Page 37 of Level Up
“Oh, that’s really cool,” I say with a nod. I guess the costume-making thing explains some of Malcolm’s wardrobe.
“I’m hoping they just get hitched and move the hell out of there so I can have my room back,” Damien adds, shaking his head. “Right now, it’s full of Malcolm’s sewing stuff and I’m constantly tripping over everything. Plus, I am so tired of hispining.”
“He does seem kind of dramatic.”
“You have no idea,” he says wearily, but then we both laugh.
I’m surprised by how well the conversation flows from one topic to another, and even more surprised that we hardly talk aboutThe Stones of Ayorat all. I suppose we’ve done enough of that over the past couple of weeks that there isn’t really any need. Damien has a knack for going off on tangents that seem to hardly make sense, and I am more than happy to follow him.
“Wait-wait-wait—You have to see—” He holds up one finger while he fishes something out of the pocket of his black jeans.
I’ve noticed he has something of a uniform that he wears, every time I’ve seen him: slim, dark jeans; nerdy graphic tee; brightly coloured hoodie; and the grey and green plaid jacket that I smashed my face into outside the game store.
I suppose I’m not much more creative with my own fashion choices, given that I’m wearing my brown houndstooth pants for the third time in the past week, with whichever chunky sweater was at the top of the pile this morning. Today’s winner is a cropped, olive green pullover withextremely wide balloon sleeves that make my arms look wider than my legs.
So, yeah, Pal is definitely wrong about this being adate.
Across from me, Damien takes out his phone and starts tapping on it—I think he’s looking up something to show me—and that’s when I notice it.
“Hold up.” I reach over to pry his fingers off the back of his phone to get a better look at the sticker on his phone case. “Is that Toothless?”
He looks a bit embarrassed for a second, turning the phone over to glance at the sticker of the cute black dragon with big eyes. “Um. Yes,” he says, tucking the phone under his arm.
“I loveHow to Train Your Dragon,” I assure him. “That’s so cool.”
“Yeah, it’s uh… It’s sort of my favourite movie.” He smiles sheepishly. “Because I’m a twenty-seven-year-old adult man and that is perfectly reasonable.”
I laugh. “It is, though,” I say, and then lean forward over the table and lower my voice. “You can’t tell anyone, but my favourite movie isFrozen. So. Yeah.”
He nods slowly. “Cool… I’ve never seen that.”
My eyes widen and he looks slightly terrified. “Oh mygod.” I clasp my hands over my gaping mouth. “You have to watchFrozen. You can’t not. It’siconic.”
“Okay…” He still looks afraid, but he nods again. “I will. I promise.”
I stand up and stare him down. “Right now.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, you’re coming with me because this is a literal crime,” I tell him, picking up my scarf from the back of the armchair and wrapping it around my neck, covering half my face.
“Not literal?—”
“Literal.”
“Okay,” he says with a laugh, standing and throwing on his jacket as well. “I wouldn’t want to be sent to Disney prison.”
“Nobody would.”
I march out of the café and down the street towards Ink & Well, Damien trailing behind me. I stop at the side door of the house to get my keys out of my pocket while he catches up.
“You’re pretty intense about this movie, huh?” he says, hands in his pockets yet again.
“I used to watch it all the time with my friend Chelsea, back in university, but after she moved away and we lost touch, I’ve had no one to watch it with; Victory said once was enough for her,” I tell him before shoving the door with my shoulder to get it unstuck. “So, it’s good to have fresh blood.”
“Is this a movie or a ritualistic sacrifice?” he asks. I shrug.
He follows me up the stairs to my apartment, and it occurs to me that I haven’t properly cleaned the place in ages; it’s not exactly fit for company, but if it bothers him, he doesn’t say anything about it. He takes off his shoes and holds his jacket in his arms until I tell him to throw it on the chair by the door. I should probably get coat hooks.
