Return

13

When we had gotten back to the hideout it was beginning to get dark. The Lumino Ore's brilliant light began to soften with each passing minute, creating an ethereal sense to things. Eli went to his room, and then returned with a movie in his hands and a smile on his face. I paid it no mind and instead grabbed a slice of pizza and sat on the couch in front of the television.  

"What kind of movie are we gonna watch?" I asked. His smile widened as he hid the movie from my sight. I raised an ebony brow at him and his actions. "What gives?" 

"It's going to be a surprise!" he said happily. I rolled my eyes and took another bite from my pizza. Eli, after putting the movie in and grabbing some food for himself, sat down next to me. Both his and my own slugs sat on the coffee table facing the screen with what I assumed to be popcorn. Burpy looked back at Eli and smiled. The Shane boy nodded his head slightly at his buddy and the slug faced the television screen again.  

Something's going on between those two, I thought to myself. I was about to question what he was planning, but was stopped by the screen flashing red, followed by several screams in the background. I froze in fear and slowly leaned back into the cushions of the couch.  

Eli looked over at me with a worried expression on his face. "You okay there, Astrus?" 

"Y-yeah," I managed to say, "I'm okay." 

Eli eyed me warily, "If you say so. Hope you don't mind watching a zombie movie. It's my favorite." 

"I don't mind! I love horror movies!" I lied. He smiled brightly and faced the screen again. The movie started with someone running into a forest with a bunch of growling zombies chasing after him. I dug my nails into the arm of the couch. I hated horror movies with a passion, they always gave me nightmares, but with Eli wanting to watch one I had to look like I wasn't bothered by it. Easier said than done.  

At first the movie was okay, a few gory parts where some zombies had their heads blown off by the protagonists, but then the continuous jump scares started. I couldn't help but flinch at each one. Eli looked over at me again and placed his hand on mine, which had a death grip on the cushion between us. The second I felt his hand on mine, I jumped and squeaked.  

"It's just me," he said reassuringly, which calmed me down a bit. 

"Sorry," I mumbled, "you just scared me." 

He chuckled, "If you're scared we can watch something else." 

"It's okay...really. I just really, really hate horror movies." Eli seemed to be thinking for a few seconds before he shifted on the couch to that his back rested against the armrest. He motioned for me to move over to him, which I did without any hesitation.  

"As long as I'm here, nothing will get you, especially zombies," he said while resting his chin on my head. I smiled and rested my head on his chest, closing my eyes, and he wrapped his arms around my middle; holding me closer to him.  

It was a few minutes until the end of the movie and all the slugs had fallen asleep. I was slightly trembling from a nightmare that had ensued while I napped during the last half of the movie. My fingers were trembling and I felt cold. I looked around and noticed that Eli wasn't on the sofa with me, or even in the room. My eyes frantically darted around the room trying to find the Shane boy. I froze a door creaked open, fear traveled throughout my body. I stood up and ran over to Eli's room, knocking on his door. He opened the door and I ran into his room, lying down on his bed close to the wall.  

"What're you doing?" he asked with a yawn. He walked back over to his bed and laid down facing me. 

"I had a nightmare..." I mumbled. Eli just sighed and wrapped his arms around me again. "Sorry for waking you up." 

"It's fine, I don't mind." I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes.  

"Good night, Eli." 

"Good night, Astrus. Love you." 

"Love you too."