old soul | matthew gray gubler

13. stand by me

"No, Finnick!" Matthew cried out, gripping the edge of his blanket in fright.

Charlotte laughed lightly as she continued stuffing her face with popcorn. She glanced between the television and Matthew, who was sat beside her on the couch. She bit back her chuckles, chewing down on the snack.

Matthew turned to Charlotte with teary eyes and a deep frown. "I didn't realize it was going to be that sad when he died. Why aren't you crying?"

Charlotte set a gentle hand on Matthew's shoulder, squeezing her fingers into the sweatshirt there. Matthew moved closer, though they'd already been close for the past few hours. They were sharing a blanket, for goodness' sake.

Charlotte shrugged, "I've seen this movie so many times. Plus, i haven't been paying attention, so the death didn't really hit."

"How have you not been paying attention?" Matthew leaned into her touch.

She blushed, not giving a very clear response with, "I was distracted."

Matthew's nose crinkled before he turned back to the television. He sniffled and wiped away the tears. The movie moved on.

Soon enough, it was ending, and Matthew was crying all over again. He plopped back on the couch, holding himself together through his sobs. Charlotte patted his back while she exited out of the movie. The evening news played loudly and she flinched before turning it down.

Matthew rubbed at his eyes and looked into Charlotte's. "That hurt, really badly."

"Welcome to the world of fictional beings," she giggled.

He leaned back against the couch, "They really did justice to the books, though. I was worried about that."

"Yeah, very few movie adaptations are good enough for the books they were capturing. But I loved the way they did this."

"Which one was your favorite? Movie wise?" Matthew's fingers fiddled with the blankets.

"Oh, Catching Fire, hands down."

He quirked a brow at this, "I totally saw that coming."

Charlotte scoffed, "No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did. Most of the movies you like are god-sends for cinematography because you like insane camera shots," Matthew's hands moved around as he spoke.

"How do you know that?" She tilted her head.

He acted like it were obvious, "I listen to you when you talk, Charlie."

"I feel like I've barely known you, but I guess we talk, like, everyday," she continued.

"That's because I like talking to you."

A comfortable silence followed. Charlotte arose and began to clean up their snacks. They'd been on the couch for almost 10 hours, but it barely felt like 2. Between Matthew's intense reactions and the banter they shared, Charlotte probably could've sat there for a day or two longer. She enjoyed his presence.

Matthew followed her into the kitchen with their cups, emptied not long ago after being refilled with cherry syrup and Coke. She stopped at the counter and dumped the dishes in the sink. Matthew did the same, hands pausing in the air as a loud grumble resounded.