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» "ROCK N' ROLL, BUCKAROO!" «
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Shifting from foot to foot, you stood outside the Dunkin' Donuts impatiently. It was cold and dark, and you could have gone inside but you had been standing out here for so long it would be awkward to go do so now.
Rubbing your hands together, you hummed quietly as Coul as a Ghoul played through your earbuds. Well, earbud. You kept one bud out so you could listen to the "outside" world. The fur of the hood on your jacket tickled your cheeks when you leaned into it.
"[Y/n]?"
Snapping your head to the left, you grinned at the young adult approaching you. Again, his mouth was still covered but his eyes were scrunched at the sides showing he was smiling. He just radiated a pleasant atmosphere, and you couldn't help but feel happier when he appeared with his cheerful mode.
He was wearing a thick jacket (finally!), and a lighter zipped up grey jacket under it. The crimson colored scarf you had given him a while back was wrapped neatly around his neck(which you doubted he wrapped himself). Waving a gloved hand at you, he skidded to a stop beside you.
"Hey Toby." Shutting off your music, you tucked your earbuds away. "I see you've actually dressed warmly this time."
He laughed and tugged at the mask around his mouth, "Well after last time, I rather not be scolded again."
"A wise decision." You joked back. "Well, the movie I'm guessing starts soon, so, shall we?" Your voice dipped into an over the top dramatic accent.
You gestured to the sidewalk, signifying to start walking. The brunette's shoulders bounced with stifled laughter, before he bowed slightly and spoke with an exaggerated posh accent, mimicking your own, "We shall."
It was always fun to be an idiot with other people.
Almost immediately, Toby picked up conversation as the two of you began walking. He tilted his head to the side, allowing parts of his bangs to fall in front of his face.
"What were you listening to before I arrived, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Ah," You scratched your cheek with your pointer finger out of habit. Something you did when you were shying away, anxious, or caught off guard. "Just a song called Coul as a Ghoul."
His eyes lit up, "By The Voidz, right?"
Eyes widening in surprise, your lips twitched upwards. "Yeah, you listen to them?"
Laughing quietly, he closed his eyes and beamed. "I wouldn't say I listen to them, just a few songs."
"Still counts." You gave a half-shrug.
He grinned and bumped his shoulder with yours.
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Once inside the theatre, you were hit with a blast of heat. The frost on the tip of your nose immediately disappeared, and the rosiness on Toby's face faded. Thank you movie theatres for having heaters!
Before going over to get snacks and your tickets scanned, you were looking over at the posters on the wall. They advertised upcoming movies or movies currently playing.
Of course, there was the Halloween movie poster, but beside it was a Scream poster. Your lips twitched, so they were making a fifth one. Honestly you wouldn't be surprised if they ended up making even an eighth one.
Toby was on your right, looking at a poster for something called Jackass. (Which was right next to a Sonic 2 poster.) You snickered slightly as he seemed to be staring at it intently. Well, now you were obliged to take him to see that movie when it came out.
Snapping out of it, the brunette looked over at you before up at the two slasher posters. "Oh, they're making a new Scream?"
Looking back up at the poster you hummed, "I'm not surprised, it's a good franchise."
Looking back down from the poster over to you, his head tilted slightly, which was followed by his shoulder jerking suddenly. You didn't pay any mind to it, and neither did he.
"Who do you think the killer is gonna be this time?" He chuckled, "I'm waiting for one when it's finally Sidney."
You pursued your lips in thought.
"I don't think Sidney will ever be a Ghostface, as cool as it would be." Subconsciously you picked at your bottom lip, "It's probably gonna be an attractive character." Followed by you sighing dramatically, "It's always the attractive looking ones that are the psychopaths."
The other raised a brow and stifled a laugh at your disappointed look. "Are you being for r-real right now?" He joked, nudging your arm with his elbow.
Smiling at him you shrugged and joked back, "Nah. If I was serious about every attractive person being a psychopathic killer, you'd be stabbing me in the chest right now. Wouldn't you?"
The comment caught him off guard, as his eyes widened, before he started coughing and hitting his chest. "W-Wha-What?" Through his coughs you could hear him laughing, which caused you to giggle.
Rolling your eyes as he calmed down, you didn't wait for his comments and tugged him by the arm towards the concession stands. "C'mon let's go get food."
Stopping beside one of the counters, you looked over the different candies they had, Toby doing the same. You decided to just get a small popcorn while you waited for Toby to find something before you would pay.
The people at the register beside you were conversing quite loudly, so it was hard for your attention not to get caught.
