This chapter is Reader PoV
We both get out of Wallace's palace and rush into the street, trying not to be late.
Once there, Revenant takes off my wallet and forbids me to pay, saying that 'he already has enough debts toward me and can't afford more favors'.
We find a good spot to sit, not too far nor close from the screen, a bit out of the center, with nobody on the next two sits on each side. As expected, this movie is kind of 'niche' and would attract a bunch of fans but ain't getting full rooms, even on its release day.
As soon as the light goes off, Revenant takes his goggles off, revealing his orange gleaming optics. But no one will notice it as the movie starts and catches the public's attention.
We both get surprised at how good the movie turned out. They sticked to the book but took some creative choices that make the plot even deeper and kept the horror on the second layer to put up the ambiance without breaking the story. We call out some mistakes or weird acting here and there, but overall, the movie is very enjoyable.
Talking about creative choices, they took one on the creature's design, which caught us off guard. In the book, it's only described as a shadowy silhouette that makes a pulsating sound but in the movie, they gave it eyes. Orange glowing eyes...
We quietly laugh at the coincidence but when the girl in front of us stands up to use the bathrooms, she crosses Caleb's eyes in the dark and screams like a banshee as she runs out. We guffaw hysterically until security politely asks us to 'turn it off or leave'.
Revenant puts his goggles back to avoid another incident and we remain calm until the end.
After the credits, we get outside and wander in town, chattering about the movie and the poor girl we scared. Then, our conversation topics slowly focus on us and our lives :
"Now I am thinking about it. You work as a fashion designer for a luxury shop..."
"Yes."
"Your sis created a profitable clinic and your bro is a great hacker..."
"Yes..."
"And your father's a private detective with a lot of demand..."
"Yes?"
"Why are you living in such a small and lowly apartment when you could have gotten three villas in a wealthy district, eight fancy cars, two boats, one private jet, and your own island for vacation?!"
Damn, that's specific!
"I've... never considered all of those. You're right, I could have all of them if I wanted but I'm not comfortable with the wealthy lifestyle. We've started poor and humble in my family and I think it's part of our identity now."
"Are you implying that they also live like they have less than a hundred bucks on their account too?"
"Yeah, and my father is the worst in that case."
"But what are you doing with all that money you don't use?"
"Depends. We save a bit, give often to charity or we make pricy gifts for friends."
"But nothing for you?"
"Well, we don't live into luxury but we do buy things that cost a bit every once in a while, plus we never care about pricetags when doing grocery or shopping. We just buy what pleases us but it looks like we mostly seek humble stuff."
He lets a deep sigh of annoyance rasps through his voice box and says nothing more.
"What would you do with all that money?"
"Now that I'm a sim? Nothing unless it helps me killing or finding my source code."
"But what would you have done with it when you were still alive?"
"Oh oh girl, don't worry about it. You've seen my flat and know that I was already living as a king."
"Got a point. But the king got a sad ending. Of all the possible carriers, why hitman? Why choosing such a dangerous destiny?"
He snorts as he tries to restrain his laughter.
"Wanna know something funny?"
With a simple raised brow, I command him to share the fun:
"When I was about sixteen, I wanted to be a cop and fight for justice."
I couldn't help but laugh at this. If I didn't know him, I would have said that being a cop doesn't suit him. But now that I've seen more of his personality, now that he has opened up to me and showed the real Caleb, I do believe that he could have been a good cop if...
"What made you change your mind then?"
"Do you have the slightest idea of what living in Solace in the twenty-fifth century was? I learned life the hard way and got exposed to violence and corruption soon enough to know that being a loyal cop would be even worse than being a hatred hitman. I made the most logical choice."
Who could blame him?
"If life had been easier, would you have followed your dreams and worked for justice?"
He remains silent, hesitant for an answer:
"I don't know. That's one more mystery of my life."
Maybe I am transposing my feelings on him, but I'm pretty sure he is melancholic about his past choices and I stroke his back as a comforting gesture. He doesn't say a word and lets me do it.
We walk in silence for a couple of minutes, enjoying our little traipse with each other presence.
