Manhattan

07.

THE TOUR AROUND Manhattan had turned out to be a great idea. Leah especially seemed to think so. Aidan was glad. He'd stayed up all night planning everything down to a T. He'd wanted to make this special for her, since her love for the city was ingrained in everything she did or said, and she needed to soak up everything before she went back home. It seemed to have payed off. She was completely awestruck by everything - and when he said everything, he really meant everything. Aidan had walked these streets a thousand times, and these buildings, and billboards and flashing neon signs were nothing new to him. But seeing it with Leah made it seem like a whole new place.

She pointed out every little thing - things he'd never have noticed, despite the fact that he usually spent half his time walking behind a camera lens. A wall of graffiti, a sight he'd have walked right by if Leah hadn't been there to point it out. She'd bugged him to take pictures of it, and he'd laughed, but once he'd eventually given in, and taken a good look at the picture he'd taken with her words in mind, it seemed as if the whole thing had changed. Maybe he was just thinking too much into things, but there was now something so aesthetically pleasing and metaphorical about a vibrant mess of colours splattered against a wall.

Aidan wondered if maybe that's why Leah loved the city so, so much - in a place so full of life and excitement, it was the little things, the mundane, unappreciated things that were hidden around corners or buried in tiny cracks on the sidewalk that were the most beautiful of all.

• • •

The day so far had been quite productive. They'd scoured most of Midtown Manhattan, visiting the Grand Central Terminal, where Aidan couldn't help but admire the beautiful architecture, Fifth Avenue, where they'd done a ton of shopping, Central Park, where'd they had a lunch of (slightly expensive but amazingly delicious) hotdogs, and many other places that Aidan had been to before, but was a lot more fun visiting with Leah.

Now, it was about ten in the night, and they were currently standing smack-dab in the middle of Times Square. They were engulfed in the throng of people, in the sounds of car horns and chatter, and the orderly chaos of the city.

"So," Leah said, turning to him, having to raise her voice over all the noise. "Where to next?"

He grinned. "You'll see," he replied, and took her hand, pulling her through the crowd, until they stopped in front of a very small movie theater. The flickering billboard above the entrance flashed the names and show times of old 80's and 90's movies.

"This used to be my mom's favourite place," Aidan told her. "The three of us - my mom, dad, and I - used to come here all the time when I was a kid." He paused. "Sometimes Benji would tag along too."

She gave him a wide smile. "It's lovely."

He smiled back. "Now come on, let's get in line before it starts getting too crowded." He pulled her along, and they joined the steadily growing line, discussing what they should see. After a quick debate they settled on The Breakfast Club, a movie they'd both seen a million times, but mutually agreed would never get old. They got their tickets and two bags of popcorn each, and went into the theater. The movie hadn't started yet, and it was mostly empty except for a couple of people at the very back.

They started making their way up the steps and - Aidan paused. He studied the people at the back again. Oh, God. He knew them - they were none other than his friends. His heart skipped a beat as he saw who was among them - Benji.

Leah looked back at him curiously. "Aidan? What's wrong?"

"Uh . . . nothing, maybe we should just - go, I mean -"

"Aidan!" A voice shouted out. Aidan flinched. "Hey!"

He thought about pretending as if he hadn't heard anything, but it was already too late. Leah turned to him with a puzzled look on her face, and with a sigh, Aidan grabbed her hand. "C'mon," he said, and trudged reluctantly towards his friends, Leah in tow.