"Why are we seeing this dumb movie again?" The taller of the two men asked his counterpart monotonously, who was crouched beside one of the snack stands. In his hands you could see the shorter one was grabbing a bunch of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
"Because I'm bored, you are boring—full offense, and I want to see gore." The comment was followed by the shorter man, with the slightly raspy voice, cackling. The other scratched at his bearded chin and sighed.
Standing back up, the shorter man wearing a hat had a bunch of Reese's in his arms. "I'm taking the Ree-cee-s." You nearly snorted from how he pronounced it.
Turning to the woman at the register, the other man handed her his card. "Are you going to save one for me?"
Already walking away, the other called back sith a smile in his voice, "Nope! These are mine." Which was followed up again by another exasperated sigh. You could see the woman at the register trying to hold in a laugh, similar to you.
"What a fun pair."
The brunette beside you chuckled and poked your shoulder, before gesturing to the register. Attention being dragged away, you perked up before awkwardly grinning. "Ah right, sorry." He only smiled beneath his mask.
With that, the two of you paid for your own snacks. Toby had snatched a bag of fruit snacks, which honestly was a mood.
After getting your tickets taken, the both of you strolled down the long hallways holding the different theaters. You could see that one of the entrances had the glowing sign saying "Theater 7 : Halloween (2018)". Yeah...so apparently the theater in town was just playing the most recent Halloween for the holiday. Not that you complained.
"Bet I can get there faster than you."
Side-eyeing your counterpart you scoffed. "Nah, I could beat you in a heartbeat. You'd only win because I'm holding popcorn."
Toby giggled childishly, "Sounds like you're making excuses."
Stopping, you turned to face him, which he parroted. The smug look on his face already told you that you'd fallen for the trap. What? You're pride and ego were on the line. Unable to help it, you grinned and sighed.
"Can I put my popcorn down first?"
"I can carry it if you want."
He laughed again at your unimpressed expression. Grinning a bit you raised a brow, "Are you mocking me?"
Shaking his head he stifled his giggles, "No, n-no, no, of course not."
"Uh-huh." You clicked your tongue. "How about after the movie," You eyed your bag of popcorn, "I'll race you. Both of us will have finished eating so it'll be fair."
Again the boy tilted his head happily and made an okay sign with his hand. "Deal."
Resuming the walk down the hallway he whispered beside you, "I'm still gonna beat you tho."
Laughing you shoved his arm, "Oh shut up!"
Walking into the theater, you followed Toby as he took long strides over to some seats. They weren't too far back, but they weren't close to the screen either (which you were thankful for since you didn't have to strain your neck to see the screen).
"Oh my god." As you sat down to the right of him, you shot the brunette a questioning glance from his urgent whisper.
"[Y/n]," he was looking down at the arm of his seat before back up at you and spoke with the most excited hushed voice you ever heard, "the seats have heaters."
You laughed way harder than you intended to.
"Don't laugh!" He cried quietly, "This is a huge revelation for me!"
By now you had covered your mouth to stifle your cackling. Luckily the movie hadn't started yet and there were very few people inside, so no one really cared. Your counterpart watched you with amusement, before scoffing playfully and shoving your shoulder.
"Whatever, I'm not ever telling you about anything I find cool again."
Your eyes widened and you fanned them as your laughs died down, "No! No, no, no, Toby, that's not—no—I-" You giggled again and took a deep breath, "I wanna know about the cool stuff." Clearing your throat, you pat his shoulder, "I'm glad you find the heaters in the seats cool, they are cool."
He stared at you for a moment, before snorting from how ridiculous the conversation sounded.
"Yeah, they are cool." He stated in a joking matter-of-factly tone while crossing his arms.
"Mhm." You agreed with a dumb grin.
Sinking in his seat, he muttered, "So cool."
Rolling your eyes, you still kept up your grin and popped a piece of popcorn into your mouth; before taking off your coat. Seeing your expression, he giggled again before ripping open his own snack. He didn't take off his mask to eat, you noticed, instead just slipped one of the fruit snacks under it.
A few voices from a few seats in front of you caught your attention. As the commercials played on the screen, the familiar voices seemed to grow more agitated. You exchanged an awkward look with Toby.
Finally, one of the people sitting in the few rows in front of you turned around. You immediately recognized him as the guy who couldn't pronounce Reese's.
Your eyes widened in surprise when he gestured to you and spoke a bit louder so you could hear him.
"Hey! You! Chick in the Norman Bates hoodie!"
Ah, you almost forgot you were wearing Pyscho merch.
Tilting your head a bit, you blinked at him in question, your lips pressed thin.
