Anna finished brushing her long, raven hair and put on her favorite green shirt. She was going out tonight, but not to hunt. No, this time she was going out for fun. She put on her coat and checked herself in the mirror one last time. Even she had to admit, she looked pretty nice.
After making sure she had enough money on her, Anna sat down on the couch to wait. Luke had agreed to pick her up at 6:00, and it was now, according to Anna’s watch, 6:02.
By 6:18, Anna started getting anxious; she was starting to wonder if she’d made a mistake – if she’d gotten the time wrong, or maybe even the date. When the doorbell finally rang, Anna hurried off the couch to answer it.
Even though she knew who’d be on the other side, she looked through the peephole anyway. Just as she’d expected, Luke was standing there. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and he was bouncing on his toes anxiously. Anna quickly grabbed her keys and swung the door open.
“Hi.” Luke said as soon as he saw her. “Sorry we’re late. I would have called you, but…” he trailed off, looking vaguely apologetic.
“It’s ok.” Anna told him. Then she added, “I’m sorry I don’t have a phone…maybe I really should get one.” The two started down the hall towards the elevator.
They waited for the elevator in silence, Anna’s mind racing desperately for something to say. She never had been good at making conversation, even when she wasn’t woefully out of practice. Fortunately, the elevator came almost immediately for once and quickly sped them to the ground floor. Once outside, Luke only spent a minute looking around.
“Over there.” he said, pointing across the parking lot to a car idling in the center of the isle. “Come on – we better hurry.”
They strode quickly across the parking lot. As they approached the car, Anna could see that Conner was sitting in the front seat while Zev was lounging in the back. Anna recognized the driver as one of the players from the football game she’d been forced to attend. Luke walked straight up to the passenger’s seat where Conner was sitting happily and opened the door.
“Out.” he said simply, looking down at the small, fair-haired boy.
“But – I’m already here, see? I’ve got my seatbelt on and everything.” Conner replied, tugging at it in demonstration. Luke, however, was unmoved.
“Out.” he repeated, this time with more force. Dejectedly, Conner unbuckled his seatbelt and slid out of the car.
As Conner climbed into the back seat next to Zev, Luke opened the door wider and looked at Anna, who’d simply stood there, watching the scene. Luke smiled at her as he gestured that she should sit.
“What about Conner?” she asked, feeling guilty at the prospect of taking someone else’s spot. Out of the corner of her eye, Anna could see Conner sitting up straighter, hopeful that he might get his way after all. But Collin leaned over the passenger seat to talk to her.
“He knows he doesn’t get the front seat.” he told her. “It’s reserved. Ladies first.”
“Oh,” Anna replied. “Alright then.”
This was logic Anna understood perfectly; she’d been raised with this idea. It was only recently she found out not everyone thought this way. So without further ado, she got into the car.
Luke got quickly into the back seat, forcing Conner into the middle. As soon as Luke’s door was shut, Collin took off. “We’re gonna be late.” he mumbled to himself.
Conner, however, had more immediate concerns on his mind. “I was already sitting there…why can’t I ever have the front seat?”
“That’s not the way it works, and you know it,” Collin said over his shoulder, a trace of annoyance in his voice. “Even if there weren’t a lady in the car, you still wouldn’t get the front seat – Luke would.”
“The only time you’ll ever get the front seat is when it’s just you and Collin!” Zev interjected, grinning rather wolfishly. Conner grumbled a bit, but didn’t say anything more. Clearly, it was something he already knew.
The rest of the trip was filled with the usual chatter Anna had come to expect from students at school – homework, football, plans for the rest of the weekend. It was nice to hear them talk – and to be part of it. And it made the ride so short, Anna barely noticed when they turned into the parking lot. Anna and Collin each got out of the car quickly, and Anna turned around to watch the three boys in the back tumble out.
“Hurry up, guys! The movie starts in five minutes!” Collin called out over his shoulder, already heading towards the theater. Anna turned and hurried after him, glancing at her watch. Behind her, she could hear the three boys yelling at each other as they ran to catch up.
As they approached the theater, Anna spotted Mina and Carmine waiting by the ticket booth, looking anxious. Mina spotted them first, and waved as they approached.
“We didn’t think you guys were going to come! We were getting ready to go inside.”
“We already bought our tickets.” Carmine said as the five latecomers quickly formed a line and began purchasing tickets of their own.
“What took you so long?” Mina asked. Anna apologized, even though it wasn’t her fault.
“We were running a little behind.” she told them by way of explanation. Mina just nodded vaguely.
“Come on!” Luke said urgently, ushering everyone through the door Zev was already holding open.
They jogged down the long hall to the theater – the last one, of course – and quickly passed through the now closed wooden doors.
Inside it was already dark, the only light coming from a preview showing loudly on the screen. Slowly, the group made their way towards the seats. Anna didn’t need to wait for her eyes to adjust to the darkness – one of the advantages of being a vampire. Instead, what slowed her down was the sheer number of people in the audience.
Anna scanned the crowd, trying to find any place where the seven of them could sit together. But the best she could come up with was a group of four seats in the front corner.
Anna was about to suggest they split up when Luke gently took her hand. She felt butterflies rising up in her stomach, and she was glad that the darkness hid the trace of red she was sure was on her cheeks.
“Up here.” Luke whispered to her. Zev and Conner were already making their way up the steps towards the top of the theater. Anna allowed herself to be guided up the stairs to a group of seats that had somehow eluded her three rows from the very back.
As they approached the row with the empty seats, Luke whispered to Anna, “There’s a group of seats here sort of close to the middle. But watch out – there’s like nine seats with people in them.”
Anna smiled quietly to herself. She’d been about to point out that there were only eight people seated, but thought better of it. Luke was obviously trying to be helpful, guiding her in a darkness he had no way of knowing she could easily see through. And it had been such a long time since Anna had been the benefactor of such chivalry. How could she point out to him that she could see better than he could possibly imagine?
Instead, she whispered a thank you and followed him nimbly down the aisle. As they inched past the people already seated at the edge of the row, Anna glanced back over her shoulder to see Mina subtly guiding Carmine up the last of the steps and pointing out the seats that Luke had spotted. Once seated, with Luke on her right and Carmine on her left, Anna settled down to watch the first action movie she’d ever seen.
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