Lia just wanted a regular Saturday. Was that too much to ask?
The answer is yes, because Adrian, her questionable friend, somehow thought that if he showed up at her door at six o'clock in the evening, she would readily agree to watch a horror movie with him.
"Adrian Callum, get the fuck out!"
"Come on, you've seen my texts, now go and get changed."
"I ignored your texts for good reason-"
"I know... I know. But you have to watch with me."
She snorted, "Where's Alex, and why don't you invite her to watch instead of me?"
Her question earned an annoyed expression from the man.
"She's on a date, apparently. Look, I know you're still afraid to watch horror movies, but you have to face your fears. Let's go!"
"I hate you; get out!" She pointed towards the door. She didn't invite him into the apartment, so they were still in the entryway. She was very annoyed at him.
"Where's your bathroom? I need to use it while you are getting ready." he said, and tried to peek into the living room.
Lia blocked him from going any further.
"No, go use the neighbor's bathroom."
Adrian wasn't a boulder to her like Chase, but she was no match for his strength, either. But it made sense; he was taller than me and he had more bone weight.
"I don't know the neighbors!" he yelled in her face.
"Nor do you know me, apparently, because you forgot that I don't do horror!" To be honest, she barely does action movies.
"Oh, come on!" Adrian groaned, like it was so hard to have her as a friend. "It will be fun. It's been a while since we've hung out, just the two of us, and I chose a movie that's not too scary."
"Get out, Adrian!"
Just then, the Philippines' hottest electrician decided to walk into the living room and move towards us.
"There's no way to talk to your friend like that, Lia." he said, and winked at her before turning to greet Adrian.
Lia glared at the man when he looked back at her. She was giving him a 'stay-the-hell-out-of-this' look because she doubted the 'save-me' look would have had an affect on him.
"Chase, Lia, and I are going to watch a movie. Why don't you join us?"
"Oh yeah? I would love to since I am not doing anything tonight," Chase answered with equal fakery.
She could bet that they had already discussed this the moment they looked at each other.
Their acting skills were shit. So she called them out on it, "Great, you two have fun," she said and walked toward her bedroom, but not before adding a mumbled "Like heck I am going." She was determined to barricade herself in her room until the night was over.
But somehow, somehow, the jerks managed to drag her out of the apartment.
So they went to the cinema, but not without her complaining the entire way.
Once they were at the ticket counter, she tried to weasel her way past Adrian's shoulder to request tickets for a children's movie that was also playing, but the man shot her attempts down quickly. He ended up picking something about a gravedigger who eats human organs, and to reassure her, he said, "This doesn't have that many jump scare scenes."
But the problem is, she can't enjoy anything labeled "horror," and she is not sure why people find that even remotely strange.
Needless to say, she sat between them at the cinema. For safety. And to ruin their viewing experience. She may have been drugged up, but the effects of the mild sedative were bound to wear off soon enough, and she was wondering who was going to take responsibility for her inevitable breakdown.
Forty-five minutes later, and she was already on the edge of her seat, which was a chance from the usual position she took of melting into the seat and covering her face with her hands or her jacket. She noticed that Chase was staring at her from the side, and she turned her head to see him smiling a little. She furrowed her brows at him in return.
The man leaned in closer to her to whisper, "Are you okay?"
"Of course not! I want to leave!" she hissed back.
A few people in the cinema shushed her. It was like she was the one ruining their night.
Chase continued to smile, but he said, "Let's go then," instantly becoming a hero in her eyes.
"Guys, shut up! I can tell this is going to be a good part!" Adrian tried to quiet us down, not aware that she was about to escape.
Chase leaned over her a little to speak to Adrian, "We're going out. Lia doesn't want to watch anymore."
"What? No way! Come on, Lia, you're being a baby!" He then glared and hissed at her.
Lia just let Chase handle it because all she wanted to do to Adrian was to throw the last of her popcorn over his head.
"It's alright, you keep watching. We'll meet you outside." Chase whispered to him and ignored Adrian's continued complaints. He then offered her his hand and pointed with his head towards the exit. She felt so damn safe that she forgot to turn her phone flashlight on.
They were holding hands when they finally made it out of the dark and terrifying movie hall. She has never loved the fluorescent-lit and red-carpeted hallways of the cinema more.
She sighed in relief and looked up to see Chase grinning back at her, but with endearment.
"You don't want to ruin the heroic image I have of you after getting me out of there," she warned. "I may just forgive you for helping Adrian drag me out of the apartment."
"I am sorry I conspired to drag you out to a movie you clearly didn't want to see," he apologized with a smile.
"It's not just a movie, Chase. I don't want to watch the entire genre! Why anyone would pay to get scared is beyond me!" she said with conviction. "Speaking of which, I am a little sorry too that you got sucked into this by Adrian's evil ways and paid your own money just to watch half a movie."
