It took all of Leon's restraint not to yell at Jade at the top of his lungs. Anger boiled inside of him as this silly, stupid girl told him about her rich girl dreams to write a goddamn book about where he grew up, as if shoving out a few thousand words in some magazine f would do any good.

"What?" asked Jade, seemingly surprised by the harshness of Leon's response.

"You heard me," said Leon. "Once we're done here, your skinny ass needs to get right back in that fancy car you drove here in and never come back. Go back to the apartment that your parents are paying for, and take your classes that they're paying for, too. Stay in that nice, safe little college bubble girls like you live in, and never come back to this neighborhood ever again. I'm fucking serious."

"But…" said Jade, still clearly off-kilter from Leon's aggressiveness, "I just thought that I might be able to do something. I mean, maybe if I wrote something, maybe got it in a magazine, then people with money might be able to help."

"Listen," he said, "you think this place lives or dies by how much charity rich assholes decide to kick our way? You think a few investment bankers who read the New York Times just need to open their checkbooks and their hearts and then the ghetto can be saved, and all of the little fucking street urchins can get together and build a statue to the amazing, wonderful girl who wrote her special article that reminded the world that poor people exist?"

Leon shook his head. Then he snatched his coffee cup off the counter and brought it to his lips, figuring that he needed something to block the flow of invectives shooting out of his mouth.

Jade was clearly stunned. And as she looked at Leon with a totally dumbfounded expression, he couldn't help but notice just how good-looking she was. Her forest-green eyes were wide open, her blood-red lips were slacked just a bit, and all of this was framed by thick, chocolate-brown hair done in a simple style. And he'd long since noticed her slender but curvy frame, enticing even in the non-descript clothes she'd chosen to not draw attention to herself.

She's a looker, that's for damn sure, but she's gonna end up in a shallow grave somewhere if she doesn't stop being so goddamn naïve.

Then the last thing Leon wanted to have happen happened: tears began welling in Jade's eyes. She sniffled just a bit and shoved her hand in her purse for a Kleenex to wipe her face with.

"Oh, come on," said Leon. "Turn off the damn waterworks. You have to know just how ridiculous you sound right now."

"Well," said Jade, sniffling again, "that doesn't mean you have to be so mean about it."

Leon couldn't help but laugh, a dry chuckle escaping his mouth.

"Listen to you," he said. "You want to really get to know this neighborhood, really find out about how the other half lives, and here you are crying as soon as anyone takes a tone with you. What do you think that says about you?"

"You're being a real jerk," said Jade, doing her best to compose herself.

Leon decided to ease up a little bit; her sniffling was already attracting the attention of Leon behind the counter.

"People in this part of town would do a lot worse to you than be a real jerk if you caught them on the wrong day."

Jade dabbed the last few tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. After a time, she was back to something like normal. Leon felt relief wash over him; few things were more annoying to him than women who'd gotten their feelings hurt over one thing or another and turn into blubbery, crying messes in public.

"Well, you made your point," said Jade, stuffing her Kleenexes into her purse. "But I still need to do my assignment. And I need to see someplace interesting, or dangerous, or something like that."

Leon shook his head.

"What is it with you rich girls?" he said. "You know what's interesting to me? Something that would really grab my attention? A nice, warm house in a good part of town. Maybe a pantry full of food? That would be really interesting. Maybe a home-cooked meal that I got to eat with a family that communicates to one another in something other than drunken screams. I swear, you people glamourize how people like me live; it's fucking bizarre."

"I'm sorry," said Jade. "It was stupid of me."

Leon held back saying anything else.

Realizing how dumb she's being is a start. A small start, but a start nonetheless.

"But I'm already here," continued Jade. "And I need to find something to write about."

Leon took in a slow breath.

She's stubborn; I'll give her that, he thought to himself.

"Why do I get the impression that if I told you to get the hell out this neighborhood the first thing you'd do is come back and do exactly what I told you to not do?"

"Because I would," said Jade, an attractive, sly smile forming on her lips.

"I guess you rich girls are used to getting whatever you want."

"Hey," said Jade. "I'm not that rich."

"Please," said Leon. "Every rich kid thinks they're not rich. They look at the people richer than they are and think ‘I can't possibly be rich; it's those people, the ones with a little more than me; they're the rich ones'. See it all the time. You've got a nice car, your tuition's paid, and I bet if I rooted through that purse of yours I'd find a credit card or two with Daddy's name on it."

