ALL THAT LINDY could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears as she walked alongside Kurt. She tried to pace her breathing, reminding herself that just because she was with a guy, and an evidently cool guy at that, she couldn't freak out. She hoped he couldn't hear the pounding of her heart beneath her chest.
And on top of everything, she hadn't told Trae where she was going, and she was definitely not going to make curfew.
"Fuck, I feel like such a pervert asking you to walk like this in the dark with me," Kurt remarked, sounding apologetically disgusted with himself as he shook his blonde head.
"You're not," Lindy reassured him. "Trust me, you could have done a lot worse to make me not trust you."
"That's music for you. It creates a trust between strangers that would have never initially been there in the first place."
"I like that," Lindy said softly.
"Like what?"
"What you just said. About there being a trust already there."
Kurt looked at her seriously, and although the muted glow of streetlights barely lit his face, she could tell he was earnest.
"I don't know shit about you, but I'd trust you with my life. Is that weird?"
"It probably should be weird, but I feel the same," Lindy admitted, proud that her voice did not falter.
"How did you even get into this music? Your brother told Krist that you were all . . . studious and stuff," Kurt mused.
"What, so you can't be smart and like punk rock music?" Lindy laughed, cocking one eyebrow.
"It's rare to find someone who can be both. At least in Aberdeen," Kurt concluded, patting his jean pockets.
"Here," Lindy automatically offered, producing a pack of cigarettes and throwing them his way. He caught them with surprise. After a brief beat of silence, Kurt spoke again.
"How have we not met?" he asked incredulously.
Lindy shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the pavement and praying her face wasn't as red as it felt. Even in the streetlights, she hoped Kurt wouldn't be able to decipher the effect that he had on her.
"I mean, it makes sense. Smart girl like you staying away from trouble," Kurt commented as he stuck a cigarette between his lips.
"Something tells me you are so far from trouble," Lindy replied, though she hoped she didn't sound snarky. Kurt said nothing in response to her remark, busying himself with lighting his cigarette.
"You're a senior at Weatherwax, huh? Are you going to college?" he asked.
"Yeah. I want to be a nurse," Lindy explained, kicking gravel across the road with the toe of her Converse.
"Really?" Kurt sounded very impressed, as if Lindy had said 'brain surgeon' instead of nurse.
"Yep. I mean I hope it all works out. College is expensive and all that," Lindy said, feeling a dullness consume her. She thought she was being boring, totally uninteresting. Her stomach was starting to hurt the more she thought about it.
"College can be really pointless and stupid. Especially when you have a mind meant for other things," Kurt declared.
"I don't know if that applies to me. I've worked too damn hard not to go, but my dad may stop me," Lindy said adamantly. She wanted to smoke too, but she was more intrigued to watch the clouds of smoke whisper their way from Kurt's mouth and into the mildly humid night.
