Riding in Marcus Bailey's car was probably the most terrifying thing that Lauren Craft had ever consented to do. And she did it on a regular basis.
Marcus was not a terrible driver, but he loved to do illegal things such as texting while driving, which constantly caused him to swerve in his lane. He also was keen to making illegal U-turns in the middle of streets, and would sometimes go through people's yards to turn around or back up. How he always escaped tickets, she was unsure. How he even passed his driving test, she was also unsure.
But even if Marcus drove like a lunatic, Lauren had to admit that she felt safe inside his car. It was large enough to fit at least nine people, and was usually used as the party bus, so to speak. Whenever all of their friends were hanging out, they would all pile into Marcus's old van and go wherever the wind took them. Anywhere under the sun. And Lauren had been inside the damn thing so many times, that it almost felt as natural as being home. And maybe it was home, in a way.
And so as they drove-just Marcus and her-around to kill time, she felt completely at ease. They weren't really talking, but it wasn't awkward like so many other silences that one could endure. It was a comfortable silence, one that came with the familiarity of close friends. They could sit and be wrapped up inside their own thoughts, and it did not bother them. It was nice, actually. When you have someone near while you're thinking, especially someone you care about, it makes the thoughts flow easier. Because being with someone who loves you makes you feel safe. Lauren felt very safe indeed.
She was vaguely aware of Marcus flipping through radio stations, and assumed that he was trying to find a song that he could relate to at that moment. She wondered what was going on in his head. Was he too, thinking of their companionship? Or was he thinking about other things, such as school and regular teenage life? She hoped that whatever he was thinking about was pleasant.
She supposed that Marcus could very possibly be her best friend. But Lauren was just as close to others as she was to Marcus, and to single him out seemed unfair to the people who she loved just as equally.
Stop being so sentimental. She scolded herself. She was a teenage girl, in the middle of her sophomore year. Had even only been sixteen for a few, short months. You'd think she'd have more frivolous things to mule over. Like the latest gossip, for instance. Like Savanna Whitman being pregnant. Not a huge surprise there, but was a scandal like any other. Or Sam Joels being gay. His father was an outspoken homophobe, from what she had heard. But if Lauren was honest with herself, she knew that none of that really appealed to her. Though she loved a good story to hear, she didn't particularly care too much, and that always scared her. Was she like normal girls at all?
Lauren was pretty enough. She had a slight figure, that was not over weight at all, but not too skinny either. She was of average height, and she had hair the color of dark chocolate, which fell to her chest and framed her heart shaped face, where her round, bright blue eyes resided. Her skin was creamy white with the smallest hint of a tan, and she constantly wished that she was darker. She always thought that she looked sickly due to her pale complexion, and wanted a skin tone that would make her look as if she was glowing. She sighed inwardly.
Marcus was her complete opposite. He was taller than her by many inches, and though she did not know for sure, she figured that he was around six feet tall. He had black hair that would fall into his large black eyes whenever he didn't brush them away, and though his face was heart shaped like her's, it looked nothing close to her female one, for his was masculine and just absurdly male. His skin was a caramel color that came from his heritage, even though he was only half Spanish. He was lean and muscled, not weak like Lauren, who, though strong enough for a girl, would always lose any arm wrestling match she was stupid enough to agree to participating in. They were like the sun and the moon. Completely different, if not for their semi-matching personalities.
"Stop staring at me. You're freaking me out."
Marcus's voice broke Lauren out of her reverie, and she jumped a little. She also blushed in embarrassment, and looked away.
"I wasn't... I was looking in your direction but not at you." She lied casually. She had been staring at him.
"Likely story. We all know you're extremely attracted to me. And with good reason. I mean... Look at me." Marcus looked over at her in amusement, mischief dancing in his dark eyes.
"Ah, but Marcus, it is you who is attracted to me. I can just tell by how you try to hook me up with your creepy guy friends." She teased.
"Hey, Daniel wasn't that bad, was he?"
"He only talked about himself!"
"But at least he didn't talk about anything weird... Like cats."
"I love cats."
Marcus rolled his eyes, evidently exasperated by her comment. "You like animals more than people."
"Of course I do. Animals don't talk." She countered, feeling that her response was quite witty.
"You seem so smug about not being able to connect with anything besides something that walks on four legs."
"You're forgetting food."
Marcus laughed loudly, and Lauren joined in. In a way, his booming laugh was even funnier than their banter, and she was mostly laughing at that.
"Oh, right, you're an honorary fatty. I should've remembered." He said as he took a left turn, not even putting on his blinker. Lauren actually did mind that one traffic violation.
"You're going to kill us one day, you know. Stop driving like you want to get arrested." She huffed, staring out the window into the dark night. She wondered how late it was.
"Oh, but miss Craft, I will never die." Marcus stage whispered, eyeing her luminously.
"Not even of old age?" She whispered back.
"Not even of old age."
Lauren giggled quietly, and let Marcus speed towards what she assumed was the street that lead to her house. It looked familiar enough. She smiled slightly as she settled into the leathery passenger seat, feeling utterly content. Blissful, even. She was full of bliss.
If only she had known that bliss was the calm before the storm.
All she heard was the honking of Marcus's horn, and the terrible screech of bending metal as Lauren experienced her first head on collision car accident.