Jade said nothing, instead crossing her arms across her chest in a way that inadvertently drew attention to the undoubtedly full breasts hidden under her baggy shirt.

Focus, Leon, he thought.

"OK, OK," said Jade. "You've made your point- I'm a dumb rich girl who doesn't know about anything and is doing stupid poverty tourism. I feel really stupid and I regret coming here. Are you happy now?"

"See?" said Leon with a smirk. "What wasn't so hard, was it?"

Jade scrunched up her nose in a way that Leon couldn't help but find charming. Against his better instincts, his protective nature was beginning to kick in; he knew that if left to her own devices this girl would just wander around until she got mugged – or worse.

"OK," said Leon. "Here's the deal: I'll take you someplace that's interesting and also a little dangerous. It'll be someplace you can write about for your little assignment. But the terms are that I go with you and that once you've seen what you need to see, you get in your car and leave. And never come back here."

"'Interesting and dangerous'?" asked Jade. "I'm intrigued."

"Is that a ‘yes'?" asked Leon.

"Fine," said Jade. "If it'll give me something to write about, then sure."

"Good," said Leon, gesturing to Lenny for the check. "Then let's get to it; I got shit to do tonight."

"Such a charmer," said Jade, flashing another sly smile.

"I'm not here to charm," said Leon. "I'm here to make sure you don't end up on the nightly news."

Once Lenny brought the check, Leon tossed down a ten and the two of them were off. Leon led Jade down a few more blocks until they came to his motorcycle.

"This yours?" asked Jade.

"Nope," said Leon. "Here in the hood we just carjack whatever's nearby whenever we need to get somewhere. Think of it as a ghetto ride-sharing program."

"Cute," said Jade.

Leon hopped on the bike and handed Jade his helmet.

"What…what do I do?" asked Jade.

"You've never ridden on one of these before?"

Jade shook her head.

"Just get on, grab hold, and that's it," said Leon. "I'm doing all the hard stuff."

Jade hesitantly got on the back of the bike and put on her helmet.

"And hold on, too," said Leon.

Jade then wrapped her arms around Leon's midsection. Once Jade was secure, Leon gunned the engine and they were off. They whipped down the streets of the neighborhood, and Leon felt Jade's grip on him tighten the faster they went. After a time, they left the city limits and arrived at a forested area. Leon found a place to park and came to a stop, killing the engine as he did.

"Out in nature?" asked Jade, looking over the dense forest in front of them.

"The city's not the only dangerous place," said Leon.

"What're we doing here?" asked Jade.

"There's a pretty decent view up here, if you don't mind a little hike," said Leon.

"A hike?" asked Jade. "I thought we were going to see someplace dangerous?"

"Wait until you see it before you run your mouth," said Leon. "Come with me."

"Wait," said Jade, "how do I know this isn't all some kind of, um, trick or something."

Leon let out a bark of a laugh.

"Please," he said. "If I wanted to try anything I could've done it already and been back home in time for dinner. Now get a move on."

Leon headed into the woods and Jade followed after him. They weaved through the thick trunks of the trees, and Leon took the opportunity to enjoy the fresh smell of the forest air; he spent so much time in his neighborhood that sometimes he forgot there was a world beyond that. After about fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at a nearly sheer rock face that went up around a hundred feet or so.

"Where now?" asked Jade.

Leon pointed up.

"Wait," said Jade, "are you serious? We're gonna climb up that?" No way; it's too dangerous."

This is exactly what Leon was hoping to hear. He was down for a climb, but he figured that if he could get Jade to chicken out, then he could discourage her from trying to get thrills in whatever stupid way came to mind for her. The city's dangerous, and nature's dangerous, so the best thing she could do would be to stay in her safe little bubble. At least, this was the conclusion to which Leon was hoping Jade would come.

But instead, what she said next surprised him.

"Well, fine," she said, looking up. "Let's do this."

Not the answer I was expecting, thought Leon. Maybe there's more to this girl than I'd thought?

Leon grabbed onto the nearest solid rock grip and began climbing up. It wasn't a true climb, as there were plenty of places to walk, but it was taxing nonetheless. After about fifteen minutes of climbing and hiking, Leon heaved himself over the precipice. Looking down, he could see Jade struggling to make the last few feet. He reached down and she grabbed his hand. With a heave, he pulled her up to the top.

