Golden

Two; Drive-Ins and Secrets Blurted

She dropped my head onto the floor, and stomped out, followed closely by Dad. They slammed the door on their way out, making my head throb in pain.

I lay on the cold floor, and quietly sniffled, tears dripping onto the wood.

I slowly sat up, wincing as the movement my head give one particularly painful throb.

I only had some clothes to bring with me, so I packed it into an old bag, along with the $187.49 I saved up from doing odd jobs around the neighborhood.

I chucked the bag out my window, and jumped down next to it, whimpering as it jarred my head.

I walked to the lot, and hid my bag underneath the old sofa there, where I sleep sometimes. If Johnny isn't there, that is.

I decided to get a head start on making my way to the corner of Pickett and Sutton to meet the guys.

I tried not to dwell much on the fact that I no longer have a home.

•••

I stuffed my hands in my old leather jacket, that had worn thin in some places.

I made it to Pickett and Sutton, and Dal was already there, bending over as he lit a cigarette.

"Hey, Dal," I said, walking up next to him, shivering as a cold breeze blew through my slightly tangly hair.

"Hey, Lin," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, warming me up slightly. "What happened to your head?"

He gently ran a finger over a bruise that was forming on the side of my forehead, and I jolted away, avoiding eye contact with him. "It's nothing," I told him, popping my collar in hope of blocking out some of the cold.

I could tell he was about to say something, but Pony and Johnny walked up about then.

"It's not dark yet," Pony said, "what do ya wanna do?"

Dally stomped out his cigarette, grinning mischievously. "Nothin' legal, man. Let's go."

We spent an hour wander around town, shoplifting cigarettes and chasing kids across football fields during one of their practices.

The football players whistled at me, making me blush and look away. However, I didn't miss the fact that Dal had flipped them the bird, making Pony and Johnny laugh.

When it was finally dark enough, we made our way to the Drive-In.

It only costs a quarter to go in without a car, but when you're with Dallas Winston, you never do things the legal way.

We snuck in under the fence.

Dally helped me climb to my feet, and me being me, I stumbled into him. He caught me, and I looked up into his hard blue eyes, that softened and he looked into my own eyes.

"Linden," he whispered, gently running his fingers over the side of my face, over the bruise I was sure would be ten times darker in the morning.

"Dallas..."

We started leaning closer, our eyes fluttering shut. His hand moved to the side of my neck, and I could feel his warm breath fanning across my face. It smelt like peppermint and cigarettes, and oddly, I loved it.

"C'mon you guys! The movie's starting!" We heard Pony call. He sounded a little ways away, but Dal and I leapt apart anyways, blushing profusely.

We walked over to the seats provided for the people without cars, right next to the convenient stand. We sat down on the second row, me in between Dal and Pony, Johnny on Pony's other side.