"I have a question," he paused to look at his friend who looked very annoyed and also apologetic. The man turned back to you, fixing his hat, "If you were given the chance, would you make out with Michael Myers?"
He kept a straight face the entire time while asking you. Toby beside you choked on his fruit snack. The bearded man beside the odd man, mouthed a sorry at you and shook his head.
On the other hand, you weren't caught off guard at all. Instead, you brought a hand to your chin in thought.
"Depends, can I pick a version of him?"
The man with the raspy voice sucked in his cheeks then nodded, "Yeah sure."
"Even the Dead by Daylight version?"
He made a so-so gesture with his hand, before humming, "I'll allow it."
"Will I not be stabbed?"
The guy half-shrugged, "No, but I would think that as a bonus."
"Yeah, that's fair." You shrugged and kept an equally straight face, "Then yeah, why not?"
At this, the man immediately broke out into a victorious grin and threw his arms up, "Woo!"
With that, he turned to his friend and punched him on the arm. Apparently it was hard enough to make the man flinch and go to cover the probably bruising spot.
"See, V?! See? I told you Myers was hot!"
"Dude..."
Ignoring his friend, the dark haired man turned in his seat back to you and gave you a two-fingered salute, "Thank you for the help, bunny!" Then he turned away, just as the lights dimmed.
Bunny? What an odd nickname.
You being you, shrugged it off. It wasn't the weirdest name you've been given. Looking over at the brunette by your side, he looked utterly confused at what just happened.
Blinking slowly, he turned to you with his brows furrowed. "You...you would..." Making an odd noise similar to holding in a laugh, his brows raised, "Can I ask why?"
You bit your lip to stop any noises coming from your mouth. His reaction was too funny. Breathing in deep through your nose, you breathed out through your lips, ridding of the bubbling laughter.
"What can I say? I have a thing for masks."
He brought a hand to his masked mouth, yet amusement swirled in his eyes. Damn, you didn't even realize that your sentence could be connected to him. Still, you laughed as he suddenly grew flustered and caught off guard. His hand hand twitched and hit the one side of his chair.
"You're evil." He mused.
You shrugged, "I try."
His mask crinkled a bit to show he was smiling again.
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In the middle of the movie, you felt something hit your face. It wasn't hard and it definitely didn't hurt. Confused, you turned to the side, only to see Toby focused on watching the screen. He looked really sucked into the film.
Chalking it up to your imagination, you went back to watching the movie.
Not long after it happened again. You snapped your head to the side, again to see nothing out of the usual. Your brows furrowed a bit and you looked behind you, but no one was sitting in those seats.
Lips turning thin, you turned back to the screen a little paranoid.
The third time it happened, you were utterly confused. Toby noticed your distress and tilted his head in question. You merely waved your hand to signify it was nothing.
Nothing happened for a few minutes.
Then it happened, again.
Now promptly annoyed, you again looked to the side with your brows furrowed and a firm frown.
Toby's eyes were glued to the screen, but his eyes were crinkled at the sides and his shoulders seemed to bounce just a bit.
Your gaze hardened on him.
The longer you stared, the more he seemed to start to lose his composure. Finally he leaned forward in a silent wheeze. Grinning, your annoyance disappeared immediately.
Punching him lightly on the arm you whisper shouted, "Were you seriously throwing fruit snacks at me?!"
Still unable to speak due to laughing silently, he nodded his head rapidly. Sitting back up, his shoulders still shaking, he took one of the gummies and threw it at you. It hit you square in the nose.
Both of you stared in silence, before you cracked and looked away with trembling lips. He cheered silently after winning the staring contest.
"You're such a kid."
Before he could retaliate, you threw pieces of popcorn at him. His nose wrinkled as a kernel got stuck on the rim of his mask. Plucking it off he mocked you in return, "How ma-mature."
The poor janitor.
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Stepping out of the theatre after throwing away your trash, you stretched out letting your spine pop. Toby stood beside you rolling out his neck. Both of you jumped when a loud crack came from him.
His eyes were wide, almost like he couldn't believe his bones made such a sound. Finally he blinked back to reality. "Oh." You laugh-huffed through your nose.
Suddenly he stopped the two of you from walking by holding out his arm, making you bump into it. He looked over at you with another smug look.
"Remember the deal?"
You cursed mentally. You really didn't want to run right now. However, you sighed in defeat and nodded. "Fiiiine, where are we racing to?"
A childish spark glittered in his eyes and he rocked back and forth on his heels excitedly. "How about..." He paused and squinted to look down the long hall. "To that cardboard cutout of Spider-Man?"
Chewing on your nail subconsciously, you hummed, "Bet."
"Alright, on three?"
