Blinded

Frank stumbled back a bit from the impact of her body against his.

Rae looked up at him, embarrassment evident in her eyes. It was shocking that it was clear in the first place. Rae was never one to become self-conscious about the things she did.

"I heard my sister say you were here, I was just coming to meet you." she explained, gesturing down the hallway for a moment, before looking back at the man before her. He nodded, not knowing what else to do. "Are you ready to go?"

"I- uhm yeah, I'm ready when you are." his tongue stumbled, awkwardly. Inside he was cursing himself for coming off as anything close to nervous.

Frank had decided, while on his way to the Simmons residence, that he didn't want to do anything to sway the way Rae thought of him. He didn't plan on using fancy words to melt her to putty in his hands. Nor did he wish to come off as wanting nothing more than friendship. There was a fine line Frank had chosen to walk; a line that many times turns out to be nothing but trouble. He had gone over every bad ending in his head a million different times, and something deep within him had decided this venture was worth the risk, Rae was worth it.

His recollected thoughts were blotted away by Rae smiling widely at him, something that didn't occur enough for him. "Well, let me grab my shoes downstairs and then we can leave."

He watched as she turned past him and began heading down the stairs to the house's opening hallway. Rae walked over to the closet located by the front door, opened it and grabbed a pair of ratty sneakers out from inside. As she sat down to tie them to her feet, his gaze landed on the other end of the hallway where Mr. Simmons was so clearly visible, a frown etched into his face.

An uncomfortable feeling grew in him as her father began walking towards the two. "Rae Lee" he called, snapping her from her preoccupation with her shoes.

"Yes?"

He sighed, folding his arms over each other. "It's a Sunday night, where are you going?"

Frank gazed from her frightening father back to Rae, who was now glaring. It seemed that the relationship Frank had once assumed to be good wasn't what he thought. Something was troubling the two of them, and he made a point to remember to casually ask her about it when they left.

"We're going to a movie, Dad." she stated, laced with heavy annoyance. "My little sister has gone out already tonight, and you've made a point not to stop her from leaving."

He shouldn't be watching the beginning of an argument unfurl itself. God forbid it turned into a screaming match, he would be awkwardly placed directly in between the line of fire. Casually, he shuffled his weight from one foot to another while taking baby steps backwards, hoping no one would notice. Unfortunately, Rae was very perceptive, and backed down from her glare at her father to shoot Frank a look that said 'Don't you dare move'. He halted his motions.

Mr. Simmons coughed, not sure of how to respond to his daughters remark. He looked at Frank, his eyes yelling at him to get out of his house. Frank so desperately wished Rae would just drag him out of the house; he no longer felt comfortable and natural around her father.

Rae was his saving rescue when she brusquely walked over to where he was standing, entangled her hands with his, and pulled him through the front door. Unconsciously, he began to smile as they stepped towards his car. He had known he liked Rae, but it was becoming more and more evident by the amount of time he spent thinking about her, and the way he responded to her slightest actions that he was in much farther than he anticipated. Definitely not on the same level as he was in freshman year.

He reached his beat up old car, and jumped in the front seat and buckled-up, glancing at Rae to make sure she was set. Once she was, she gave him a flash of a smile, and he pulled out of her driveway and into the street.

There was no sound between the two as they began down the road, only what was coming out quietly from Frank's CD player. It was a slower Bouncing Souls song, and Frank inwardly smiled as he began to hear Rae hum along with it. She had a pretty hum.

Gosh, sometimes his thoughts were enough to make himself sick to his stomach.

Her sound ended when she chose to speak instead. "What movie did we decided to see exactly?" Frank glanced at her and then back at the road, ruffling his black hair in his hand.

"We didn't, actually" he chuckled, turning onto the street the local movie theater was on. He saw it in the distance, and watched as the people in front spoke to their friends and walked in and out of its doors.

"Oh" she breathed. "Well, do you have a preference to a movie?" Frank shook his head, not at all caring what movie they were to see. He was just happy to be getting the time to hang out with Rae, alone and away from the drama and emotions the world around them brings.

Soon, he had found a parking space, and the two of them were making their way over to the ticket booth. Almost simultaneously, they turned to each other, asking with their eyes which movie to pick. "You choose." They chorused.

Laughter escaped both their lips. "No, really I invited you here. The least I could do was let you choose." she insisted at him, leaving him defenseless to her. He gazed at the list of movies playing, none of which seemed to perk his interest. He eventually pointed to one, and the two of them paid for the ticket separately.

Neither of them had decided to get snacks, so they headed into the theater empty handed. Rae had once again grabbed onto Frank to drag him in the direction of it, not that he would complain. His hands seemed to be on fire where she touched her skin to his.

The pair took their seats and waited in silence, apart from the nearby crunching of other viewers, for the lights to dim and the show to start. Something inside Frank began turning the minute they finally did. He felt like it had been silent for too long, that he needed to say something before the movie cut him off completely. But, what could he say? ‘Thanks for inviting me.’ The movie hadn’t even begun yet!

As Frank turned his head and opened his mouth to say the next thing that popped into his brain, he was stopped by a loud squeal from tires and the sound of metal crashing into metal. It was too late, the picture had started playing.

A half an hour later, Frank had concluded that this was possibly the biggest joke of a movie he had ever had the displeasure to watch. “This is such shit.” He mumbled, believing that Rae would be too caught up in the plot to even hear him. However, he was surprised when he heard her chuckle next to him.

”I’ve been thinking the same thing since the main character announced his biggest fear was swallowing a raw egg.” she whispered, with a smile.

”Want to just leave, then?” Frank suggested, hoping to God that she would agree and they go leave. She nodded enthusiastically and the two crouched down and shuffled their way from their seats as not to bother anyone else who might actually be enjoying the cheesy film.

Strangely, the pair began to laugh as they made their way out of the theater. Frank didn’t know why he felt the urge to. It was just that the minute they walked back into the lobby, with the bright lights shining on each of their faces, the look that passed between them something of horror and pain, it was funny. So funny, in fact, that they didn’t stop laughing until they were outside in the parking lot walking towards Frank’s car.

Apparently, he noticed, it must have rained while they were inside the movie. The asphalt was wet, along with the body of parked cars, and the noise of moving tires sloshing against soaked roads could be heard from passing cars in the distance.

There was something about tonight that felt right to Frank. He liked how the night looked when it was wet, matched with the yellow-y orange dim of street lamps. He liked that he wasn’t pretending with Rae and that she didn’t seem to be either. He just wished he had the ability to reach out and grasp her hand in his. Not yet, though.

Instead, he settled on wrapping his arm over her shoulder and leaning on her as they walked back. It wasn’t romantic or a gesture of affection. It was just one friend sloppily hanging all over the other, enjoying their company. Well, at least that’s how Frank saw it.

”I’m assuming you don’t want to go home just yet.” He spoke, glancing down at her. She looked up; her eyes shimmering with happiness which, in turn, made Frank’s eyes reflect it right back.

”I want ice cream.” she said, turning her head away and back at his car that was coming closer. Ice cream, Frank thought, would probably be a very perfect ending to an almost perfect night. He glanced up at the sky, looking to see if the rain clouds had passed and he could see the stars. Some of them had gone and he could see twinkling white dots but, the dark purple hue blotched out other spots where he could not see any.

”If it’s ice cream you want, then it’s ice cream we’ll get.”