Chapter 9

"What happened?" Ephram asked as he felt his arm being pulled by Amy's into the theater.

"They're bitches"

"Well I knew that already, but what did she say?" he asked, sounding very concerned.

"That I had to choose between you and them.  No offense…they don't think you're worthy of my friendship or something like that."

"So when you picked me, did you do it because you were mad at them or you really picked me for me?"

"The way I look at it, I already have a boyfriend…he just doesn't know it yet.  I had them, and then I had you.  Ephram, you're the better deal," she said smiling.

They found seats in the back and as the previews began, they put down their jackets and got settled into their seats.  The movie was sold out and it was tightly packed in the theater.  As the movie was starting, Amy saw Kayla, Jen, Becky, and Paige walk in.

"I guess they changed their minds on Lord of the Rings" Amy leaned over and whispered to Ephram.

"I guess"

Amy couldn't focus on the movie, she found herself watching the four girls standing in the middle of the aisle scanning the theater for seats.  Amy was sitting next to four empty seats, one occupied by her and Ephram's coats.  She was hoping that they wouldn't sit next to her.

"Amy! Are those seats taken?" Kayla whispered down the row.

"No" Amy said as she took the coats off the seat and gave one to Ephram.

Kayla ended up sitting next to Amy, with Jen, Paige, and Becky next to her. 

"This is awkward" Amy whispered to Ephram as the four girls noisily slid down the row.

"Tell me about it…they hate me"

"Well I think they hate me now too…so we're even"

As they sat through the movie, Ephram watched Amy's expression.  She looked up at the big screen in awe, yet she still looked uncomfortable due to who was sitting next to her.

"Amy, do you want to switch seats?" Ephram whispered.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all" Ephram said as he got up and swapped seats with Amy so he was now sitting next to Kayla.

Although Ephram didn't enjoy sitting next to Kayla either, he knew how much Amy wanted to watch the movie and actually be able to enjoy it.

***

When the movie was over, they went outside and found a bench where they waited for Dr. Brown to come pick them up.  Ephram called his father, who agreed to come get them in twenty minutes.

"So what'd you think of the movie? Was it as good as you had hoped?" Ephram asked her.

"It was amazing, I loved it!" she said excitingly.

"It was better than the Broadway version"
"You've seen it on Broadway?"

"Yeah, my mom took me and Delia for her 8th birthday"

"You never told me you saw it"

"You never asked," he said with a mischievous grin.

As ten minutes passed, the night air became brisk.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was going to be this cold tonight" Amy said looking down at her almost white legs.

"Well what'd you think, we are in Colorado"

"I know…I know.  But it's almost April"

"But we're in Colorado"

"Fine…you win"

As Amy pulled her jacket up to see her watch, Ephram noticed the goosebumps spread on her arms like tiny mountains.

"Wow, you really are cold" Ephram said as he grabbed Amy's arm.

"I guess I should have listened to Mr. Weatherman tonight, huh?

He took her hands and starting rubbing them with his, trying to warm her up.

"Thanks" she said.

As they were sitting hand in hand, Kayla walked out of the theater.  Both Amy and Ephram looked up as Kayla walked by, not saying a word.  As Amy sat and stared down at the floor, Ephram said, "Hey…do you want my jacket?"

She suddenly looked up, "No, it's okay.  You'll freeze without a coat"

"Really…I don't mind.  If one of us is going to freeze, I rather it be me than you"

"Okay" Amy said as Ephram took off his coat and swung it around Amy's shoulders.  As he was securing his jacket on her, he realized his arm was around her shoulder, and immediately pulled it off.

"It's okay…you can leave it there" she said smiling at Ephram.

He took his arm and placed it back around her shoulder.

"You're so warm and cozy Ephram", she said as she leaned her head on his shoulders and snuggled up closer to him.

As Amy and Ephram were both beginning to close their eyes, they heard honking coming from the parking lot.  They opened their eyes to see Dr. Brown waving from the car.  They ran to the car and quickly huddled into the back seat.

"You two look freezing" Dr. Brown said observing them.

"No kidding, it's like twenty degrees out there!" Ephram said.

"Sorry about the wait guys, unexpected traffic"

"That's okay Dr. Brown" Amy said cheerily.

Once again they rode in silence until they pulled into Amy's driveway.  Amy's house was dark and her parent's car was missing from the driveway.

"That's weird" Amy said sounding worried, "They were supposed to be home, unless of course I misunderstood"

"I'm sure there was just a misunderstanding" Dr. Brown said reassuring her.

"Probably" Ephram chimed in.

"Bright was supposed to be studying for a test and my parents wanted to stay home and watch some TV show"

"Maybe they all went out for dinner," Ephram suggested

"At nine o'clock…in Everwood?  That's not something people do here"

"I was just trying to help"

"I know Ephram…sorry"

"We'll wait here for another couple of minutes.  Amy, you can call your parents and then come back to our house.  When you guys get in touch, they can come pick you up"

"Okay.  I'm just going to go ring the doorbell and make sure", Amy said as she got out of the car.

"So, how was the movie?" Dr. Brown asked.

"The movie…or the events at the movie?"

"Why, what happened?"

"Never mind…it's not worth going through"

"So how was everything between you and Amy?"

"Okay" Ephram said.

"It looked a little bit more than okay when I pulled into the parking lot"

"She was cold, I gave her my jacket, and she leaned on my shoulder, end of story"

"Whatever you say Ephram" he said smiling at Ephram.

Ephram smiled back, "Shut up Dad"