The Obscure Downsides of Fame

66 // better depressed

I couldn't help but think something was wrong.

"The Descendant. The one with the kid whose parents died and his ghost still lingers around in the house."

"A horror movie in the middle of the woods?"

"Yes. Because maybe I'll get scared and cuddle up to you more," he said with a cheeky grin. "Or the other way around, you know?" Before he could go off on a tangent, I spoke again.

"I thought you said movies never scared you?"

"Which is exactly why we're watching it in the woods!" he said excitedly, his hands coming up to his chest in excitement, my hand still firmly pressed between his.

"Fine. Just don't piss your pants, okay? Maybe some homeless people can use these blankets and pillows," I said, thinking I've come up with a nice solution to that problem.

"Okay," he said with a nod. He sat down in his makeshift tent, which had all the pillows lined up on the stack of blankets inside of it, with six speakers surrounding it.

He really wanted us to die of heart attacks out here.

I sat down next to him, and he immediately wrapped his arms around me and started playing the movie.

•••

"Why are they going in the basement? They always go to the basement," he whispered, aggressively squeezing my hand. "Like, there's no windows. No one can hear you if you scream. You probably won't be found for a long time if you die..."

"Oakley, respectfully just shut up," I said with a smile, throwing a handful of popcorn at him. He laughed and leaned into me more.

The music picked up and got louder as the young woman who just moved in walked down the stairs. The banister creaked, and the music stopped, all we could hear was the woman's breathing.

I knew how it was on the other side of the screen, behind the camera. I'd been in a series of horror movies before. Yet the fact that we were in the middle of the woods definitely did make it seem a lot more eerie and real.

A figure ran across the background. The woman turned around, and the figure was gone. It was suspiciously quiet, and I knew a jump scare was coming, so I held onto Oakley's hand that was resting on his lap, while with the other hand, I was covering my eyes as I leaned into him. Well, we kind of leaned into each other. We were both big babies, apparently. With his free hand, he stroked my hair, making me relax slightly.

And then suddenly, the speakers popped and the light of the projector went out.

I looked around, and yep, it was pitch dark.

"What the fuck?" Oakley whispered. He let go of my hair go and pressed some keys on the keyboard of my laptop. The blue light of my laptop illuminated his face.

"This wasn't part of the date, was it?" I asked, still shaken up. My heart was beating so hard against my rib cage that I was afraid I'd bruise them.

He shook his head and got up, but I pulled him back.

"It's dark out there, Oakley. Did you bring a flashlight?"

"No," he said with a sigh. "I knew I forgot something."

"Where's your phone?"

"I left it inside to focus on you," he said sweetly, but I was kind of starting to panic since I already knew my phone was dead.

"There should be one in the box," I said, getting up and trying to find the thing in the darkness. Oakley didn't let go of my hand, which I was grateful for.