Coffee, Cats, and Space Buns

Chapter 3

"Well, that sucked..." Steven and Liv were finally seated inside the packed theater for the premiere of RoboCop 4. Both had a large, ice-cold cola in hand as Steven held a popcorn bucket. Despite the excitement around them, both of their moods had been dampened considerably. Liv's eyes were still tear-filled from the drama outside. "How could he do that to me? Devon's such a jerk..."

"Hey, I know how you feel. It sucks, but let's enjoy our time together." Steven put his drink in the holder and took her hand gently. It felt unnaturally soft against his hands. Steven hadn't thought his hands had been that calloused, but his time building Little Homeschool up must have toughened them up a little. Their eyes met as they found comfort within each other. As quickly as their eyes had met, they quickly looked away from each other as the heat built up in their cheeks. Neither pulled their hand away.

Finally, the lights dimmed and the crowd quieted down. They all waited in anticipation as the advertisements rolled. Of course, RoboCop 5 was already in production and an ad had been placed right before RoboCop 4 finally premiered. At the reveal and start of the movie, both of their eyes shone with excitement. RoboCop flew across the screen causing Liv to gasp and squeeze his hand. Steven looked down at her and smiled softly. So cute...

This all felt natural. Liv was so nice and her hand was so warm, it was easy to relax with her. It was a nice change of pace. Of course, he had felt this way before, with Connie. But how long has it been since I've felt so comfy around Connie...? Steven looked down at the popcorn bucket glumly. I thought everything was okay between us... Why did things have to change so quickly?

A whisper interrupted his thoughts, "Hey, Steven... We're gonna enjoy our time together, remember...?" Steven looked over to Liv who was leaning close to him. "Come on, you've waited so long for this movie..." He gave her a nod and slowly took his hand back to put around her shoulders, drawing Liv even closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. Even that felt comfortable, natural.

The pang of guilt hit him suddenly in the gut but he quickly pushed it away. He wasn't doing anything wrong. Connie and he weren't dating. They were close, they wanted to date, but she had told him "not now". He hadn't done anything wrong. It was Connie that had ditched him. He wasn't doing anything bad by going on a date with Liv. He deserved to do what he wanted for once. He wanted to spend this time with Liv. Didn't he?

His arm stayed around Liv's narrow shoulders for the entirety of the movie. Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of Liv looking up at him, and every time their eyes would meet, both of their gazes would dart back to the screen. The two hours went by so quickly that Steven's eyebrows rose by the time the credits rolled along. Every scene packed a punch he had only dreamed about and as the lights brightened, Liv looked up at him with wide grey eyes. "That... Was... AWESOME!"

Steven stared at the credits for a couple of moments longer in absolute awe of the masterpiece he had just watched. "I... Just... Wow... This has to be the best RoboCop movie ever made..." Around them, the audience buzzed with the same awe and excitement as they felt. "Too bad Connie couldn't-... Sorry..."

Liv looked away awkwardly, "I-It's fine... It makes sense, you wanted to go with her..." She began to pull away from him and panic rose in Steven's chest. Her bright eyes started to tear up again and he found the words tumbling out of his mouth full force. "H-Hey, don't talk like that, I enjoyed my time with you. I'm glad it turned out this way." He flinched at his words. They had been empty, emptier than the movie theater now that most everyone had left. Liv didn't seem to notice. "You mean it...?"