Never Let Them Define You

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

"And you assumed they were LYING to you?!" she asks exasperatedly.

"No, no, no, look, we got off on the wrong foot, okay? If you wouldn't grill me so hard, then maybe we could have an enjoyable ride until we part ways."

"I was just trying to have deep, stimulating conversation, that's all, but if that's too much for you, then we don't need to talk at all, and we can do our own things in silence."

"Well, that's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

"I quite like silence myself, I don't know about you."

"Oh, well sure, I guess it can be pleasant." He laughs and scratches the back of his head. "Maybe a little talking?"

She looks up and down at him, noticing his shoulders are quite broad, his hair quite fine, and his whole being rather pleasant. "I guess we can talk...just a little." She smiles and stands up in a hurry, then moves towards the closet, and grabs her toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Care a lot about dental hygiene, huh?"

She slowly squeezes a dollop of paste on the brush and turns to him. "Using up our little talking already?" She faces the sink and begins to brush furiously.

He laughs. "Just, um, trying to make conversation, I guess."

She turns around again, brushing her molars with her mouth open wide, then spins and spits in the sink, and looks at him again while wiping the remnants off her lips with her thumb. "Do we need to talk?"

"Well, you seem like a pleasant woman and if we're only gonna know each other for so long, then we might as well make the most of it? I mean, seems reasonable to me at least."

She tilts her head back and forth while inspecting the ceiling, then shrugs. "Sure, might as well be grateful for this random situation we've been put in...I'm just gonna stretch if you don't mind."

"Oh, no, not all." He chuckles and rubs his hair.

She falls on the floor, first landing in a cross-legged position, and then stretching out one leg and leaning over as she holds her foot.

"So, what brings you on this train?"

"My mother," she says solemnly, "it's been years since I've seen her."

"Oh, did you two have a falling out?"

"Something like that, or I pushed her away...I don't know, I was young, and I kind of had stopped connecting with her when I became a teenager."

"Well, that's understandable...I was a miserable runt, especially between 14 and 17 years old, I mean, I was the worst."

"What's the worst thing you ever did?" She pulls herself up and her legs back together, then switches to the other leg and does the same pose.

"One time, I poured sugar into the fuel tank of my dad's car."

She cracks up and breaks pose, looks at him with a smile, and asks, "For what?"

"He sold my car that I had just gotten for my birthday; I mean, to be fair, he did buy it, but, agh! I still hold it against him."

She lets out a stifled laugh, then gets up and shifts onto her knees, puts her arms in the air and clasps her hands together, and bends over to the right with her eyes closed. "One time, I..." she smiles and shakes her head, then continues, "cut up my mom's wedding dress." She peeps open one eye and her face contorts out of embarrassment.

"What?" He shakes his head and facepalms. "Why on Earth would you do that?"

"Oh God, it was for such a stupid reason." She covers her face with her hand, before gracefully returning it back to position, and then bends to the left. "She told me that a dress I had bought was too short and that I had to take it off, so I thought, 'why should she have a nice dress?'"

He laughs riotously and holds his sides. "That's not just a nice dress!"

"I know, I know, I mean, I know that now, but at the time, I genuinely didn't see a difference, and I made fun of her for crying about it." She facepalms.

"You-" his jaw drops and he blinks rapidly, before concluding, "no wonder she doesn't talk to you."

She stretches out her arms in front of her, then frowns and holds her hands together behind her back.

"Wait, I...I just realized I sound like a massive dick." He laughs and falls on his back, then quietly mutters, "Fuck, I'm a mess."

She giggles. "Me too."

He shoots up. "You heard that?"

"I have good ears."

"How are you a mess, anyway? I mean, you're perfect."

"I'm perfect?" She holds her hand up to her chest and scoffs. "Clearly, you don't know me."

"Well, I mean, we did just meet, but even if I did know you, I'm pretty sure I would still be captivated by you."

"You find me captivating?"

"Who wouldn't?"

She stands up slowly and walks towards him, then stops and stares down at him with her hands on her hips. "What do you want?"

"I-" he looks up and down at her with a raised eyebrow, then stammers, "I shouldn't say."

"Shouldn't you?"

His face squeezes and he pulls on his collar, then exhales sharply, and stretches his arms out beside him. "You."

"I see..." She smiles and sits beside him, then caresses his cheek. "You have beautiful eyes."

"I could get lost in yours."

She almost puts her lips up to his, but stops herself and chuckles. "I shouldn't."

He holds up her face and stares into her eyes. "Shouldn't you?"