Weathered Love

DEREK IV

Things between Derek and I were different after that. He still treated me well, but I could sense his apprehension. He really believed that I didn't love him. That I preferred Caleb over him. Of course I couldn't tell him that he had actually helped me get over Caleb, because he'd probably think he was just a temporary distraction.

It was Spring Break and Derek and I had spent almost every day together at different spots, when he wasn't working of course. We were finally getting back to how we were before Valentine's Day, and I couldn't be more relieved.

It was the Saturday before classes were supposed to start again, and after so many adventures throughout the week, we decided we'd do something a little more relaxing and we went to the movies. I always let Derek pick because I liked most movies, as long as they had a good plot. I hated movies that had no story-line.

While in line, wonder of all wonders, the couple behind us happened to be Caleb and Karen. I was starting to grow suspicious at this point. Were they following us?

"Hey guys, funny seeing you two here," Caleb said from behind us.

"Stalking isn't funny," I mumbled under my breath. Only Derek heard, and he let out a snort before he could contain himself.

"What was that?" Karen asked, smiling at us. Clearly she wasn't aware of the snarkiness of my comment. Or at least she was pretending that she wasn't aware of it.

"Nothing, just an inside joke," I said, smiling back at her. After all, I was pretty sure she had nothing to do with our chance encounters.

"What movie are you seeing?" she asked. I assumed she was trying to shake off the fact that she wasn't privy to our inside joke.

"We haven't decided yet," I replied before Derek could say anything. I gave him a sideways glance and he understood.

"Yeah, we're still deciding too," Caleb volunteered. I nodded, chewing my inner cheek. Derek laced his fingers through mine and led us to the side to let the people behind us get to the counter to get their tickets.

"Maybe we should go home," I volunteered under my breath. I didn't want anything to happen that would make Derek insecure about our relationship again.

"Why?" he asked, as if it was the most ridiculous idea he'd ever heard.

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable," I replied.

"You're the only one who seems uncomfortable, Babe," he lightly teased. I gave him a forced smile. He clutched his heart dramatically and leaned back. "No, not the fake smile. You're killing me!" he said. I chuckled a little bit.

"Come on, we wanted to see this movie, they don't need to know what we're planning on seeing. And if they happen to be in the same theater, we'll just sit away from them," he offered.

I nodded. Of course he was right. It's not like we could really interact with them during the movie anyway. We got back into the line and ordered our tickets. It was some action movie Derek had been dying to see.

I hoped it wasn't one of those movies that focused more on the combat and explosions and had little to no story, although I knew Derek wouldn't mind that. To him, the more action, the better. We then got in line for the snacks. Since we had just come from eating, I wasn't too hungry, so I let Derek decide on the food too.

I knew I was letting him make all the decisions. But it really was because I liked almost everything, so no matter who it was, I usually let other people pick something we'd share since it was more likely than not that I'd like it too. Sure, I had preferences, but it didn't bother me if I didn't get what I preferred in that moment.