Ten of Me ✓

Five

Even though my stomach was bursting, I popped another piece of popcorn into my mouth a chewed, letting the butter and grease distract me from Noah and Kayla. A painful kernel got stuck in my tooth and I took a sip of soda to try and free it.

Noah had taken Kayla's hand and they were heading out of the theatre--she was leaning against his arm and staring up at him in a show of adoration more disgusting than the buttery crap I was eating. I took another large sip of my drink and watched as they headed out into the lobby, laughing.

As the last few people filtered out of the theatre, I stood and began heading down the steps, feeling dizzy. I wasn't sure whether I could attribute this to the amount I'd eaten, the show of affection I'd just witnessed, or the amount of blood and gore in the movie that had just ended, but any way, I felt awful. Tossing my food and drink into the trash can, I stepped out into the blindingly bright lobby, where I was immediately confronted by none other than Kayla herself.

I immediately expected her to start ranting about me following her, but instead, she met me with an enormous grin. "Hey, Carmen!" she exclaimed, still grasping Noah's hand. "I didn't even see you in the theatre! Coincidence, huh? Did you enjoy the movie?"

I tried to remember the few snippets of the film that I'd actually watched. "Oh yeah," I lied. "It was great. The fighting scenes were really...intense."

"Oh, you like that kind of thing?" Kayla had pulled Noah towards her and he was now studying me with furrowed eyebrows--I wasn't sure if he was trying to figure out if he knew me from somewhere or if he was still just a little dazed from the movie.

"I hate violence in movies, personally," Kayla rattled on. "It's sort of unnecessary, don't you think?"

I smiled obligingly.

"Kernel," said Kayla, gesturing towards her mouth.

"Sorry?" I asked.

Kayla laughed a little. "You've got a kernel stuck between your teeth. So, you went by yourself? Or do you have someone with you?"

At that moment I almost started a random coughing attack to draw attention away from the question, but then I saw the way Noah was still analyzing me, so I said carelessly, "By myself. My boyfriend and I just broke up and he was going to take me, but I still wanted to see the movie."

Noah was suddenly fascinated with the floor, and I let my small victory encourage me. So the guy was capable of guilt, even if he was completely unwilling to act upon it.

"That's awesome," said Kayla. "Not that you broke up, I mean, but you know. That you're not sitting around your house moping or anything."

I shrugged and hitched my messenger bag higher on my shoulder, then made a point of staring down at my combat boots. Noah had recovered from his brief moment of good character, and I could feel my confidence level shrinking. Suddenly, Carmen seemed very much like Nicole.

"Here." Kayla had taken out her phone and unlocked it, then shoved it at me. "Put in your number. We should definitely hang out sometime."

I obediently put in my number, hoping that Noah didn't have mine memorized and was watching to see that Carmen's number was identical to Nicole Thorn's. Perhaps I should have put in a fake number, but I was actually starting to like Kayla, and I wasn't letting him hold me back from getting to know her better. Quickly, I sent a text to myself. "Now I have your number," I said. "We definitely should chill sometime."

Kayla nodded, but her hand had already slipped back into Noah's and in that second, she morphed from potential friend to enemy all over again. Before I knew it, my guard had slipped back up. "I'd better go," I said, not meeting either of their eyes as I pushed my hair back over my shoulder. I brushed past them and locked eyes with Noah just as I was about to leave the theatre, and I could have sworn his light brown eyes widened in what could almost have been recognition. But then his brow furrowed again and he'd bent his head to smile at Kayla, and I was left wondering if I'd imagined it.