Jangles

Chapter 12: Superfluous

Chapter 12: Superfluous

After finally convincing a reluctant Cayden to go on our group date, I found out that convincing Olivia was going to be just as hard.

“What if Nate thinks I’m cheating on him? What if he breaks up with me? I don’t want him to break up with me, Ash.” Olivia said this in a small voice, her fear plain in it.

I patted her back comfortingly, a small smile upon my face. “It’s not like you’re going on a date with him. It’s just a movie, plus you’re just going as friends.”

She sighed. “It just feels wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t go. Then Cayden could go hang out with his latest fling and maybe I wouldn’t feel so guilty…”

“You do realize how long it took me to get Cayden to even think about coming? All of my hard work will be wasted if you don’t come!”

“I know…but…”

“No buts about it! I know Nate will be okay with it. Besides, you came here to have fun. It’s not fun to just stay in the apartment all alone.”

“I guess you’re right…” She trailed off, finally making her decision.

“When aren’t I? Now go pretty yourself up.” I stood up quickly, a big smile on my face.

***

Eli waited to buy our tickets while the others were in a deep conversation or deciding on movie snacks. I’m glad both groups were getting along because that meant I didn’t have to serve as a buffer. “Do you want anything to eat, Cutie?”

“Popcorn!” You never couldn’t get popcorn if you were going to see a movie in theaters; it was like a rule.

He ordered a large bucket of popcorn with butter heavily coating each kernel. While he got our drinks, he gave me the task of picking the seasoning that would be sprinkled on top of the popcorn, as he didn’t have a preference. At least, that’s what he told me.

I opened the lid to the nacho cheese flavoring and dumped it into the bucket. I heard a whooshing sound and a slew of orange-colored powder rushed out of the bottle. I quickly tipped it back up, attempting to distribute evenly. Unfortunately, it was too much to even be appealing. I grabbed a napkin from the dispenser and began blotting it, sweeping it onto the floor. I was trying not to draw attention to myself, but Eli had other plans.

“Ashlyn!” he shouted from across the room. “What do you want?”

“A coke!” I said quickly, desperately wanting him to shut up.

Minutes later, he sauntered over to me with the two drinks in his hands. He peered into the bucket and almost dropped the drinks. “Got enough nacho cheese in there?” he choked.

“I opened the wrong side of the lid…”

“Don’t you look before you start pouring willy nilly?”

I shook my head and bit my lip, giggling nervously. “Apparently not...would it be wrong to add white cheddar seasoning in?”

He stuck his head in the bucket and pulled out a piece with his teeth. He made a face and swallowed. “It couldn’t make it worse.”

I offered a smile, causing him to roll his eyes. I started to pick up the bottle, but Eli said, “Stop. You’re not allowed to do that anymore.”

“I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.”

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Eli, I got this.”