I was straightening my hair when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
"Grace, Malum is here." yelled my mother.
"Okay I will be right out." I replied.
He's here already? I checked the clock and it read 6:30pm. Right on time. I guess I wasn't paying attention to the time that well. I got up from my nightstand and looked in the mirror on the backside of my door. My blue t-shirt matched well with the black jeans I was wearing. I played with my hair for a few more seconds and then smiled at myself. Hopefully Malum likes what I'm wearing. I threw on my jacket on the way out of my room.
Our kitchen seemed a lot smaller than usual. My mother was standing by the sink washing dishes while my dad was sitting at the table talking to Malum. They all noticed my entrance into the room.
"Grace dear, you look lovely." My mother said with a smile.
"Yeah Grace, you really do." Malum said with a smile.
He thinks I look nice. Thank goodness. I knew all my hard work getting ready this evening wasn't for nothing.
"Thanks you two."
For once Malum was not wearing pants that had tears on them. Instead he was wearing blue jeans. They looked brand new. They matched well with the green polo shirt he had on.
I totally forgot that this was the first time he was meeting my parents. I don't know if either of them did formal introductions so I mind as well initiate it anyways.
"I don't know if you guys had done proper introductions yet, but Malum these are my parents Dan and Victoria. Mom, dad, this is Malum."
My dad gave a slight chuckle. "So proper Grace. We raised you well."
"Hi Malum, nice to formally meet you." My mother said with a smile.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Barrington. Nice to meet you as well." Malum replied shaking both of their hands.
So far so good. This wasn't so bad after all.
Malum looked over at me and smiled. "Grace are you ready to go?"
"Yes I think I'm all set. I'm assuming your dad is outside waiting for us?"
"Yes he is. Our fathers already introduced themselves to one another. Don't worry Mr. and Mrs. Barrington. I will have Grace home safe and sound once the movie is over." Malum said to them with a reassuring smile.
"Thank you. We appreciate that. Now you two run along. Enjoy your evening." My mom scurried us through the door.
"Bye mom, bye dad. Love you."
We stepped outside my house and started walking over to where Malum's father was waiting for us in his car.
Malum looked over at me and poked my side. "You do look very beautiful tonight Grace." I forgot how to breathe.
I can't believe he thinks I'm beautiful. My heart rate was speeding up and I knew I was blushing.
I decided to try and play it cool and not let my feelings pour out all at once. I poked him back.
"Thank you Malum. You look pretty good yourself."
"Thanks Grace, that means a lot."
We reached where his father was parked and he opened my door. We slid in and buckled our seat belts. His father waved to me from the front seat.
"You must be Grace. I've heard so much about you." He laughed.
"Dad! That's embarrassing!" Malum was angry.
Oh goodness. Malum talks about me a lot. I was flattered and embarrassed at the same time.
"Oh does he now? Well nice to meet you Mr...?"
I suddenly realized that I had no idea what Malum's last name was. He has never told me and I didn't ever pay attention during roll call.
His father picked up on the hint that I did not know what to address him by.
" Jackson. Jackson Veritas. But please, call me Jack."
"Nice to meet you Jack."
The car ride wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. Jack asked me a few questions about my life here and there, but other than that Malum and I talked for most of the ride. The car stopped. I didn't realize that we were already at the movie theater.
Jack turned around in his seat with a serious expression on his face. "Alright you two. Behave yourselves. I will be parked out here when the movie ends. Have fun!"
I saw Malum roll his eyes. "Thanks Dad."
We both got out of the car and started walking to the theater. Inside it wasn't too busy. We got our tickets and popcorn and walked to the theater where our movie was being shown.
'Theater six. Right here." Malum opened the door for me.
Such a gentleman.
"Thank you." I said to him.
"You're welcome Grace."
The theater wasn't too crowded. We made our way towards the middle of the isles and took our seats. The previews for other movies were already playing. Good. We are right on time. I thought to myself.
