Jade Awakening

Going to the Movies

The five of us (six if you count Rex), strolled around the streets of Hollywood aimlessly for quite some time. Like typical theater kids, we occasionally broke out into random songs. Andre would give Cat, Robbie, and I a beat and we'd sing silly tunes. Robbie had a hard time with getting lyrics correct and wasn't quite the best at finding the right harmonies, but we didn't care. Beck would stare at us like we were lunatics but enjoyed it nonetheless. He could sing, too, but chose to watch us instead.

At one point we stopped to sit on a bench and acted as if we were different types of fruit, arguing over who is the best.

"I'm a strawberry!" Cat started, "And I'm the best because of my bright red color!"

She pointed to her unnatural hair to settle her case.

"Ah! But if you prefer the color blue, then obviously I, a blueberry, am the best choice," Robbie countered.

"Blackberry lives matter!" Andre screamed. Oh my gosh.

"Justice for the blackberry!" Beck declared as he held a fist in the air. "But clearly I, a banana, am the best of all. I go perfect with smoothies and I am rich in potassium!"

"All of you are fools!" I chime in. "Clearly I, the mango, am the best. I am one of the healthiest fruits, I prevent cancers, and I simply taste the best!"

We went on and on, hopping from one scheme to the next. For the first time in the few months that I started going to Hollywood Arts, I finally felt like I would have a strong circle of friends. Time would tell, but I already felt a connection between them all... even Robbie despite how awkward he is and how horrific his companion could be.

We continued our wandering until we neared close to a movie theater. As we approached the building, I saw something on the marquee that stopped me in my tracks.

"Oh my god. I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"Whaty?" Cat asked me.

"Look!" I pointed to the side of the theater. "Tawny Walkerblack is in a new movie. She tweeted about it a couple weeks ago and I completely forgot to look it up!"

"Oh, that's that actress that you li-"

"Yes!" I cut her off. "Oh my god, I need to go see it."

"Do you have any idea what it's about?" Robbie asked.

"Not really, but I need to see it. They have a showing in 15 minutes, does anyone want to come with me?"

Truthfully, I had no idea what it was about. In fact, I was so blinded by seeing Tawny's face on one of the posters that I didn't even know the title yet. I turned my face back to it to read the two words: The Scissoring.

"I think I've seen a trailer for it," Beck said. "It's a horror movie."

"I don't like scary movies," Cat said. "They always trick me into thinking that the movie will be happy in the beginning."

"I think I'm going to have to pass, too. Those kinds of movies aren't my thing," Robbie said.

"Hahaha, yeah he'll be having a different type of wet dream if he watches that," Rex teased.

"Andre?" I asked.

"I would, but it's already a little late and my Grandma can't be left alone much longer. She might have an 'episode,'" he said in finger quotes.

"Yeah, it is a little late," Cat echoed.

She, Robbie, and Andre all reasoned that they needed to get home soon. Which in retrospect made sense since it could be getting dark soon. Before they left Andre suggested:

"Do we want to start having lunch together at school? You're all a lot cooler than the band geeks I normally hang with."

"Sure!" Cat replied ecstatically. "Jade and I have a spot out on the Asphalt Cafe, you can join us there."

"Alright, bet! See you all Monday."

The three of them scampered off to head to their own homes. Beck didn't say much of anything for the past couple minutes.

"You can head home, too, if you want," I suggested. "I'm still going to see this either way."

"Do you like horror movies?" he asked.

"I have never seen one," I admitted. "But I'll watch anything with her in it."

"Well, they can be kinda scary sometimes. Especially in a theater where everything's bigger and louder."

I hadn't really considered that. Mom never let us watch anything remotely scary growing up, unless you can count the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. And though I had seen Black Swan, that movie was more of a thriller than a horror movie. I had no idea what to expect.

"Tell you what," he offered. "I'll watch this with you since you may not want to be alone if this is your first horror movie. But I get to hold the popcorn."

I thought about it for a moment. If it's just the two of us seeing a movie together... late. Would that be implying anything? All I know now is that he's a castmate -- a friend. That's all he thought, too, right? There was no ill-intent from what I could see. I think he truly just wanted to make sure I enjoyed my movie without ulterior motives.

"You won't be scared?" I asked.

He grinned.

"I'm unscarable."

***

When we entered our theater, we claimed two seats that were in the center of the room for optimal viewing. We decided to buy one popcorn for the two of us to share since we were both still somewhat full from dinner. Thankfully, we both liked our popcorn to be extra buttery. I sent a quick message to Mom to let her know I would be back pretty late, but it wouldn't be too far of a walk to my house from here.

As we sat there, watching the opening trailers run through, I couldn't help but to continue to wonder what was going through Beck's mind. Did he reluctantly decide to come with me? Is he here so he can get closer to me and take the same thing that Ryder so easily took from me?

No. I shook the horrid thought from my mind. From the time we've already spent together, I knew that Beck wouldn't put me in a situation like that. He was the first boy -- the only boy -- who stood against my rumors and didn't feed into the fire. I could trust him.

I let the small part of me that felt defensive against the opposite sex relax. I didn't even flinch when I reached for the popcorn and his hand was there. Had it been anyone else, I was sure I'd instinctively smack it away.

"Sorry," he said. "Here."

He offered the bucket to me and I grabbed a handful of popcorn to munch on. The lights began to dim to fade into the actual movie now. In bright red letters, "The Scissoring" was splashed across the screen.

Had anybody before reaching this chapter made the connection between Tawny Walkerblack and The Scissoring?!  In Three Girls and a Moose, Jade used the name when talking about the movie with Beck's friend, Moose.  Also, I apologize that this chapter is a bit shorter, but it won't be too long before I post the next one... I'm almost certain.