Cognitive Dissonance

Chapter 11: Upstanding

"The weird thing about these movies is that the supposed future in their timeline looked older than the past," Rachel commented as she ate her lunch in front of the tv. On a normal day, she would have shuddered at the thought of Alfred scolding her for not eating her food at the dining area -- not that it ever happened -- but Jason has proven to be good at being a bad influence.

"I was going to say I was offended by that," Jason started before giving his pizza a big bite, "1977 or not, A New Hope is the best Star Wars movie. Okay, maybe next to The Empire Strikes Back but A New Hope is like the seed that was planted to allow the whole of Star Wars to bloom beautifully the way it did," he continued as he chewed.

Rachel couldn't help but see Jason as if he's a creature in his natural habitat. Who knew he was into Star Wars? Then again, he's been nothing but a box of chocolates you-don't-know-what-you're-going-to-get kind of person.

"But, that's precisely why I suggested we watch it in order of release. So the effects will just get better, though trust me I have a better reason for suggesting that but well, you won't get it," Jason concluded. When he saw she was going to probably negatively react, he raised a palm to prevent her from doing so. "At least not until we've watched everything."

To his surprise, she laughed at him. "I was going to ask when are you going to shut up because I won't be able to understand a thing if you keep talking," she confessed. And here, he thought he offended her again by saying she won't get him.

"Well, sunshine, you can always ignore me like you've successfully done a hundred of times. Besides have you ever thought of using the magic of the pause button?" Jason answered, putting his pizza on a plate and leaning to her side to reach the remote controller on her right.

The younger teenager can only chew on her lips as she held her breath when the space between them got narrower. It was strangely fortunate of her how she got a whiff of him before she was tweedling thumbs while he took his time feeling the couch for the device. He smelled divine -- if only there was another non clichéd way to describe it.

"Okay, maybe we should just rewind it a bit," Jason suggested, realizing just how much the movie had gone from when they started their exchange. He can't believe someone actually sat with him to watch everything. Even if she didn't have his enthusiasm, he can tell she was sincerely trying to understand them.

For her part, Rachel knew she's genuinely enjoying the movies. It's unbelievable that they are already on the third film and she didn't even yawn when she normally would, having sat on two movies consecutively. To herself, she supposed, it was also due to the fact that Jason sat with her. If it wasn't for his contagious energy, her Star Wars experience might not be as fun.

She felt grateful of Jason Todd. The way she felt thankful of Dick Grayson the very first time she met him. The brothers had different ways of expressing it. Concern. But she sensed the sincerity in both.

Turning to her left, she found her Star Wars binge mate sleeping. So he wasn't kidding when he said he was exhausted, she thought. Shaking her head, she quickly deliberated on whether or not she should retrieve the remote from his hand.

Rachel eventually decided to get it from him. It proved to be a bit of a task however. Who holds anything very tightly in their sleep? Jason Todd. There's your answer.

At the proximity which they currently were in, she can hear his soft breathing close to her ear. It's actually making her quite ticklish that taking the device from his hand became two times harder. But she is a diligent person.