A Gallagher Girls & The Listen Series Promptober

Horror Movies

Haven't read Gallagher Girls or The Listen Series? Please do not continue if you wish to avoid spoilers.

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Matthew Goode POV / Timeline: Sometime after the last book in the Listen Series, "Over and Run With"

Oct. 13th | Horror Movies:

He wasn't sure how it happened. One day he was saying yes to watching a movie with Scout Jasons and now, years later, he's kept up the lie to his friend, his crush, his boyfriend, and now husband.

So when Scout came running into the kitchen, wide grin and excitement all over his face the week before Halloween, he knew his lie was about to finally catch up to him.

"Okay, so your mom and dad are taking the kids to the halloween carnival, so we could go and hang out with them for a little bit and then we can sneak away for the haunted hayride and," he stops and rubs his hands together, "The theater is playing old horror movies all night."

Maggie scoffs, glancing at Matt, "Good luck getting-"

Matt interrupts her, "That sounds great! Why don't you go see if Alice and Finn wanna come too?"

Scout grins and kisses his cheek, "Great idea!"

He runs off and Maggie sets her drink on the counter and he sighs and rubs his temples, "Don't start Mags."

She looks at him with raised eyebrows, "What was that? You hate horror movies Matt."

Luke is giving the baby in his arms a bottle, shaking his head and laughing, "I can't believe you still haven't told him."

Maggie looks between the two, her eyebrows adopting her husband's classic furrow as she asks, "Haven't told him what? He thinks you like horror movies?"

Matt groans and hits his forehead against the table a few times, "Yes."

Maggie laughs, "How?"

Matt sits up and rubs his cheeks, and blows out his breath, "He asked me to watch a movie with him when I liked him, and so I sat through it because he clearly likes them and I wanted him to like me and it just kept going from there."

Maggie sits on the counter, "How though? Whenever you watched them with me when we were younger you would be up for a week without sleeping. How has he not noticed?"

Luke laughs, clearly remembering what Matt told him and Maggie looks between the two. Matt bites his bottom lip, and rubs the back of his neck, "Well, uh, I usually can...get him distracted and turn the movie off before any of the really scary stuff happens."

Maggie scrunches up her nose in disgust, "Ew, gross," she waves the thought away, "Matt, you have to tell him."

Matt groans, "I can't. It's been going on way too long now!" he throws his hands up, "What would I even say? Hey honey, you know how I've been saying I love horror movies just as much as you all these years? Well actually I'm terrified of them and I can't sleep and I lied because I liked you and-"

"You don't like horror movies?"

Matt glares at Maggie who would have clearly heard Scout coming and she shrugs and she and Luke escape as he turns to face his husband.

He's got his arms crossed and his face in a frown and Matt sighs, "I just..." he shrugs and throws his hands out to his side, dropping his head in shame, "No, I don't."

Scout blinks at him and takes a few steps, "But we watch them all the time, you..." he seems to realize that in the last several years they've never made it all the way through a movie and he gasps, "Oh my god Matty!"

Matt grabs for his hands, "Please don't be upset?"

Scout looks at him and his eyes soften and he shakes his head, a small smile forming on his lips, "Upset? My husband has been seducing me every time we watch a horror movie for years just because he's a little chicken and he loves me. How could I be upset?"

Matt mumbles, his fingers playing with the threads of the sweater on Scout's chest, "I'm not a chicken."

Scout kisses his forehead, "Okay Matty. Sure. But you owe me one horror movie tonight then. And you're going to sit through the whole thing."

Matt sighs but sticks out his hand and Scout shakes it, grinning as Matt mumbles, "One horror movie. And then go watch them with Maggie for the rest of our lives."

Scout laughs and leans in for a kiss, "Deal."

He walks out of the room, laughing and shaking his head, "Oh my god, I can't believe I married a man who hates horror movies."

He can barely make out Maggie laughing and a quiet, "I can't believe that's what finally has you questioning marrying my brother."

Matt just drops his head on the counter.