Chapter 27

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I made it to the movies and as I'm sitting in the parking lot trying to keep cool I get a text from Charlotte and it reads,

7:39pm
'Call me after the date w/ Asher & give me all the sweet deats!! And just btw, Kevin and I had an AMAZING time together at Trendy Treats!!! I'm literally sitting in my car right now as we talked for two hours!! IM SCREAMING!' -Lotte

I chuckled at Lotte's text, hoping to have same kind of night with Asher only at the movies and we're not talking, but cuddling.

7:42pm
'OMG YES! I promise! Totally sweating right now but I'll send you a pic of my date outfit today through Snapchat. It's ultra cute! BRB GF' -me

After I checked my make up in the mirror and I finally found the strength to get out my car, I get a message from Jake as I'm closing my car door and it reads,

7:47pm
"Good luck Kit-Kat, and remember my two bullet points;) Guy Pays for Ticket and Movie Displacement;)' -Jake

I chuckled and roll my eyes and as I'm walking up to the theater I text back,

7:47pm
"Shut up I know. I ACTUALLY pay attention when someone teaches me something new and hey! NO EMOJIS.' -me

Of course Jake answers back with,

7:58pm
'Don't forget to tell me how it goes;)' -Jake

I shake my head and put my phone away and as I do, I see Asher coming from the other direction.

"Hey, Dee!" He waves.

"Haha, Asher!" I smile. When we met we hug for a few seconds and I smile up at him. "How's it going?"

"Good, now that I'm with you," he winked. I busted out laughing by how he said it and how cheesy it was with a cocked eyebrow and I pulled his arm.

"Shut up and let's go," I laughed.

"What!?" He asked being hysterical. I rolled my eyes.

When we walked into the theater the lines were long, but moving quit fast and I instantly remembered Jake's first rule to a successful movie date....

The guy buys the tickets.

As we were standing together in line and I had my arms crossed as it was a little chilly in the theater, I decided to be a little ahead of Asher, and see the cashier first just to see if he would intervene. Hopefully he won't notice.

"So Dee, why don't you like scary movies?" Asher asked me as we started moving in the line. I took a small extra baby step so I could be a little ahead of him.

"It's not that I don't like them," I corrected him as I rolled my eyes to meet his. "I just don't like having the spirit of fear and growing up an only child always home alone, I really shouldn't dwell my mind with that stuff," I told him in and as if type of way. "Besides what's so fun about being scared anyways?" Asher chucked at me as we started moving up more. Only two more sets of people ahead of us.

"It's entertaining just like a comedy or a romance. It's suspenseful and keeps you wide awake rather than bored sleep with some chick flick," he commented. "About popular girls who want to ruin other girls lives, or the cute guy in the girls classroom." I gasped at him slapping his arm as I would Jake and he laugh rubbing it.

"Hey, Mean Girls is a great movie," I pointed at him. We were next in line.

"If I was teenage girl? I'd agree too," he grinned at me in a sexy way. "But I'm not." I huffed rolling my eyes again and laughed as I stepped up to the register and Asher behind me.

"Hello, welcome to Larkin Theaters, what would you like to see today?" The friendly clerk asked us. I didn't look back at Asher as much as I wanted to and I said,

"One for The Darkness," and as I was about to take out my $20 to pay, Asher gently grabs my shoulder and says,

"Babe, what are you doing?" I totally wanted to flip over like a fish out of water by the way he called me babe, but I turned around to him and said sighing a chuckle,

"Ummm paying for my ticket...?" He shook his head stepping in front of me.

"Now I don't know who your last boyfriend was Dawn Noel, but he sure didn't treat you right," he looked at me. He flipped his brown hair out his face and looked at the clerk and said,

"Two for the Darkness please," as he handed her his $20. I turned around a little so Asher couldn't see my face as I was mentally screaming at the top of my lungs totally dancing awkwardly.

