Jimmy had no sooner been freed from his bonds when he'd felt cold metal clamp tightly around his ankle. "Just thought you'd like to look nice for the movie; it looks nice, don't you think?" Heloise said as she fiddled a bit with the anklet now locked around his leg. She punched a few numbers into a scanner she had with her before stowing it in her sleeve. If Jimmy was suspicious of her weird behavior, he seemed too glad to have control of his limbs back to care.
Of course, he'd probably be a lot more worried if he knew the trinket's true purpose. Jimmy was fine so long as he stayed close, and his newfound mobility would prevent any more incidents. If he got too far away from Heloise, though–zap! A painful shock would knock him out and Heloise's scanner would alert her, leaving her free to retrieve Jimmy at her leisure.
Hopefully, it wouldn't have to come to that. Heloise gave the scanner a quick once-over as the duo approached Miseryville's movie theater; the device was functional, prepped, and ready to go, prepared to halt any would-be escape attempts. With her date secured, Heloise was free to drop her guard and let Jimmy admire the upcoming attraction posters while she went to get tickets.
Thus began the usual ritual; the teller looked down at her from his booth, wondering what such a little girl was doing ordering tickets. One crack of the knuckles was all it took for the teller to recoil backwards, clearly remembering what'd happened last time he'd mistook her for a little girl. "Two for Star Swines," Heloise said, sneering.
After a bit of nervous fumbling on the teller's part, Heloise handed over her money and got her tickets. "C'mon, Jimmy," she called out, drawing Jimmy's attention away from the posters. The boy joined her and they headed inside, immediately being overcome by the smell of fresh popcorn and the electronic pinging of the nearby arcade.
Things were much busier inside than outside, and the two had to wait to get any snacks. Heloise could've done without, but Jimmy insisted on an extra large popcorn and soda to make up for missing dinner. Despite the wait, they managed to walk into the theater just as previews started.
The theater was relatively empty, aside from the occasional teen couple here and there that would no doubt miss every second of the movie. Jimmy and Heloise managed to grab a spot right in the middle of the rows, sitting down and settling in.
As soon as Jimmy was distracted with the previews, Heloise retrieved her scanner from her sleeve and checked it once more. Her plan had already gone astray once tonight, and she refused to let it happen again.
Satisfied that the gadget was operating fine, she stowed it away again. To her side, Jimmy was guzzling his drink, practically inhaling the straw. "You're going to swallow the cup if you keep that up," Heloise scolded.
Jimmy finally let the soda go with a content sigh. "Gotta drink double for Beezy," he said. "It's what he wanted. We definitely need to come back with him sometime. I wonder if he's doing alright."
"I'm sure he's fine," Heloise muttered with a roll of the eyes. Her pizza machine, however, was probably a different story. It was an acceptable loss, though, Heloise noted as her eyes lit up with a coy gleam. She leaned over the armrest, wrapping her arm around Jimmy's and tugging him closer. "C'mon, sit a little closer. It's too cold in here."
The next thing she knew, Jimmy had wiggled his arm free and shoved the popcorn bucket under her nose. "Here, have some! It'll warm ya right up."
"Gee, thanks." As much as she wanted to decline, Heloise could feel hunger starting to gnaw away at her stomach. She never did get the chance to sample her pasta. Grudgingly, she dipped her hand into the bucket and scooped out a few morsels.
Minutes passed, with the two of them only ignoring their snack long enough to comment on whatever preview was playing. Soon, the lights dimmed as the screen lit up–it was time for the feature presentation.
Heloise found herself enraptured in the show; the first movie had been good, but this one was a masterpiece. A quarter of an hour had flown by before Heloise remembered why she'd brought Jimmy here in the first place. It wasn't much of a date if they just sat there and watched the film, now was it?
She looked away, giving herself a quick once-over. She considered sneaking some make-up, but figured she'd already done enough to doll herself up earlier. As ready as she'd ever be, Heloise turned to Jimmy with lidded eyes–and watched as the boy crossed his legs in a vicelike grip in his seat, squirming about in some odd little dance.
Jimmy caught her staring, smiling sheepishly. "You were right, I shoulda laid off the soda. I'm gonna head to the little Jimmy's room real quick," he whispered. "Be back in a sec, alright?"
