We’re at the theater and Matt keeps his gaze low. Neither of us really say anything until we get to the counter where I pay for my own ticket and a drink. Matt insists he gets the popcorn since it was his idea. I let him slide on that, however, as we’re standing there I look to the man behind the counter and ask, “May we have separate bags? Like half in one and half in the other.”

That earns me an incredulous look. Matt is probably doing the same, but says nothing when the guy agrees and gives us our popcorn as requested. I smile nervously when he hands me mine then scurry away.

Sorry, but all I can think about is every cheesy romance movie ever made where we reach into our shared popcorn bowl and hold hands so, yeah, I want separate bags for the popcorn. There will be no accidental hand holding!

The theater isn’t crowded so we find our seats easily. Matt sits on my right and we’re early enough that the trailers haven’t even started yet. There’s just those weird and boring questionnaires about movies, but maybe they aren’t so weird or boring because Matt knows the answers to them.

“It’s C,” he says, pointing to the answer ‘Betelgeuse’ on screen asking what character Michael Keaton played in Beetlejuice. I’m about to comment about the movie being called Beetlejuice when it pops up that he was right. He smirks at me.

“I thought the movie was Beetlejuice?” I ask, scrunching my nose up in confusion.

“It is, but the character is Betelgeuse. He’s named after a star.”

“Then why is the movie called Beetlejuice?”

“Because the studio didn’t like the proper spelling, but Tim Burton hated their options so they went with how his name was described in the movie since it’s funny and appeals to a younger audience.”

“You know some really odd movie facts.”

Matt shrugs, but now I’m curious. What other unusual movie facts does Matt know? So I lean over and say, “Tell me another.”

“Another what?”

“Movie trivia.”

Matt snorts. “Why?”

“Why not?”

Matt hums for a moment then says, “In the original Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis just wore her own clothes. They didn’t have enough money to afford having on set costumes, and the leaves you see blowing around? They’d just rake them up after a take and keep them in a bag to use again later.”

My jaw drops. Matt shows off a toothy smile; seemingly very pleased with his movie trivia. I immediately smile back when he starts to share more until the trailers start. But honestly, I wouldn’t mind sitting around talking about movies with Matt for hours. He really does enjoy them. I understand why he’s into acting now, although I can see him being a producer or a director at some point as well.

The movie begins and only ten minutes in, catastrophe happens.

I reach for my drink when a hand suddenly grabs mine. I find Matt’s hand atop mine and when we look up, our eyes meet. My cheeks are so hot I’m surprised the theater isn’t set ablaze. Matt only blinks rapidly in confusion.

But I even made us get different popcorn bags so this wouldn’t happen, what the hell?!

“Uh, sorry,” Matt whispers, quickly pulling away. “I’m left handed so it’s kinda natural for me.”

“I-It’s fine.”

No. No it’s not fine. Nothing is fine, Dana, because your heart is about to explode. I’m surprised I’m not already dead. Is it really hot in here? Because it feels really hot, and no matter how much I drink it doesn’t cool me down or quench my thirst. Oh no, no, no, this is not good. Not good at all. Why the hell did I agree to skip? Why?!

I barely pay any attention to the movie. It’s over in the blink of an eye and I’m left wondering what the hell we just watched. Matt, on the other hand, stands when the credits roll on. I rush to follow him out of the theater, hoping that he won’t really want to discuss—

“Did you like it?”

“Huh?” I ask.

“The movie.”

Shit, I barely paid attention to it and Matt is waiting so patiently for an answer. I smile nervously and nod, “Yeah...did you? You saw it already, right?”

“Yeah. Not my favorite, typical storyline and character development, but overall an ok movie.”

“Wow, what a critic.”

Matt snickers when he shrugs. “Want to walk around a bit?” He checks his phone. “It’s almost noon, or we can grab something to eat now?”

“I’m ok with walking around. We just had all that popcorn.”

Matt nods and so our silent walk begins. I’m not sure what to say. I don’t talk a lot naturally and Matt, well, I think he’s even worse than me. I wouldn’t call our quiet walk uncomfortable though. It’s kind of nice actually, just heading to different shops and seeing Matt pick out a shirt or pair of jeans he likes, learning what he likes by doing so, and I guess the same goes for me. It’s getting to know someone without asking questions, just by watching them interact with what’s around them.

But it seems we’ve spent too much time here because, suddenly, Matt stops. I glance back at him, ready to ask what’s wrong when he lowers the bill of his hat even more. A group of girls sneak into the shop with their phones out, looking all about until easily spotting Matt. I can guess without hearing that they spotted Matt and at least suspect who he is, but none have walked over yet.

“We should go,” says Matt with a heavy sigh.

“Guess it is a good time to grab something to eat, huh?”

Matt gently presses his hand against my back. I bite the inside of my cheek as we power walk our way out of the store. Sure enough, the girls follow, but their group gets a bit bigger when more people get involved. Matt groans then grabs my hand and runs without question.

I nearly fall flat on my face due to the sudden pace, but Matt’s tight hold on my hand keeps me up. It’s then, as we’re running, that I not only feel but also notice Matt holding my hand.

Holy shit, he’s holding my hand.

Sure, we’re running right now, but he’s holding my hand while running. I’m holding hands with Matthew Jeneviere, someone send help. Panic!

