When Opposites Attract - Chapter 10
"So? Tell me what happened!"
I found myself in Giggles' overly fluffy and pink room yet again, sitting on a fuzzy beanbag chair. I sank further into the ridiculously huge piece of furniture, trying to come up with a way to avoid the question. Maybe I could smother myself in the mountain of stuffed animals she had on her bed? The only thing I could realistically think of was biting my nails- which I had already happily occupied myself with until there wasn't much to bite left.
Petunia smoothed out the comforter on Giggles' canopy bed, pushing back a translucent curtain before carefully sitting down. Then she fished a travel sized bottle of hand sanitizer out of her purse and quickly rubbed some into her hands, the scent of antiseptic blending in with floral perfume and hairspray. I coughed quietly, and Petunia's eyes widened as she applied more hand sanitizer.
"Watch where you're coughing, Flaky!"
"S-sorry"-
"Hey! You're answering my question, Flakes. Remember? We've got all night. And if you don't spill before the movie, we still have the sleepover." Giggles said impatiently, directing a quick poke to my side. I winced, rubbing at my ribs; it actually hurt. Either she was extremely strong, or I was extremely weak.
I went with the latter.
"N-nothing happened"-
"Lies!" Giggles stood up, melodramatically pointing an accusing finger at me. "If nothing happened, why were you two holding hands?"
Petunia blinked, her eyes instantly snapping towards me as I cowered lower into the chair, my face burning bright red. I wanted to disappear.
"H-he was helping me o-out of the nurse's office"-
"And he felt the need to hold your hand?" Petunia commented quietly. Something about her tone made me feel the need to defend him, justify his actions somehow.
"I-I did pass out i-in front of him... he was probably still worried a-about me."
A beat passed between Petunia and I, with nothing but her studying me from her spot in the room, before Giggles nodded erratically, squealing.
"Eeee! Flaky has something to tell us! Flaky has something to"-
"Quiet! I d-don't have anything to say." I snapped, and Giggles settled down, a pout forming at her lips.
"Geez, sorry Flakes." she mumbled.
"N-no... it's my fault for yelling. S-sorry." I said apologetically, and Giggles' demeanor sprang back to normal. Petunia had a curious expression I couldn't quite decipher yet again, and she went back to drying off her hands, before she swished her long blue hair over her shoulder, reaching for a curling iron. That was starting to become a pattern, at least, so I thought. I had no idea how to broach the subject with Petunia when I didn't even know if she was giving me looks this entire time or not. My anxious train of thought usually made things out to seem worse than they actually were. Still, I couldn't fight the nagging feeling at the back of my mind. There was something she wasn't telling me...
Giggles interrupted my train of thought when she tugged me out of her chair, quickly ushering me over to her closet mirror instead.
"Flakes, are you planning on wearing that?" she asked incredulously, and I blinked in confusion.
"...what's wrong with it?"
My outfit was simple; a pair of the usual skinny jeans most girls my age wore, a loose red top that hung a bit off my shoulder and had sleeves that were a little too big, and my old, worn converse. Giggles sighed, pointing to my legs with a perfectly manicured nail. She had painted them a bright pink with white accents at the tip moments after I arrived at her house.
"Please, wear a skirt. For me? Please?" she pleaded, somehow managing to widen her eyes even more to give me a puppy-dog look.
I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose, knowing that she probably wouldn't give up until I agreed.
"No, Giggles, I w-want to wear jeans. W-we're just going to the movies."
"But it's a daaaaaaaate, Flaky." she whined.
Giggles pouted yet again, her bottom lip jutting out even more than before as I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms. She proceeded to pester me about it for the next fifteen minutes, constantly pulling out various assortments of skirts for me to try on. I still refused every time, but with each attempt, I found my patience weakening, my conscious silently screaming for me to just give in.
"C'mon Flaky, how about this one"-
"Jesus Giggles, let the girl wear what she wants." Petunia spoke up, lowering the curling iron from her hair. She had kept it in a ponytail, but now her locks fell down her shoulder in neat ringlets.
Giggles arched an eyebrow, looking between Petunia and I.
"Well sorry! Is today National Grump Day or something?" she huffed.
After we finished getting ready, Giggles jammed us all into her car; Petunia and I were cramped in the backseat, our knees bunched up slightly. The car must have been designed for Giggles only; it was too small for anyone else but her. Any additional passengers were possible, but laughable; the process of even getting us into her vehicle reminded me of clown cars at the circus. Petunia did a double take when Giggles didn't check the car at all before she started to drive.
