Leading You Home

Second

I feel his eyes on me. Looking over, I catch Bradley's gaze but only for a moment before he looks down and proceeds to remove a cigarette from the pack in his hand. I walk over to him, feeling defeated. And homeless. The sun is gone. It's probably almost nine-thirty. I guess I could always sleep in my car.

"What's going on with Carrie?" I ask, stopping in front of him. He shakes his head and takes a long drag from the lit cigarette. I watch the smoke swirl and twist in the dark sky as he blows it out.

"She's a bitch," he mumbles. As the smoke comes my way, I swat my hand around my face.

"Well, I really need to talk to her," I mumble back. With safe distance between us, I sit next to him. Placing my cup of sugar next to me, I begin to feel a dull ache tugging at my temple again. Flicking the ashes off his cigarette, Bradley closes his eyes. His elbows are on his knees and his short blond hair looks messier then it did earlier.

"Long day?" I ask.

He chuckles bitterly. "You could say that. I got accused of cheating on my girlfriend - who is now my ex-girlfriend - and then got bitched at by my other ex-girlfriend. Which, in my opinion, was unnecessary."

"Sounds rough," I reply casually. "I got kicked out of my house by my stepfather and my Mom didn't do anything about it."

There's a pause. Then, to my surprise, Bradley stretches his arm out to pass me his cigarette. "You win."

I stare down at the nasty tobacco stick. I've seen my Mom smoke them too many times, and yet she tells me to never do it.

Do as I say, not as I do.

Mom's not here though. Actually, it's partly her fault I'm here. I take the cigarette and place it between my teeth. Okay, I think. Easy enough. Then I suck in and immediately start coughing all over the place.

Bradley retrieves the cigarette from my fingers, after I almost accidentally burn his palm. Once my coughing fit is done, I notice him laughing. "First time?"

"Shut up."

He takes his own drag, a super long one that makes me wonder if he'll finish the whole thing. I pick up the pack sitting next to him and realize it's the  I gave him today.

"Why do you smoke?" I ask him. I lean back and feel something from the machine jab into my back.

He shrugs. "I don't know. It's just a habit I can't put down."

I stare at him. "But what made you want to start smoking? Does it relax you?"

"Yes.Why are you asking these questions?" he asks, waving the hand that holds the cigarette around.

I put the pack back down next to him. "I'm a naturally curious person, I guess."

"Well, it's weird," he mutters. The air between us goes still and awkward. A kid wearing a red, white, and blue cap runs past us yelling to one of his friends about being Caption America. After a minute of silence, I'm about to go back to my car but stop when I see Bradley laughing softly.

"What's funny?"

"I was just thinking of your face after you tried to smoke that cigarette."

I punch him in the arm.

He reaches for his bicep as if my punch actually hurt. Then, something at the festival catches his attention. He smiles brightly at it and sends a mocking wave toward someone. I turn my head and see...

Avery.

She's scowling. It's very ugly. Then, she smirks and shakes her head, probably believing that she was correct when she assumed Bradley was cheating on her. I look away and stare at a homemade jewelry concession stand, refusing to believe I'm about to get in a cat fight over a guy I hardly know. I do not have time to get catch up in useless drama.