Bleed me Dry

chapter twenty-three

♡

"I've missed this car." I smiled breathlessly, shoving my hands on my hips to compose myself. Being dragged halfway across the school sure took a lot of energy out of you.

Danny's car was a vintage black beetle with highly polished chrome, spotless paint (apart from a few chips and a little rust here and there around the wheel arches) and, from what I could remember of the leather interior inside, it was a well looked after car. It was a piece of art... and the epitome of the tall, dark haired mystery in front of me.

"Yeah..." Danny sighed contently, bending down to adjust the cuff of his charcoal skinny jeans. They paired well with the fitted black t-shirt he was wearing. "So you like it then?"

"Like it? I love it!" I squealed. Danny's red cheeks met with his eyes as he tucked his hands into his pockets and I quickly returned my attention to the car with an awkward cough, a matching rosy hue accompanying my wobbly legs.

Oh no. What had gotten into me? Scratch that. What had gotten into us? Danny's expressions made me realise that it wasn't just me that was squirming — though I doubted his reason would be the same as mine.

Scanning the way the sun hit against the paintwork, I remembered the last time I was in Danny's car; when we went to the coffee shop and he told me about his brother. It made me a little uneasy, but the feeling didn't last long.

"Ready to go?" Danny smiled, unlocking his car door. He had sensed that I'd drifted off again, but didn't mention it, thankfully. Perhaps he recalled the last time I was in his car too.

Nodding my head, I breathed a quick "Yeah, sure." before climbing inside Danny's car. As my butt hit the leather, the pungent stench of cigarettes invaded my nostrils... and I'd have to admit it was a little different to the previous inviting scent of Cola and his lemongrass air-freshener.

Coughing to catch my breath, Danny looked across at me before shuffling in his seat uncomfortably.

"Sorry about the smell." he laughed awkwardly, reaching across to roll down his windows.

It was then I was sure that his muscles had been earned from the many times he'd probably rolled down those windows. It brought back memories of travelling in my grandparent's beaten up car to visit the seaside, Avril singing her favourite song of the moment whilst my Nanna would tell me stories about when she met my Grandpa. I missed them, it had been far too long.

"It's fine." I shrugged, sending a smirk his way. "So you smoke, hm?"

"Uh- no. Well- I- okay, yes." Danny stumbled around his words, trying to structure them correctly. "I do. But- but listen. I only smoke when I'm nervous!" He threw his hands up innocently, eyes wide.

"If that were true, you'd have smoked like, five already." I cackled evilly, nudging him in the shoulder. "Chill. There's no need to feel embarrassed." His eyes searched for something, turning back to me for only a second.

"I know. I just- god. This sounds super silly but... I honestly just don't want you thinking I'm some kind of idiot, or- or a bad guy." he gripped the wheel, keys still in his right hand and stared straight ahead.

Gulping, I recalled back to when I had thought he was an idiot, when I'd referred to Danny as a bad boy. Now, I could see he was definitely not what people thought of him. Yeah, he was mysterious, no one would even know him unless they spent way too much time in detention, but bad? No. Deep down, Danny was a softie and that made my stomach do somersaults.

But then that only made me question just why Danny would always end up in detentions. If he wasn't a bad boy, then what led him to being in the detention room at 3:30pm every day?