'Asher Payne just called me babe!!? AND HE PAID FOR MY TICKET! I cannot wait to tell Jake!!' After I just realized the people behind me in line were looking at me funny AND I just thought of telling Jake FIRST and NOT Lotte, I calmed myself down and nervously chuckled as the cashier handed Asher the tickets and he handed me one.

"Thank y'all, and your movie should be showing to the left of the theater," she pointed where the lights showed The Darkness over two double doors.

"Thanks," Asher said looking down at it.

"Thank you!" I said to her too. She smiled and went on to the next people in line, and as Asher and I were walking forward in the lobby. He looked up from observing his ticket and we were both standing before the concessions.

"You know, movie theater popcorn is the best popcorn I know to mankind," he didn't look at me. I looked at him funny as he was so serious going on. "Like what makes it so perfect? Because it's in a movie theater or the popcorn is just amazing itself??" I laughed as we stood before a line and I grabbed his bicep.

"Hahaha! Both of course, but I want an ICEE," I pulled him along. "Let's get in a line." He slugged by the way I pushed him to a line with me and he agreed,

"Hahah, okay okay."

As we stood in line and Asher was looking at the credits of a movie, I was still stoked he bought me my ticket and I had to say something about it as our line was moving at a gradual pace.

"I'm kinda shocked you bought me my ticket," I finally said looking at it shaking my head. Asher looked down at me with a smile of ease.

"Well you shouldn't, cause I did," he tells me with his hands in front of him innocently. I roll my eyes at him and slap him playfully in the arm and he just laughs. "What? It is! Wait, don't tell me no guy ever paid for you to hang out with him?" He asked me sarcastically. By how I brushed it off with a shrug looking off the side, Asher straighten up and stared at me. "Wait...you can't be serious...right?" I shrug again, my lip to one side looking in front of me moving up in line and up at his almond brown eyes that looked almost dark orange as his hair.

"Nope....never," I tell him. He continues to look at me as I cross my arms.

"So you've never been on date?" he ask me concerned. I widen my eyes and for some reason my mind traces off to Jake and he did buy me all those clothes at which I'm wearing right now...and even though I didn't want him to buy my Taco Bell after I spilled my whole wallet contents onto the floor, he did...and both of those...he obviously didn't have to. So what do call those?

Besides, I couldn't tell Asher I never been on a REAL date, besides us at Taco Bell Tuesday! He'd think I'm a loser and probably question himself at WHY he's dating me! I can't ruin this now that I'm so close to being something I never was!

And that's a girlfriend.

"Whoa, there. I just said I never had a guy pay for me! I've been on some dates," I say to him like a little kid proving another kid wrong.

"Oh! I was honestly about to say Dee," Asher laughs holding his stomach. I'm looking at him as we're finally next in line. "How could a girl like you never have been on one single date?" I force a breath out mouth and brush him off stepping in front of him like he was crazy when honestly I wondered the same thing.

"Whatever, anyways," I pretend to look at the menu tapping my chin. "I think I want an ICEE," I tell the cashier. He smiles at me typing it into the register.

"Alright cool, what flavor?" I squint my eyes as there was only three. Coco Cola, Strawberry Fanta, and Big Blue. I nod pointing to,

"Coke." He nods and ask me what size I would like it, and before I could answer small, Asher steps in and says,

"Large." I look at him.

"Asher, what are you doing?" He shrugs, pulling a another twenty dollar bill out his pocket.

"What I should be doing, which is ordering that AND a large bag of popcorn," he looks at me and not the cashier. I blush and cashier laughs and he ask,

"Would you like butter on that sir?" Asher crosses his arm looking down at me, and I'm literally trying not to freak out, but I just hold my gasp at him, trying to be angry.

"Would you like butter on the popcorn Dee?" Asher ask me. I shake my head quickly and take the twenty off the counter and shove it back into chest.

