The Beautiful People - Butterfly Logic

Chapter 6

Later in the evening, Liam stood in front of the movie theater, impatiently awaiting Zoe and her friend's arrival. He prayed silently that this was the girl he had been waiting for so long to see who was extremely attractive. He needed her to be perfect.

To everyone else, he was an arrogant, typical high school jock when it came to him dating. He was never satisfied with the girls he had come across thus far. Each girl would always start the same: excellent. They would also end up the same; it is unacceptable to continue dating. He would usually find a flaw in the third week with them, such as her eating habits or imperfections in her physical features. He would break up with her because he never wanted to waste time with the wrong girl. He knew that his perfect girl was out there. He knew that he had known when they made eye contact.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He was in mid-thought when Zoe blew her horn. He stumbled backward and missed taking out the line dividers by mere inches. He regained his balance in time to hear Zoe laughing as she passed. He quickly shrugged off the situation and functioned as if nothing had happened.

He hopped off the curb and made his way over to Zoe. As he got closer, he noticed that she was alone. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, so he remained silent and waited for her to explain. Where was this mystery girl from Jefferson Prep dying to meet him?

"Don't worry. My friend and I decided it was too big of a hassle for us to ride together. She texted me to let me know she was on her way," Zoe explained. So, let's get the tickets while we wait for her."

He nodded, still a little skeptical.

Zoe spotted Cindy getting out of her car. As they moved up the line one couple at a time, her heart fell into her stomach. It was a matter of seconds now. She shot her gaze back at Liam. She hoped to entertain him so that he would not suspect anything. She knew if he caught on at this point, he would. That would ruin everything. She wanted to get his reaction on camera if everything went downhill quickly.

"How many?" the Ticketmaster questioned.

"Three tickets for the six-thirty showing," Zoe said as she held up three fingers.

"Any particular movie," he questioned.

Zoe should have cared about which movie. She was worried about the prank. She shook her head and said, "I want to see them all. Whichever one is playing first, that is the one we will take."

Liam lifted an eyebrow as he glanced up from his phone. That was not a typical Zoe statement. He took notes but didn't say anything.

Zoe nervously spotted Cindy gaining on them. She needed to give Cindy the ticket, but Liam stood beside her. She made an impromptu decision to fake forgetting something in her car. She handed Liam his ticket and told him to save her a seat. Liam headed in, and Zoe headed towards Cindy.

"Hi," Cindy said, a little winded from the walk up to the theater.

"Here's your ticket," Zoe smiled. "I told Liam to grab a seat for us."

"Ooh," Cindy squealed. "I've been wanting to see this movie. How impressive is that?"

Zoe nodded.

"I have to have popcorn with chocolate-covered raisins. Would you be willing to serve it if I walked in a little later?"

Zoe shook her head. It would be best if they didn't walk in together, so she waved and headed towards the theater. She texted Liam to see where he was sitting. Then, she pretended to be on her phone while waiting for Cindy to appear.