The Start of Everything After

The movies

I get ready in ten, a five minute shower, four minutes getting changed and one minute to slip on my shoes, grab my purse and car keys. I'm out the door.

I arrive at the theater and buy a ticket for The Water's High, the heist movie that's supposedly terrible. It doesn't deter me. I came here for one thing, and one thing only.

"That'll be eleven miss." says Rumple, the legend himself, who helps out when coverage is scarce.

"Thank you" I nod in gratitude after he hands me my stub. I turn around and knock into someone. "Shit, sorry," I mumble to my shoes "I wasn't-"

"Are you stalking me?" I look up, it's Luke. Of course it's Luke, with my cruddy cursed luck. I registered what he just asked.

"Excuse me?"

"So..?" he prompts, acting especially annoying today.

"Luke, if I knew where you were at all times I'd carefully avoid those places at all costs. Hell, I'd steer clear of your five mile radius. Yet here we are and you're accusing me of stalking you"

"Geez persimmon, I was joking, did that not come across?" He tilts his head and studies me with a growing smile. Suddenly I'm breathless because I notice how close I'm standing to him but I try to hide it.

"I did- no- I-" I take a deep breath. "Um, it did not come across, no."

"Ok," he says, smile growing even wider, "I can work on that." 

I'm about to ask work on what but he's gone into the theater. Why does he say such things, smile huge, when I seem to be bothering him? I accredit his jokes he makes about me going *whoosh*  over my head to him being foreign born. Yeah, maybe it's a British thing and not a common Delilah is the butt of the joke again. Maybe.

I open the door as I try not to think of him. Of course that doesn't work, I couldn't stop thinking about him even if I tried. Just a moment ago we were standing so close I could see a tiny stain on his shirt and smell his cologne. I shiver. But I'm not cold. I walk into Rumple and Juliana's.

As I'm buying popcorn I notice Luke buying something too. I look away.

Popcorn in hand I walk to the fountain of cholesterol, my beloved butter station. I butter the top and then stick a jumbo straw into the bottom of the popcorn. I adjust it so the butter stream lines up and all the butter travels into the straw and to the bottom. It always works gloriously, my master idea.

"I really hope you didn't just do that." startled, I almost drop my popcorn.

"Shit Luke you almost made me-" he waves me off.

"I would've bought you another," this surprises me, I turn around.

"Oh? What's this about you actually being human?"

"But the butter," he says, ignoring me  "come on, that much? you'll be dead before you finish the bucket."

"I don't mind"

"I do mind because if you die, who will I have to bicker with during practice?" I'm stunned by what he said but he doesn't seem to notice he just goes on in that smooth way he talks, unaware of the effect his voice, no he, has on me.

"I don't do butter on popcorn," he continues "and even if I did, that stuff isn't butter, it's just... stuff"

"Oh Lucas Montoya," I say, finally gaining back my composure "you're truly missing out on fake non discript buttery bliss. Your loss" I smile fakely but then it slowly turns real. Oh dear god what is he doing to me? He's eating me alive.

I walk in the direction of the sign that says The Water's High, and enter. I look around, it's surprisingly crowded. There's five seats left and three of them are right under the screen, the ones that make your neck hurt after five minutes of looking up. I walk up the stairs and sit down. It's actually a good seat, and it seems like I can put my popcorn in the next seat. I love previews, even if I'll probably never see any of the movies being advertised. The movie is just starting when I hear someone exclaim "Bloody hell there's nothing!"

I tell myself to keep looking forward, keep looking forward, do not engage. It's enough to be coached by him. It'd be a terror to watch a movie just one seat over, a terror. I can't help but turn my head and steal a glance. I see him look in my direction and catch my eye. He starts towards me.

My sheer horrid fucking luck.

"You saved me a seat with your popcorn. Brilliant, Persimmon, just brilliant." I know he's trying to get on my nerves, the movie hasn't even started and already he's succeeded.

"Please, just can we not? I came to the movies alone because I enjoy going to the movies alone, got it?"

"So hostile." but then he shuts up. And you'd be lying if you said I wasn't ecstatic.

The movie starts out slow, which is fine, because who doesn't enjoy a good build but then- bam! The safe explodes and I instinctively grab onto the arm rest, but it's not an armrest, it's an actual arm and this scares me even more so I scream. All at once everyone turns to glare at me.

"Your face is pink and you're grabbing my arm. Thought you might want to know." I look down at my arm grabbing his and then look up to him. His pupils dilate. A muscle in his jaw twitches. He studies me as I finally get a good look at him. I notice a stray curl and something in me, and I don't know how big, wants to reach up and touch that curl.

"Now your face is even pinker and you're still grabbing my arm, just thought-"

"I might want to know?" I shake myself out of my reverie. How does he even know I'm blushing, it's too dark to see so that must mean he's guessing based off of what he knows about me. And somehow that's a hundred times worse. I let go of his arm.

"Swedish Fish?" Luke offers halfway through the movie. So that's what he was buying...

"No. I-uh" aww hell, at this point-"sure, thanks" I say. I chew then giggle.

"What?" He whispers in the near dark.

"I didn't peg you for a guy with a sweet tooth," I say, honestly.

"Well I guess you found me out" I giggle again, this time because he sounded like a complicated character in a coming of age film.

This time he doesn't ask what?

When our favorite comic relief character dies in a chase scene I turn to Luke, "Do you ever wonder how you'll die?" I ask.

"Geez. That's morbid Delilah"

"I'm serious, I mean, do you ever think of it?"

"No" he answers simply.

That must be easy I think and then figure not to ask more questions.

Sorry for the short chapter. My grandma isn't doing well so my mind is caught up in that. I do love you guys but I also love my grandma. I call her my grahmcracker lol. She calls Chipotle "chip-pot-le" super funny, I've never corrected her so maybe I'm not the best granddaughter haha.

Anyways I hope you enjoy my writing, in the end it doenst matter how many votes I get just that I'm doing what I love; writing, and if I gain a following great! If not that's ok.

Love ya,

Vira 💕