Author's Note: I have received so much positive feedback and encouraging reviews recently, and I want to thank everyone for that. It makes me so happy to know that other people enjoy what I write, and it definitely inspires me to continue. So thanks a billion.
Nepeta found movies riveting, she always had. During the first song of the movie, she was glued to the screen. She absentmindedly moved her hand back and forth between the bag of popcorn (which Gamzee had placed on the torn-up cushion between them) and her mouth, crunching on the buttery and salty treat. Once, she bumped hands with Gamzee as they reached for the popcorn at the same time, causing both of them to quickly pull their hands back and blush furiously. It was ridiculously cliché.
When the part came up with the monkey presenting the baby lion to the rest of the kingdom, Nepeta prodded Gamzee's thin arm repeatedly and pointed at the screen. "You looked like this when you were smashing the plates that one night," she giggled, and Gamzee chuckled heartily.
As Nepeta's least favorite part of the film approached rapidly, she cocooned herself deep within the blankets. The father lion was about to the trampled in the ravine! When the moment came, Nepeta squeaked and buried her face in Gamzee's chest. He patted her lightly on the head and wove his long fingers through her hair until the scene was over.
But right after that was a bit of comic relief, when the baby lion meets his new friends out in the savanna, and they sing a silly song. So Nepeta immediately became captivated again, engrossed by the animation, bright colors, and happy sounds. She forgot she was still leaning against Gamzee until the song was over and the baby lion was all grown up. She rocketed into a sitting position, thoroughly mortified, and sat frozen on the ripped cushion, spine stiff. Gamzee laughed and scratched his head nervously.
The rest of the movie passed uneventfully for the pair huddled on the sofa. Neither of them noticed when the popcorn ran out, they were so immersed in the story playing out on the screen. But near the end, there was another scary part that Nepeta hated. The lion had just found his matesprit, and they were returning to his kingdom. But the land had become dark and shadowy under the rule of the evil lion.
Nepeta instinctively searched for Gamzee's hand under the blankets, but when she found it, it was cold and rigid. Looking up, Nepeta found his face had frozen with an unnatural look on it. She patted his hand lightly, but he was unresponsive.
"Gamzee, are you okay?" she whispered, and he snapped out of it, looking at her with wide black pupils ringed with orange.
"Yeah, I'm motherfucking fine," he said a bit shakily. "It's just this movie is motherfucking potent for a human kid's animation." His hand finally warmed up to hers, but his fingers tightened around her palm.
"Gamzee, is something wrong?" Nepeta asked, worried for her friend. Something was definitely up. She watched as the television cast different colors of light on the clown's face. Yellow, like he was sick. Blue, like he was mournful. Red, reflecting off of his white face paint with an eerie glow.
"Nepeta!" Gamzee said suddenly, grasping her hand in both of his. His eyes were wild, and staring at something over her head that she couldn't seem to see.
"I'm here, Gamzee, I'm here," she responded, frightened. What was going on?
The clown troll wrenched his gaze from the wall behind her and made direct eye contact. Nepeta couldn't help but flinching a bit at the intensity in his look.
"Nepeta," he said finally, his voice a whimper, like that of a wriggler. "Nepeta, I'm scared." Nepeta stroked his hand with her fingertips as he continued. "Nepeta. Nepeta. Nepeta." He said her name over and over, like a drowning man searching for a lifeboat. "The sopor. The sopor is running out."
"You told me that before, Gamzee," she assured him. "What's wrong with that?"
"I don't…" Gamzee stammered. "I don't know what I'll be without it." Nepeta blinked at her friend, trying to clear the tears that were forming in her eyes. He was so childlike and terrified. She didn't know what to do.
"You'll still be you," Nepeta said finally, and found that she believed it. "You'll still be you, it's okay, Gamzee. Not having sopor won't change you. I promise." The light in Gamzee's eyes changed, and his gaze softened. His hands loosened around hers, no longer a grip like death. He shook his head, as if to clear a meddlesome thought from his mind.
"Sorry, I don't know what just motherfucking happened. I was really scared for a minute there. I'm motherfucking sorry." He looked at her, smile now warm and comforting, and she felt her heart beat a little faster under her borrowed t-shirt. "Thank you, Nepeta."
"No problem, Gamzee," Nepeta blushed, and they both turned back to the movie, which had now transformed into a comical battle scene, with the lion and his friends bashing hyenas absurdly over the head.
Nepeta became absorbed in the action of the film once more, but some part of her brain was acutely aware that they were still touching, his large hand enveloping hers under the blankets.