Trailer Girl | 1

fourteen

"Really?" He asks, and the brunette nods. "So...are you gonna go out with him?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I mean, I barely even know him."

"But do you want to?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Letty says. "I mean, it's not like I have any other offers... Unless you know of a guy who secretly likes me?" She asks, eyebrows raised.

"Uh..." Eric clears his throat. "I don't, uh..." He shrugs.

"Okay then." She nods, looking away from him. "Maybe I'll take Danny up on his offer."

"Maybe you should." He tells her, immediately regretting the words as they leave his mouth.

"You really think so?" She asks as her gaze returns to him.

He nods, unable to see a way that he can backpedal without being obvious. "Yeah. Why not? I mean, you never go out with anyone. It'll be good for you."

"O...kay." Letty nods. "Then I- I guess I will." She then gets back to work, wanting the conversation to be over.

The next day when school lets out, Eric walks over to his best friend as she's getting the books she needs from her locker so that she can study tonight. "Hey, we're all going to go watch Cory's basketball game tonight. Do you wanna come?" He asks as she looks up at him.

"I would, but I already have plans." She tells him.

"What, with Miller? Bring him; Cory could use all the support he can get. Come on, my mom's waiting outside."

"No, not with Miller." The brunette shakes her head. "I can't go tonight. Sorry, Eric." She says as Danny walks over to the two of them.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" He asks, and Letty nods as she looks up at him.

"You're really going out with him?" Eric asks, having hoped that she wasn't serious about what she said back at the store.

"Yeah, I mean, I figured...why not." Letty repeats his own words back to him. "But tell Cory that I said good luck with the game, and I'm sorry that I can't make it this time." She tells him, and he nods. Then she and Danny leave, and Eric sighs as he watches her walk away from him.

—

Letty chuckles as she shakes her head at Danny, and he smiles as he looks over at her. "You have a cute laugh, Black." He tells her, and her smile widens.

"Thank you." She glances at him, not used to compliments like that, and they keep walking. The brunette looks over when she sees him pull something out of his jacket pocket, and her smile falls. "And then he ruins it, ladies and gentlemen."

"What?" He looks at the cigarette in his hand. "Oh, come on. It's not that bad."

"No. It's disgusting." Letty argues.

"You're not the type who's gonna try and change me, are you?" He asks, seemingly annoyed by the thought.

"Like I don't have better things to do than fix your bad habits?" She quirks an eyebrow as she looks up at him.

"Good." He puts it between his lips and then pulls out a lighter.

"But..." She quickly takes the cigarette from him before he can light it. "I would appreciate it if you didn't smoke when you're around me. I really hate the smell."

He pauses for a moment as he looks at her, then he nods. "Yeah, alright. Fair enough." He agrees, and she lifts it up to give it back to him.

"You have got to be kidding me." A new voice gains their attention, and they look over to see an angry Miller making his way over to them.

Seeing Letty with a cigarette and Danny with a lighter was not the most opportune moment for him to walk over, and she knows that he's going to overreact without getting any of the details on the situation. He's been increasingly over protective over her ever since he learned about her abuse at her father's hand, so he won't allow anything else that could even remotely harm her.

"Miller—" Letty starts, but he moves past her and shoves Danny back a step.

"You're giving her shit like that? Are you out of your Goddamn mind?"

"I didn't give her anything." Danny tells him. "Cigarettes are expensive; I don't share."

"You think this is funny?" Miller questions as he looks down at him.

"Knock it off." Letty forces her way between them and then pushes the blond back a step. "He wasn't giving me anything, you insane jackass."

"So, you took it without him pushing you into it?" His eyebrows furrow. "Why the hell are you defending him?"

"Why are you being an ass?" She questions. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Look, I didn't mean to get in the middle of your crush, man. I—" Danny starts.

"You think that's what this is?" Miller cuts him off. "How juvenile are you?"

"That's a good question." Letty says as she shoves on his chest again. "You have an answer to it?"

"Me?"

"You're not my boyfriend; you're not my father. I don't need you hovering like some overprotective, overbearing, insane mother-hen." She tells him. "You don't even know what was going on. And it was nothing, by the way. I can take care of myself, Miller. I have been my entire life, in case you forgot."

"That's what you call what you've been doing? Taking care of yourself?" He shakes his head as he looks at her. "You seriously need to wake up and smell the delusion. You barely take care of anyone, much less yourself."

"And you think I need you to come to my rescue and do the job for me?" She questions. "I don't need a protector or a bodyguard. What I need...is for you to lay off!" The angry brunette then grabs Danny's hand and pulls him away from Miller.