Except I can’t really panic, at least not about the hand holding right now. We’re rushing through the crowd, hearing those behind us trying to keep up, but Matt speeds down a hall then onto the escalator. He brushes by people with ease, apologizing each time as he does. I would laugh if I wasn’t actually terrified of the mob catching up and the fact that we are still holding hands. I say we, but really Matt is holding onto me and I’m just tagging along because, fuck, what the hell is going on?!

Then we’re running out the front door to his car. By the time the car is started, there are people standing outside the mall doors searching for him, but Matt is pulling out of the lot and heading onto the road before anyone even notices his car.

It happened so fast that it isn’t until we’re on the road that I can panic about the hand holding. Although he let go once we were in the car, I can’t help but notice how warm my hand feels or how fast my heart is racing. I could easily pass that off as a result of the running, but I know it’s a bit of both.

Crap. Keep it together, Dana. There’s no point getting worked up about some hand holding, who cares?!

Apparently me, because my cheeks are warm. My heart won’t calm down and my hands are shaking a bit in my lap. My cheeks start to hurt when I feel myself holding back a smile, which doesn’t work. I end up smiling, probably like a lunatic.

“Sorry about that,” Matt mumbles apologetically.

“It’s ok.”

I start to laugh, which has Matt glancing at me from the corner of his eye. That’s fine, I’m confused as to why I’m laughing too, but I can’t seem to stop. I laugh so hard my eyes water. Ok, maybe running from a mob wasn’t too bad, it was kind of funny. This whole situation is pretty funny actually, in a sort of panicked kind of way. I never thought I’d find myself being dragged off by a movie star to avoid their rabid fans.

“It’s like we were in a movie,” I say around my laughter, watching Matt for his reaction. “Running from a mob of fans, don’t you think?”

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad? If we were caught and I was trampled to death then I’d be mad, but that back there was a little fun.” I pinch my fingers together. “Only a little though.”

“Only a little?” Matt snorts. “Then why are you still laughing about it?”

“I’m delirious from nearly dying?”

Matt joins in on my laughter, smiling brightly, which doesn’t help the heart racing, but there’s not much I can do about that right now. We’re on our way to get something to eat when I ask, “Does that happen a lot?”

“What?”

“Being chased.”

Matt shrugs. “More so recently. After I took a break, it was pretty quiet since no one expected to see me. Now it feels like everyone is specifically looking for me.”

That makes sense, especially with the article coming out. I frown at the memory.

“Do you normally go out on your own? To see movies and stuff?”

“Most of the time,” Matt answers. “Sometimes I take my sisters, if they aren’t annoying me.”

I snicker. “That must be an older sibling thing. My sister says that about me.”

“It is an older sibling thing. We’re the ones always being chased after.” Matt shakes his head, but he’s smiling softly so it’s obvious he doesn’t actually mind.

“That just means you’re loved.”

“Or they’re evil demons that just want to annoy me.”

“I’m sure they love hanging out with their older brother. I love spending time with my sister, even if I do my best to annoy her.”

“If being annoyed is an older sibling thing then I guess being annoying is a little sibling thing.”

I nod eagerly, smiling at the eye roll Matt gives when I answer, “Absolutely.”

We reach a restaurant not long afterwards and make sure to take a booth in the corner as to not be seen. Well, Matt is the one that can’t be seen. Sitting together eating is a lot easier than I suspected, although considering how easily we’ve been talking this whole day that should be expected by this point. We may not be as animated as others and sometimes our conversations die off, but it never leads to an awkward or unsettling feeling.

Matt smiles and laughs easier now, it seems. I can’t deny that I really like that he does. It’s the eye smile, I swear, it’s deadly. But that’s the point of today, isn’t it? For Matt to feel better about all the gossip and the article, which I make sure to never bring up. It’s not any of my business anyways. Rumors and gossip should always be taken with a grain of salt, especially when it comes to those in the spotlight. There’s always those that just want to tear them down for the sake of being a jerk.

So when our day comes to an end, we’ve seen a movie, spent some time together, and went out to eat, Matt drives me back to the dorms. It takes us longer to get there than it did to leave, but I’m not complaining. Much like the last time he dropped me off, Matt pulls up to the dorms and waits for me to step out. I hesitate outside the door, peering in at his soft smile.

“Thanks for inviting me today,” I say, wondering if I sound like an idiot for doing so.

“I should be the one thanking you for coming. I wasn’t sure you’d say yes.”

“Well...I’m glad I did.”

“Me too. We should do it again sometime, soon.”

“Maybe without being chased though?”

“Yeah, definitely without that.” Matt chuckles.

I don’t know what else to say. I guess I’m not meant to. He’s dropping me off so I should go, but there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to. I don’t know how long I stand there looking like a complete idiot, but Matt never says anything about it. He just smiles until I finally come to my senses.

“S-See you later then.” I wave, slowly shutting the door.

“See you later.”

Then I’m rushing to my room, only turning back once to see Matt waiting there. I don’t hear his car leave until I’m out of view and once I’m out of view I slip onto one of the benches. My legs are shaking and my heart’s still racing like crazy. It has been almost all day.

Crap. This is not good. Not good at all.