Reality in Motion

nice to meet you neighbor

It wasn't that he didn't like the film - he just...didn't understand it. Well, no, he understood the basic concept; it was so plainly laid out in front of him. Boy meets Girl, Girl meets Boy, they get together and then fall apart, then get back together at the end. But as the movie went on, he figured out that it was bound to have a tragic ending. The Boy - Tom, was obviously projecting a false idea of who he thought the Girl - Summer, was. He hated Tom. He liked Summer. And he thought Tom's boss looked extremely like Agent Coulson, but Agent Proctor assured him it was just a weird coincidence.

But Steve didn't get any of the references made throughout the film. A few he could pick up on - like the Ikea scene, and he thought the penis game was hilarious. It was definitely something he would've done with the Howling Commandos, but he didn't get any of the pop culture references throughout the film. He spent most of the film jotting down things mentioned into the little notebook Agent Proctor had given him earlier in the evening.

They spent the rest of the week going through his list. He was introduced to the show that was mentioned during the Ikea scene: American Idol. They listened to some songs from the music that was mentioned: like the band The Smiths and the singer Bruce Springsteen. He enjoyed most of the songs they listened to. One day, after his run, she took him to an arcade and showed him the Pac-Man game that Tom and his friends played in the cafe. The previous evening was spent watching The Graduate - the film that was a big part of the other film.

"So what did you think of the movie we watched last night?" Agent Proctor asked him as she walked over to the chair after he set it down. He didn't immediately respond to her question, going over to the couch and sitting down as she crossed her ankles and set her notepad on her lap.

It was the beginning of their Sunday morning talk. He had gone on his run while she worked on a sudoku puzzle. He had finished the second one she had given her and she had looked over it while they ate breakfast at the diner. He managed to get it right on the first try. Afterwards, they went back to his apartment where he showered and dressed himself for the day - keeping it loose since he remembered her mentioning that his things from New York would be arriving later that day.

"It was similar to the film we watched on Wednesday." he answered her, gaining a semi-surprised reaction from her.

"How so?"

"They're both kind of the same character...going after the girl because they think she's the one that they're meant to be with." he explained, "You know, like in both movies the girl is just kind of a...a prize to be won."

"The other day you said that..." He watched her flip through her notepad pages until she found what she was looking for, "You hated Tom." She looked over at him, making eye contact as she mentioned his feelings toward the main character of the first film, "Do you feel the same about Ben?" she asked, referencing back to the main guy of The Graduate.

"Yes." Steve answered firmly, "Because they're pretty much the same guy." She raised her eyebrows at him, wanting him to continue, "He's selfish and immature and thinks of Elaine the same way as Tom thinks of Summer." She nodded at him, writing down what he said to her.

"Permission to speak freely, Captain?" she asked, making eye contact with him. His brows furrowed at the question, not expecting it, but nodding nonetheless. She leaned forward, breaking the professional sitting pose she always held, "I never really liked either of those movies."

"Really?" His brow furrowed deeper at her confession. If she didn't like the films then why did they watch them? Why did she quote one to him as if she had watched enough times to know it by heart.