Thank You For Tonight

The movie has come to an end and the credits begin to roll. The lights illuminate the large room, signaling everyone to get out. Chatter arises as people get out of their seats, some struggle with standing up since their legs fell asleep and others laugh at them while they struggle. Many people leave their garbage behind, some even leave behind an almost entirely filled bag of popcorn. Alina sips at Keita's drink as we all go down the steps. I can't believe that she's even willing to drink out of his drink, but then again, she really does love root beer. I just wish she wasn't drinking his.

Her shoulder nudges mine once we leave the theatre, with a bright smile, she lights up even the darkness of the night. "Everything okay?"

I match her smile and nod, "Of course, everything is amazing." I notice my mother's smirk directed towards the two of us but choose to not acknowledge it. Afia seems far more interested in the night sky than Alina and I. Keita is giving me this look like he's won or something, like he beat me at a game that I didn't even know we were playing. Though if the game is about Alina, then I've definitely beat him tonight. With that moment we shared earlier, there's nothing that could possibly ruin this night. Maybe next time she and I can come to the movies together, alone. Hopefully not watch a horror movie either, preferably something more fun. After all, I've seen scarier scenes in video games.

The partial emptiness of the main lobby sends a chill down my spine, reminding me of the scariest scene in the movie when the main group went to a theatre and… I don't even want to think about it. Though that was definitely the only scary scene throughout the entire movie.

There's a few teenagers playing some different games in the arcade, followed by some exhausted children ensuring their parents that they aren't tired. The scent of butter and popcorn over takes my nostrils as we pass by the concession stand. It makes me crave some more, but I know that if I eat anything else then I'll definitely end up regretting it later on with how full I'll be.

"Knox, Alina!" Afia calls over to us, my mom and siblings are standing by the exit of the theatre. I guess that we're not playing games first then.

We catch up with them and as we walk out of the doors, I ask, "So we're not playing some arcade games first?"

"No," My mom shakes her head. "It's late and I'm tired."

"That's fair," I nod. The frozen night air overtakes my senses, completely replacing that of popcorn and butter. The sounds of bustling cars have faded a bit compared to when we first arrived, but there's still the occasional honk as we head to the car. The parking lot has been salted recently, only thick, brown slush remains as we slip and slide past it. I can tell that Keita was trying really hard to not get any of it on his shoes, but of course that'll never go well. Some of the slush has already made it's way up his pants and I know for a fact that we're all going to be suffering through his complaining the entire ride home.

As we get into the car and escape the freezing cold of the outdoors, my mom turns on the car and boosts the heat up. We stay in place for a few minutes while we wait for everything to warm up. My mom notices the awkward silence and decides to turn on the radio, the song that was playing just as when we got here is playing again, sadly. But at least we won't have to deal with hearing Keita complain, we only have to deal with him screaming the lyrics at the top of his lungs.

The song reaches the chorus and Keita is still silently listening to it while staring out of the window. My mom and sister seemed a little concerned at first but I guess that they just assumed he is too tired to sing. Alina keeps on glancing over to him with a look of concern on her face, I guess that she's not buying it.

The car has finally heated up enough and we start driving home. I decide to take out my phone and text Alina, even though she's right beside me. 'Everything okay?' I ask.

Her phone buzzes and she doesn't look at me before she unlocks it and responds, 'Yeah, I'm just surprised at how quiet he's being.'

'He might just be tired,' I point out.

'I doubt that,' She continues to type. 'He might just not want to be annoying right now.'

'Or risk mom getting pissed at him,' I suggest.

'That too,' She agrees with me and puts away her phone, I do the same.

The lights come and go as we drive through the night, snow begins to fall once more, but it's light and small. The playing of the music makes the atmosphere feel more relaxed as I imagine and think about everything that went well tonight. That hug has never left my mind ever since it first happened. I wish it never ended. It was so comforting, I didn't even know that I needed one so badly. I wonder why she decided to give me that hug. But either way, I'm not complaining, I loved it. She's such an amazing friend.

We enter my neighbourhood and my mom slowly pulls into a parking space, though we can't see it due to the fresh layer of snow. As we all pile out, a soft breeze blows into my face and little snowflakes get into my eyes. I let out a yelp which only Alina seems to acknowledge. She places a hand on my shoulder and smiles up to me. I can immediately feel my face go hot and melt any of the snow that has landed on me so far. My mother smirks as she notices us, but once again, I choose to ignore it.

Alina's phone buzzes in her pocket and she takes it out to check, "Oh my dad just texted me, I have to get home." She turns to my mom and smiles brightly, "Thank you so much for inviting me tonight."

"Of course," She smiles back. "Anytime."

Alina and I quickly give each other another hug and she rushes away, disappearing around a corner. But just as she leaves my sight, I remember something. She left her bag at my place.