One Shots

Cigarettes

A girl sat atop a concrete wall, a cigarette between her teeth. Dirty water rushed inches from the tips of her converse.
"This would be the easiest murder ever, you know?" A male voice said from her right.
"I'd take you with me." A light Boston accent lilted her words.
"You wouldn't be able to react fast enough," was his comeback.
"That's what most people would think." She took the cigarette from her mouth and breathed out a cloud of smoke.
He coughed, not moving any closer than the few feet he stood from her.
"I wouldn't have to kill you, you're doing a fine job of it yourself." He waved his hand in front of his face to rid the air of the foul smoke.
She laughed, a hardy laugh that matched her tough outer shell.
"I am, aren't I? What would you do if I leaned forward more?" She rolled her head back to gaze at him with crystalline green eyes.
"I would jump in after you." He said seriously, returning her stare.
"Just my luck, I've come across a hero." She sighed and leaned back, not looking away.
"It is lucky. You might slip and fall." He cautiously sat down, aware of her sharp eyes even though he was staring at the fast moving water.
"Yes, that would be a shame." She flicked her bud into the water. He watched as it was soon lost from sight.
"Want one?" She held out an open pack of cigarettes like the one she had just finished.
"Why are you doing this to yourself? You're young." He refused with disappointed shake of his head.
She shrugged and withdrew the pack, lighting her cigarette with a neon pink lighter.
As she answered, smoke fell from her lips, "Why not? There isn't much to live for."
"Sure there is! If you die now, you'll never know if things get better. You'll never know if you fall in love or how many kids you'll have, if any. You won't know if people step up and finally stop starvation and global warming, or something big like that. It's better to wait and find out than to give up completely." He made wild gestures and spoke passionately.
All the while through his small rant, she watched him. How he worded things, what he emphasized, the way his hazel eyes seemed to light up.
"You were suicidal." She stated, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah."
They were both silent for a minute. A small splash amd ruffle of clothes caught his attention.
She stood above him with the lighter in her hands.
"Can I keep this?" She tapped her foot against the filthy concrete.
His eyes glanced at the pocket where she had put her pack of cigarettes. The bulge was gone.
"Did you..." He trailed off with a small smile, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah." She returned his smile shyly.
"My name is Ben." He stood up and was eye-to-eye with her.
"I'm Meredith." She took her last cigarette from her lips and puffed smoke through her nose.
"It's my last one, let me enjoy it." She said when she noticed his expression.
He smiled.
They sat side-by-side on a concrete wall, two sets of feet swinging above quickly-flowing sewer water.