Page 34 of Pinkie Promise

Fallon watches our exchange with wide observant eyes and when she sees me looking down at her she gives me an almost ashamed looking smile.

“Thanks,” she says, her fingers agitatedly plaiting a tiny piece of her hair.

I pocket the tickets and get her walking by bumping my chest into her shoulder. “Don’t mention it,” I tell her, hoping she understands that I mean that literally. It’s only a cinema ticket – it barely merits a thank you, let alone that sad shimmery look that she’s got going on in her eyes.

When was the last time that someone took her out? When was the last time she was treated the way that she deserves?

I walk one step behind her as we take the stairs down to the smaller screening room, but my front thumps into her back as she pauses by the snack counter. I peer down at her over the top of her head and watch as she stares hungrily at a bag of candy cables.

“You want some of those?” I ask, and she scrubs at the button of her nose nervously.

“Uh, no, it’s fine,” she says, and then she starts moving again.

As if I’m not about to buy her the whole damn counter.

I hook my middle digit in the loop at the back of her jeans and grab five bags at random before pulling my card from my wallet.

“We’ll take these,” I say to the woman behind the till, at the same time as Fallon hisses at me, “What are you doing?”

I don’t know if she’s talking about the finger-in-her-belt-loop thing or the wanting-to-sugar-her-up-like-a-spoiled-princess thing so I ignore her question by shoving all of the candy into her arms. She cradles them against her chest and shoots me that surprised wide-eyed look again.

“Want a slushie?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Uh…”

I’m guessing that the red is strawberry and the green is apple or grape. I don’t have a fucking clue what the blue one is supposed to be and I don’t believe the woman behind the counter for a minute when, reading my mind, she gives me a bored look and drawls, “It’s raspberry.”

In what universe is the blue one goddamn raspberry?

I give Fallon’s loop a little tug to encourage her to pick, but this time she shakes her head, flushing a little.

“Not today,” she says, immediately looking mortified with herself.

“Why not?” I ask. “I’ll buy you whatever you want, Fallon.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that,” she amends. She glances between me, the slushie machine, and then back to me again. “It’s, uh…”

She looks really embarrassed. Why’s she looking so embarrassed for?

She drops her voice to a whisper and says, “I don’t want, um… they make your tongue change colour. I don’t want, like, a bright pink tongue.”

My eyes dip to her lips and suddenly my chest is pumping a little harder. There’s only one reason why she’d be thinking that deep about a slushie, right? Does she… does she expect me to make out with her in there?

Am I gonna spend the next two hours making out with her in there?

I can’t think of anything other than the now imminent prospect of making out with Fallon, so after pocketing my card I immediately start shoving her towards the cinema doors again.

“Sorry, that was, like, really forward,” she says, clutching the candy tighter as if she’s cringing real hard.

I shake my head and steer her into the back row where we finally drop down onto the red velvet seats. I turn to face her and she’s avoiding my eyes, pretending to be fascinated by her bags of candy.

“I didn’t bring you to the movies to make out with you for eighty minutes straight,” I tell her. Although, actually, if no-one else comes in through those doors then we will literally be the only people in for this showing. “I knew that you wanted to see this movie so I thought that maybe we could do it together. Nothing formal like dinner and roses before I know if you’re… interested in me like I’m interested in you, and nothing lame like asking you to meet me at a frat party.”

“I am, by the way,” she says quickly, still burning holes through the packaging of her Jelly Babies.

“…You are what?” I ask.

“Interested.” She takes a hasty swallow and wets her lips. “I’ve had a crappy month and, whether I like it or not, you’vekind of been there with me for all of it. But I’m hoping that things are gonna get better soon so… I don’t know, I’m probably pushing my luck with the Universe but I… um, I would like to… with you… if you’d want to.”

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