Back to You(32)

“I have to catch the bus,” she called after him, and he waved his hand behind him dismissively.
“I’ll take care of it. Let’s go,” he said, not even turning to see if she was following him.
She watched him for a second before she rolled her eyes and jumped off the wall with a huff.
“Where are we going?” she asked when she finally caught up to him.
“For a ride,” he said, waving his hand like a game show hostess in front of something that looked like it used to be a car a long, long time ago.
“Whose is this?” she asked, looking over the black hatchback that was missing two hubcaps and covered in scratches and rust spots of varying sizes and colors.
It looked like a Jackson Pollock.
“Mine,” he said matter-of-factly, walking around to the driver’s side.
“Since when?” she asked.
“Since now.”
Lauren lifted her eyes to his. “Did you steal this?” she asked, and he tilted his head.
“Come on now, Red. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“So you paid for this? That’s actually worse than stealing it.”
He laughed out loud, flipping her off over the top of the car. “Quit being such a bitch and just get in the car,” he said through his smile, opening his door. “Wait,” he said suddenly, holding his hand up to stop her. “You’ve had a tetanus shot, right?”
Lauren tried not to laugh as she pulled open the passenger door, cringing when it made a sound like a dying whale.
But it was nothing compared to the sound the car made when he started it.
As she put on her seatbelt, she flinched again. “That sounds like a broken blender,” she yelled over the noise.
“It’s great, isn’t it? This guy down the road from me was gonna junk it. Sold it to me for a hundred bucks,” he added before he switched gears, and Lauren cupped her hands over her ears and hoped it was a short drive to wherever they were going.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, she couldn’t help but notice the stares they were getting from the other students. She told herself it was just the eyesore of a car and the deafening, metallic clanking it made as it chugged out of the lot, but the truth was, she knew they’d be getting that look even if they’d been merely walking together.
She didn’t understand how people hadn’t gotten over it by now.
They’d been friends for almost four months, and still people acted shocked when they were spotted talking in the halls, or sitting together at the pizzeria.
Or driving off campus together. { display: block; text-indent: 0%; leasha
Fine. She could recognize the hint of controversy in that last one, but nevertheless, it didn’t make sense that they were still fodder for gossip. Lauren Monroe had befriended Michael Delaney, and she hadn’t ended up dead, or on drugs, or been arrested, or joined a cult. The whole thing should have been pretty boring, actually.
After about five minutes of driving, Michael finally pulled the car over and cut the engine, and the sudden silence made her ears ring.
“Here we are,” he said as he exited the car, and Lauren got out, wiggling her finger in her ear.
“I feel like I just left a concert,” she mumbled.
“God, you really got your panties in a bunch today,” he said with an amused laugh as he opened the chain-link gate in front of them and gestured for her to go first.
It finally dawned on Lauren that they were at the community park.
“Why are we here?” she asked as she looked up at him. “I didn’t even think this place was open in March.”
“Well, apparently it is,” he said, nodding toward the open gate. “Go.”
She glanced at the empty park before looking back at him, and he stood there watching her, waiting.
“Okay,” she sighed, walking into the park, and she heard the gate clang shut behind them as he followed her.
“To the slide,” he said, and she walked around the swings to the left and stood beside it, turning to look at him. “Go ahead,” he added, motioning for her to climb it.
She looked at him like he was crazy, but he was watching her, his expression even.
“Um, okay?” she said stoically before she climbed the ladder and sat down at the top of the slide. “Why am I doing this again?”
“Because I asked you to. Go ahead.”
She shook her head before she pushed off the top and slid down to the bottom. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she looked up at him.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “No, that was horrible. Do it again.”
“Michael,” she said, annoyed. “I’m freezing. Can you just tell me what the point of this is?”