The movie we were seeing was a zombie movie. I don't scare easily but Autumn had said this movie was terrifying. Great. Hopefully it isn't too bad. I don't want to look weak and pathetic in front of Malum.
Malum reached over to grab a handful of popcorn. "So do you think this movie will actually be super scary like everyone is saying it is?" Malum asked while eating popcorn.
"I don't know. I'm sure it will be bearable. I don't get scared easily."
"Neither do I." He chuckled
The movie began to play. We took turns sharing the popcorn with each other and had our attention fixed on the first half hour of the movie.
Malum's hand was stretched out on the armrest of his chair. With his palm facing upwards. A sign that he was waiting for me to place my hand in his.
I could feel myself blushing. Oh god. What do I do? I've never done this before. Autumn and Katy gave me some tips yesterday in regards to movie dates. They told me if his hand was on the arm rest, with his palm facing up, that means he wants to hold hands.
Okay so the time has come. I gulped. This is what he wants right? He's not just resting his arm and hand there for nothing.
I slowly lifted my arm. Here we go. I placed my hand on top of his. Oh god. What's supposed to happen next? He wrapped his fingers around mine. It felt wonderful. It felt right, like this was always meant to be. Like our hands were made for each other.
I was blushing hard. Thank goodness the theater is dark and he can barely see my face right now. I looked over at him. He was staring right at me with a huge smile on his face. I smiled back and then we both turned our attention back to the movie.
I knew we had missed some of the important scenes in the movie but I didn't care. I was here for him, not for the movie.
Malum started running his fingers over mine. The feeling made me shiver at first, but then I felt calm. Like I was in peaceful trance. Nothing else mattered in this moment. Our fingers wrapped together was the only thing I cared about.
He leaned over to me and whispered "This movie isn't scarring you top badly is it Grace? You seem a bit freaked out."
I was freaking out alright, but not because of the movie.
"No this movie isn't scary at all. I don't know what you're talking about."
He rolled his eyes and gave a quiet chuckle. "Whatever you say Grace."
I stuck my tongue out at him.
An hour later the credits began to roll. That went by faster than I thought.
Malum released his hand from mine and I instantly felt like I was punched in the gut. Am I already becoming so attached to him that lack of physical contact is now painful? I shook my head. What am I thinking?
Malum rose out of his seat and stretched his arms. "Well that didn't scare me at all. It was kind of lame actually."
I laughed. Towards the end of the movie I honestly was a bit frightened, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being correct. I decided to lie. "Yeah totally lame. I can't believe so many people died without fighting for their lives. What idiots."
"I know right? So dumb." We walked out of the movie theater and headed towards where Jack was parked. He was right on time. We slid into the backseat of the car and buckled our seat belts. Jack looked at us in his mirror and smiled.
"How was the movie kiddos? Did Malum pee his pants Grace?" Jack and I started laughing hysterically.
I could barely speak because of my laughter. "Yeah-he totally did. He was scared the entire time!"
I noticed that Malum's face was as red as my hair. "Dad shut up. You're not being funny."
I poked his side. "Oh c'mon Malum. We are just joking."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Sure."
The car ride back to my house seemed shorter than on our ride here. Jack parked in my driveway and gave me his goodbyes. Malum and I got out of the car and headed for my front door.
He looked at me and smiled. "This was fun. I really enjoyed myself tonight Grace. We should hang out again sometime soon. If you want to."
I knew I was blushing. "Yeah of course. I had a good time too Malum. Thanks for inviting me."
"You're welcome Grace. Now go on inside. I have to have you back home on time. I want to make good on my promise to your parents." He laughed.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh so now you're being responsible and following the rules? I see how it is."
"Oh hush. Goodnight Grace."
"Night Malum."
I opened the door and walked inside. My parents were already asleep. I didn't care. I had no intentions of running home and spilling every detail to them about tonight. I took off my clothes and slipped into my pajamas. My bed was warm and welcoming. Malum's hands intertwined with mine kept replaying over and over in my head. If only he were here now.
Everything started to become hazy and I slowly fell asleep. That was the first night I dreamt of Malum Veritas.