Heloise huffed, feeling for the scanner. Locating it securely in her sleeve, she nodded. Its range would extend just outside the theater in case he tried anything. "Hurry up before you miss anything good," she muttered.
Nodding, Jimmy got up and scooted away, muttering apologies to a face-locked couple a few seats down. Heloise watched him go, letting out the smallest of sighs as he ducked out of the theater. Maybe if she was lucky, the couple had given him an idea.
She scoffed, turning back to the film. The odds of that happening were about as good as Lucius giving anybody a day off and Samy becoming a celebrity combined. Still, she couldn't give up hope–she'd find some way to get through his thick head and get her perfect date somehow.
Resting her head in her hand, Heloise leaned on the armrest and allowed herself to get sucked back into the film while she waited for Jimmy to return. At least the movie was good.
Heloise burst out laughing as the credits rolled. "Man, that ending was a riot!" she wheezed, trying to regain her composure. She wiped a tear from her eye, looking over to her date. "Right, Jimmy?"
She froze, eyes wide. People were getting up and filing out, but Jimmy was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the theater, spotting nothing but bright-faced monsters and a few discarded snacks. Jimmy had never come back.
Heloise cursed herself, slipping her scanner out of her sleeve. How could she been so careless and focused more on the movie than the reason she'd come in the first place? To make matters worse, the scanner reported no disturbances, its alarm having never been set off. Either Jimmy had found a way to get the anklet off, or he'd found a way to slip outside the scanner's range unnoticed.
There wasn't time to figure out how he'd done it. Discarding the useless scanner, Heloise leapt from her seat and dashed out into the lobby, shoving aside stray monsters and ignoring their annoyed shouts. Outside, Heloise couldn't see a single clues to Jimmy's whereabouts–not the bored employees at the snack counter, not the crowd of monsters gathered over at the arcade, not even the familiar blonde hair sticking out of the group-
"Wait a second." Heloise approached the crowd, her panic fading away into simmering anger. Jimmy ignored her approach, eyes locked on the pinging lights of the game in front of him as a few bystanders cheered him on. Heloise fought the urge to tear out the game's power cord as she pushed her way through the group, walking straight up to the boy. "Jimmy, where did you go!?"
For a moment, the boy didn't notice her as his eyes stayed glued to the flashing screen. Annoyed, Heloise gave a loud snap of the fingers, finally grabbing his attention. "Oh, hey Heloise! How was the movie?" he greeted, still keeping an eye on his game.
Heloise clenched her fists, feeling the words dig under her skin. "How was the movie?" she hissed. "Maybe you'd know if you'd been there!"
The bystanders backed out, sensing the rising tension. Jimmy kept to his game, eyes crossed in concentration. "Sorry, Heloise," he muttered, "but I remembered this Slug 'Em game was here. Beezy took my high score on it a couple weeks ago, and no way am I letting him keep it! I didn't think you'd mind."
Heloise's eye twitched. She groaned, gripping her hair tightly and clamping her eyes shut in a poor attempt to keep her cool. Beezy had still managed to screw up her plans when he wasn't even there. At this rate, her perfect date was shaping up to be a perfect disaster.
She took a few deep breaths, composing herself. When she reopened her eyes, she found Jimmy staring at her, frowning. "Really, I'm sorry," he said. "I figured we could just see the movie again with Beezy when he's available." Heloise's glare only intensified, getting a nervous chuckle out of the boy. "Unless you want a turn?" he offered, gesturing to the game.
Heloise shook her head slowly. What she really wanted was for things to go her way just once, for this Misery Hearts Day to finally be the day where she won over Jimmy. And in the name of all that was miserable, she would succeed. The night was wearing on, and she only had one more place that might help her win over the blonde boy.
Not wasting any time, she grabbed Jimmy by the wrist, dragging him to the exit. "Whoa, whoa!" he protested. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see." She pulled him out into the cool night air, away from the glow of the theater. With her path planned out, she set off, Jimmy in tow.
Bzzzzzzzt!
Heloise felt needles of pain pass through her, forcing her to let her captive's wrist go. The world spun around her as she saw Jimmy collapse, legs flopping into the air. The shock ended as Jimmy fell flat.
Heloise spotted the collar still on his leg and moaned, wiping a hand down her face. Visions of the scanner left back in the theater washed over her as she reached up to smooth her hair back down. "I knew I'd forgotten something," she muttered.