"I'm not reckless, I'm just… bad at saying no." Lin sighed softly. "I'll go along with pretty much anything, even if it might hurt me."
"You DO like me!" "I don't think 'like' is the right word." "You tolerate me." "Maybe." one on one
"Reckless," Orion said. "That is almost the textbook definition. And I'm here, in part, to save you from doing dumb shit that will get you killed."
Lin rolled his eyes a bit. "It's normally your dumb ideas that I'm going along with, you know."
"Really? Like what. When have I ever had a dumb idea."
"Going into the abandoned warehouse." Lin said simply.
"How was that a dumb idea? It was a cool one. You're the one who started suffocating."
"And there were spiders in there, and you hate spiders. It could've been dangerous in other non lung related ways as well."
"Spiders won't hurt you. They're just a thing. And maybe, but, look. I got out fine. You started coughing. Whatever."
"But it wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, was it? I mean, trespassing on private property is illegal, right? Speaking of, you also had us go into a bar even though we're underage and could've been… I dunno, raped or drugged or killed or something."
"Alright. Fine. Maybe they weren't smart ideas, per se. But we had fun. They weren't dumb ideas either."
Lin sighed softly. "If they weren't smart ideas, that makes them dumb ideas. Dangerous ideas that I went along with."
"They're mediocre ideas. Right in the middle of the spectrum."
"Yeah, yeah. I beg to differ. Anything could've happened to us and we wouldn't have been prepared."
"You wouldn't have been prepared. I'd just bust out the jujutsu and kick their asses. Then we'd speed away to Canada in my Honda."
Lin rolled his eyes again. "Still. We could've been hurt or something."
"Don't roll your eyes at me, young man. We're fine now, and that's what matters."
"'Young man'?" Lin scoffed a bit. "C'mon, Orion. We're the same age."
"I'm basically your mom, what with having to take care of you."
"You're not my mom. You're nothing like my mother."
"It was a figure of speech, Linny. If I'm not your mom, what am I?"
"I thought we were supposed to be dating now?"
"I was joking." She poked his shoulder.
"You need to be more clear about that, you know. I'm not exactly good at jokes."
"I know. A little bit of a rocky adjustment, since my whole life is a joke," she said sarcastically.
"Your life isn't a joke, Orion…" Lin sighed softly, obviously not catching the sarcasm.
She laughed. "Never mind. Whatever."
"Okay…" Lin glanced around, seeming a bit uneasy. "What are we gonna do now?"
"Something. Fun. Get funnel cakes. Or do donuts in an abandoned lot."
"Why would they have donuts in an abandoned lot…?" Lin asked, confused. "There wouldn't be anyone there to sell them."
"No. Car donuts. Going around in super fast circles."