A movie with an all too familiar plot

"What should we watch?"

"I'm sure whatever you choose will be the best movie there can be, Willow."

Claude glanced sourly at Charlie, before thinking of something. "Oh, let's watch that one. The one we used to love watching when we were young, you know? You must remember that, right?"

Ugh, damn it. How would Willow know what movie the original owner and Claude liked to watch.

He tried to cover it up, "I dunno. Not really in the mood."

Claude didn't press further, having achieved his purpose of making Charlie jealous by reminding Willow of old times. "Alright. Let's see something else."

Willow scrolled through movies for a while before turning to the girls. "Hey, Adel? Any suggestions?"

Adelia answered in the mind channel, her eyes still on the phone. 'The movies here are the same? Like in our world?'

Willow shrugged before replying, 'Can't say. All names are new.'

Charlie, who only saw Adelia briefly look up, seemed annoyed by her lack of answer and snapped, dropping down his pretentious politeness, "Bug, you know, you're supposed to answer when someone asks you a question. Guess you need to go back to your kindergarten books."

"Oh well, then again, can you really read them with your primitive intelligence?"

Adelia just looked done with it all. She didn't even bother giving a snarky reply and sighed, "...I know how to read. Just choose whatever, Will. Randomly put on one that has good reviews. Don't waste the whole night choosing, for god's sake."

"So... A comedy?"

Adelia shrugged, "If that's what floats your boat. Just put on a random rom com, they're pretty funny."

Willow liked the idea and decided to follow that. He selected one which was rated a solid 9.5 on IMBd and put it on.

"Oh, isn't it the one being praised on the internet a few days ago? Something about the biggest plot twists of all time, I think."

"Was it?" Willow shrugged, "I don't remember."

The movie started. It told the story of a young single woman, looking for prospective wedding matches to stop her mother's nagging. A rather stereotypical and mainstream start for a rom com movie.

The woman, whose name was Grace, had a best friend, who was coincidently blonde, the shade of his hair not too different from Claude. Even his name was Caden Lawrence.

Grace and Caden had fun together as friends, although the man did seem to think of her as someone more than a friend. Then cut to her office, where she meets her new handsome boss, Charles Thompson, who was, for some reason, single until now despite being insanely popular with girls.

Grace, although depicted to have money problems, owned a nice apartment in the heart of the city. Oh, by the way, she has never been kissed or had dated before either, despite being enchantingly beautiful.

"Quite typical," Willow remarked, chewing on some popcorn.

"...It's well done, though," Adelia was looking at the screen carefully. "I mean, it's high budget and aesthetic, so I don't really think it's bad. Even overused tropes work like magic if done properly. 'Old is gold', you know?"

Claude smiled, "Will, this Caden guy is good, right? I mean, he's a childhood friend and even knows her from before... He truly is a perfect match, isn't he? He's kind, considerate, and the one who really makes her happy-"

"-He's also the type of character most likely to get friend zoned," Charlie added under his breath.

Claude glared at him but didn't retort. Instead, he continued, "I mean, Will, sure, people sometimes choose the one they met recently for the thrill and excitement, but in the end, it's clear that the one who stayed by their side this whole time is Mr. Right. After all, it's never too late to wake up and make the right choice."

"Stayed by their side? Pfft, I didn't know the one who vanished for 11 years is someone who was 'always' there for them," Charlie snickered, not letting Claude's provocation get to him.

Claude couldn't retort. He just looked down, before eventually turning to the screen, trying not to look at the smug boy. It's not that he couldn't reply, he just didn't want to make unnecessary conflict for Willow. Really.