Killmonger's One-Shot Collection

Panic! At the Movie Theater

Note: Based on a real story. Reader finds herself in a scary situation.
♡

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when you hopped in the car for a cruise with your college buddy, Pablo. He had to make a quick trip to Maryland to take care of personal business that he wouldn’t tell you about, no matter how many ways you asked, and since you were from Maryland, you tagged along for the ride.

‘You can’t come with me to where I’m going, okay, but I’ll drop you off somewhere and come back for you then we’ll do dinner,’ is what he’d told you. Cool with me. You automatically called your best friend from back home to come hang out with you for the evening. Luckily, she was available and thrilled to do so. It’d been a while since you’d seen each other. Afterall, you did choose go to school in a different state.
“What time is your ride coming back?” Nyesha asked as Pablo pulled off. He’d dropped you off at Creektown, a small shopping center in a black community with eateries and an old movie theater. Nyesha was already standing there waiting to attack you with a violent snuggle.
“He’s coming back in about four hours. We can catch a movie in the meantime. On me!”
“Sounds good to me, I wanted to watch Incredibles 2 anyway. I been waiting on this movie for years, bitch!”
“Who you tellin? I’m about to punt these anklebiters out of the way right now. Tuh!”
—
You look around at all the little kids and the both of you giggle feeling like 8-year-olds yourselves. The movie is a huge win and it has the both of you in heated discussion for the next twenty minutes. Between Jack-Jack’s powers, Violet’s love life, and Edna Mode there’s a lot of ground to cover.
Catching up occurs over a long walk down the strip of outdoor stores. The two of you go in and and of each one, just looking around and touching things. It makes you realize how much you’ve missed Nyesha’s company. The two of you stop into an eatery to grab food and she tells you all about her sister’s new relationship and how it won’t last.. her brother almost getting arrested.. the guys you used to know, where they are now.. and then her time at the community college. Turns out a lot of people you know chose to go there. You tell her about your college, how it’s stressful but you’re glad you chose an HBCU.. the job you just applied for at a bookstore.. and your birthday plans. She promises to come see you next and to bring the other two members of your friend group.
—
Five hours and two unanswered texts later, Pablo is an hour late. It’s past 7 and Best Buy is your final stop. The two of you walk up and down the aisles filling the last bits of time with goofiness. Your phone’s battery is getting low so you call Pablo. He doesn’t answer and you wait ten minutes to call again.
And then it’s 8 p.m.
“Hey girl, I gotta go. You wanna come with? It’s getting late.” Nyesha had already told you thirty minutes ago she had to go pick up her sister, but decided to wait with you since your ride was supposedly coming any minute. Like she said though, it was getting late.. and Briana had been waiting long enough. The two of you say your goodbyes and she drives off.
9:15 p.m… The Best Buy is closed along with the old movie theater and most of the stores in the strip and then you watch another one close. You’d take an uber somewhere but you don’t want to miss Pablo. He should’ve been here by now. Awkwardly, you stand outside the theater.. alone.. the shops around you, empty and darkened. It was dark outside, period.. and your phone was about to die. You try calling and leaving another text, but he seems hell-bent on ignoring you. You pray he’s alright and that he’s not dead in a ditch or in a hospital or in danger. A loud laugh comes from the right and you look to see a rowdy group of hood black guys about your age. At this time when everything is closed they seem to be up to no good and you move backward, closer to the theater in an effort to stay concealed. Unfortunately, your movement draws the attention of one and your phone dies.
9:45 p.m…. This is ridiculous and you have no idea where Pablo is or how to find him. Something must be very, very wrong. This is so unlike him! The gaggle of voices increases in volume and you feel the group of guys getting closer. Your adrenaline starts to pump, but you exhale to calm yourself. You refuse to appear afraid. You hold your phone up and pretend to text with an unbothered expression.. your pose is lax, but your feet are positioned to kick or run. If need be, you’ll beat someone with the phone. Your eyes flit to a trashcan and there’s a green praying mantis sitting there as if it’s praying for you. You join in and say a silent prayer pleading with God to keep you safe.
The voices grow closer and then they emerge from the corner. There are four of them and they all look at you in a way that confirms in your mind that they are indeed up to no good. You glance casually, but continue to fake text. They continue laughing amongst themselves while watching you and the vibe makes your skin crawl. One separates from the group and bucks at you suddenly. You don’t flinch one bit. Instead your eyes stare bravely through his, cold and unamused.
“Did I scare you,” he asks with an expression of dark humor. He’s obviously a creep, but he doesn’t scare you.
“No,” you speak simply and clearly projecting yourself to be more dangerous than you are. You’ve already anticipated that they’d try something and you were mentally preparing yourself to fight back. Another one circles you like a vulture and you follow him with your eyes, keeping your head still and your ears on all of their movements in case they move abruptly or reach for you. The image you portray is of fearlessness.
“BACK THE FUCK AWAY FROM THE GIRL,” a deep voice from behind you booms and the guys all look in its direction causing you to turn to look too. It’s a guy in a movie theater uniform and he is BUFF. “Shit,” one the guys looks spooked and they all quickly move on to your extreme relief.
“You. Come here,” the guy points with a finger motion and you almost run to him as he opens the door to the theater.
“Thank you so much,” you say, wide-eyed and breathless. Your tough exterior melts away and he asks you if you’re okay.
“Did they touch you? Why are you out here this late on your own?” He was genuinely concerned. A pretty black girl with a uniform appears and zips up her pants. She looks at your young buff angel and then back to you, narrowing her eyes before wrapping her arms around his thick arm possessively.
“Erik, come back. We can finish… what we were doing,” she says eyeing you.
“Chill. Now ain’t the time,” he says pushing her off of him. She scoffs and rolls her eyes at you, obviously pissed. His eyes stay on yours, searching for answers and you tell him your story.
“Okay, well, stay inside. I’ll wait with you and if he doesn’t show up I’ll take you wherever you need to go myself to make sure you get there safely.” He looks at the girl to let her know she can leave and she looks like he just stabbed her, but she doesn’t leave.
“You don’t have to go through all that, really, I’ll make it back to VA–”
“Nah. After what I just saw, you need an escort. I wouldn’t feel right just letting you go.”
Just then a set of headlights approaches and you glance through the door… it’s Pablo’s car and Pablo looks perfectly fine. When you turn back to Erik, he nods releasing you and you smile. Before you go, you spin to give him a tight hug, catching him off guard.
“Thank you for being my guardian angel!”
He smiles at you showcasing his dimples and pats you on the head giving you a brief kiss on the forehead.
“Be safe, babygirl.”
With that, he sends you off and you wave goodbye as you duck into the car. When Pablo pulls off, your attention snaps to his extreme tardiness.
“Where were you? Pablo, I called you like ten times and texted you. You said four fuckin hours!”
“My bad, my phone died and I lost track of the time.” Pablo looked fully unconcerned and it Pissed. You. Off.
“So that’s it…. you just.. lost track of time..,” the frustration painted your tone and Pablo started to show some concern. Fuckin finally. You don’t even tell him what happened to you resolving never to hang with him again. If there was anything you learned from the experience it was that there are people out there who have your back. Unfortunately, Pablo is not one of them. Thank God for the Eriks of the world.