Torn Jeans and a Devilish Smirk

“You know princess, I really didn’t expect that you’d actually be sitting here next to me, off on a random adventure,” he chuckled, steering his truck down the road.

“Honestly, neither did I,” I said as I stared out the front windshield. “But for some reason, I’m glad that I came. I feel so energized, like I don’t know, but I really like this feeling.”

“That’s what usually happens when you do something on impulse; your body becomes so full of adrenaline that you just don’t want to stop. It actually makes you feel as if you’re alive,” he gave me a smile as he looked at me.

“How does it make you feel alive? Doesn’t just living everyday make one feel alive?” I asked, turning in my seat to face him.

He chuckled softly to himself, keeping his eyes on the road. “But the real question is, are you really living?”

I stayed silent, his question making me think. Of course I was living. If I wasn’t, how would be getting by day after day? You’d have to be dead to not be living, and I know for sure that I definitely was not dead.

Neither of us talked, unless I told him where to turn. The only sounds heard were the tires against the snow along with the gentle hum of the radio. I expected the ride to be completely awkward, but to my surprise it wasn’t at all, and the thought scared me.

From the school, it took roughly fifteen minutes to get where we were going. Even though it was the beginning of March, there was plenty of snow on the ground. We did live in Ohio after all, and that meant that it was also pretty chilly outside. Except for that day, it was actually decent.

I instructed him to make a right, bringing us onto a dirt road. Woods lined both sides of the road, so you weren’t able to see anything except for the bare trees around you. Casey threw me a skeptical look, and I couldn’t suppress a smirk.

“Where are you leading me? Out to the bare wilderness so you can have me knocked off?” he made a joke, but I could detect just the tiniest hint of fear in his voice.

“There’s nothing to be scared of, I’m harmless. You really think that I could be capable of making a devious plan just to get rid of you?” I asked with a short giggle, raising my eyebrow as I looked at him. “No wait, don’t answer that, it was rhetorical.”

“Well in my defense princess, you tell me that you don’t like me, and then you take me out to the middle of nowhere. I can’t help but be suspicious.”

Snorting in disbelief, I crossed my arms once again before looking away from him. I kept my eyes glued to the side, looking for something in particular. There was a secret entrance that if you didn’t originally know it was there, you’d never find it.

“Slow down, it’s coming up,” I told him while spotting the familiar landmark. “You’re going to make a right just before that boulder.”

He slowed down and the faint tire tracks became easy to spot. I was happy that the truck was a four-wheel drive, since the trail appeared to be muddied up. Following the trail, it went about a good half mile back in the woods. It emptied into a small clearing, and in the clearing was an abandoned barn.

It was fairly decent in size, its length being about half of a football field. The roof looked like it was starting to fall in, the windows having boards nailed in a criss-cross pattern over them, the walls of the barn looking faded and in places were pitch black.

“What’s this place?” he asked while parking the truck and turning it off.

“This,” I said while opening the passenger door and stepping out, “is the barn. People, well mainly high-schoolers anyways, have been coming out here for a few years. They throw parties, come here to chill, or just come here to get away from the parentals. Just imagine something, and it’s probably been done here.”

“Like sneaking out with your boyfriend, coming here away from peering eyes, and having some alone time?” he whispered in my ear, coming out of nowhere making me jump.

“Some people might do that,” I blustered, moving away from him and closer towards the barn, “but I have never personally done that.”

“You’re probably still a virgin, aren’t you?” he asked softly, not moving from the spot where I had left him.

I could feel my cheeks flush, and it wasn’t from just the cold weather either. “So what if I am?” I asked defiantly.

He shrugged, his shoulders visibly rising up in his jacket as he shuffled his way over to where I was standing.

“I think that it’s an admirable trait,” he spoke, gently taking a hold of my chin and tilting it so I was looking him in the eyes. “It shows that you actually care about your body. Many girls these days just want to feel good, so they give it away too easily. But then again… it also could mean that you’re a prude. But hey, I’m not judging you here.”

Not knowing how to answer him, I just led him around the side and to the back where the opening of the barn was. Sliding open the door, I walked in, flipping the switch on the wall the illuminated the barn enough to see.

“So, why do people gather here?” he asked, wandering around.

“Because years ago it caught on fire. Instead of having it repaired, the owners moved away. The person who bought the land didn’t even know that the barn even existed due to it being so far back in the woods. So, the kids in high school decided that it was the perfect place to sneak out and have fun. The owners don’t know that they own this piece of property, and it’s far back out of the way so that it won’t disturb anyone, so the police never get called to come here. It’s like a perfect haven.”

“You know, I’m quite surprised that you know about this place,” he told me, arms crossed as he leaned against an old stall, looking me over.

“Well, when you have friends that go to these wild parties and overdo it, you have to have some knowledge so that you can drive their drunk asses home,” I said bitterly.

“You can always say no, ya know,” he said pointedly.

“But what kind of friend would I be then?”

“Some would say it wouldn’t be being a friend at all, but sometimes you just need to let your friends learn for themselves. If you make yourself too accommodating, people are just going to use that against you and walk all over you. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t help your friends out, I’m just saying that you need to learn to be more assertive,” he explained.

“Why do you act like you know me?” I questioned, silently fuming as I walked over to him, hands on my hip.

“I don’t act like I know you. I know people like you; always putting others before themselves, living, but not really living, and trust me there is a difference. Most things are good in your eyes, and you turn a blind eye to the evils of the world. I’ve known plenty of people that live the life you do, so it’s not too hard,” he said coolly.

Since I had never been in the barn when it was basically empty, I decided to wander around a little bit. Even though the barn caught on fire all those years ago, the inside didn’t look that damaged. But that might have been because some of the guys decided to renovate it so that it wouldn’t just instantly collapse during a party or something.

As I was making my around, suddenly I was whirled around and pushed up against a wall. I narrowed my eyes as I saw Casey there in front of my, pushing up against me as he had his hands splayed on both sides of me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I hissed.

“Making good memories,” he whispered as he leaned down.

Bringing my hands up, I took my right hand and slapped him across the face. In his state of confusion, I was able to push him off of me and put some distance between us.

“I guess I made my move to soon,” he said while he cradled his head.

“Yeah, ya did. I told you that I didn’t like you, at least like that anyways. I don’t know why you think you could pull something like that. Let’s just get out of here,” I muttered as I stormed off towards the door, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

After making sure everything in the barn was in order, I shut the light off and closed the door once we were both out. I stalked to the truck a good ten feet in front of Casey, and luckily he had left his truck unlocked so I hopped right in.

Without a word, he got into the driver’s seat and started the truck. Turning around, he followed the trail back out onto the road. He must have been paying attention to the way I guided him here because he turned without instruction from me.

The ride back was silent, but it didn’t matter to me. I fumed as I looked out the window, unable to believe that Casey had tried kissing me. Just the thought that he thought he could do anything he wanted ticked me off.

“Sidney, I’m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable back there,” he said softly, not daring to chance a look at me.

I didn’t acknowledge his apology, but my heart softened a little. What guy would apologize after doing something like that? I wouldn’t forgive him, but I knew that my feelings for him were starting to change. I didn’t despise him as much as I originally had. But there was still a long road in front of us before I would call him a friend.