Aubrey Garcia's Journey home.

Chapter Thirty One.

 Twenty minutes later Aubrey and James sat next to each other in the movie theater, Lexi and Eliana off to get the enormous pile of food that they probably wouldn't be able to finnish. The air around them was cold and smelled deliciously of buttered popcorn, the smell wafting through the air making Aubrey's mouth water. She hoped Eliana and Lexi got back with the food soon.

James grinned at her and stated matter of factly, "This movie is rated R. You gonna get in trouble for that?" She shrugged and grinned back at him. "Guess we will just have to find out."

"How much do you want to bet that Eliana's going to come back having somehow acquired coffee at the movies?" James asked.

"Ten bucks that she will."

"Wait I was going to bet that she would!" They laughed, and the people in front of them gave Aubrey and James an annoyed look. "Sorry." She whispered quietly, stifling a small giggle. James smiled at her, his azure eye's bright even in the dim light of the movie theater.

"I'm glad you did well on your test. Now we can enjoy Christmas break without having to worry about our parents finding out report cards." Aubrey snorted, receiving another glare from the people in front of them. She didn't know what their problem was, the movie hadn't even started yet.

"Stop making me laugh, we're going to get in trouble!" He grinned, and then looked at one of the trailers playing. They stayed quiet for a little while longer, resting in comfortable silence. They didn't need to talk to enjoy each other's company. They just did.

"What's up with you?" She asked. He shrugged and responded "Not much. We both have the same classes. How far are you on the reading assignment?"

"The. What."

James snickered and said, "The reading assignment? The one that's due after break?"

"Uhhhh..."

"The Lord of the Flies one?"

"Oh I finished that yesterday."

"It was assigned two days ago."

"I read fast!" Aubrey argued, a small smirk forming on her face. He shook his head, "Well I hope you'll at least help me."

"Deal. As payment for helping me with my math." He nodded.

Aubrey spotted Eliana wadding her way through seats carrying two medium sized buckets of popcorn, four ice cream bars, a small assortment of candy, and (unsurprisingly) a caramel latte.
"How do you even manage to find a coffee in a movie theater?"

"By walking across the street to grab some."

"You owe me ten bucks." Aubrey said to James.

"I thought we were joking!"

"That was before I won."

James grinned and shook his head, "I can pay you back in ice cream!"

"Well in that case." She leaned over, grabbing his ice cream bar out of his hand, taking a small bite and then handing it back. "Payment method accepted." James laughed and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bucket.

"Okay," Eliana said, shooting Aubrey a knowing look. "I'm going to share a bucket of popcorn with Lexi, you two can share this one." Eliana passed the popcorn to them with a smile. James took it, and put it between them.
"Where is Lexi by the way?" James asked with a slight frown.

"Off at the bathroom somewhere." Eliana said, scratching the back of her neck. "She needed to do something or whatever."

"Should we wait for her before digging in?" Aubrey asked. Eliana nodded. They waited, rather patiently, for three starving friends all of whom had the smell of buttery popcorn right under their noses. After about three minutes, Lexi showed up carrying a small water with her. Aubrey noticed a strange look on her face.

She looked infuriated, enraged, by what Aubrey wasn't sure. It reminded her of how Lexi looked earlier when they had met her parents. Aubrey was about to ask her what was wrong but the second Lexi sat down, the movie started so they all passed around food quietly, careful not to bother the people who sat in front of them. Didn't want another glare shot their way. Rude.
Aubrey rested her arm on the armrest, and watched the movie. About twenty minutes in, somehow James's hand found hers. His hands were warm and his slender fingers intertwined with hers. Aubrey kept her eyes on the screen, but she wished she could look over him. And maybe kiss him. Either way, she left her gaze on the screen savoring the moment.

----

When the movie was over James, Lexi, Eliana, and Aubrey all piled into James' car. With some music playing in the background, they all chatted aimlessly about school, the movie, and recent hobbies. Well, everyone except Lexi. Lexi was seething in the backseat of the car glaring at her phone so much Aubrey was surprised it didn't immediately burst into flames. Eliana who was in the backseat shot Lexi concerned stares and questions which she waved off as, "It's nothing." Her eyes still glued to her phone.

"Are you sure? Nothing's wrong?" Aubrey asked with a frown. Most of the time when someone said 'nothing' it usually meant everything. She would know. Lexi simply shook her head, the ferocity in her eyes never wavering for a second. She sighed, seeming to get herself under control but still looked troubled. After that, everyone went back to normal, chatting and arguing as usual. "I heard we're doing a debate in english. Between all the grades."

"Yeah, I hope the topic is interesting." That seemed to piqued Lexi's interest, as she looked up with a curious expression on her face. 

"A debate?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I love debates." Lexi said with a small smile. That seemed strange to Aubrey, as Lexi was usually very quiet in class. One time they had to do a presentation in english about a book they read, and Lexi completely froze up. Not in the way you normally would, in fact Aubrey was pretty sure she had witnessed a panic attack before Lexi ran off to go hide somewhere. And it wasn't just during presentations either, it seemed to be talking in general. The only people she didn't seem to tense up with was Eliana, James, and Aubrey. And even Aubrey and James were debatable.

All too soon they arrived at Aubrey's house, turning into the road that led them there. Aubrey smiled at them and said, "See you guys tomorrow at school." 

"See you then!"

"See yah."

"Bye Aubrey."

As she left, she felt a lingering sense of happiness. This was what home felt like.