"Buford," Baljeet glared, clutching his books tightly to his narrow chest. "Get out of my way."
"Aww," Buford mocked him as he blocked the hallway, poking his bottom lip out in a pouty expression. "Poor ikkle Jeety-weety."
The smaller boy rolled his eyes and tried to duck around his adversary. Buford stuck his arm out and pushed Baljeet back into his original place.
"Really?" he wrinkled his nose up in indignation. I'm going to be late for class if this lug doesn't get out of my way. One more tardy to AP Bio and Mrs. Romano will kill me. "Just let me get to class."
"Alright," Buford crossed his arms, but didn't move out of the way. "Under one condition: We've gotta go see that new exorcism movie. Tonight. Midnight showing."
"Wh—what?" Baljeet raised his eyebrows. Not only a horror movie, at midnight, but seeing it with Buford? Glancing at his watch and realizing he was losing precious seconds as the time to get to class dwindled, he knew he'd just have to agree. "Fine, whatever. Just get the hell out of my way."
"Oh, little nerdy-boy said a bad word, did he?" Buford laughed as he leaned closer to the lockers, giving safe passage to Baljeet. "Alright. Meet me in the parking lot after school. We can hang at my place until we leave to catch the movie."
When the school day was over, Baljeet could hardly think straight. He never could. Three AP classes a day, and he was only a junior. He would have taken four if guidance allowed it, but they said he would go crazy with that many.
He was kind of relieved they'd stopped him—he was going absolutely insane having the three.
Caught up in keeping track of all of the homework he would have to do over the weekend, he began to walk home, totally forgetting about the deal he had made with Buford.
The thought of the movie hadn't even crossed his mind until he saw the rough-looking black truck pull up beside him, Buford's face peering out of the rolled-down window. He half-smiled, half-sneered as he honked the horn. "You gonna get in or what, Jeet?"
Baljeet jumped and spun around, startled by the sudden noise slicing through the silence of the calm autumn day. He chewed his lip for a moment, thinking over the pros and cons. Finally, he decided. "Screw it. Alright, I'll see the movie."
He went around to the other side of the old truck and put his huge backpack, as well as the extra textbooks that wouldn't even fit in it in the small backseat of the vehicle. "How in the hell does a little stick like you even carry all of that shit? It's gotta weigh twice as much as you."
Baljeet laughed nervously, still unsure of what he was doing. He did need a day to just loosen up. He couldn't even remember the last time he went to the movies. Or anywhere, actually, other than straight home to do bookwork. I need this.
"Are Phineas and Ferb and Isabella coming?" Baljeet asked as he buckled his seatbelt. Safety first.
"Nah, I thought just me and you could go," Buford shrugged, his eyes on the road. "Phin and Bella being all lovey-dovey makes a person wanna puke, anyway."
"Yeah," Baljeet laughed, then felt his phone vibrate, and pulled it out of the pocket of his jeans. Crap. Mom. "Hello? Oh, yeah. I'm just going to hang out with a friend tonight. No, I don't have homework. . . Okay, yeah, I do—but come on, just gimme a break. I promise I'll study extra hard on Saturday. Yeah. Love you too, Mom. Bye."
"On your case, huh?" One hand resting gently on the wheel, Baljeet was surprised to see genuine interest on the other boy's face. Huh. That's new.
"Not as much as I'm on it. She's even told me to loosen up once or twice. It's kinda hard for me to do that, if you haven't noticed," Baljeet sighed, crossing his arms and looking out the window. "So, what am I going to be scared is out to kill me for the next three weeks?"
Buford laughed, shaking his head. "Like I said, it's just another exorcism movie. Avoid being possessed and you'll be just fine."
Baljeet knew he'd regret it, but he just listened contentedly to the other boy ramble on about every horror film in the book as they pulled into Buford's driveway.
"No, no, no—oh my God! People aren't supposed to bend like that," Baljeet whispered in distress through gritted teeth, watching the screen in revulsion. "What the—why did she just go in there? Oh my GOD! She's so stupid. Now she's going to die."
He's such a sissy, Buford thought as he rolled his eyes, observing Baljeet's ridiculous antics. Sure there were other people acting like him in the theater, but still. Ridiculous.
Buford looked back at the screen just in time for Baljeet to practically scream in shock at how someone was just ripped in half. He'd seen so many scary movies it didn't even faze him, but Baljeet had grabbed at Buford's hand in alarm.
They caught eyes for a moment, but Baljeet quickly let him go and nonchalantly sipped his soda, sticking his hand in the bag of popcorn on his lap. The nonchalance was destroyed by another bout of horror, and he nearly choked on the piece he was eating. Buford had to use all of his self-control not to laugh.
"Finally," Baljeet sighed in relief, face in his hands as the credits rolled up the screen.
"Not so fast," Buford pulled one of Baljeet's hands from his face and pointed at the screen, just in time for the other boy to see one last horrific scene play. Baljeet just slapped the hand holding his wrist away and glared. "If you'll excuse me, I have to pee. And you better hope I don't get attacked by a bloodthirsty spirit on the way there."
Buford sat in his theater chair for a few seconds longer, waiting for the theater to clear, then made his way down the aisle. With the crushed up popcorn bag and watered-down Coke in one hand, he tossed it into the trash on his way to the restroom, formulating a brilliant plan to scare Baljeet.
Oh, he'll shit himself, Buford thought, pleased, as he snuck around the edge of the hallway. He waited a few moments, and finally he saw Baljeet start coming toward him. He was already nervous-looking, and kept glancing behind him. Yes, this is gonna be great!
As soon as he was in the perfect spot, Buford jumped out from behind the edge, grabbed Baljeet by the shoulders and shouted, "Boo!"
The look of pure terror on his face was priceless. When he finally realized the one holding him wasn't a monster out for his flesh, he set his jaw in a grimace. "Oh, you dick."
Curiously, Buford found that he didn't try to push him away after the shock had faded. His body seemed to act on its own accord as he pulled Baljeet from the crowded restrooms. The enticing smell of buttered popcorn began to fade as they slipped down the carpeted hallway, footsteps muffled as they went. Sliding into a small alcove, they studied each other for a moment, neither sure what was going on.
Buford hardly knew what he was doing at all, but it felt right as he pulled Baljeet closer to him. The smaller boy didn't fidget away. Suddenly, Baljeet pushed himself up on his tiptoes and pressed his lips against Buford's.
He was so panicked at that moment he had no idea what to do. His first instinct was to push him away, which was going against everything he was feeling just moments before. When he had asked Baljeet to come with him to the movie, this isn't what he had anticipated. He didn't know what he had anticipated, actually, but it didn't feel like this was it. No, no, no. This isn't right. No, no, no.
But, as he felt Baljeet push himself away in heart-wrenching doubt, he began to move his lips back to reassure him, and he knew what he was doing was right. When they began holding each other even tighter, nothing in the world could have felt more natural. More real.
A few moments later, they released each other. Baljeet's rapid breathing had begun to steady and Buford's heartbeat slowed. Baljeet began to glide his fingers through Buford's spiked, black hair, both still slightly out of breath. Buford broke the silence. "What the fuck was that?"
Baljeet turned away quickly, but not before Buford saw the tears welling in his eyes. He grabbed his hand before he could escape the alcove, and reassured him. "Not like that. It was just. . ."
He wiped his eyes on the back of his hand and gave the other a half-smile, brushing the dark curls out of his line of vision. With a yawn, he said, "Yeah."
"Come on, let's get you to bed, little guy," Buford winked, tousling the other's hair playfully.
And with that, Buford let himself hope that that breathtaking, popcorn-scented memory would be the first of many.