Basorexia - J.MAGUIRE

[2.26] movies

Ciara had a yell filled argument with her Mammy about the fact that she wasn't allowed to go on the 'friends across the border' trip as everyone else was. For health reasons was her excuse but Ciara knew it was because she would not know what she was up to. Or whether she was eating or over exercising - not that she knew that now anyway.

So she had been alone for the few days that the others were away and was rather glad to receive a phone call from James, a mere hour and fifteen minutes after they had been due to get home. "The rest are out, do you want to come over? I don't like the house when I'm alone," he asked at a much lower volume than before, after they had been through the usual catch up chatter. .

"Aye, I'll be there in a bit," Ciara responded with a soft smile as she spun the wire of the phone between her fingers. Once the phone had been hung up, following another brief conversation, Ciara took a beeline to the coat rack and put on her boots. "Mammy! I'm going to see James!" she yelled into the silence of the house.

"Okay!" her Mammy yelled back from the living room, even though the idea of Chip actually leaving the house made her immensely nervous. Chip shrugged on her coat and draped a scarf she made herself from a soft dark green and white yarn over her shoulders.

-

Ciara stood awkwardly in their kitchen, James leaving against one of the counters. She did not know why there was such clear awkwardness between them, perhaps it was to do with the fact that this was the longest they had ever gone without seeing each other. When in reality it was simply because James did not quite know how to act around her, given all that had happened. Did he pretend everything was as it usually was or something entirely different? He wanted her to strike up the conversation/ thing that they were going to do to pass the time, then he would know which direction it was headed.

"Should we watch a movie?" Chip suggested, knowing it was something that they could do that would not require much talking if everything retained to be this awkward. She was sure it wouldn't, that they just needed to warm up to each other again. "Chelle says her Mammy has a grand collection of tapes." Ciara followed as James instantly walked over to the living room. She cocked a queried brow as he stopped in front of a large dark wood cabinet. Her eyes widened and jaw slackened just slightly as he opened the cupboard doors, making near hundreds of various labelled tapes visible. "Holy shit," she muttered, quickly glancing over the various titles all arranged in no order whatsoever.

He fought the urge to laugh at her blatant astonishment, managing to hide the chuckle that did escape with the clearing of his throat. "Anything you want to watch in particular?"

She stepped forward, remaining silent as she took a clearer look at the shelves and actually read all of the titles before her. Well skim read until she finally shrugged. "No, you pick, I'll go make popcorn," she smiled softly, noticing how the tension in his shoulders loosened when she gave him the choice. Ciara then drifted off to the kitchen, knowing the exact cupboard everything she needed would be kept in from grabbing Michelle snacks.

-

"Okay," Chip sighed softly as she sat down next to James on the sofa, propping the filled bowl between them. He unpaused the tape as she tucked her legs up, sitting cross legged. "What is it?" she asked while playing with the very end of her new incredibly soft and comfy socks, watching as James pulled the curtains closed.

"I promise you'll love it," he responded, greatly struggling to hide his grin as he sat back down.

"Promise eh? That's an assumption to make," she chuckled under her breath, mind focused on the screen in front of them both. They watched silently as the title scene appeared, causing Ciara to question, "Doctor Who?"

"Have you seen it before?" James asked quickly, as if the thought had been one of the things swirling his oddly anxious mind. He just could not settle today and hated how it affected the usual comfortableness between them all.

"No. What's it about?"

James simply smiled, sinking into a silence that had her greatly vexated.

She sighed, laughing softly, "Ach come on J!"

"Watch and find out," he laughed, pointing to the screen because she was missing the titles as her focus was directed to him instead. Chip frowned jokingly then did so, hands still in her lap as the television took up all her attention. The second the program began, it was no longer awkward and tense between them. Ciara would ask questions, which James would not answer, then they would both laugh at his refusal and her persistence.

After about ten minutes, Chip sighed contently and reached for a handful of popcorn. James watched out of the corner of his eye as she popped one into her mouth, letting the caramel taste fizzle on her tongue. He decided then and there to put off his plans of asking about what was going on, or verbalising his suspicions. It wasn't the time for that now, he would choose to bring it up when it truly felt right. The one thing he really did not want to do was ruin their friendship.

As the credits rolled, Ciara's vision remained fixated on the screen. Bafflement filled her eyes, intrigue taking over her expression. "Next episode?" James asked with a soft laugh, one that Ciara instantly felt rumble in her stomach.

She turned, smile already formed on her lips, "There's more?"

James fought the urge to laugh again and instead responded somewhat calmly, "Like tons more."

"Go for it," she nodded. While he stood up to change over the tape, Ciara pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and draped it over her legs, adding extra on his side just incase he was as cold as she was. Which was unlikely but she wanted the option to be there just incase. As the popcorn bowl had been finished and placed on the floor ages ago, there was enough room for the both of them to fit underneath the blanket without having to move too much closer.

By the end of four episodes, they were both underneath the blanket and just a little too close together.

After returning home with a newfound peace within her mind, Ciara snuck out to the garden with her jacket in hand. She had made sure Mammy was asleep first and even knowing that, she constantly lanced up to her bedroom window in fear that she would suddenly wake and find her. She opened one pocket of her jacket and poured out the contents, the popcorn bright against the rest of the compost. She covered the kernels and her guilt with a thick layer of leaves before heading inside, off to pretend that it never happened.