Bitter & Sweet

6. How Very Intriguing

Yesterday...

Teo and I walk towards the parking lot, after school — where Teo's dad's car is parked.

"So what do you wanna do?" I ask Teo, once we're in the car.
He turns to face me, with his usual smile fixated on his face, while the car is still in park and says,
"I want to show you my favorite place in town. Maybe after that, we could watch a movie? My dad is at work today."

"Let me guess... we're going to the skate park?" I tease.
Teo, jokingly rolls his eyes at me. "Now that wouldn't be very original of me, would it?"
"Hmm, don't worry, my expectations weren't very high anyway."
"Ouch." Teo jokingly presses his hand on his chest.

"Nahh, it's gonna be much more fun than that. I promise."
"I'll remember you said that," I smile. And with that we drive off, to God knows where.

The ride is far more relaxing than I expected it would be. Teo's playing 90's r&b on the radio, which I'm not too familiar with — but can totally vibe on.
It's quite hot outside, so both the front windows are open, letting a nice, warm breeze in.

I glance at Teo, from my left eye every once in awhile, taking in little details I hadn't noticed before.
For example, he has a couple of tattoo's on his arms, my favorite being a bolt of lightning that starts at his upper muscle and stretches out all the way to his wrist.

I also notice how he never really sits still, right now he is tapping his hands along with the music on the steering wheel, slightly bouncing his head along with each beat.

My heart almost jumps out of my chest when he suddenly speaks, forcing me out of my trance.
"Do you always stare this much at people? I'm doubting wether I should find it intriguing or creepy.."
My heart slightly races as I try think of something to say, but Teo saves me from my second hand embarrassment, by saying "we're here." Then turning the car, driving into a scrap yard.

Confused, I look out the window at all the junk surrounding us.
Once Teo turns off the engine, I turn to him with suspicion.
"You're not gonna kidnap me are you?"
"No, I promise you I'm not," Teo smiles, showing his teeth. "Do you trust me?" I can almost see the playful glint in his eyes.
"I guess I don't have a choice am I right."

We walk through the scrap yard for a few minutes, Teo explaining to me how he found this place.
"I was just driving around with a couple of friends, we where actually way too drunk to be driving that night, so we stopped at this scrap yard to sober up. And then we just kept coming back and made it our secret hideout. This way." Teo points in the right direction, leading the way.

That's when we come across a hut made of brick, with a metal roof on top.
We stand in front of a rusty metal door.
Teo opens it, motioning his hand for me to enter. "Ladies first."
"Such a gentleman," I tease, having to lower my head a little to get through the door.

I am quite shocked at all the things that they'd fit in such a small space.
Old Christmas lights are hanging around the ceiling, lighting the place up.
There's a couch against the wall with a table in front of it, with a few more chairs nearby.
There are magazines and a bong on the table, there are books laying around, a couple of empty packs of cigarettes, and a bunch of other stuff.
This place is a mess.

"Now I get why you like this place," I smile at Teo.
"Yeah, this place means a lot to me."
"Do your friends come here often?"
"Nahh, uhmm—" He scratches the back of his neck, shuffling his feet a bit. "I used to come here almost every single day with my best friend Aaron, and my other friend Lan, but Aaron passed away a year ago and Lan moved to Arizona."
My heart stings a little. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Carl wouldn't be here anymore.
I can tell Teo's trying to hide the hurt from his face.