Will's POV
The room was dark when he peered in, the hazy glow of one of the school laptops illuminating a boy's pale face, dark eyes scanning the screen with eyes open wide. He knocked lightly on the doorframe and the boy gave a jump, gently lowering the screen of his laptop and staring at Will with wide eyes. "Is this film club?" Will asked, scratching the back of his head and giving the boy a small smile. "The posters said to come here."
"Oh, yeah, it is," the boy said, standing up and popping out his knees. "Sorry, I didn't think anyone would show up. No one has in the past, it's just my excuse to get school-funded snacks and watch movies all afternoon in an empty classroom. But I'm excited that you're here. It can get kind of lonely in here sometimes."
"I just moved here this year," Will explained, letting his backpack slide off of his shoulder, hitting the tiled floor with a thump. "Trust me, I would have joined this club a long time ago."
"Well, we're glad to have you," Nico said, flopping down onto a beanbag chair slumped over on the paisley printed rug. "Me and my beanbag chair. I'm president, and the beanbag chair is the treasurer. You can be the vice president if you want, though. Or the secretary, or you don't have to be anything. We're not picky."
"I'll gladly accept the title of vice president," Will said, sitting cross legged on the rug. There wasn't a second beanbag chair but the rug was soft, fuzz rising up and protecting his legs from the thick air of late September settling over the school like a wet blanket. "So, what are we watching first? A deep movie with a meaningful message, an obscure movie from the 80s, a black and white silent from the 30s?"
"Lilo and Stitch. We don't have actual disks or anything like that, but the school lets me log into my Netflix subscription, so we get to use our money on other things. Like snacks. And beanbags." He slapped his beanbag and the stuffing inside shifted together in a strange chorus. "I actually call it Stitch. You know, because it's blue. And Lilo and Stitch is, like, my favorite movie."
"I've never seen it," Will admitted sheepishly, his blush hidden by the darkness. He could see Nico's mouth drop open and his mouse clicked onto the movie, the red circle spinning, spinning, spinning over the blue background.
"Well, you're in for a real treat." The circle brought them to fifty percent loaded, sixty seven percent loaded, seventy three percent loaded. It was buffering. "I thought everyone had seen Lilo and Stitch. Well, everyone who had a good childhood has seen Lilo and Stitch."
"Hey, not fair."
"Shut up," Nico hissed, swatting him in the arm. "The movie's starting." His eyes were still glued to the screen but he managed to pass Will the popcorn bowl and Will dove his hand inside, stuffing a handful inside of his mouth, letting a small sigh escape his lips.
"What is that?" he murmured, watching aliens flit across the screen. "It's amazing."
"Caramel corn," Nico explained. "We get the good stuff, because we only have one member." He glanced at Will, peeling his eyes from the screen and a happiness was dancing in his eyes, one full of hope. "Well, actually, now we have two."
When Will arrived the next week there was a second beanbag sitting next to the first, a deep pink peppered with white leaves. "I got this for you," Nico said, patting the beanbag and making the stuffing inside stir. "You can't sit on the floor, if you're going to be a member. I thought we could call it Lilo. You know, cause of her dress, and mine's name is stitch."
"I love it," Will grinned, letting the material swallow him up. "How'd you know I was coming back?" There was a twinkle in Nico's eyes when he spoke.