"Holy shit," said Jade as soon as she caught her breath and turned her attention to the view.

An amazing vista was spread before them of rolling hills, endless forests, and the city far off in the distance. By this point, the sun was setting and the sky was filled with dramatic salmon and cream colors, the clouds curving wisps among it. And directly up above the night sky was beginning to show, the first twinklings of stars visible in the dark of the expanding night.

"This is…pretty fucking cool," said Jade, walking over to the cliff edge and taking in the sights. "How did you know about this place?"

"This was one of my favorite places to come as a kid," he said. "Back when things at home would get too…hard to deal with, I'd come here for some peace and quiet. Still do, every now and then."

Leon took a seat on the edge of the cliff, the majestic view almost overwhelming. A flock of blackbirds rose from a patch of trees far off in the distance, and Leon watched as they took off into the sky above. After a moment or two, Jade sat down next to him.

"So, rich girl," said Leon. "Tell me about yourself."

Jade's fair skin reddened a bit, and Leon could sense that she didn't really care for being in the spotlight like this.

"Um, not much to say," she said. "I mean, you kind of had me pegged."

"I doubt you're that much of a cliché," said Leon. "You want to be a writer? That's not exactly par for the course for girls like you. Most of the ones I've met want to get some job in New York working for some fashion magazine."

"And you've met a lot of girls like me?" asked Jade.

"Let's just say college girls who want a taste of the rougher side of life aren't that hard to come by, especially since I go to the same school as you."

"Really?" asked Jade. "I didn't know that."

"You sound surprised," said Leon.

"I mean, I am, a little," she said.

"I don't blame you," said Leon. "Not many people in my part of town are thinking too much about higher education. Most of them just want to be able to pay their bills at the end of the week. But we're not talking about me."

"Oh, right," said Jade. "Well, I want to be a writer. I don't know why, really; it's always just appealed to me."

"Just out of the blue like that?" asked Leon. "Just one day, poof, ‘I want to be a writer'?"

"Well," said Jade. "I think it goes back to when I was little and I found my mom's old copy of Pride and Prejudice. I think I was around eight at the time. I'd never been much of a reader, but for some reason, something about that old hardcover, red and worn just a bit, the letters on the front a beautiful gold, it just called out to me. So, one rainy Saturday afternoon, I picked it up, plopped down on the couch, and started reading."

"And before I knew it, my mom was telling me it was time for dinner. Hours flew by, just like that. I insisted on bringing the book to the table, barely eating as I flipped through the pages. Then, of course, when bedtime came I hid under the covers with a flashlight and didn't sleep a wink until I'd finished it. And from then on, all I could think about was being able to write like that, to be able to create a vivid world with nothing more than words and imagination."

Leon listened to her talk, Jade's passion almost infectious.

"So, when it came time to go to college, I, of course, picked a creative writing major. My parents didn't care for this one bit, of course; they thought I should've picked a major that had a little more of a payoff at the end."

"And you just did whatever you wanted anyway," said Leon. "That's…a little respectable."

"Thanks, I think," said Jade. "But I can't help but wonder if they're right. My older sister went for a degree in marketing or something and she walked right into a six-figure job in Chicago. I've probably got a lot of latte-making ahead of me while I try and put some kind of a career together."

Leon chuckled.

"At least you're being realistic," he said.

"OK," said Jade, "that's enough about me. I think it's your turn."

"Fair enough," said Leon. "I live with my parents and my little brother –he's nine- and I go to school for business."

"Business, huh?" asked Jade. "Why that?"

"To put it delicately, I've been something of an entrepreneur for the last decade of my life."

Jade opened her mouth to speak, but Leon could see that she understood right away what being an "entrepreneur" in his part of town likely meant.

"And over the years, I learned that I had something of a knack for running a business. I can run the numbers, I can manage the personalities, and I'm pretty good at putting deals together. It's all kind of fun for me, actually."

"What do you want to do when you graduate?"

"Get the hell out of this city and make a lot of money somewhere."

"Someone's focused," said jade with a half-smile.

"Trust me," said Leon, "when you've been living like I have, your plans all revolve around getting the hell out and figuring the rest later."

"Couldn't you go to some other school?" Jade asked. "I mean, this isn't the only college in the world."

