Two Idiots and a Cape

Chapter 10: Cue The Creepy Fog, Please

Micheal finished paying for the popcorn, walking down the hall to the correct showroom where Edward was saving him a seat. He ignored how hot he was in his hoodie as he made his way to his seat, sitting down and handing Edward the popcorn to hold. Edward thanked him, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"You get the stuff?" He whispered once Micheal was situated. Micheal smiled, patting the hoodie pocket that was secretly full of licorice, chocolate candies, and peanut butter crackers. The good stuff, Micheal had assured Edward over the phone when he'd asked what kind of snacks Micheal would be sneaking in. Edward snickered. The two of them talked a bit while the previews played and made fun of some of them, Edward laughing when Micheal startled at the one for an upcoming horror film.

"What, don't like scary movies?" Micheal shrugged.

"Not really, they kinda freak me out."

"...You know the movie that we're about to see is scary, right?" He paled. You've got to be kidding.

"What? No! How would I know that?" Edward leaned forward a bit, eyebrow quirked.

"It's called 'Hour Of The Dying Screams'. You didn't realize it would be scary?" Micheal flushed.

"I thought it would be an action-thriller...." Edward laughed, though it didn't seem like he was laughing at Micheal so much as at the situation. That didn't make Micheal feel better, though. Edward leaned over a bit, smirking.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"My hero," Micheal replied dryly, face heating slightly. Gods this was gonna be embarrassing.

Edward noticed Micheal gripping tightly to the empty popcorn container with wide eyes as the woman on screen crept down the dark staircase slowly, the music playing low and quiet. He turned back to the screen, chewing on a piece of licorice and watching closely, invested. There was a loud creak and the woman spun around only to see nothing around her. The entire room was silent. Then a hand reached out from above her and dragged her away into the darkness with a bloodcurdling scream. Psh, cliché much? Edward startled when Micheal jumped with a shout, dropping the container and slapping a hand over his mouth. Edward patted his arm with a small grin.

"You ok?" Micheal nodded quickly.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Edward sat back, his hand brushed up next to Micheal's arm as the movie went on. He rolled his eyes when the screen eventually faded to black, credits rolling. Ugh, ambiguous endings were the worst! The lights in the room came on as everyone got up to leave. Micheal stood a bit shakily, eyes glancing around as if hands would come out and grab him like in the movie. Edward patted his back.

"You sure you're ok? We can go watch something funny now if you want. I'll get the tickets." Micheal shook his head.

"N-no, I'm fine. What do you want to do now?" Edward thought. Hmm, what was there to do? It was kind of late.

"You want to walk around a bit?" He asked finally with a shrug. Micheal grinned.

"Sure."

Micheal groaned internally as they walked to the park, cursing himself for getting freaked out by a stupid film. It hadn't even been that scary, not really, just... certain moments. He felt embarrassed, to be honest, and not just because Edward saw him get all shook up. He was a hero for Odin's sake! He should be tougher than that! Then again, he'd never liked horror movies even before being NightHawk. He guessed it's just how he was. This was nice though, walking down the path of the park with Edward babbling next to him. Oh! Edward had been saying something.

"–And the ending was kinda cheesy don't you think? I mean, nothing was explained. What was the wailing in the walls coming from? Where was Nancy dragged off to? Who was the shadow figure in the barn? None of it was answered!" Micheal nodded along. He... didn't remember much about shadow figures or wailing walls, but he had had his eyes closed a lot, so it made sense.

"Sorry, I know you didn't like the movie much. Uh... the stars are nice?" Edward said suddenly. Micheal looked up at the sky, taking in the bright stars and waning moon.

"It's ok, I don't mind. And yeah, they are."

"You know any constellations?"

"Uh, maybe a couple. You?" Edward chuckled.

"Heck no. Pam could probably rattle them all off to you though. She loves that stuff."

"She'd probably like Carla then. I think they should meet up sometime!" Edward gave him a blank glance.

"Her and Pam would combine to make a force so powerful nothing could take them down." Micheal laughed loudly. Yeah, that was probably true! He shivered a bit as a strong breeze rolled in, fallen leaves rolling past. Autumn was setting in, with September having just begun, and the nights had been getting steadily cooler. He'd worn a long arm shirt, but now he was wishing he'd put on something just a little thicker.

"You cold?" Edward asked, stopping. Micheal shrugged.

"Only a little. What about you? Your sleeves are rolled up."

"Nah, I'm usually pretty warm. Uh, could I...?" Edward reached his hand towards Micheals but didn't grab it, waiting unsurely. Micheal shuffled his feet, face going pink as he reached out and held Edward's hand in a comfortable grip. His eyes widened.

"You are warm. How?"

"Heh, I've always run a bit warmer than most. Pam says I'm a living heater. Is this fine?" Micheal nodded. Both of their hands were a bit calloused and rough, their palms a little sweaty, but Edwards hold was gentle and Micheal found that it felt natural. He squeezed it a bit tighter as they continued walking, feeling a little warmer than before. They talked more about stars and made up names for constellations, and about what chaos would erupt from Carla and Pam meeting, chuckling good-naturedly.

"I think they'd like each other, just no blenders," Micheal said with a sly grin. Edward nodded, eyes wide.

"Definitely no blenders. I can laugh about it now, but it had taken me over two weeks to clean that mess and I'm still finding stains on the ceiling!"

"Seriously?"

"Look into my eyes. Does it look like I'm joking?" Micheal did as told, heart pounding a bit as he did so, and was pretty sure he could see physical pain there. He winced.

"Yikes."

"Heh. Yeah.... But maybe we could go out to dinner or something safe like that? They could meet, we could all eat. Might be nice." Micheal nodded, thinking.

"That could work. I'll talk to Carla about it sometime. Till then it's just us." Edward smiled widely with an awkward laugh.

"Yup. You warming up now?"

"Yeah." Edward didn't let go of Micheal's hand, though, and Micheal didn't pull away. They were almost at the end of the path now, where Edward would walk Micheal home before heading to his own house. For now, the two strolled in amicable silence. In a moment Micheal would curse himself for letting his guard down and not paying more attention, but for now, neither he nor Edward noticed the dark figure coming up behind them.