Fan Fiction |
by chrysanthemum
*Predictable. I can't wait 'til this is over.* Xiao You seethed mentally as she and Ximen walked together to cinema number two.
She looked behind her to take a quick glance at their friends who were making their way to the opposite direction. She caught them watching her and Ximen but they quickly averted their gaze when they saw her looking.
*So predictable.* Xiao You thought, rolling her eyes and quietly letting out a sigh.
"Do you want popcorn?" She heard Ximen ask, quickly pulling her out of thoughts. Xiao You was surprised that he asked but she kept the surprise to herself.
"Doesn't matter." Xiao You deadpanned with a shrug.
She didn't really care about popcorn or even the movie at all. All she wanted was to get it all over and done with.
If Xiao You was perfectly uninterested and not at all into it, Ximen was fairly the opposite. He wasn't too elated about seeing a movie, but neither was he that apathetic about it. Besides, since they were already there, he thought that they might as well make the most out of it.
A small, lopsided grin turned up in Ximen's face.
"Come on. Let's have some." He said rather enthusiastically.
Odd. Very odd.
Xiao You just followed him with a puzzled expression on her face. What was he so thrilled about? She quietly stood beside Ximen as he ordered one large Pepsi, one large iced tea and one bucket of cheese-flavored popcorn.
"You're getting cheese? You like butter, right?" Xiao You asked.
"Yes, but you like cheese, so I got us cheese." Ximen answered.
Five seconds after they said those words, they both quickly looked away as awkwardness hung in the air.
They used to go to movies together several times. Xiao You always loved having cheese-flavored popcorn and iced tea while Ximen liked having Pepsi and buttered popcorn. They'd always share a bucket. Since they differed in the flavor of their choice, they'd compromise. First time, they'd get cheese then the next, they'd have butter.
Neither of them expected that the other still remembered. In their minds, they had convinced themselves that such things can be easily forgotten.... that they already have forgotten. But perhaps their hearts simply beg to differ. However, that doesn't change anything for them. They're over. Whatever they had before was now gone. And they prefer to keep it that way.
"What are you so excited about, anyway?" Xiao You asked casually to break the ice.
"I'm not excited." Ximen said, taking their food from the counter and handed the iced tea to Xiao You.
"Right." She said sarcastically.
Ximen sighed in defeat. He didn't realize he looked THAT eager. Or maybe he didn't. Perhaps Xiao You simply still knew him well enough to tell.
"I just haven't seen a movie in years, that's all." Ximen spoke nonchalantly as they walked to the theater entrance.
"You're kidding." Xiao You spoke in disbelief.
She wasn't oblivious to Ximen's workaholic behavior but she never thought that the Ximen Zhong Er Lang who, as far as she knew, had a pretty active night life could seriously change that much and scrape off the socializer in him.
"No. I'm too busy with work for things like this." Ximen replied.
Xiao You could see that he really wasn't joking. She would've felt sorry for him but she knew that he always found other 'recreational activities' in place of going to the movies. That thought reemerged her resentment towards him.
"You're no fun." Xiao You remarked, shaking her head.
Ximen was slightly surprised that Xiao You wasn't being so cruel to him - not that he minded, really. His 'emotional wall' was still up but he figured that as long as they were working together in this whole plot, they might as well, at least, get along.
"So we're in small talk terms now?" Ximen asked half-jokingly as they found their seats and settled down.
Xiao You realized that she was, indeed, being a little nice to him. It wasn't exactly a bad thing. She had to admit, though, that she sort of enjoyed being mean to him sometimes. Honestly, it could get tiring to always be so tough. So maybe she could try being a lot friendlier... or maybe just a little.
"Don't get too used to it." Xiao You said coldly and took a sip from her drink.
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After more than an hour of agony for Ximen, the film finally ended. He hadn't expected it to be such a chick flick. He could've dropped dead in there. He was never one for mawkish, oversentimental movies. He had to fight the urge to fall asleep. Good thing the sugar supplement from his drink was enough to keep his eyes open. He had to say, though, that there really were some moments in that movie. But he was never going to admit that to anyone. Ever.
