Angel

Chapter 6

The doorbell rang at exactly eight pm. I had spent the last few days keeping myself busy by baking tons of sweets to avoid feeling anxious. However, as I waited for Joey to pick me up, I couldn't bake the anxiety away. I tried not to rush to the door and open it, thinking it would make me look over enthusiastic about the date.

I opened the door and my jaw nearly dropped. Joey was dressed in a nice button down and a pair of nice pants. He was wore an unzipped hoodie, and held out a bouquet of flowers for me. My heart melted at the gesture.

"Thank you." I said softly. I took the flowers from his hand and allowed him to come inside as I tried to find a vase to put them in.

"I'll take those. You go have fun on your date." My dad said. I smiled and handed him the bouquet. "Have her back by midnight young man."

"Yes sir." Joey waited as I grabbed my bag and then we headed out the door.

"And where are you taking me?" I asked him. Joey took my free hand in his and spun me around before looping his arm over my shoulders.

"Remember the guy who owns the theater?"

"The one who only shows films he's directed, right?"

"Bingo. I'm taking you to see one of his classic films. It's a bit of a shame he never got famous, because some of them are masterpieces."

"Oh really? What's tonights about?" There was a sparkle of mischief in his green eyes as he smiled at me.

"You're just going to have to watch to find out." I fake pouted.

"You're no fun."

We reached the movie theater a moment later. There was an empty ticket stand in the middle of the opening. Empty because the theater didn't generate enough attraction for that sort of thing. Inside looked like a different time period. At the snack counter, an older man was reading a newspaper. He looked up as we walked farther into the building.

"If it isn't Mr. Thompson." The man greeted.

"Hey Mr. Nelson. Can I get two tickets please. Do you want anything to eat or drink?" He directed the last part to me.

"Oh um sure. A coke and popcorn to share."

"You heard the lady." Joey grinned.

"You got it." Mr. Nelson passed us two tickets and the coke. I watched him shovel the popcorn into a rather large bowl. When he set it down, Joey pulled out his wallet to pay. I felt kind of bad not helping out but I had a feeling he probably wouldn't have let me anyways.

"Thank you." I said, letting go of Joey to grab the drink and popcorn. Joey tucked the tickets into his pocket and led me to the only other room in the building. We sat in the middle of a row that was sort of in the middle of the room. Joey said it was the best seat out of the rest.

The movie started immediately. There was dramatic music and several minutes of strobe lighting. I had to turn my head into Joey's shoulder to avoid any kind of damage to my eyes. Joey chuckled.

[chapter break]

"That was uncomfortable to watch. On top of that I don't actually know what was going on the whole film. Was he on crack or something?" I rambled on as we walked out of the theater. Joey threw his head back and laughed.

"Honestly I don't have a clue either, but it's the best out of them all."

"Ugh it's going to haunt me wherever I go."

"Come on, let's get something to eat." I took his hand and we walked to the diner. We sat in the booth that Vix always sits in and Joey folded his hands on the table.

"What?" I asked him. He propped his head on one of his hands.

"Just admiring the view." I felt myself blush at the compliment. "Are you liking Hadleigh so far?"

"Yeah. It's a nice change of pace and the people here are really nice." We paused to order some food before continuing our conversation.

"What did you end up doing today?" I asked him.

"I blocked out the sound of my sister having sex with her boyfriend, worked the whole afternoon, and then picked you up for our date."

"Sounds like a perfect day." Joey snorted.

"What about you?"

"Nothing much really. I helped my dad make up the guest room for when my brother comes tomorrow, and did a bit of reading."

"Now that seems like a perfect day." I wrinkled my nose.

"Really? Sounds more like a boring day."

"Were you bored?" He asked.

"No I guess not." We thanked the waitress as she set a basket of fries down in front of us.

"Then it was a perfect day." I smiled and popped a couple of fries in my mouth. We talked in the diner, munching on fries for while before Joey checked the time on his phone.

"Alright miss, time has slipped away from us and I should be getting you home." Joey slid out of the booth and held a hand out to me. I took it and slipped out of the other side.

"That late huh?" Joey nodded.

The night air was crisp as we stepped outside of the diner. A light breeze passed by and I involuntarily shivered. Joey took notice and took his hoodie off.

"What are you?"

"You're cold right?" He asked handing me the sweatshirt. I smiled at him and stuck my arms into it. It was a bit bigger than I thought and I was nearly swallowed by the materials. But still, it was warm from being on Joey's body the whole night.

"Thank you." I said. I inhaled his scent on my next breath.

"Let's get you home."

We walked the whole way in silence, but the kind that is comforting. Like you didn't need to fill it with a conversation. Joey walked me all the way up to the porch and pulled on my hand when I turned to go inside.

"I forgot something." He said.

"At the diner? I'm sure we could get it tomorrow." Joey shook his head. "Then what did you forget?"

"This." Joey pulled me to him and slipped an arm around my waist. I knew what was coming. "Did I mention you look beautiful tonight?"

I shook my head and he chuckled. He pulled me even closer and then kissed me. It was sweet and his lips were warm, but there was no fire, like the kind you read about in books. Still, he was the one I wanted, and I kissed him back, wanting to tell him just how much I liked him. When we pulled apart for air, he moved so that he could say something in my ear.

"Well, you look absolutely stunning." He let go of me and started to walk backwards down the steps. "Goodnight Nik."

"Goodnight Joey." I said with a finger to my lips. I turned around and walked inside the house. I hung my bag up and headed straight for my room, eager to relive the nights events in a dream.

I shut the door to my room quietly behind me and flicked on the light. I nearly screamed when I saw that Will was standing in my room looking completely livid.

"What the hell were you doing tonight?"