As Diana descended the stairs, she found herself thinking back to the movie. At first, the action scenes had pulled her in, and she'd been fully engaged—heart racing at the explosions and fast-paced chases. But then, as things started to shift, when the tone of the movie became more... intimate, the room had started to feel warmer.
The romance scenes had caught her off guard. It wasn't that she didn't know romance was part of movies—she'd seen glimpses here and there—but the way the characters' hands lingered on each other, the way their gazes held with so much tension, it made her stomach twist in strange, unfamiliar ways.
Why do I feel so weird about it? she wondered, her cheeks heating up at the memory. She hadn't expected that kind of shift in the movie, and it left her feeling awkward. Unsettled, even. She'd tried focusing on the action, on the fighting and plot twists, but her mind kept wandering back to those other moments—the ones that made her feel strangely flustered.
And then, there was Daniel.
She had stolen a few glances at him during those scenes, curious to see if he felt as awkward as she did. He must have, she thought. He must've been just as weirded out as me. But when she looked over at him, his expression had been calm. Relaxed, even.
How is he not feeling weird about this?
Diana had felt her stomach knot even more at that. Is it just me, then? The thought nagged at her. Was she overthinking it? Why did it feel so uncomfortable to her when Daniel seemed completely unaffected?
But what stuck with her even more was what happened after the movie.
When they had finished watching and sat in the lingering quiet, Daniel had looked at her, his eyes seeming distant and thoughtful. For a brief second, she'd felt the air between them shift, like something was about to happen. He hadn't done anything, though—he had just called her name softly, almost as if lost in his thoughts.
She had turned to him, feeling her heart beat a little faster, wondering what he wanted to say. There was something in the way he looked at her that reminded her of the movie—of how the characters had shared a moment, with tension simmering between them.
Her heart had picked up speed, and her arms had felt a little weak. But just as quickly, she had shaken the thought away. Is there something on my face? she had wondered, her embarrassment growing. She glanced at Daniel, but when she saw his confused expression, she felt even more certain that it was just her overreacting.
Her cheeks flushed slightly at the memory, and she hugged her arms around herself as she reached the bottom of the stairs, trying to push it from her mind.
By the time she reached the bottom step, she had already stopped thinking about the whole thing. Her focus shifted quickly, and the strange feelings from the movie seemed to fade as the weight of school took over.