"No way I'd leave my little brother alone," he said. "Not-"

He stopped himself, realizing that he didn't want to get into his tumultuous family life with this girl he barely knew. And as they'd talked, the sun had dipped down even further beneath the horizon. Soon it'd be dark.

"We should get back," said Leon, getting up. "It's getting late."

"Oh," said Jade, apparently noticing how abruptly Leon cut himself off. "Sure."

"The way down's a lot easier than the way up," said Leon. "Come with me."

The two of them scaled down the drop-off, and soon they were back at Leon's bike. Jade told him where the apartment that she lived was located, and soon they were off. During the drive, Leon chastised himself for nearly blabbing about his home life to this girl; he knew how important it was to keep things close to the chest, and letting people in on your personal secrets was an easy way to unnecessarily expose oneself.

Soon, they arrived at the student apartments where Jade lived. Jade climbed off the bike and turned to Leon.

"Um, thanks," she said. "For everything."

"Don't mention it," said Leon. "Just don't let me see you around my neighborhood again. For your own good."

Jade let out a little snort.

"You're kind of an asshole, you know that?" she said, a little smirk betraying her true feelings on the matter.

"Wouldn't be alive if I weren't," said Leon.

Then he gunned the engine and was off. Looking in the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of Jade watching him as he tore down the road; she was still there as he turned the corner and drove out of sight.

Stupid girl, he thought. No idea what kind of shit she's messing with; thinks this is all some game. I should've done a better job scaring her off.

But despite his annoyance with Jade, he couldn't help but have a soft spot for how she seemed to be genuinely moved by what she'd seen. Leon had known –and dated- enough girls from pampered upbringings to know that plenty of them liked to talk the big talk about feeling sorry for the impoverished but would scrunch their noses in disgust the moment a homeless person came within ten feet of them.

Her courage was a little admirable, as well. He thought about how she seemed to stroll through his neighborhood with a sense of purpose, eager to get whatever material she needed. Sure, she seemed about as out of place as a fish on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, but Leon got the sense that she could find her footing if she needed to. And he didn't have to do much prodding for her to climb the cliff side. He'd taken a couple of girls to that spot before who wouldn't even try it; Jade seemed ready for anything.

Still, he thought, she needs to know that this isn't a goddam place for clueless rich girls. Hopefully, she got the message.

Leon pulled up to his house and noticed right away just how eerily quiet things were. Walking into through the front door, he noticed at once the sight of his father passed out on the couch and the strong smell of whiskey in the air. Looking around, he spotted a dirty brown stain on the wall, a pile of broken glass underneath it.

Threw a fucking whiskey bottle, thought Leon. What a goddamned barbarian.

He checked his phone and saw that it was only a little after eight.

At least he's passed out good and early, thought Leon.

Leon flicked off the TV and looked around for any sign of the rest of his family. He couldn't find his mother, and the door to Hunter's room was locked. Leon gave it a rap.

"Who is it?" came the fearful voice on the other side.

"Big bro," said Leon.

There was a moment of silence before the door unlocked and opened. Leon gasped when he laid eyes on the smashed TV screen in front of him.

"What the hell happened?" asked Leon, looking over the mess.

"Dad was drunk," said Hunter. "Again. He was pissed that I was playing Minecraft; he said that I should be out talking to girls or something, said he didn't want his son to turn into a ‘goddamn nerd'."

"Christ," said Leon.

"Can I stay in your room tonight?" asked Hunter.

"Where's Mom?" asked Leon.

"I don't know," said Hunter. "She grabbed her things and ran off while Dad was throwing his fit. She won't answer her phone."

"Probably ran off to Aunt Annie's," said Leon. "She should've taken you with her."

"She left before I could say anything," said Hunter.

"Fucking assholes," said Leon under his breath as he shook his head. "Yeah, bud; you can stay with me. I'll let you use my laptop. We'll get you a new TV tomorrow."

"Really?" said Hunter. "Thanks, Leon."

"No problem, bud."

The two of them walked carefully to Leon's bedroom, making sure to not wake up their dad. Once there, Leon locked the door and gave Hunter his laptop to play on while he did his homework. Once bedtime rolled around, Leo gave Hunter his bed while he made a little spot for himself on the floor. It wasn't the first time Leon had been forced to let his brother hide out with him, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. And as he drifted off to sleep, against his better wishes, his last thoughts were of Jade, the strange girl that he just couldn't get out of his mind.