Obsession From the Shadows

Movie Night

H/c - your hair color
L/n - your last name

My phone vibrated in my pocket while noisily playing my ringtone. Reaching into the pocket of my sweatpants, I pull my phone out to see who it was. It wasn't often that I get calls. To my delighted surprise, it was Clay. I sat back in my chair and kicked my feet a little excitedly.

Picking up, I say, "Clay! How are you?" I scoot myself into a more comfortable position in my chair.

"Hey babe, I'm good thanks for asking." Clay responded cheerily.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before I decided to speak up, "so uh, why are you calling? You usually only text."

"Hm... I guess I just wanted to hear your voice this time." I could hear him laughing a little to himself at the silly excuse. "Do you want to go out somewhere?"

His question immediately brought a large smile to my face, "yes of course!" I stare at some pictures that I have of us on my desk, "do you have somewhere in mind?"

"Well I was thinking we could go to the movies? They have this new one that came out yesterday and it looks pretty interesting." He sheepishly asked

I laughed a little saying, "for sure! What time and what is it called?"

"The movie name is..." he pauses for a moment as if reading something, then continues, "Praise be to His Goddess. Kind of a weird title but it sounds interesting enough. Whaddaya think?"

My nose scrunched up at the strange title but I don't think I could ever pass up a date opportunity with Clay so I reply, "I'm sure it will be great as long as you're watching it with me." A proud feeling fluttered up in my chest for using that smooth line on him.

"Haha! Same here. As long as you're by my side I don't have a single regret," Clay says, not skipping a beat.

Dammit! Why does he always have to make me the flustered mess. I wish I could do the same to him but he's just too good. "Haha... yeah," I agree with him, unsure of what else to say.

Knock, knock!

Quickly getting up from the plush living room sofa, I dash towards the door. Not even waiting to look through the peephole, I throw the door open with such a force that it caused a small gust of wind to blow my h/c hair.

"Someone's excited," Clay cheerfully noted. He spread out his arms inviting me into a hug that i gleefully accepted. His scent and embrace was warm and inviting, I could tell he had put on a woody cedar smelling cologne. While my face was buried in his soft but firm chest, I smiled inwardly knowing that he put the cologne on just for our date, for me. Far too soon, we break contact. I take a moment to look him over. He's not wearing what he usually does. This time, he has on a nice pair of jeans and a cotton button up shirt with a flannel print. I laugh a little at how cowboy-ish he looked, but I had to admit to myself it was a nice change in the monotony, and it was clear he was making such an effort for me.

"You ready to go?" I inquired, looking up at him happily.

He patted down his pockets and looked himself over. Clay brushed away the persistent dark curls that strayed from his neat bun, "all set! Are Mr and Mrs L/n home? I wanted to say hello before taking you out"

Of course. For the longest time — even before we began to date — he has always been the respectful type. I've always admired that about him. He's so responsible and polite which is why my parents let me go wherever with him without question.

"No, they're out right now. Dad is grocery shopping and mom is still at work. Hm... now that I think about it, they haven't seen you since before we started dating. I didn't tell them about it either," I confessed, not looking him in the eye.

"We should probably get on that then. I don't want them to think this is a sneaky relationship or something," he fidgeted with his hands before continuing, "but tonight's not about them. It's about us and our date night."

I looked at my phone, "hardly night. It's only five thirty," I teased, slipping the device back into the pocket of my brown corduroy pants.

He scrunched up his nose, "I don't think a 'date evening' has the same romantic flow as a date night. Besides I don't care what it's called as long as it means we get to go out somewhere as a couple."

A blush spread across my face and I mentally scrambled for the words to form a proper retort. All I could form was a small sentence, "I guess you're right..." the whole time I thought about the craziness of letting him get to me so much. Just a remotely flirtatious comment sends a chill down my spine and butterflies in my stomach. I figure it's because I've dreamt about things like this for so long and now that it's finally coming true it's double as exciting as it would have been normally? I've got no idea about the psychology behind this, but I don't care right now. Clay and I are going on a date and there is nothing that can get in the way of our love this evening.

I didn't pay much attention to the movie. In the beginning I watched as much as my attention span would allow. Then, I took to stealing glances of my boyfriend as he watched intently. Occasionally, I would shove my hand in the large popcorn we decided to share because it would be cheaper. Every time I dipped my hand into the bag, I would pray for us to go in at the same time so I could feel the brush of his hand. I found my small prayer relatively humorous because from what I could gather the movie had heavy religious themes but ironically very sinful acts. Suddenly I feel something snake it's way behind my back. I look to my left and I see that it's his arm. Clay still faces forward but I notice a small smirk work it's way up his face. He brought his hand up to mask the grin, playing it off as if he needed to wipe a bit of popcorn off his lips. The glint in his eyes were childishly mischievous as he tightens his grasp around my waist, his thumb brushing my ribs comfortingly as he rubs it back and forth. My insides did somersaults and it seemed as if my heart had fallen off of track, now beating much faster and more sporadic. He kept his hold on me for the duration of the movie, making it even more impossible to focus, but I didn't mind. Everything was perfect.

That idiot. I can't believe he would have the audacity. My poor sweetheart is being manipulated by him into cheating on me. My teeth grit as I'm stuck in the shadows yet again, trailing behind the two. No matter how many times I've done this, it never gets easier. It should be Clay left behind, not me. The more I thought of it, the bigger the angry knot in my stomach wound itself. It was as if I've become nearly sick with rage. Setting myself down into the usual prickly bush never gets any easier, and it's especially hard when you have to watch the person you love the most kiss the scum of the earth then head inside.

I watched and waited as Clay sauntered back where he came, patiently waiting for him to turn that corner. Standing up, I watched as all the lights in the adorable little house went out. How lucky would I be to one day be the last person she sees instead of him. Tears pricked my eyes and a shiver ran down my back. My still bandaged hands balled themselves into fists. I could tell my emotions were about to swell over again. Panicking and unsure of what to do, I scrambled for an outlet to my frustrations so that my beloved wouldn't, heaven forbid, be accidentally hurt by me. My guts felt like they were rearranging themselves. The world spun around me as my vision began to blur, I nearly puked. As a prevention, I tried taking deep breaths. It slowed the spinning but didn't do much to sooth me. I needed to get this bad out of me and fast. It was like small bundles of pure rage scampered like spiders over my whole body. The rage soon turned into agony as I tried to rid myself of the retched arachnids, clawing relentlessly at my arms. This was even worse than last time. Can't my Y/n just notice and see that being with Clay will only make things worse? I stifle a scream by pushing the sleeve of my sweat shirt into my mouth. When I pulled it out it was wet with my saliva, matching my tear soaked cheeks. My deep breaths turn into hyperventilation. That is, until I saw a small grey street cat pass by a few feet away...

[Surprise! I'm not dead! Though, it's not looking too good for someone in this book... I can't believe I took such a long break. Sorry to keep you all waiting]

-Fuzzsoda