Show Some Feelings

I left the house ten minutes to eight and got to the theater exactly at 8:06.

I sent a quick text to Billie that I had gotten there, and she sent a smiley face emoji back.

The movie theater was pretty crowded. It seemed busy for a Monday night. People were in groups walking in together. Some were in twos, others were in threes.

"Hey you " I turned to see Christian walking towards me.

"Christian?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Fancy seeing you here."

"I'd say the same for you."

"Well, my dearest twin thought it had been a while since she last hung out with me."

"How sweet." I smiled at him, but we both knew it was sarcastic.

"Something you can never be." He states.

"You never know if something's sweet until you have a taste."

He scoffs. "Are you implying I have a taste of you?"

I scrunch my face. "What? No! Eww! I'm saying you shouldn't judge a person by their appearances."

"But I'm not judging by appearance."

"What?"

"I've known you for 8 years now, if not more than that. So I know everything about you. Your favorite color down to the things you hate. I know what you're allergic to, what you hate the most, the type of music you listen to-"

"What's my favorite color?" I interrupted him.

"Red. He says without missing a beat. "But it seems like your heart is changing towards mint green."

That's…right.

"Music?"

"Kpop."

I raise an eyebrow. "Kpop?"

He nods. "Yup."

"I do listen to western though."

"But not as much as kpop. Western isn't your favorite."

I nod in agreement. "Food!"

"None." He says. "You love them all except for the ones you don't like."

He does know me.

"Then what's the thing I hate the most?"

"Being left alone." He says. "Specifically being abandoned."

He's really right. I'm not sure Billie even knows this much about me.

"You see? I know you well." He says proudly.

"How many years did you say we've known each other again?"

"Long enough for me to know you inside out."

Just how long have you studied me? How long have you been there enough to know all?

Even my parents don't know half of this.

"But you are wrong about one thing though."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Which is?"

"I have no allergies."

He chuckles. "You clearly don't know yourself well."

"What?"

"Remember in seventh grade? The lunch food contained peach ingredients and you had a major reaction. You couldn't breathe and you couldn't move your right arm."

"Ah yes, I remember. " That day is on my blacklist.

"You cried after you were treated and vowed to never have peaches again." He laughs softly. "You avoided peaches for months. You were so meticulous about it. I can't believe you forgot all about it."

"I'm sure I wanted to forget that day. Now I know why I don't like peaches."

"You what?"

"Each time I go out to eat, I make sure I don't eat peaches. To me, it has this sour taste. I didn't know it's because it's an allergy."

"Now you do."

"Thanks to you."

"What will you do without me in your life?"

"Live peacefully." I say immediately.

"Harsh." He brings out his phone from his pocket. "Should we go in?" He asks. "I think the movie's gonna start soon."

I look around. "But Billie isn't here yet. She's the reason I'm out anyway."

"It doesn't look like she's going to show."

"What makes you think that?"

"Think about it. Billie likes to be early. What time did she say you should be here?"

"Eight."

"She would have been here 15 minutes before eight."

Christian's right. Billie really hates being late to an occasion. Especially if it's not involving studies.

"You have the same character remember?"

"Yeah." He nods. "In some ways."

"So you've been here 15 minutes before?"

"I got here 7:52. I thought I was already late. Unlike you, she didn't tell me when to get here. So I thought I was late."

"Oh."

"So shall we go in? I'm itching to be inside already."

"You can go inside. Let me call Billie first." I dialed Billie's number.

"Why?"

"You know how she is. She initiated the hangout, so she'll feel betrayed if we both went in without her "

"But time's wasting. It's almost eight thirty. The movie's going to start any minute from now." He whines.

"Then we'll see another one Christian. It's not the only movie they're showing." She doesn't answer the call so I dial her again.

This time, she answers on the third ring.

"Hey Les."

"Where are you? Christian and I have been waiting for you for almost thirty minutes."

"You're not in yet?" She asked as if she already expected us to be watching the movie.

"No. We're waiting for you."

"I'm sorry. Something came up. But you can enjoy it with Chris instead." She adds and hangs up.

"Hello? Hel-"

"What did she say?" Christian asks.

"Something came up and she can't make it."

"Now can we go watch the movie?" He asks.

"You know sometimes, it won't kill you to be nice."

"What did I do now?" He groans.

"Your twin said something came up. Aren't you at least concerned?"

"Why should I be?" He asks and I scoff.

"Anything could have happened. Billie never-"

"Lesley." He interrupts me. "It's Billie we're talking about here. Nothing critical came up. Maybe she just decided to stay with her boyfriend longer."

"How did you know she was with Ian?"

"If she isn't with you, where else would she be?" He asks. "She doesn't have a life you know."

A typical Christian thing to say.

"Let's just go in and watch the screen, okay? I've stood outside here long enough."

I stare at him for a moment.

Why is he so nonchalant about it? I mean I know nothing's wrong and she did decide to stay with Ian but at least show some feelings.

"Sure." I nod.

"Thank goodness." He walks ahead of me. "She sent me the online tickets so we just have to get popcorn and drinks."

"Lead the way."