Rome & Julie

Chapter 15

A collective, girlish scream echoed through the room, mine, embarrassingly, being one of them.  Someone had just popped up on the screen—a mass murderer, who was in search of the main girl of the movie—scaring shitless every girl in the room.  The guys didn’t scream girlishly, most likely because they’d seen the horror film before this night, and their macho-ness wouldn’t allow it.  But every girl in the room, I was sure, screamed their bloody heads off.

Hey.  It was an unexpected showing of the bloody, sadistic-looking killer.  Don’t judge.

I heard Rome chuckle in his seat beside my own, obviously not getting the ‘don’t judge’ look I was currently sending his way.

“You know, you’re gonna get in trouble with a mouth like that,”  Rome said, referring to the string of rather colorful words I’d screamed after the appearance of my lovely serial killer friend in the movie.  “Of course, I’m aware that you could care less of the trouble you get into.”  I couldn’t hold my laughter in at how true his words were.  “I didn’t know you were capable of that kind of scream, Jules,” Rome said, teasing me.  I hit him lightly on the arm, shaking my head.

“I bet you jumped ten feet the first time you watched this.  And you probably screamed in a pitch only dogs can hear.  I don’t doubt for a minute that you were scared shitless,” I said, still feeling the heavy beat of my heart, still racing from the latest scare in the movie.

“I actually take scary movies well, Julie.  Unlike some people,” Rome teased, looking down towards my hands sitting in my lap, which were shaking.  I quickly put them in between my thighs, embarrassed.

“I can’t help it!  This movie is pretty friggin scary.”  My cheeks were warm with humiliation, and I was mortified that Rome would acknowledge the fact that my hands were shaking.  I felt like the biggest loser at that moment.

“I’m not making fun of you.  In fact, having a beautiful girl scared during a movie is quite the perfect scene for a guy.”  My stomach dropped, and I wasn’t sure what to say to that.  “Because then… he can do this.”  Rome grabbed my wrist, bringing my hands out of the protection of my legs, lacing his fingers through those of one of mine own.  My hands didn’t stop shaking; if anything, the quaking increased.  My stomach was full of butterflies, and my body felt like it was on fire, but…

I kind of liked it.

Yes, I know.  Crazy, right?  But I was remembering what Molly had told me earlier—be with Rome with an open mind—and I found that I actually liked his affectionate actions towards me.  Not only did it make me feel desirable, but also I felt older and more mature.

Oh, God.  What was happening to me?

Open-mindedness was not looking good on me so far.

“Oi!  Jules!  Do you remember at camp when we—”

“Shh!”  Sydney’s distant voice from somewhere in the theatre directed at me was cut off by a group of shushes, obviously into the movie.  I, on the other hand, was using any kind of distraction to keep my eyes off the screen.  So I trained them to Rome’s face.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Rome said, side glancing at me.  I bit my lower lip and grinned, aware of how my hands were slowly starting to stop their shaking.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re judging me.”  I laughed softly, shaking my head.  “See?  Now you’re laughing,” Rome said, pretending to sound hurt.  He turned his face towards mine, staring at me with squinted eyes.  I stared right back, daring him to look away.  Neither of us budged.