"Oh, and congratulations on winning," Andre congratulates. "That's impressive out of twenty contestants."
"Thank you!" I replied. "It was really hard. I felt like pissing myself every time I went on stage. It's not easy."
Andre gave an awkward chuckle, and I fought the urge to cover my mouth in embarrassment. That brought my total count of embarrassing myself in front of Andre to a whopping four.
"I'm glad you won," Andre said. "I wish I mentored the girls this year. There's a lot of talent and I think I could go far with you guys."
"The groups are not cutting it?" I wondered.
"Oh, they are," he cautioned. "Especially Nebula."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they won," I remarked. "I think everyone likes them."
"Not as much as you," he lightly countered, eyes glinting on the verge of something more.
At that moment, the movie cued up, a splash of sunshine coming onto the screen as the intro music played. It deviated from the high school setting off 'I Envy U' and went completely corporate.
The main character, Ansley, was now a high-profile journalist and fashion blogger working in New York. She was currently in a relationship with the woman from the last movie until she broke up with her to follow her genuine passion for weaving baskets in Kenya or something.
Connor, the other guy, works as a farmer, a true deviation from his football, ultra-jock character back in the first movie. He's clearly more laid back and relaxed.
I continued watching, basking it all in. I had been waiting for this sequel ever since I was eight. And now it was in front of me. It's good. Chad and Ansley reunite again and attempt to piece back their relationship from the last decade. It's utterly entrancing for such a basic rom-com.
I set my arms down after propping them up against the seat for so long. I let them hang loose until my hand collided with another hand.
"Sorry!" I whispered frantically at Andre, as he made gripping eye contact with me. I snapped my hand away.
"Don't worry," he whispered back closely into my ear, before clutching his hand in mine. It stayed there until it wrapped around my fingers and mine wrapped around him and soon we were holding hands.
My heart jumped to being active yet again. Me and Andre were holding hands. What a concept. I had only held hands with someone in elementary school, and that was because of his unlimited supply of Gushers. It felt juvenile as a million tiny butterflies found their way home in my chest.
I felt like it was one of those simulation moments again. My player had probably spent a billion tokens on me for this moment to happen.
When they got back together, Ansley and Chad hooked up and it was depicted in full, showing every detail and element. I've always stiffened during these scenes, especially when there were other people around. In every single movie I managed to watch, Mom and Dad always made an awkward cameo right when these scenes started.
Then Andre gripped my hand like he was trying to get my attention, but his eyes remained forward on the screen like he wasn't even paying attention. The pads of his thumbs brushed against my fingers.
This was interesting.