Trust Me, Don't Leave Me

~~~~3rd Person POV~~~~
A moment after Liz released her inhibitions and kissed Dougie back, she pulled away and rested her head on his chest. Dougie let a small smile spread across his face as he started petting her hair. And he swore he heard her start purring even though humans couldn’t purr.
And he just didn’t care, only caring that she was content.
“Hey, Liz, you know what?” he murmured.
“Hmm?” she purred at him, very much like a cat.
“You’re really pretty.” He blushed, not believing he just said that.
“Pretty-cute or pretty-beautiful?” she asked, giggling.
“Both.” He felt her sigh.
“Liar,” she muttered. “I could never be beautiful.” She knew that and so did most males. She pulled out of his arms and he could see her face was pink, too. “Let’s go,” she said, turning toward the living room.
Before they reached the kitchen door, Liz felt his hand slip into hers and glanced over to see him carrying Star.
“Your kitten seems to have forgiven me.”
“Indeed.” Then they walked out to see that all of the others were watching for them. She blushed again and felt him shift awkwardly. “Hi…what’s up?”
Grace smiled, saying, “You go, girl,” into the awkward silence. Everyone agreed quickly.
“So,” Gio began. “Are you two…umm…a…thing…now?” she asked, looking at Liz. Her blush got deeper.
“Ask him,” she said in the calmest voice, glancing casually around. In her peripheral vision, she saw them all look at Dougie expectantly.
“Well?” Grace pressed.
“Yes, we definitely are,” he said and she heard the smile in his voice. His arm snaked around her waist and she clasped her hands together in front of her.
“About time you found a girl,” Gio muttered. “So, what do you wanna do next?” she asked the pair specifically. Dougie glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow, leaving it up to her.
“I, uh, have a couple movies in my bag,” she said awkwardly. “Umm…one’s about a house that eats people. It’s Stephen King’s Rose Red, and it was the first horror film I ever saw.”
All the guys grinned and Dougie chuckled, squeezing her. The girls all looked uncomfortable.
“Umm…what else do you have? Please say you have something that’s not horror,” Emma said.
“Well, I do have Chicago. It’s a musical about a woman who shot her secret lover and got sent to Murderess’ Row.”
“A musical?” Dougie complained in a whiney voice. “Please, Liz, don’t make us watch a musical!”
“I like it,” Emma said.
“Yeah, me too,” Gio agreed.
“I vote Chicago, too,” Grace said.
“Horror,” Tom said.
“Rose Red,” Danny agreed.
“Stephen King is my vote,” Harry muttered, looking at his feet. Grace glared at him.
“However you say it, I agree with the guys on this. Musicals suck,” Dougie said apologetically. “But Liz get’s the deciding vote even though we’ve already out-voted you girls.”
Liz deliberated. Then it dawned on her. “Instead of either of those, why don’t we watch Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton? It’s one of my favorites.”
Everyone looked around at the others and made agreeable comments. Then they all looked at Liz and nodded. She grabbed her bag, pulled out the movie and handed it to Tom, who put it in the DVD player and handed her the remote.
“‘Boys and girls of every age, Wouldn’t you like to see something strange?’” Liz murmured along with the movie. Dougie looked down at her peaceful expression and smiled. Her fingers stroked the tiny kitten on her lap. She looked so relaxed.
~~Later/Liz’s POV~~
The movie had just ended when Dougie asked me to the most absurd thing in the world.
“Hey, Liz, why don’t you sing for everyone?” he asked oh so innocently.
“WHAT?!” I nearly screamed. He fell off the back of the couch where he’d been perched and I was certain my face was beet-red.
“Ow,” he muttered, standing up. “Don’t tell me you have stage-fright.”
“No, I don’t have stage-fright. And my problems are not something you should worry about.”
“I don’t understand why you won’t sing when you don’t have stage-fright.” He scratched his head, becoming the purest picture of utter confusion. And he looked so cute like that. “And you were singing along with the movie.”
Apparently, it was possible for my face to get redder than it already was. And everyone was grinning at my little bit of distress. Damn! I just blew my icy shield to bits again! Twice in one day! I turned and started stomping toward the DVD player to get my movie back. Once the case was safely back in by bag, I snapped for Star and stomped toward the door.
I only realized how unreasonable I was being when I got about five feet from my bike. I snapped, pointing at the seat of it and Star obeyed the silent command, jumping down onto it. I took off my shoes and socks so I could walk barefoot. It always felt nice to feel the grass against my feet. It reminded me of how lucky I was to be a part of nature.
“What’re you doing?” I heard Dougie ask curiously.
“Calming down,” I said, sitting in the grass. “This makes me feel closer to nature.”
“You’re not some feminist tree-hugger, are you?” he asked, chuckling as he sat next to me.
That made me laugh. “I may be a Wiccan, but I’m not exactly a tree-hugger. And I’m definitely not a feminist even though I know girls can be strong.”
He looked confused again. “What’s a Wiccan?” he asked. Even though my eyes tightened a bit, I couldn’t help smiling. It probably turned out looking evil. He laughed. “You’re making a scary face.”
I sighed and my smile crumbled into a look of utter sadness. I hugged my knees to my chest. Life’s a bitch.
“Liz?” he muttered, putting his hand on my back. “What’s wrong?”
“If I tell you what a Wiccan is, do you promise not to freak out?” I whispered. By now, Star had padded over to me and was rubbing against my ankle.
“Of course,” he said earnestly.
I took a deep breath and said it in a rush. “When I say I’m a Wiccan, I mean I’m a witch. Wicca is a religion based around witchcraft.”