"G-Giggles! Shouldn't you have checked everything first?"
"Calm down, Petunia. I know what I'm doing! I have a license, don't I?" she smiled, proceeding to turn up the radio to a deafening volume, singing along with her usual station's selection of popular music. Petunia squeaked and gripped onto the seats like I had before, causing me to sigh. Tonight seemed like it was going to be interesting.
Giggles made record time, pulling the car into the theater's parking lot after only a few minutes, quickly idling next to an empty yellow car. It looked as if Cuddles and the others were already there, waiting for us. I glanced down at my watch, arching an eyebrow. It was exactly eight o'clock. They were early. My thoughts were interrupted when Petunia opened the car door, and we both eagerly stepped out onto the pavement. Petunia and I stretched our legs for a moment, before following an excited Giggles; who was halfway down the sidewalk to the theater.
We burst through the main doors to the lobby, only to bump into Giggles, who halted right in front of us. She stumbled right into Shifty, the force knocking the boy- and his fedora- to the carpeted floor.
"Ow- watch it, Giggles!" he groaned, grumbling as Handy helped him up with surprisingly little effort.
"Oops. Sorry, Shifty." she said absentmindedly, looking at Cuddles with a dreamy glint in her eyes. "Hey Cuddles..."
Cuddles smiled warmly, and Giggles blushed. "Hey, Giggles." He held up a few tickets, passing her one first, before handing everyone theirs. I held mine in automatically shaky hands, looking around. The interior of the theater was huge; it had high ceilings with movie advertisements dangling from wires, multiple hallways and elevators leading to the balcony, plenty of seating and online ticket kiosks scattered around the floor. Not to mention the multitude of people that gathered there- the place was packed. Movies must've been a big thing in a town that small.
"The show's starting soon, anyone want some candy?"
"I do!"
Cuddles chuckled at Giggles' response, gently taking her hand and walking her over to the snack bar as she chatted with him animatedly. Petunia snorted, linking one arm with Handy while the other remained free as she nonchalantly searched around in her purse. Petunia apparently didn't trust the food at movie theaters and tended to pack her own, against the rules of the establishment. She always got away with it, however, and I stood there awkwardly as I watched her pass the ticket line with ease, not getting questioned by the staff member that directed them towards the theater. She and Handy shared a knowing grin as they disappeared down the corridor. I quickly turned to Shifty
"Ah, S-Shifty, d-do you know where"-
"Flippy is?" he finished for me, arching an eyebrow. "Already inside the theater. He saved our seats."
I nodded, biting my lip and walking off to the snack bar. I didn't want to immediately rush into the theater, despite the feeling that I should. That would make me come off as... I wasn't sure. Why did I even care what Flippy thought of me? That wasn't my business, right? Right. I eventually settled for staying back in the concession line for now, quietly standing behind Cuddles and Giggles, who were just finishing up their order.
"Thanks, Cuddles." Giggles said, smiling as he picked up a tray for her.
"No problem, Giggles. I know how much you love candy." Cuddles responded, squeezing her hand.
"And soda. And popcorn. And ice cream." She laughed as they walked off with the overflowing tray. Giggles must have had a huge metabolism; the way she ate astounded everyone around her. But apparently not Cuddles.
"Hello? Next!" The cashier said impatiently, and I blinked, quickly walking forward.
"U-um, just a box of skittles, a-and a bottle of water, please." I said quietly.
The cashier handed me my order, punching it into the register a bit too forcefully. "Your total is 3 bucks even."
I handed him the money, and he snatched it away before I could utter a simple "thank you", despite his rudeness. I sighed, tucking the candy box under my arm as I walked to the theater, opening the door to be met with a familiar and sappy tune. I had seen this movie before some time ago, and forgotten all about it because of the overall stupidity of the plot. I was surprised it was still playing in theaters now; it first premiered when my mother was still alive.
After I closed the heavy door behind me, I squinted in the darkness, letting my eyes adjust to the lack of light before I walked up the stairs, searching for the others. Soon, my sight fell upon Flippy, who sat in the middle row. For some reason, it was completely empty. So was the row directly behind and in front of him. All of the other seats were taken. He yawned quietly, not paying attention to the film at all; instead he kept checking his watch every few minutes.