"I don't want you paying for my food too, and I don't prefer butter on my popcorn," I tell him. "Do you know how many extra calories that is? I'm a cheerleader. I don't need that. I don't even need the ICEE." He nods and looks at the cashier and says,

"Yeah, exta butter please and hey, keep the change," he tells him with a grin. I gasp at him and Asher turns to me while leaning on the counter, his head resting on his left hand. "Is that all you want Dee?" I groan pretending to be fed up with Asher, but I can't help but laugh, secretly astonished.

"Omg, I cannot believe you," I tell him leaning into my right hip crossing my arms. Asher stands up as the cashier is fixing my ICEE.

"Why can't you? That's what friends do Dee," he tells me simply like Jake did when he bought me all those clothes, his tongue gliding against his perfect teeth.

"We are not friends," I tell him seriously. I widen my eyes I notice I'm talking to Asher Payne....NOT Jake Lander. How could I get them confused??

I gasped and I place my hand on Asher's arm and he laughs it off. "Omg Asher....I am so, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"Hahaha! Nah it's okay, but who did you think I was?" Before I could answer the guy hands me my ICEE and he returns to the giant popcorn machine to get our popcorn. I shamelessly get a straw from the dispenser and I quickly say,

"Jake." Asher tilts his head to me and cocks an eyebrow and says,

"Lander? The boy on the football team I saw you walking with it yesterday?" I nodded glancing at him and back at my drink, fidgeting with it. Asher smiles.

"Nah its really okay Dee," he tells me sincerely. "Honestly I wish I was him sometimes." I snap my head over to Asher so fast, I'm pretty sure I could've broken my neck.

"What," I don't even say in a question. Asher shrugs getting the large popcorn and I grab some napkins as were walking over to our theater.

"And I only say that because I see y'all together a lot. Before we started talking, I honestly thought y'all were a thing," Asher tells me looking at ahead eating some popcorn as I had my full attention to him. I laugh pathetically taking a sip of my ICEE as were getting closer to the door that said, 'The Darkness'.

"Oh no, Jake Lander and I are anything but," I inform him shaking my head. Asher looks down at me. "We've just known each other since forever now and it doesn't help he lives like a minute from my house, and our mom's are best friends." He nods as were before the door to our theater.

"Oooooh, well I guess everything makes sense. So y'all aren't a thing?" he wanted confirmation.

"Nope," I poke my lips to him. Asher opens the door for me to walk in ahead of him.

"Well, if y'all aren't best friends, why are you so close to Celeste?" he asked me. I stop walking instantly and Asher bumps into me and I turn around slowly with a face full of disgust and confusion.

"Hold on....." I swallowed bending my head to him making sure I heard him correctly. "Celeste Hollister??" Asher shrugged looking around and he said,

"Uhhhh..yeah-"

"Okay, okay....let me tell you THAT story, AFTER we find a seat," I tell him with my head in front of his chest, turning back around groaning. He sucked in his teeth.

"Oooo okay."

As we walk in, there are more people here than I thought, but a lot of seats were still open as it looked like a bunch of couples or small groups of four. Asher and I are standing there as eyes are on us and on the giant screen are credits playing.

"Where should we sit?" Asher asked me. Immediately I am thinking of the napkin from the mall Jake made and like I hear him perfectly talking about the last row in the back...the highest seats in the theater I look up to them.

'These are the highest you can go, which means perfect movie view, and of course you can lay on his shoulder totally relaxed and actually you can put your legs up on him IF his feet is on the chair in front of him. I only know that from Celeste, and Kit-Kat, boys like that leg wrap... No one is behind you to place their feet on the back of your chair...and that Kit-Kat, is where you should sit in the movie theater for a successful movie date...'

I forgot Asher was right beside me so I quickly point up to the seats in the back on the last row following Jake's rule and I tell him, "Up top." Asher grins.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

We started the walk up the lightly lit steps and I eventually situated myself in a seat in the middle of screen, three seats away from another couple. "Is this good?" I ask Asher as he's standing above me.

