Predator and Prey

Chapter VIII

{Alex}

THE MOVIE THEATER was packed--not unusual for late on a Saturday night, but it still made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, conflicting instincts shooting through me. The part of me that was still broken, still a victim (no matter how much I hated it) looked at the passersby as threats, and my fight-or-flight instinct was already rearing its head.

On the other hand, the werewolf half of me--the half Lilia had taken over--saw the popular family destination as a hunting ground. And the part that was still just regular, human me? I was freaking out, because Jack was next to me and holding my hand.

It's not a date, I reminded myself.

Yeah, you made that abundantly clear when you freaked out after he asked, Lilia snorted, annoyed.

"Shut up," I muttered, irritated by the reminder of my near-meltdown.

Well, not meltdown--more like freeze up. I had just been so stunned and worried by the what-ifs racing through my head...

"I didn't say anything," Jack said, pulling me away from my musings and towards his amused grin.

"I wasn't talking you," I said, blushing like a guilty child, "Lilia was bugging me."

There wasn't a trace of judgement or frustration in his eyes, not even when the people behind us gave me a weird look and moved away, and for a moment all I could think was, God, I'm so lucky.

Then that moment was over, and I was back to thinking about food.

We had already bought tickets, entered the concessions line, and decided on what to get (a popcorn, two drinks, and a bag of M&Ms) when I thought to ask what the movie was actually about.

"Um, Jack?"

"Yeah? And don't say you thought of another thing to get--I don't want to talk you out of anything else."

I laughed, knowing that he had every right to be a bit frustrated after I had demanded we buy the entire menu.

"I wanted to ask what the movie's about."

"Oh," he said, a mischievous glint in his eye, "Werewolves."

A smile blossomed on my face, and I turned back to face the front of the line.

This would be fun.

***

"That was incredibly stupid," Jack said, sitting down in the grass.

"Well, the beginning was," I replied, laughing. "Maybe it got better from there."

"I don't think it would've."

"Well, now we'll never know, and it's all your fault."

"In twenty years, you'll still hold this against me, won't you?"

"You got us kicked out of the movie theater!" I exclaimed, giggling.

"Yeah, but that was stupid of them. I'm allowed to tell you what I think of the movie, as long as it doesn't interfere with other people's 'viewing experience'."

"I don't think it was the rude comments as much as it was the throwing popcorn," I stated.

"Well, it was bad popcorn anyways, so it really wasn't that much of a waste," he tried to argue. "They over-buttered it."

"Over-buttered it? There's no such thing as over-buttered popcorn!"

"Yes, there is."

"You're biased 'cause you're all into fancy food."