It All Started With a Diary

defending the enemy

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"All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost." — Bilbo Baggins 'The Fellowship of the Ring'
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Chapter 9
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I thanked Carter as he held the door to the theater for me. As soon as we were sat, I felt the weight of someone's eyes on the back of my neck. Since Carter seemed completely oblivious to this, I allowed the feeling to pass.

"Want some?" I heard Carter whisper.

He tilted the popcorn toward me, which I gladly took. "Thank you."

He shot a sweet smile toward me before focusing his attention back on the movie. I tried to do the same but just couldn't. Maybe if I ignored whoever was staring at me, I would calm down.

Everyone else's attention was bound to the action movie while mine was elsewhere. Carter was being the perfect gentleman, but something just didn't feel right in all of this. That nagging tuition gnawing at the pit of your stomach. But perhaps I could excuse it for nerves.

Once we left my home, he asked if I had eaten yet, but I lied and told him that I had already eaten at my house. I figured that lying would help the night pass quicker. No matter what I did, I never was able to keep a conversation going for too long. The less talking, the better, I thought. After that, we left and here we were now, together in a full and dark theater.

Yep, anxiety was one cruel, tasteless bitch.

I laughed or gasped along with everyone else did at different scenes, yet my concentration was far from the movie. I felt a sense of gratitude when the movie ended.

Carter turned toward me. "That was a good movie."

We decided to stay behind. The credits rolled and the lights were turned on. We were silent for a minute as the screen began to darken.

We both stood up, scooting past the ushers. Carter's eyes raked my expression for any hint of emotion. "Everything okay?" He grabbed my hand in his.

I could hear the concern in his tone, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings by releasing his hand. We were on a date, and holding hands was one of the many normal things people did.

I gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, I'm just kind of in a shock."

His eyebrow raised. "Yeah? Why?"

"I don't know. It's just hard to think that someone like...you would want to go for someone like me," I explained, my eyes locked on the red carpet under us.

He paused in his step and I did the same. "I hope that didn't come out wrong."

"Kimberly, listen. You are literally one of the nicest girls I have ever met. And It doesn't matter what the others say. To me, you're probably the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, inside and out," Carter admitted.

My heart awed at his reassurance. A heavy weight lifted off my chest. Perhaps we could have fun for the remainder of the night.

My hand was limp in his, despite the numerous times he squeezed it. "Thank you, Carter."

The employees locked the door of the theater behind us. Apparently we'd been in the building for awhile since there were only two cars in the parking lot, one including ours.

Carter led me to his car. "Thank you for letting me take a beautiful girl like yourself out on a date."

I blushed again, nodding my head. How could someone be so nice, I wondered.