You took a running position, to which he copied.
"You better be prepared to lose, princey."
"Princey?" He giggled, "What am I supposed to call you then? Princess?" The last word was said dramatically causing you to chuckle and wrinkle your nose, "Nah, I'm good."
He nodded, "Fair enough."
"Alright," he looked forward, "three..."
Your head snapped forward and a cocky grin overtook your features. "T-Two..."
"One...!"
With that the two of you rocketed forward. The fast movement made your jacket flap behind you. Similarly, the scarf around Toby's neck had untangled a bit and waved behind him as he ran.
It was true you were fast on your feet, seeing as you had multiple experiences where you had to be—but we don't talk about that. It could be said easily you were one of the fastest runners in town, so to say you were surprised when Toby had easily gotten ahead of you would be an understatement.
He didn't even seem the slightest bit tired, while you felt your stamina depleting. At one point, he quickly looked behind him to see you not too far away, but there was still some space between the two of you.
Toby looked forward again and pressed his lips together, mulling over his thoughts. Suddenly he appeared to trip over practically nothing and stumbled a bit, allowing you to catch up quickly.
"You alright?" You questioned, amused and concerned. He just grinned and held a thumbs up, "I'm good!"
You laughed for the what may have been the hundredth time that night as you surpassed him in the face. You reached the cutout and bounced for a second before stopping. With that, you leaned forward and rested your hands on your knees, greedily gulping in air.
You stood up straight again when Toby approached, slightly out of breath but not nearly as much as you. Despite losing, he seemed quite happy with himself.
Shoving your hands into your pockets you grinned smugly, "I told you I'd beat you." His chest tumbled with laughter as your sentence came out a bit weak since you were still breathing a bit heavily.
Holding up his hands in faux surrender he shook his head, "You did prove me wrong."
Nudging him with your elbow you gestured with your head towards the exit, both of you began to walk out.
"Where did you learn to get that much stamina?" You chuckled with a raised brow. Toby merely waved his hands similar to that spongebob imagination meme, "A magician never reveals his secrets~." He cooed playfully.
Rolling your eyes you bumped into him, "Whatever man."
"Whatever man." Again the brunette jokingly mocked you, causing you to lightly whack him on the arm. It didn't affect him seeing as he just giggled childishly.
The two of you continued down the street, the cool air pushing back wisps of your hair. Fallen leaves were scattered across the sidewalks and made satisfying crunching noises whenever you stepped on them. The outside air was crisp and it smelled of autumn.
"Well, anyway." Toby spoke after a small period of silence, rubbing the back of his neck, "Thanks for hanging out with me."
Smiling at him, you rolled your shoulders back, "Thank you for inviting me."
He gave you another one of his infamous eye closed smiles. If this was an anime, you swore he'd have a flowery background behind him right now.
It was quiet again for some time, both of you just enjoying the other's presence and the autumn breeze. Toby had kindly offered to walk you back to your dorms, since it was very late out and he said he'd feel guilty if he let you walk alone. After much persisting, you finally caved and agreed.
The occasional chatter consisted of things like hobbies, to which you learned Toby liked collecting things—he didn't specify what, if there even was one type of thing he liked to collect. You told him about how Luca was doing, which Toby seemed happy to know Luca was well. In return, he told you about some random situation he found his roommates stuck in. Mentioning how one of his roomies had managed to break the toaster with a plastic spork. He was just as confused as you about how that managed to happen.
Nearing the college dorms, you stopped and turned to the brunette, "You don't have to come all the way up to the doors, I know it's late and you probably should get home soon."
Toby hummed, "Are you sure?"
Reassuringly you pat his arm, "I'll be fine. Text me when you get home so I know you got home safe, alright?"
He chuckled lightly, "I will, but still be safe."
"I will, and thank you again for inviting me."
He tugged at his mask and waved as you began to head towards the entrance. "Bye [Y/n]!"
Spinning on your heel to face him, while walking backwards, you waved back at him. "Night princey!"
You stood by the door for a bit while he walked off, just to make sure nothing bad happened. What? You were concerned that a fox could come from nowhere and jump him!
Once he was out of sight, you let out a long yawn and went towards the elevator. As it opened, two girls stepped out conversing. You didn't pay any mind to it as you stepped inside.
Though your ears did ring after catching the last few sentences before the doors shut.
"Did you hear about the attack on that Sean dude last night?"
"Yeah! It was so weird...you think it was the same person who killed Mister Hallows?"
"I don't know...apparently the wounds were drastically different."
That's when it hit you.
You remembered how you got home last night.
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» "What's it like, living in a lightning strike?" «
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