Plastic

Shattered.

     I pull into the driveway of the bar and get in, not taking a moment to spare. I get in through the front doors, inhaling the smell of smoke and alcohol. I approach the bar hesitant, but then realize I didn't have anywhere else to go.
"Whiskey, please," I asked.
The bartender turned to me, sizing me with his eyes. "Aren't you a little young to be in here?"
I showed him my fake ID, and the idiot just nodded his head and got on with my drink. I swear, adults are getting dumber by the day.
When I got my drink, I drank it in one big gulp, whinsing at the end from the sting.
"Wow, slow down there cow girl," some guy said to me as he sat down. He had black hair and soft brown eyes with a bulbous, yet kind of cute, nose.
"I don't like being told how to forget my problems," I responded without looking at him directly.
He put his hands up in defense, "If your going to drink that much, at least let me buy it."
I looked at him with a smirk, honestly if he wasn't this hot I would have told him no, but who am I to deny free drinks. It wasn't like I would ever sleep with him.
"Fine," I said to the bartender next "IPA for me please."
"I'm Aaron," he said.
"Shay, the girl who sneaks out at midnight so she can drink her memories away," I say looking at the counter a little ashamed.
When I got the beer he looked at me and said "so what's your story?"
"What?" I said.
"What's your story? Why are you here, some scummy dive bar at midnight, instead of at home."
I looked at him and smiled and said "I'm doing what I do best, running away from my problems."
"I think I can help you with that?" He said.
"I am not sleeping with you," I stated clearly.
He laughed and said "no, no, it's nothing like that. I just want to show you something that's, always helped me."
I thought I had seen all of this in some kidnapping video they show you in elementary school, but I have pepper spray and a pocket knife, so I'll be ok.
"Ok, but if this sucks you have to drive me straight home."
"Deal." We shook hands and he payed for our drinks.
We walked out of the bar and too his car.
"What about your car?" He said.
"I can pick it up tomorrow, it'll be fine."
He shrugged as we backed up in his old pick up truck. He rolled down the windows and we started driving. We rode the whole way there in silence.

15 minutes later he said we were close. With the windows down we drove down the road and I looked over at him. The wind perfectly messed his hair up and when we came to a stop I was sad it was ending. He made eye contact with me while I had a goofy smile on my face.
"What?" He asked.
"You. You just look so...perfect and happy with yourself. It's almost...calming," I said
He actually laughed at the comment and said "I am anything but that. Now let's go, you'll want to see this."
We got out of the car and he gestured for me too sit down at the edge of this uplifted peace of concrete on the side of an interstate, over-looking Orlando and it's many tourists traps. The concrete was in the middle of a bunch of construction, so I had to ask "is it ok we are sitting here?"
"Of course, we won't be here long."
I just sat there for a second and then asked "why did you bring me here? We just met and now you bring me to some construction sight."
"I know it's sudden, but you remind me, of me. I would always drink away my life, try to forget about every day I've regretted, every second I wasted. But then I came here. You see this, this is Orlando," he said pointing to all of the tourist shops and theme parks. "None of this is real. It's all a scheme to get you to spend money and forget. Everything in Orlando is plastic. The people here are plastic. It seems happy but those rides you ride at disney are so you can forget that you know your wife is cheating on you. So you can push away the fact that your life is shattering before your eyes. It's all plastic though, the memories, the bad times with the people you hate. It's never going to matter later, so you don't have to drink it away. You just have to remember, this is plastic. This is not real, this is just a point in my life that may never matter again, and even if it does, I will change and deal with it."
I looked at him and kissed him right there. "I'm not plastic though. I am real, I feel real things. And I know what I feel for you right now, is not plastic."
He looked at me and smiled.
"I know."