"I will never understand how you stand the smell of that stuff," Andy told Matt as he lit a cigarette in the basement of his house. This is something he would have never gotten away with in Andy's house with his strict parents, but Matt's parents weren't home half the time, which encouraged him to party even more than he already would have.
"Come on, man," Matt said loudly as Andy backed away from him. "You've never even tried it! And aren't you the one that always says to give everything a chance?"
Andy sighed. "I was talking about food, particularly meat substitutes." Andy followed a strict vegetarian diet, and most of his protein came from the soy-based meat substitutes he ate in place of beef and chicken.
"And by the way, I'm not going to keep hanging out here if you keep trying to make me smoke or get high. I don't care if you do it but keep it away from me."
At that very second, they heard pounding at the door. Andy opened the basement door and said, "That's probably Coop. I sure hope he picked a decent movie this time-he doesn't realize this, but the last one sucked."
"What, not bloody enough for you?" Matt asked, following Andy to the door.
"It had no plot whatsoever. And usually movies like that at least try and cover it up with over-the-top gore, but they only showed one stabbing. It's sad when they don't even try anymore."
"Andy, I am saying this because I care about you as a friend and I don't want you to get locked up in the psych ward: I think you have an unhealthy obsession with violence."
Matt finished his sentence just as the door opened, revealing a late September evening with Cooper in front of the backdrop.
Upon the door opening, he walked in, slipped off his shoes, and handed the two VCR tapes he had in his hand to Andy for approval.
Andy was a huge movie critic-whether he was complaining that it didn't have enough blood in it or the fact that it just wasn't even trying to be a decent movie. He was a hardcore critic in almost every subject imaginable-movies, music, books, teachers, art, food, and many more. He was also the intellect of the bunch; he was taking all honors and AP classes, had straight A's, was at the top of the class, and was usually the first to figure out the plot in movies.
Looks-wise, he was the easiest to pick out. His hair was shoulder-length, heavy, and naturally black. This coupled with his near-chalky complexion, bright blue eyes, and lanky build made him a particular oddity not only in the school but on the street as well.
Matt was dramatically different from Andy in so many ways that it was a mystery how they even became friends.
Where Andy was quiet, reserved, and polite a vast majority of the time, it was habitual of Matt to be loud, in-your-face, and vulgar when out in public and talking to girls. Andy was a straight A student; Matt barely passed. Andy was a hardcore critic; Matt would accept anything that didn't cause him pain or inconvenience. If you knew them well, you'd question why they even bother hanging out together.
Cooper was somewhere in the middle and, some people discovered, what kept Andy and Matt from both killing or leaving each other: He was in a couple honors classes, but not all of them; he liked to let loose and party once and awhile; he wasn't a harsh, hardcore critic; and he was always the peacekeeper.
"So Andy, what's on the slasher menu for tonight? What did Coop decide to bring?" Matt asked as Andy scanned the descriptions on the back.
"Well he brought Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which I'm happy about. And then Nightmare On Elm Street. I'd say he has redeemed himself."
Matt sighed and shuddered slightly. The last time they had watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre was not a good experience for him-when Cooper and Andy had turned the light back on, they had found him sucking his thumb behind the couch. His grey eyes had been full of paranoia; his shaggy, unkempt blonde hair was in a more thorough disarray than usual; and his already short, diminutive physique looked smaller than imaginable.
"The thumbsucker doesn't have to watch it," Coop said after taking a look at Matt and remembering what had happened last time. "His parents aren't home so he can go smoke a blunt in his room while me and you watch Leatherface rip through people with chainsaws." He gave Andy a high five and clapped Matt, who was still silent, on the back.
Cooper was both more clean-cut and more average-looking than his best friends. He was around five foot ten, average build, with short, curly brown hair and navy-colored eyes. He doesn't know whether this is because of his hair alone or the length of it, but his curls are pencil-tight and accompanied with an average-sized head and disproportionally small ears, the left of which was pierced with a very small silver hoop. Everyone else thought it looked ridiculous, but he didn't care.
"It's starting to get dark," Andy pointed out. "Which one do we watch first?"
"Eager to get your slasher on, I see," Matt said, chuckling. "You know, it's unhealthy to indulge this much.."
"You're the last person to talk to me about indulging issues. And anyway, is it wrong to enjoy the art of horror special effects?"
"No," Cooper answered. "But it's a little gross when you start drooling."
"Shut the hell up," Andy said, rolling his jewel-toned eyes and walking into the kitchen. "I'm making microwave popcorn. What toppings do you guys want?"
"Wait, what movie do we watch first?" Coop asked him.
"Doesn't matter. You choose, okay?"
"Dude, it's a miracle," Matt whispered in Cooper's ear. "For once, he's not all over the movies."
"I heard that!" Andy shouted from the kitchen. "Just hurry up and pick! Go downstairs-I'll be there in a minute."
When the microwave popcorn was done, Andy poured it into a huge silver bowl and brought down a two liter bottle of Mountain Dew and three glasses. He hated to admit it, but Matt was right: He did have an unhealthy obsession with violence and gore.
But now wasn't the time to worry about that, he decided. Now was the time to kick back and enjoy a couple of movies with his best friends.
