This happened almost 10 years ago now. I was in high school, the summer before my senior year. I was your typical angsty teen who couldn't wait to get out of the 'burbs and go to college. I got a job at the big movie theater in my town. It wasn't too bad, I sold tickets or manned the concession stand. The best part of the job was getting to see all of the movies for free. I would come in even in my off days and see whatever was playing. I didn't have many friends back then, so this was a great way for me to kill time and not focus on my lack of a social life.
I worked the early shift on most weekdays and got to know the matinee crowd. Mostly it was older folks who complained about the stale popcorn (pro tip: don't order popcorn in the morning, it's from last night). It was during one of these shifts I first met Brian. He stood out from the usual crowd because he was younger, maybe late 30s, and handsome. He came several times a week and saw almost as many movies as me, always carrying some sketchpad into the theater with him. He was always friendly with me. After one of my shifts, I popped into a theater to catch the second half of some CGI movie. On my way out I ran into Brian. He asked what I thought of the movie and we started talking. After maybe ten minutes of conversation I asked about the sketchpad. He told me he was an illustrator of children's books and was taking some time off between projects. He came to the movies for inspiration. I asked to see some of his work, and he nervously showed me what he had sketched during this movie. They were hysterical. He put the cartoon characters in bizarre and dark situations. I told him I loved them and he said he would show me more.
From then on, Brian came in more often. Seeing him was the best part of my shift. I would tell him what movie to see and ask for specific drawings. The darker the better. My favorite one had the rat from Ratatouille cooking his human friend and serving him to guests. I could tell he loved showing them to me.
I know our friendship could sound sketchy, what with him being an older guy and me a high school student. But I really felt like we were just two awkward people that clicked. He treated me like an adult and never did anything inappropriate.
One day, towards the end of the summer, Brian came in when I was working the evening shift. We were really busy so I didn't get to talk to him much before he went into his movie. A group of girls from my high school came up to the concession. Their leader was Michelle. She was the most popular, pretty, athletic, etc. etc. girl in school. On top of all that, she was really nice. I hated her at the time, but looking back it was obviously just jealously. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to be friends with me given my shitty attitude. When they came to the counter, I panicked and hid. I called over my coworker and he took care of them. Later on, Brian came to see after the movie got out. He said he saw me run away from those girls. I was so embarrassed that he saw that. I panicked, and made up an excuse. "Those are just the mean girls at school. They try to make my life hell. I don't really care, I just didn't want to deal with it today," I lied. Brian got a very serious look, more serious than I had ever seen before, and told me "Don't worry, bullies always get what's coming to them."
Brian didn't come around over the next few days and I was a bit relieved because of how stupid I acted the last time. One evening I came home from work and my mom told me I received a large letter, probably an information packet from a college. I opened it up and found a sketchbook, immediately recognizing it as the same type Brian always carries. Before I opened it, I started thinking how weird this was. How does he know where I live? If he wanted to show me his drawings, why not just do it in person like always? I flipped to the first page, which had the words "An Invitation", in big fancy font. The next page showed a young girl tied to a chair. It was Michelle. She looked terrified. All of Brian's drawings, even the most gory ones, were whimsical and cartoonish. This was photorealistic. Two dark figures in masks approached her. They pulled out knives, and I couldn't keep turning the pages. It was stomach churning. Did he think this I would like this? Is this a joke? I forced myself to keep reading, looking for answers, until I reached the horrible end. After Michelle was long since dead, the two figures removed their masks and were revealed to be me and Brian. The last page just said "RSVP soon."
I didn't know what to do. So I did nothing. The next day I tore up the book and threw it out in the dumpster outside the theater and went to work like nothing had happened. I waited in dread that day for Brian to come in but he never did. The next week, I was working the ticket counter and saw him approaching from the parking lot. I froze. Before he opened the door, he stared at me. I was petrified and felt all the blood draining from my face. After what felt like minutes, he shook his head, turned around and walked away. I never saw him again.
