For Everything I Am | KTH 18+ ✔

Chapter Twelve

After picking out a cashmere scarf that matched the new handbag Ria had purchased for her mother, they had agreed to catch a movie at the cinema within their mall. Smells of freshly made popcorn fills the air as they walk up to purchase their tickets, deciding on a random romantic comedy that they had both agreed looked enjoyable when they saw the ad for it.

The lights inside of the theater were dim, but still bright enough to not trip on the way up the stairs to the row in the middle that they usually opted for. Only four other people took up space in the seats surrounding them as the large screen played ads before the previews. Taehyung knew he still seemed a bit awkward as he glanced around the small room, but thankfully he was able to convince Ria that it was due to just not wanting to get caught playing hooky. Until he could figure out what was going on with him when he was around her, he refused to talk to her about any of it.

When the lights slowly fade away, he visibly relaxes as he slouches a little further into his seat next to her while she made herself a bit more comfortable as well. Previews for upcoming movies play through the reel enticing them to spend way more money than they should in the future. Tae's eyes crinkle as he begins to laugh at one of the funnier scenes and notices Ria looking over at him and smiling at his reaction.

The last bit of ads begin to play as he reaches over to grab the drink they bought to share resting in the cup holder in between them, both of them flinching when they feel their fingertips touch.

"Sorry," She whispers in an attempt to not disturb anyone else, "go ahead."

Shaking his head, he points to the cup before leaning in to whisper in her ear, "Ladies first."

His breath against her skin made her squirm in her seat and her teeth sink into her bottom lip, unable to turn her face in time for him to not notice. Feeling frozen for a second as he studied her body language, he eventually forced himself to sit back and lean towards the opposite direction while trying to not give away his own thoughts.

Seconds felt like hours as he wondered when she was going to reach for the soda again, hoping that whatever that was just now didn't make anything awkward between them. He knew her well enough to know that whenever she would shift in her seat or bite her lip that she felt nervous. The last thing he wanted was to risk pushing away one of the most important people in his life. On top of it all, if she became distant, he'd also lose Izzy.

He finally sees her reach up and grab the drink out of his peripheral view and undetectably exhales. The room goes completely dark before the opening credits light up their faces again when he notices Ria has shifted to lean more towards him, giving him the signal that she wasn't completely uncomfortable with him now after all.

"Hey." She taps on his thigh to get his attention and crooks her finger to coax him to lean towards her. Tae felt nervous at all of the possible things she may want to say to him and worried about how he would even be able to respond while he leaned over so she could speak to him, "I got asked out on a date by my neighbor. Do you remember Andrew?"

His heart dropped at her words but just nods his head in response.

"Well, would you be able to watch Izzy Saturday night for me?" She turns her head to look at him.

Unlike before, he wanted more than anything to tell her no. To find a way to sabotage her plans and keep her all to himself. More than anything, he wanted to come up with an excuse as to why he was unavailable in hopes she wouldn't go out at all.

His throat felt like the Sahara desert as he took a large gulp of the soda, hoping to buy himself some time as he thought as quickly as he humanly could.

But, alas, he couldn't tell her no. At least not until he could figure out what's been eating at him lately and not until he could discover what's been threatening to compromise his sixteen-year friendship. There was always a possibility that it would go back to normal, right?