Metus

I laughed, still rubbing my lips. I bet they'd bruise. Dumbass Tom, I need those to sing with! But it was worth it. Lor was cute, even if she was young. Her lips were soft; almost like rosebuds. Soft, pink, and perfect. Fifteen and Eighteen isn't so bad, right? It's only three years difference.

The car ride was taking longer than I'd expected, but that's New York for you. Traffic was always really bad in this part of town, but the subway was too risky. Even for people who used it every day it was risky. There were muggings down there far too often for it to be safe. I shuddered. Never would I step foot in that place.

"Almost there!" The driver called. I didn't believe him. We may be physically close, but we were at least an hour late and it would take another ten minutes to even get passed security. Knowing my manager, the interview would have been canceled by now.

"I wonder where we're headed off to." Georg thought aloud.

Lor looked confused. "Aren't we headed to the studio?"

"No, the interview's been canceled. We're really at the drivers' mercy."

I smiled. Time for a day of random fun! Tom was clearly thinking the same thing, because he scooted over to the other woman and whispered something to the driver (through the window of course). The driver laughed.

"We're headed out. There's a movie theater right down the street and there's a bunch of stuff playing. We just have to pick something." Tom replied, smiling devilishly at Lor.

I felt defensive all of a sudden. I knew my brother too well to let him into a dimly lit room with a defensless girl there for two hours. Then again, Georg and Gustav knew Tom just as well as I did, so with the three of us there plus her agent she'd probably be fine. Plus, I'd never actually been in a US movie theater before. Maybe something would be different?

She knew this too, for she didn't look too happy about the idea. I contemplated putting my arm around her shoulder, but Tom beat me to it, pulling her close to him.

"Come on Lor, I don't bite. Why don't you come along with us today?"

She looked to her agent who was bouncing slightly with excitement. She looked reluctant.

"Oh fine." she mumbled. Tom, Georg and Gustav cheered. I just laughed. Her agent squealed, a high pitched sound that made me fell as if my ears would start bleeding.

The car ride was short from then to the theater. Georg and Tom were on movie selection duty, which was a bad idea because they couldn't agree on anything.

"Why don't we see two then?" Gustav suggested, though it didn't seem like he had much interest in either of the movies.

Tom agreed hole-heartedly and took a few bills from his pocket. "How much does it cost for tickets here?" he asked.

Lor's agent shook her head. "Nothing for us. We've got the entire east side of town free just so we can be seen going there. I bet they'd let you do the same." she said.
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Lor, Georg and I went to get snacks while Tom, Gustav and Lor's agent went into their theater. They were seeing some car-chasing movie with Will Smith and some other guy as the leads, while our group was seeing a romantic-comedy type thing (Georg loved those). I didn't love them, but they were better than car-chasing movies.

We got to our theater with not a minute to spare, snacks and drinks in hand. We sat in the back in order to sprint away if need be, that and I almost never ate candy without throwing it and catching it on my tongue. Don't ask me why, it was just fun. ^.^

The lights dimmed and the previews started. Cell phones pinged as they were being turned off. Lor was sitting next to me, popping skittle after skittle into her mouth. I found myself thinking that her mouth would taste all tangy if she ate any more.

A sense of longing crept over me as I stared at her. She couldn't see me, I knew, because she was either too absorbed inher skittles or focussing on something else. But she couldn't see me. . . could she?