"I doubt that was half the movie, but don't worry, I wasn't paying much attention to it anyway. You were way more entertaining to watch," he said cheekily.
"I am glad you had fun at my expense then," she glared at him.
Chase chuckled, "Let me try to make it up to you. What would you like to eat?"
"I want to get home as soon as possible, to be honest."
"We promised Adrian that we would wait for him." Chase paused and looked around. They had walked out to the main cinema entrance hall, but they weren't outside the cinema yet. She wanted to tell him that Adrian could go fuck himself, but he had a more civilized suggestion, "How about some nachos, soft drinks, and hotdogs? Then we can sit by those stairs over there? Not too bad, right?"
And he had Lia at hotdogs.
She nodded and followed him to the counter. And right after, Chase carried most of the overpriced feast, - which he also paid for. She needed to be compensated for the physiological trauma she was forced to endure - and she carried straw and tissue paper like she was helping. They sat on the carpeted stairs leading to who knows what. It wasn't the ritziest place to eat, but it was well lit, she couldn't hear spilled-over horror movie sound effects, and Chase was with her, so she decided that it would do. Besides, the hotdogs needed to be eaten before they went ice-cold.
Chase sat on the fourth carpeted step, closer to the wall than the metal railing, and waited for her to sit down next to the railing. She found more comfort in being squished between the man and the wall, and he was amused at her choice.
He tried to scoot over to give Lia more space, but she held his arm to stop him. She wanted to feel cocooned.
"You hate getting scared that much?" he noted as he handed me one wrapped hotdog and took out another for himself.
She put the straws into each of their soft drinks before replying, "Hate is not a strong word, Chase... and don't ever try to scare me." After feeling safe enough and isolated, she unwrapped the foil off her hotdog and wasted no time in devouring it.
At that moment, Adrian announced himself. They had apparently not noticed his arrival.
"Really guys? It wasn't enough that you left me in the cinema by myself, and now you're sitting here looking like an adorable pair of otters eating cinema snacks? I've never felt more like a third wheel in my life."
Chase turned his face to Adrian, but didn't pull away from Lia. For some reason, he smirked confidently. Meanwhile, Lia was glaring at the man.
"That's what I feel whenever we are with Alex. Now you know, and I will not speak to you for an entire year." She informed him matter-of-factly and didn't make a move to get up.
"The movie wasn't that bad, you cry baby..." Adrian mocked. "Right, Chase? Tell her,"
The hot electrician simply chuckled and refused to take sides. He got up and offered her a hand. She wanted to slap it away, but she needed him to take her home.
After agreeing to never meet again, we went our separate ways for the night.
By the way, Chase had kept his arm around her shoulders most of the way back home. She didn't push him off because her need for comfort overcame her shyness. And his heavy muscular arm was very comforting.
Lia knew that she would not be able to sleep peacefully that night, so she put him on the spot when they reached their apartment.
As he was unlocking the front door, she told him, "Chase, you have to take responsibility for this. I won't be able to sleep tonight." She waited for his reaction, but she realized her words had a double meaning.
To her dismay, he threw his head back and laughed out loud for a few seconds before looking back at her. With a smirk and a wink, he replied with, "Well, when you put it like that, how can I possibly refuse?"
He was making freaking sex jokes!
"I NEED YOU TO WAIT FOR ME UNTIL I FALL ASLEEP!" she yelled at him once they were inside the apartment. "Can you do that?"
"Certainly," he said quickly, with yet another handsome grin, "I would love to watch you sleep."
Lia turned red but somehow managed to say, "Don't sound like a predator! I need comfort right now!" She is aware she sounded needy. But what can she do? She is not perfect. While she does love independence, there are things she simply does not wish to do on her own. She probably could have, if she forced herself, but why suffer when you can have the comfort of a trustworthy human being?
Did she find Chase to be a trustworthy human being? She has not fully decided on that yet. But he's trustworthy enough.
"I am sorry, babe, come here." He said with a softer smile and reached out to rest his arm around her shoulders again, pulling her into a half hug. This would possibly count as the third most intimate thing they have done. And man, did it feel good.It's weird that with just one of his strong arms around her, she felt a little more invincible. "It's too early to sleep. How about we watch some comedies? He tried to be charming, and he succeeded. "If you fall asleep, I promise nothing will scare you in the morning,"
So, with the man's help, after one and a half silly comedies, and the sleeping pill she took at the beginning of the second movie they were watching, she slept like a baby and woke up the next morning to find herself on the couch with a pillow under her head and a blanket covering her.
And she wasn't totally scared when she saw Chase's sleeping figure on the floor near the couch, on top of a blanket.
Somehow, the man was able to make it the most unbearable experience for her.
And he did smell nice.
*****