was actually left not knowing what exactly to say. He wanted to say something wise back to her but wasn't able to think. He got frustrated and couldn't figure out why. Leigh didn't know how she should take his silence. Whenever it got silent, he would often say something about her hair or what she was wearing and then she'd change the subject because she wasn't able to come up with something smart to insult him back. He wasn't doing that.

"Should I be worried that you ain't said nothin' about how blondes are usually good in the sack or this dress is nice but what's under it's bound to be better?"

He chuckled, lighting up a cigarette between his lips and it hung lazily as he spoke his next words. "That's the most you think of me?"

"Well," she shrugged in response, looking down at her feet, then up at the boy beside her, "You ain't gave me much else to go off of, so yeah."

"Fair enough." He offered her the cigarette, forgetting that she continuously told him she didn't smoke. She chuckled to herself and almost wanted to lean into Dallas for no reason at all. Something about him was making her act funny.

"Someone at my work said smokin' makes you lose your libido, which means sex drive for the common folk."

"Does the opposite for me." He rolled his eyes and took a puff from the cigarette, blowing out a few smoke rings. "And what a fancy word for someone who can barely read."

There was the card she couldn't stand people using with her. All of a sudden, she was quiet, her smile disappeared and was replaced by a scowl. In a second, she went from being content to wishing Dallas would leave her alone forever. She crossed her arms. "I can read, I read fine."

"A eighteen-year-old in a, what's it called? A remedial class probably can't read too well."

"I'm seventeen and I read perfectly fine." Leigh could feel herself getting defensive and she knew that was just what he wanted. He knew he was only making it worse. He was trying to make it worse. In an instant, she remembered just why she couldn't stand him sometimes.

"Yeah?" he began, "what does that sign say?"

She gritted her teeth and pushed him away from her, no longer being able to stand even being next to him. "Get bent, Dallas."

"Oh, you must be serious. You brought out the first name," he teased. She ignored him, continuing on her way home and listening instead to the sound of her feet hitting the gravel as she sped up walking to get away from him. But he hadn't planned on leaving her alone. "Ah, come on I'm just messin' with you, babe." His laugh was obnoxious and she only found it annoying. "You really mad at me, now?" He shook his head and stood behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist and another across her shoulders. He was glad she never took her backpack with her. "You know you wanna talk to me."

She tried wiggling out of his grip but soon relaxed instead. His arms around her seemed to do something to her. Like his own personal way of sedating the girl. "I only tolerate you, Winston, because you're only an ass for show and you probably really do have a heart in that chest of yours."

"Good luck tryin' to find it."

Despite his internal objections, she already had.