"Yes ma'am," he nods once and sits besides me.

The credits are still playing and there are few mummers of the people in the theater talking, so I decide to go on, and inform Asher about me and Celeste's relationship.

"Now, since you asked for it, let me tell you a little about Celeste and I," I turned to him fully. Asher grins at me, get a handful of popcorn and placing it in his mouth.

"I'm ready," he tells me. I chuckled.

"Okay well, just because Celeste and I are both on the cheer team, doesn't mean we're technically friends," I tell him. "If anything we're just acquaintances," I tell the truth. "Honestly, I can barely say that," I shake my head and look at the credits before the movie.

"How so? Y'all don't like each other?" he asked curiously. Although I wanted to rant how much I really didn't like Celeste, I didn't. Kevin and even Jake both told Charlotte and I before that guys could care less about what they call, 'girl drama' and it was huge turn off when they had to sit there and listen to girls talk bad about other girls they didn't like. So to make things short, sweet, and to the point, I just say,

"I mean, we do, but we're not buddy-buddy, you know?" I look at him taking a sip of my ICEE. "We don't hang out and definitely don't call each other BFF's. That's what I have Charlotte for," I smiled at him. Asher smiled at me and I shrugged, drinking my ICEE putting it in the cupholder. "Well I guess that's all you need to know about Celeste and I. We're "friends"...but...I would just say school friends," I nod in conclusion. Asher nods.

"Ahhh, I think I understand," he thinks about it. "So y'all are just associate at school?" I nod.

"Yes," I turn my head thinking about it. "We just associate at-" but right when I'm about to finish my sentence, I hear a distinct laugh of a girl I hated, and I see HER....

Her hands wrapped around a guy that wasn't Jake, him holding all their snacks and drinks they snuck in and I quickly slum down in my chair and Asher turns to see what I'm looking at.

"What is it?" He asked me trying to see.

"No!" I whispered yell, turning Asher's head to me and thankfully the screen goes black as it gets bigger for the movie to show and Celeste and that guy can't see us, as their walking up the steps.

"Dawn, what's wrong?" Asher touches my should which made me jump so bad I knocked my phone out my lap with a thump into the ground and it slid behind my seat and I gasp wide eyed and Asher smiles.

"It's okay Dee I'll get it," he forgets at what I'm looking at.

"Omg thanks Asher," I tell him quickly. But I wasn't wide eyed at my phone or even worried about it.

I did that because Celeste was with that boy, Andrew Broader, the same guy she's been talking about all week at school and I'm totally shocked...

'Oh..my..GAWD,' I say in my head totally unbelievable. 'CELESTE IS OFFICALLY CHEATING ON JAKE!!!'

"Here's your phone Dee," Asher hands me my phone as I'm still slummed down in my chair looking at Celeste, and when Celeste and Andrew sit down in the very middle of the theater, giggling and touching each other, I finally turn my attention to Asher.

"Oh, uh, thanks," I take it from him. "I'm glad I have this life-proof case," I chuckle nervously. "Or...um...my phone probably would've cracked," I tell him glancing at him and back down at Celeste and Andrew.

"Haha, probably." I'm still watching Celeste and Andrew and I honestly feel sick to my stomach.

This is total proof Celeste is cheating on Jake, and I knew Jake would be too stubborn to believe me, so I knew I had to take a picture for evidence, for whenever I decide tell him the heartbreaking news, but how was I going to? "Something wrong Dee-" Asher was about to say, but I cut him off quickly and I say,

"Wanna take a pic?" He tilts his head a little.

"Huh?"

