“Avery… would you mind if I sat on the inside? I have a thing about outside seats.” I lied. Why did I feel the need to lie to her? Why did I need to put myself between her and Ashley? Avery looked at me incredulously, then stood up grudgingly. She traded seats with me and then sunk into hers, her arms crossed over her chest. I sat down and threw a sideways look at Ashley. She was looking at the screen, perhaps too intently. I would have swore that she were deliberately trying not to look at me. I thought this was probably a good thing, as I didn’t know what our eyes would say if they met in this dimmed light, after having traded seats to deliberately be beside her.  I looked back at Avery and caught her leering at me. She shook her head from side to side and shut her eyes, frustrated. I reached out and grabbed one of her folded hands, pulling it from her tangle. I squeezed it a couple times, a little unsure of the message that I was trying to send her. Was I apologizing? What was my excuse for this? I realized slowly that I really didn’t have a good reason for inserting myself between Avery and Ashley, and I was guilty for a moment. Avery opened her eyes and stared hard into the screen, as if trying to make a hole in it. I think she was actually just deliberately avoiding me. I held her hand gently on the armrest, instantly noticing her lack of grip. I felt myself moving towards her ear. I didn’t quite have anything planned, but my lips opened gently as they drew within inches of her head.

“I’m sorry. I just need to learn to get used to this.” I whispered. To my surprise, the words rang with sincerity, despite each one being impromptu in the fraction of a second in which it came. Avery turned her face to me slowly, and I saw her grimace melt away. A tiny smile began to play at her lips, while her eyes remained a little sad.

‘I know’ she mouthed, her eyes on mine. Her head turned further and her neck was now stretching so that her head came to the side of mine.

            “So do I.” She whispered, her breath tickling my ear. I smiled as she pulled away, and when our eyes met I knew we had reached a little bit of an understanding.

The blood that circulated through my veins suddenly froze as quickly as it had heated moments ago. Turning my head back, my peripheral vision caught a distracted Ashley, eying me carefully. As soon as she knew I could see her, her eyes shot back to the screen, pretending to be absorbed by the final trailers. Uninterested in them, I continued to watch her as inconspicuously as possible. As the minutes passed and the movie began, her face relaxed and her eyes grew distant. There was obviously something on her mind, and I could probably guess what it was.