sick of losing soulmates | gxg | dodie

f o u r t e e n

"When
I'm
Eighty years old, and alone in my chair
Will I look back at safety and be glad I didn't care
No!
I can hear her screaming
"Love, break, and learn
What else are you young for?
Fuck it, hurt whilst you can""

I followed Sophie into the other room, not saying a word, still trying to comprehend what just happened. We all squeezed onto the sofa that was really made for two people, Sophie on one side, Dodie on the other, and Sophie handed me the bowl of buttery, salty popcorn, and then switched on the TV.

"You like horror movies?" Sophie asked Dodie as she scrolled through all the movies on Netflix, pausing on one with a demon-like figure on the cover.

"Sure." I could sense some uncertainty in her voice, not that it stopped Sophie from playing the movie anyway. Soph and I had watched so many horror movies that even the worst jumpscares failed to make me flinch me anymore. I was that one kid at sleepovers who would always tell horror stories, and i was pretty sure that quite a few people had lost sleep at the expense of my strange love for them.

Although, admittedly, the cinematography of the film was amazing, the storyline was a little predictable. It was your typical horror movie; couple move into a house, the house is haunted, do they escape? Obviously they did, but only with the demon possessing the man, a nice little twist, the only part I didn't actually see coming.

The special effects team had done a brilliant job though, the demon looked so real... well as real as something supernatural could look: the burnt red skin so realistic I could almost imagine what it would feel like, eyes like black holes, yellow teeth pointed like sharpened arrow heads... if I didn't watch so many movies, I could see this creature appearing in my nightmares.

What may have been more entertaining than the film was Dodie's reactions. She was a very expressive person, and it was easy to read her face like a book. It was clear she hadn't watched quite as many horror movies as us, and I couldn't help but smile at her.

She'd tense up at the "scary" parts, grabbing my hand and squeezing it so tightly I was surprised all the bones in it hadn't broken yet. At one point, she brought her knees up to her chest and covered her face with a pillow in shock. As awful as it sounds, I had to suppress laughs as I wrapped my arm around her, her reactions were just so cute!

Once the movie was finished, we all got up and stretched, my legs had died about halfway through the movie, and now pins and needles pricked my skin like it was taunting me for being so lazy.

"I should probably get going," Dodie said as we headed towards the kitchen.

"You can stay for longer if you want?" Sophie offered, but dodie shook her head.

"Those videos aren't gonna edit themselves! Thank you so so much for everything, though,"

"You've gotta come over again soon!" Sophie added, and I agreed with her. As much as I loved Sophie, it was always great to make new friends.

We followed her to the door, saying our goodbyes, giving hugs. I wasn't sure if it was just me, but it did feel like our hug lingered just a little bit longer. Although it was easy to dismiss it as my brain just playing tricks on me, I couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same way as I stood in the doorway, watching her walk down the street until she turned a corner and I could no longer see her.

"You like her." I spun around quickly to see Sophie standing behind me.

"No? Of course I don't? Why would I like her..." I trailed off blushing heavily. "How do you even know I like girls too?"