she's a rebel.

adrenaline.

i enthusiastically bobbed my head to the voice of biggie smalls that blasted through the speakers of future's rickety, but usually reliable car. em was the one driving, and i was seated securely in future's lap as he maintained a protective hold on my waist. there wasn't room for me anywhere else, with iz, cheddar, and sol taking up the backseat. we weren't headed to a specific place. an aimless joyride, really. kind of like my life.

unexpectedly, beginning with cheddar, the guys broke out into excited and suprised cheers. i quickly turned a bit to look behind me, and saw sol holding a paintball gun with an exaggeratedly sly expression. they eagerly egged him on as he stuck it outside the window and took aim.

"yeah, yeah!"

"shoot it, shoot it!"

i joined them in a wave of howling laughter when a red paintball struck the face of a giant display of a cow's head that topped a passing building, splattering all over its nose. boldly, i snatched the gun from him.

"lemme show you motherfuckers how to shoot somethin'!" i hollered over the loud music. em drove his hand into the horn as we sped by a liquor store. just before it was out of reach, i unleashed a series of orange paintballs that only nearly missed the heads of two exiting customers.

"hey!"

"oh, shit!"

"ahaha!"

em decided that it was his turn and glanced at future. "take the wheel, man," he requested with a smirk as he took the gun from me and began to slowly and gradually lean out of the window. "i got the gas," future quickly assured, nodding as em gripped the roof of the car with one arm and held the gun with the other. a large bus came into view, and the guys encouraged him to hit it. he hesitated, and soon it was too late. another vehicle appeared afterward, however, that induced a massive rush within me.

a police car.

my mother wasn't the only authority figure that i had issues with. such was the attitude of a rebel, i supposed. the guys panicked and shouted, "no, no!" while i screamed at the top of my lungs. "yeah! fuck cops! fucking pigs!"

to my deep satisfaction, he listened to me. the door was met with another orange paintball, and the hood with several green ones. everyone chastised him aggressively as he bent down and climbed back in, except for me, of course. i would not allow my praise to be drowned out.

"they can all go to hell! beating the sense out of people and getting paid vacations. the fucking pricks in blue deserve a lot more than that!" i growled. the wailing of sirens echoed throughout the street. speak of the devil. the guys collectively groaned.

"man, that's the police!" iz remarked, irritated. "shit."

i watched as realization washed over em. he looked mortified. "fuck!" he barked, flooring the gas pedal and causing future's grip on me to become tighter. if they weren't so busy flipping out, i bet they would be wondering why i still seemed so elated.

along with the car that em shot at, another officer was in hot persuit of us on a motorcycle. now, you'd think a usually reliable vehicle would be able to lose him, right?

"man, the fuck you stoppin' for?!"

"the fuckin' car died, man!"

"oh my god, you gotta be kiddin' me!"

wrong. although we'd managed to dodge the car, our own ride decided to sputter and halt just as we were about to glide ahead of him. everyone else froze, but i daintily propped my elbow up on the ledge of the window, resting my chin in my palm and making eye contact with the officer as he bent down to confront us.

"so, what's-"

i abruptly cut off his statement by spitting in his face. "fuck the establishment!" i yelled spitefully. if i believed in miracles, i would say that one befell us when the car jolted back to life. i didn't think i'd ever been inside such a fast-moving vehicle before. it felt absolutely exhilarating.

"you're crazy!"

"badass!"

"we were so fuckin' dead!"

once the last of the tingling sensation of all that had happened ebbed away, i came down from my high enough to observe how the guys were doing. to put it lightly, they all appeared spent. a comfortable silence enveloped the space until future grumbled, "pull over, dog."

hesitantly, his eyes darting around in every direction to make sure the coast was clear, em did as he was told. future patted his back. "we'll catch y'all later," he dismissed, opening the passenger's side door and prompting me to get off of his lap. after i did so, he followed the rest of the guys outside and pointed at em in much the same way i had at him on his couch.

"have her back at the house safe," he insisted before wiggling his eyebrows as i settled back into the seat he had previously occupied, "an' don't do nothin' i wouldn't." that mischevious look was the last i saw of him before he closed the door, leaving me and em alone.

"that was real cool." he broke the brief quiet with whistful admiration.

"yeah?" i replied, turning fully toward him and placing my hand over his. he immediately captured my fingers with his, sighing contently.

"yeah," he confirmed. what happened next was something i thought i would have to wait much longer to see. instead of a tiny smirk, i was awarded a wide smile from him. a few dimples appeared, and small wrinkles formed at the corners of his captivating eyes. i couldn't supress a miniscule squeal as i held the side of his face with my free hand, caressing his features with my thumb.

"what?" he asked, his pleased expression not wavering for a second.

"you're smiling," i answered affectionately, practically giddy at the sight. "like, really smiling." i leaned in to fully take this in, causing his breath to hitch. i ran my thumb lightly across his lower lip, which was irresistibly soft. his smile shrunk into a smirk, until we were both aching from how little space was left between us. i initiated the closing of this space, gently pressing my lips to his.

he deepened the kiss, his free hand wandering up to the back of my neck to push me closer. i used my own hand to brush off his backwards cap, spreading my fingers through his dark hair. he let out a low groan that vibrated against my lips, and i inhaled sharply at how good it felt. once we pulled away a bit to breathe, our foreheads touching, he murmured something that i almost thought i'd imagined.

"baby.."

i raised a brow. "i'm your baby now?"

he stiffened, signaling that he hadn't meant to say that aloud. he didn't break our contact, however. "i mean.." he paused, seeming to be building up courage once more. "..if you wanna be," he finished apprehensively.

pecking his lips, i reassured him with the same words i'd answered the first question he'd ever asked me with.

"i do."