White Noise

9

It was seven thirty when I came downstairs. I had straightened my dark hair and was actually wearing a bit of makeup, so of course Caroline noticed my slight change in appearance when I entered the kitchen.

Sitting at the kitchen table, loudly chewing on an apple, she frowned at me. "What are you all dressed up for?"

I looked down at my dark jeans, one of my nicer blouses, and a pair of flats. "I'm not dressed up." Then, changing the subject, "Don't tell me you're having an apple for dinner."

"Are you going somewhere?" she questioned with surprise. The knot in my stomach tightened even more. All day I had been a nervous wreck, constantly jittery. Caroline had mentioned it when we were driving home from school, but I lied and told her I had a coffee at lunch and the caffeine hit me hard.

Now, I opened the freezer and pulled out a frozen pizza, tossing it on the counter. "Here, have this. Just make sure to pre-heat the oven to 400—"

"I know how to make a frozen pizza, Catherine." She smirked at me, enjoying how I glared darkly at her for using my full first name. "Where are you going?"

"Out," I muttered, grabbing the car keys and my wallet off of the counter. "I'll be back around ten."

"Ten?" Caroline exclaimed and started following me as I walked towards the front door. "Are you going on a date?"

"No," I said so quickly that I gave it away.

Just as I reached for the doorknob, my sister grabbed my arm and stopped me. She stepped into my line of vision and I could tell she was trying extremely hard to hide her smile. "Look, just tell me where you're going so if you disappear I know where to go looking for you."

I hesitated, realizing this was a valid request. "The movie theater. Downtown."

Now she let her smile show. "What's his name?"

I pushed her off me in annoyance and didn't look back as I left the house.

"Have fun! Wear protection!" she called after me.

I flipped her off—a rare occurrence for me.

The drive downtown was only ten minutes, which gave me enough time to calm myself down without allowing me to overthink everything. I pulled into the theater parking lot at 7:45, which was exactly when we planned to meet. I took one last deep breath, wiped my palms on my jeans, and rechecked my hair and makeup before pushing open the car door. The fresh air somehow made me feel even more nauseous.

I was texting him that I was here as I walked up the steps to the theater, but his voice stopped my fingers and my feet from moving.

I don't even know what he said. I just looked up at him, losing my breath. The knot resting in the pit of my stomach surprisingly loosened a bit. He looked amazing. Dark jeans and a plain gray shirt—neither were too tight or too loose. He had recently showered because his hair was damp and perfectly disheveled. But it was his eyes and his smile that made me want to run far, far away from him just as much as it made me want to run toward him, straight into him. I already felt like I was in over my head.

"You done checking me out?" I heard him say.

It took me a few moments to actually process his words. When I finally did, I looked down, tucking a piece of my dark hair behind my ear and sucking in air for the first time in what felt like minutes. Why did I feel so lightheaded? "I wasn't."

He chuckled and I instinctually glanced up at him, not wanting to miss how his face looked when he laughed. He cocked his head at me. "Alright, liar, let's go. The movie's going to start soon."