Xiao You, on the other hand, had tears in her eyes by the time the words 'The End' flashed on the big screen. If only she could help it, she would never have cried in a public place like that. Especially not with Ximen around. God knows she really tried not to cry. Her lower lip nearly bled from her biting as she struggled to keep her tears back. But she simply couldn't do it.
As soon as the lights went on, she quickly tried to wipe her cheeks dry before Ximen could see her face. But even before her fingers touched her cheek, she saw a hand holding out a handkerchief in front of her. It took a second before she realized whose hand it was. After a little hesitation, she took the hanky without looking up and dried her tears with it.
*Dammit! Now he has to catch me bawling over some mushy old movie!* She ranted mentally as they exited the theater.
Once they were in a better-lighted area, Xiao You looked down at the hanky Ximen lent her. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw the color.
"Pink?" She spoke in bewilderment, looking curiously at Ximen. She could swear she saw a quick flash of embarrassment on Ximen's face.
"I don't care what color my handkerchief is. I rarely ever take it out in public anyway, so nobody would really notice." He reasoned.
Just knowing that Ximen even had a pink (and it's baby pink too) handkerchief at all made Xiao You want to crack up.
"But it's just that it's too... girly for you." Xiao You remarked in between stifled chuckles.
"Well, at least I'm not the one who broke into tears watching some old movie." Ximen ribbed.
Xiao You wrinkled her forehead at his mocking remark, obviously taking a little offense in it.
"It's a socially acceptable act in my case because I'm a typical, soft-hearted, pink-loving GIRL. What's your excuse?" Xiao You bit back.
That stumped Ximen. For lack of anything to answer to that, he just glared at her.
"I still can't believe you cried, though." Ximen said. He just felt like rubbing it in and annoying Xiao You a little more.
"I didn't cry." Xiao You defended, her voice raising. "...much." She added almost in a whisper.
"Yeah, right. You have Rudolph's nose." Ximen ragged some more.
Xiao You reflexively brought her hand to cover her nose. Ximen only let out a laugh at her reaction. Xiao You dropped her hand and glared at him when she realized that he was only making fun of her. Nevertheless, she figured that she was busted anyway, so it was pointless to deny.
"Well, so what if I did? It was a touching movie and I do have a heart after all." Xiao You spoke sternly.
"And I don't?" Ximen asked, pretending to sound offended.
They spotted Ah Si, Shan Cai, Mei Zhuo, Xiao Qiao, Lei, and Jing a couple of meters away. Automatically, Ximen and Xiao You plastered smiles on their lips and happy expressions on their faces. They pretended not to see their friends yet, but at the corner of their eye, they knew that they were watching the two of them.
And the show resumes...
"Well, It's just that between the two of us, I'm the hopeless romantic and you're the romance-atheistic jerk." Xiao You said softly with a trace of conceit in her tone, but still with a smile on her face.
It was ironic. From a far away view, they looked like they were having a lighthearted and enjoyable conversation because of their grins and giggles. But in reality, they were in the heat of bickering.
"I'm not a romance-atheist." Ximen argued, his voice defensive but his expression displaying sheer joy.
Xiao You figured that he was probably right. He was always a self-confessed romantic, and it was actually the truth. She should know. She, herself, once got to enjoy the benefits of his romantic inclinations, firsthand. Xiao You pretended to giggle and with a sweet smile, she spitefully whispered...
"Maybe not, but you are a jerk."
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"Would you look at that. They look like they had fun." Mei Zhuo whispered to the other people he was with when they caught sight of Ximen and Xiao You making their way out of the theater.
"I know. And they actually seem to enjoy each other's company." Ah Si agreed with a contented grin when he saw the two talking happily as they walked.
"What do you think, Lei?" He asked, turning to their other friend who had been, as always, practically mute most of the time.
Unlike the rest, Lei was the only one who didn't look too satisfied with what was happening. The others didn't give much meaning to his behavior as it had always been Lei's nature to be passive. But if they didn't know any better, they would've thought Lei knew something that they didn't.
"I wouldn't count on it that much just yet." Lei answered flatly.
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