If Max notices Dani's insistent use of the word fine, he doesn't find anything amiss with it. He's too jazzed at seeing Dani to dissect the tiny intricacies and quirks he normally would notice right away. But even he knows that they're out of practice in their once easy friendship; he's overeager and awkward like a newborn puppy and she is reserved and unsure. He knows it's different and that he's the reason why but even so, seeing Dani was a balm to his fraying nerves and beaten-down heart.
"Well, I'm glad you had a nice time at lunch," Max says, leading the way through the labyrinth of cars and barricades. "Sorry if coming here is a bit of a letdown. I promise to get you back with plenty of time before curfew. No cutting it close."
He doesn't have to mention last time but it hangs in the air anyway. Their last interaction was a strange one, fraught with weird feelings and the remnants of latent trauma. He's not looking to forget it, or pretend like it wasn't something that happened, but he thinks they're both looking to move on a bit and he's going to try not to do or say anything to set that back.
"Last movie I saw in a theater was the last Star Wars," Max says wistfully, approaching the door to the building. "You can't imagine how let down I am that we'll never be able to see the next one." He pulls the heavy piece of debris Queso Fresco had used to keep the door shut after he checked the place over and peeks inside. Warm, hazy light peeks around the boarded up bits of the glass entrance, providing enough natural illumination in the lobby not to warrant the flashlights Max has in his pocket. Should they decide to brave into the bowels of the facility he was prepared but he would have to gauge Dani's mood to see how amenable she was. Even though the multitude's of fine's didn't send off warming bells, Max wasn't stupid. He knows he's still on thin ice, no matter how warm his best friend tried to be.
Max went into the movie theater first and was surprised to find that despite the obvious abandoned look and feel, the building was in surprisingly good shape. If you squinted, you could almost believe you were here for a matinee.
"Watch your step," Max warns, wiping his hand on his pants and then holding out his hand to help Dani through the entrance. He knew this was a lot of fanfare and extra effort just to look at someone's phone but it was never just that simple with Dani.
"Oh, wow. It still smells like popcorn. I don't know if that's amazing or gross. I'm gonna go with amazing."