fourteen

—

i walk back into my room, shutting my door in dallas' face and locking it. i hear him chuckle from the other side.

i quickly change into a simple what crop top with some light blue-ish jeans. i put my hands in my hair, fluffing it.

i walk out and meet dallas in the living room "sad i missed the show" he says with a fake look of disappointment.

"shut up" i giggle, taking a drink from the orange juice in the fridge.

"whatdya wanna do today?" he asks, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"good question" i reply as i open the curtains in the living room, peering outside.

it's real nice out.

"how about you come meet devin?" i ask, wanting him to know dal isn't so bad.

"not sure if that's a good idea," he says, taking out a new cigarette. he passes me one as well.

"why's that?" i ask, waiting for him to light it.

he does, then lights his and takes a drag before answering.

"might have to beat the kid for givin that to ya"

i roll my eyes at his response. "real funny, dal."

i walk up to him and snatch his keys from his pocket. i run out the door with them, cigarette still in hand.

i'm not that fast, and the smoking doesn't help, but dal isn't very fast either.

i huff and puff as i run down the street, dallas chasing after me. i go towards bucks, where dallas car would be. i can hear his heavy footsteps behind me.

i don't get far before dallas tackles me to the ground.

he pins my down, breathing heavily. we sit there for a moment, both of us trying to catch our breath.

"ill take these" he says as he then grabs his keys from my hand. he gets up and dusts himself off; i do the same.

"come on dal," i pout "i really want him to meet you."

"oh, really?" he asks, smashing his now broken cigarette on the ground. "why so badly?"

"because..you're a good friend of mine" i lie.

he narrows his eyes. "bullshit." he crosses his arms as he waits for an answer.

"he just hasn't heard good news bout you, that's all" i say, messing with the ring on my finger.

his energy changes quickly. "what did he tell you?" he asks impatiently.

"nothin, much. said he didn't wanna talk about it- he just said that you aren't any good to be around" i say with a bit of an odd tone, as if i were trying to make it sound funny so that he wouldn't be mad.

"where the fuck he hear that from?" he begins to shout, getting riled up.

i put my hand on his shoulder "i mean come on dal, no one around town thinks any good of you-"

he quickly shoves me off of him when i say that. "that's what you think of me, huh?"

"christ, dal, you know that's not true. that's why i want him to meet you!" i say throwing my hands around the air as i talk. "we know you ain't as bad as everyone says you are.."

he scoffs, cooling down a bit, but still upset. "let's go" he says.

the drive to the theater that devin works at is filled with tension. dallas' leg bounces as he drives, his finger doing the same on the wheel.

i sigh and lean back, feeling the sun and breeze on my face.

i look over at dallas when he puts his hand on my thigh. i take it off quickly, not knowing how else to react.

sure, i've admitted to myself that i do somewhat fancy dallas, but we're good friends, it should make me uncomfortable when he does flirtatious things.

plus..i really like this devin kid so far.

"what's your deal?" he asks as he puts that hand back on the wheel.

"nothin, i just got startled a bit. your hands are always so fucking cold" i joke. he laughs and lightly punches me in the arm.

he bites his lower lip "i bet ya digged it" he says.

my heartbeat quickens. "don't flatter yourself, winston."

"nah, man, it's obvious. you get all red and shy whenever i do things like that."

i look down at my hands, not knowing how to respond.

"just like that" he laughs.

"shut it, dallas" i say as we pull into the parking lot.

i hop out of the car quickly, not wanting to continue any of that conversation. i walk in the theater doors, and see the tall blonde boy working behind the counter.

i watch with a smile as i see him give a little boy popcorn, who seems to be struggling to carry the large container.

after the boy and his mother leave, i walk up and greet him.

"hey!" i say as he looks over.

"hey, annalise! what are you doing here?" he asks excitedly.

i watch his smile fade as dallas walks in, snaking him arm around my waist.

i pull myself off, giving dallas a glare. "gosh, sorry.." i say awkwardly. dallas and him just stare at each other.

"devin?" dallas asks, putting out his hand.

"that's me" devin says bluntly, shaking dallas' hand.

the tension rises, and i don't really know what to do in this situation, honestly.

"well!" i say "we just wanted to say hello, i really wanted you to meet dallas, cause he's a real cool guy" i say, elbowing dallas when i say "real cool guy." devin wasn't able to see that, though.

"so i've heard" he says with an eyebrow flash.

"it's crazy," dallas starts "haven't even brought the guy around and he's already leeching on your neck" he says with a smirk.

i send daggers at dallas, then an apologetic look to devin.

"can i talk to you for a moment?" i ask, speaking to devin. he nods while glaring at dallas, then coming out from behind the counter.

we go off a couple feet so dallas won't hear us. "i'm really sorry about him," i whisper, playing with my hands once again. "it's just that i told him i want you guys to meet cause you have a bad impression on him and really, he's not that bad it's just-"

"it's cool" devin says, scratching the back of his neck. "he's just, protective or whatever, right?"

i laugh "uhh- yeah, i guess."