The Friend

Alicia

Alicia felt like she was living in a fairytale. She couldn't believe it. She was dating Rodney Greene. Before she met up with him last week, she thought he'd cancel, he'd backtrack and say he was really into her, but when she saw him standing in front of his car with flowers, her heart skipped a beat. At night for the rest of the week, she faced the flowers while reading the love poems he bought her. And over and over she returned to the sweet note and drawing he scribbled on the front page. So, this was what it was like to have a boyfriend. Could he be the man of her dreams?

Whenever she thought about the man of her dreams, she thought about Dezzi and how Maxine thought he was the man of her dreams. Dezzi was straight-forward and a leader and someone who always got what he wanted. Including her.

Dating Rodney felt like living inside of a romance book. Although he wasn't straightforward sometimes, for he often kept several things to himself, he was a great listener. Yes, the secrecy wasn't so bad. Of course, he knew everything there was to know about her and she knew little to none about him and his life, but if she didn't think about it for too long, she guessed it was fine.

Except for his brother. She knew about Derek and Rodney didn't volunteer that information. She couldn't quite pinpoint why Derek gave her a disquieting feeling that one time they met. She guessed it was just her imagination, but there was a light around Rodney that wasn't around Derek.

It was the following Saturday night—date night—and Alicia suggested they go to the movies to see the new zombie flick. She was standing in a corner to herself, clutching her purse. A second later, Rodney stepped up to her with popcorn and drinks.

"You sure you don't want any snacks?" he asked her.

"No, this is fine," she said, helping him by carrying the drinks. "I won't be able to finish all this popcorn."

"I'll finish it," he said surely.

"You ready?" she asked and he nodded.

She led the way to the theatre. It was a little crowded, which normally would've made Alicia nervous, but she didn't care because she was with Rodney. Normally she went to the movies by herself or with Maxine, but Maxine didn't really like watching scary movies.

"We should come here next month and watch that new slasher film that's coming out. The one where the character is blind and is stuck in her house alone. There's like a serial killer after her. I love those types of horror films," Alicia said.

"Wow, you really like scary movies," Rodney said.

"It's so entertaining being freaked out," Alicia said.

When they got to the theatre, they sat in the center. Rodney looked around the area arrogantly, before leaning in.

"Well, if this movie scare's you, don't be afraid to hold onto me," he whispered.

"You're so corny," she said.

"Just putting it out there," he said, snacking on some popcorn.

The lights dimmed and Alicia sat up in her seat eagerly.

As the movie progressed, she founded herself engulfed in the plot and characters. Many people in the theatre kept shouting things at the protagonist or laughing, but Rodney didn't do any of that. He seemed to be engulfed in the story too, but his brows kept furrowing and his head kept tilting left and right. He wasn't really touching his popcorn.

As the main character entered the abandoned hospital, Rodney's fingers dug into the arm rest. The music began to pick up and he kept turning away. A zombie appeared with a loud bang down the hall and Rodney jumped in his seat as people screamed at the screen.