"We should take a picture!" I'm more enthusiastic. "Charlotte told me to take a picture with you when we go on this...date," I finally admit. "I didn't want to, but she's my best friend, you know?" I ask him. He laughs and I'm glad he is. I glance down at Celeste and Andrew, cuddled up as he has his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Hahaha nah its cool." Asher and I get cheek to cheek to take the selfie on Snapchat, and since it was dark in the theater, you couldn't tell if the camera was on the outter screen or the selfie, and I purposely took a picture of the theater from where were sitting and when I bring it to me, Asher and I lean in to see if we got a good picture together but of course, I get a picture of all the people in the theater, including, Celeste's long thin blonde hair and Andrew's blonde slicked back.

"Hahaha! Uh, sorry. I accidentally had it on the outer camera," I tell Asher. "Let me switch it." He laughs.

"Good one Dee," he playfully pokes me in my arm. I giggle.

"Shut up!" I take the real picture of us with the flash on, and it was actually super cute of me actually smiling and Asher too, and when I snapped the pic I smile looking at it. "Hey, this is actually cute," I say to Asher. "I didn't know you were photogenic. Even in the dark." As I'm saving the picture and captioning it, 'With this Goofball,' and putting fully stickers all around it, Asher says to me,

"I should be saying that for you. I see your social media, you're always picture ready Dawn," he tells me. I chuckle.

"No way. Most of my pics are with Charlotte anyways and that's because sometimes she gives me fashion insights and make up tips," I tell him. "Charlotte always comes through. I don't know if I ever told you, but I'm an only child, so Charlotte is the only sister I really only have," I admit to Asher as the credits are still playing in the movie and I'm trying to ignore Celeste only being a few rows down from me.

"Lotte seems like a cool person," he thought about it. "I could see why you would call her a sister." I sharpen my look at him.

"Better hope she didn't here you say her name like that," I warmed him. "Lotte really hates it when people call her by her nickname if you're 'approved' to say it," I used my fingers as quotation marks. He smiled as if he knew something I didn't.

"Actually at the game yesterday she said I could," he told me with squinted eyes. I looked at him. "I guess she approves." I continued to look at him as he didn't look at me.

"What happen? What did you do? I mean, I never seen her like someone else as fast as she did you besides me," I placed my right hand on my chest. We both laughed at that one and Asher straighten up in his seat waiting a bit to answer.

"Well we were just talking and she said she needed help with something and I told her I would," he finally looked at me. I titled my head.

"Help with what?" But before I could answer the lights in the theater dimmed and he whispered,

"Just a project for one of her classes. It was assigned to her that day." I kind of thought of about it, but shrugged it off.

Usually Charlotte and I would ask each other for help if we needed anything, and for her to be asking Asher so suddenly was kind of strange and sort of blunt without informing it to me first, but who cared? That just meant she approved of Asher, and maybe the project was about me, but if so, Lotte would probably tell me later.

"Oh, okay," I finally sat back in the seat.

As the movie started I adjusted my self and while trying to forget Celeste is still in the same theater as me cheating on my fellow acquaintance, I might as well call "friend", I thought about the little things Jake told me when you find the perfect seat, one of them putting your legs up on your dates lap, but for caution I just placed them on the seat in front of me and thankfully no one was in that seat.

As the producers were showing on the screen, Asher moved his popcorn to me as if he was asking did I want some. I didn't like extra butter on my popcorn and I shook my head, but he shook it a little and I smiled shaking my head again, and he pressed the bag against my arm and I chuckled quietly pushing it away.

He then stared at me for a second with narrow eyes with a playful grin that I could depict in the dark and without warning, he grabbed a small handful and threw them at me, and I gasped getting the little bits off me and threw them back. Asher chuckled covering his mouth and I then went to him and shushed him exaggeratedly and he ended up doing the same and we both tried to control our laughter.

"I'm going to need you to be quiet sir," I whispered to him as the movie started with a house in the woods.

"No talking in a theater ma'am," he said right back. I gasped again and he laughed, and I knew right then, this night was going to be just fine, even with the one person I least suspected and actually hated a few rows below me here as well....

Everything was still going to be fine.

Everything was still going to be okay.

~