I gradually noticed the air of caution in the theater, and understood why the seats were empty. People were afraid to sit next to Flippy, let alone remotely near him. I still didn't find out everything that he did, but it was obviously enough for him to be avoided in public. I sighed, feeling more empathetic than it was probably safe to be, fighting against my instincts and approaching the seat next to him. Carefully, I sat down, putting my bottled water in the cup holder attached to the arm rest. Flippy arched an eyebrow in surprise, and I gave him a timid smile in greeting. He grinned back at me. My heart skipped a beat.
"...hey, Flippy."
"Flaky... I didn't think you'd be here."
"W-why not?" I asked quietly, taking a sip of my water to occupy myself.
"You seemed nervous... well, more nervous than you usually are." he said, amusement seeping into his tone.
I rolled my eyes.
Soon, Shifty entered the theater, followed by Handy and Petunia, then Cuddles and Giggles. Shifty grumbled as he sat next to me, popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth. He looked irritated.
"What happened?" I whispered to Shifty.
"Giggles accidentally spilled all the food Cuddles bought. They had to get back in line."
"So why are Handy and Petunia so late?"
"...she spilled it on Handy."
I strained my neck a little to see past him in the aisle, and saw Petunia furiously wiping Handy's cheek with a napkin. Once the napkin was used up, she used an obscene amount of hand sanitizer from her purse, cleaning off her hands before she began the process again.
"P-petunia, that hurts"-
"You know what would hurt more? The bacteria in this disgusting theater food." she growled, replacing the napkin with a new one, continuing to rid him of any traces of food- if there were even any left.
I sighed, looking back at the giant screen, forcing myself to try to concentrate on the asinine punch lines that people found hilarious for some reason. But, I was hyperaware of the fact that Flippy was right next to me, his chin resting in his palm. I couldn't help but glance over after every few scenes.
"Hey Flaky?"
"...!" I jolted out my trance, looking up at him. "Y-yes?"
"Are you as bored as I am?" he asked.
"A-actually, yeah... I like horror movies better." I added with a quick shrug.
Flippy arched an eyebrow.
"Horror movies? Who would've guessed?"
I smiled lightly, about to speak again, when the actress' voice rang out from the speakers.
"Look out! My mother's cooking!"
I paused, running the scene over in my mind. Apparently the leads' mother was a horrible cook, and everything she made would spontaneously combust. It always was the cause of a random food-related death of an extra in the movie, completely irrelevant to the almost nonexistent plot. My eyes widened, and I quickly turned to Flippy, speaking hastily.
"Flippy, cover your ears."
He blinked in surprise, poised to respond to my request, but I interrupted him before he could think anything more of it. "Just do it!" I commanded, and surprisingly, he complied.
"Alright, alright. I don't see why I have to..."
I really hope you don't... I thought, watching him put his hands over his ears, and I quickly clamped a hand over his eyes. Then I glanced up, seeing the screen just in time for the kitchen to explode. The audience burst out laughing, applauding as the credits started to roll. I exhaled in relief, waiting a few moments before lowering my hand, turning back to him.
"That was close"-
I froze, coming face to face with Flippy in my haste to check on him. The tip of his nose barely grazed the surface of mine, and his lips parted as if he was about to say something- but no words escaped him. My face burned increasingly red by the second as I realized how deep a green his eyes were up close; almost a perfectly harmonious mixture of glistening emerald and jade. I struggled for words as well, finding that I couldn't bring myself to speak as we watched each other carefully.
"That movie was hilarious, right? Guys...? Guys!"
Giggles' shrill voice caught me off guard, and I practically fell into the aisle of the seats in my haste to put some difference between Flippy and I. I barely managed to avoid doing the most elegant face plant into the ground, grabbing onto the back of the seat and holding on for dear life. Giggles offered her arm to help me up, and I gladly accepted, although I tried to ignore how she was waggling her eyebrows.
"Did I interrupt something?" she asked in a sing-song voice, grinning over at us.
"N-no!" Flippy and I answered simultaneously, our voices both raising an octave.
Cuddles and Giggles exchanged a quick with each other. I tried to ignore that too, occupying myself with looking at my shoes while Flippy ran a hand through his hair.
"Sure, suuuure." Giggles said in a way that meant "This isn't over.", and she was definitely going to pester me about everything during the sleepover. I sincerely hoped she would forget what she saw. Eventually she skipped off with the group, continuing to chat with Cuddles and Handy. Petunia went with them, directing a look I was slowly getting used to back at me before she left, catching up with the group. Flippy and I remained in the aisle, awkward and silent. I snuck a glance up at him, noticing something small register on his face as he bit his lip and started to walk off.
It was then I realized how noticeable a color red was- even in the dark.
Flippy... BLUSHING? :O