After a bit, a joyful music pierces through the street noises followed up by a bunch of yells and shrieks. The source of this hubbub is nothing more than a funfair full of kids, teens, and big kids with credit cards.
We should continue our walk but something grabs my attention. More precisely, it grabs my nose. A sweet and fluffy smell is slowly but surely drawing me into the crowd.
"Looks like you want to do a ride, don't you?"
I come back to my senses:
"It's not the rides that got my interest but a specific treat that I know well."
"Didn't know you got some sweet tooth, little skin suit. What's that treat that got in your mind?"
"Waffles. There is a waffle stand in there, I've never eaten better waffles."
He rolls his eyes and gets his wallet out:
"Let's buy you some waffles then."
I grab his hand so we don't split up in the mass and I hop into the funfair like a happy little girl. I am now part of the kids and I am fully assuming it.
Once I got my waffle with my favorite topping, we follow the lane and take a look at the different activities. My eyes stop on a specific shooting stand with the Apex games as a theme.
'Show off your skills and down the legends' or 'How much of a legend are you?' are one of the many catchphrases the owner wrote on every free space he could find.
The prices are, of course, all related to the Apex games. From the spitfire key chain to the Wattson plushies, they got them all. They even got Nessies with different legends traits.
I poke my friend with my elbow:
"Hey Caleb, with months of absence, you must be super rusty. I'm sure I can beat you to a shooting game."
He promptly turn around, facing me and pretending to be offended:
"Oh hell no. I'll show you how weak you are at this!"
And he is now part of the kids too.
Of course, I lose it. I never claimed that I would win against him, a trained hitman who tagged in the apex games for years. I just wanted to have some fun with him. But I did make some points, and for this feat I am proud.
While he is choosing his price, a man gets close to me. Way too close...
"Hey cutie, did you make yourself pretty just for me?"
Oh wow, that is one over-confident idiot and off all the girls down here he chooses me. I will keep it polite for now and hope he'll not insist.
"Hey. Thanks for the compliment but I am not interested."
I try to turn my back on him but he grabs me by the shoulder and forces me to face him and get closer.
"C'me on girl! You put on the dress and all, you did it only because you want a man in your life. That's ok, no shame. Just wanted you to know that I am that man."
Rarely met someone like him and wish I won't meet too much afterward.
"Listen, I told you I am NOT interested. Last warning before I..."
Someone catches me from behind and pulls me back while holding me by my side:
"Listen, jackass, she told you 'no' twice. If she needs to say it one more time, you gonna have a problem with me."
The young boy doesn't droop and tries to approach again:
"What you gonna do big boy? And who are you, her brother? Y'er little sis can choose by herself."
Revenant keeps holding me with one hand and uses the other one to grab the boy by his neck and raises him off the ground:
"She is with ME! You are bothering her and I won't accept it. Cut it off or I cut you off. Now shut up and walk away!"
He throws the boy on the floor and brings me back next to him, making sure that nobody could get near me again. The pick-up artist now understands that he has no chance against him and flees away.
Everybody is looking at us. I take his arm and begin to drag him out of the fairground:
"Did you get your price?"
"Yes."
"Good. We should leave now, we've drawn too much attention."
He agrees and we quickly get out of there, trying to reach for a less populated avenue.
Once out of sight, we stop for me to rest my feet. Walking with high heels for so long is hurting me.
"Thank you for helping me with that douchbag."
"Why thanking me for? I can't stand idiots like him who think they own women like they are their properties."
That's what I meant by 'He could have been a good cop'.
"I would also like to thank you for today. I've had a lot of fun and enjoyed being with you. I hope we can do this more. "
The light of his optics softens. He doesn't say a word for a few seconds, then hands me a small plush of him:
"Since you can't get enough of me, I thought that little buddy could help you wait until we meet again. "
"Aww, that's so sweet. Thank you."
I kiss him on the cheek, which made his cooling system rush a little.
"Let's go back to Wallace now. It's starting to be late."
"No, I'll go back to the motel alone. I'm escorting you to your apartment. Don't want you to be alone with a dude like this again."
He gently takes my arm and we slowly walk back home together.
