Banks was indignant.“What?Why?”
“Because I used to go see horror movies by myself back at the Sagebrush Cinemas and I never saw you once.”
Banks made an immature raspberry sound with his lips, waving his big all-star hands in case Harper had missed it.“Yeah, like I was going to go in our hometown.I drove forty minutes away to the dinky little theater in Stapleton, duh.”
“What?Why?That’s ridiculous.”
“Not if you don’t want to look like a pathetic loser when someone you know walks in the theater and finds you siting there alone with a giant bucket of popcorn on your lap wearing your favoriteVampire Cyborgs from Hell 3t-shirt and ...what ...why are you looking at me like that?”
“Did ...you just call me a pathetic loser?”
Banks was unapologetically amused at Harper’s admittedly mock indignation.“Pretty sure I just called us both pathetic losers,loser.”
“Yeah, well at least I had the balls to go to our hometown theater and sit there watching a horror movie alone rather than drive two towns away just so one of my bros wouldn’t see me.”
Banks shrugged.“I think I’ve already made it abundantly clear by now that you were the bigger man back in school, haven’t I?All I’m trying to do is prove to you that I’m trying to be someone different here at college.Trying to be the person I always wanted to be but wasn’t brave enough to be back then.Back ...home.And I’d like to try being that person with you.”
Harper was as flattered as he was surprised.“At a horror movie marathon?”
Banks chuckled, almost shyly.“It’s a start, okay?”
Harper glanced at the poster, scanning the list of movies, many of which he’d never seen before, none of which he’d ever seen in a theater, live, with other horror fans.Banks watched him, nudging his damn foot again and huffing predictably.
“Why are you even bugging, Harp?You like horror movies, I like horror movies, you got anything better going on tonight?”
Harper relented, Banks making more sense than he cared to admit.Whywashe bugging, indeed?“You mean other than listening to my pothead roomie snore and fart the night away?I mean...”
Banks winked.“There we go.Listen, I’ll even pay for the tickets, okay?”
Harper pointed to the flyer with a wry, almost playful grin, the double whammy of adrenaline and anticipation gurgling up in his already butterfly dancing guts.“It’s afreeevent, you know that, right?”
Banks played dumb, and not very convincingly.“Why, no.Where does it say that?”He pretended to squint, even as Harper pointed to the giant capital letters at the top, bottom and even the middle of the poster that said, “Free.”
Banks grinned, making it clear he was not to be denied.“Fine, then, I’ll buy the snacks.Happy now?”
Chapter Seven
