Miranda Keller (hands_on) wrote in tiberiusswann, @ 2009-09-20 18:48:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | mandy, ophelia |
Wednesday 1/07/08
Who: Mandy and Ophelia (and a little Simon)
What: Movie Date?
Where: Ophelia's Room
When" Wednesday Night
Rating: PG 13
Mandy was excited. She didn't normally get excited, but tonight she was. She was going to watch terrible and gorey movies with a friend and pig out on junk food and rot both her brain and her teeth at the same time. And Ophelia was very cool, a lot cooler than anyone Mandy had gone to high school with. She liked swords, for pete's sake, which was kind of weird but at the same time really neat. There was a lot more to Ophelia than what was easily seen on the surface, and Mandy liked that about her.
With DVDs in hand, dressed in some ripped jeans and a faded black t-shirt, Mandy stood in front of Ophelia's bedroom door and knocked. She'd brough a six pack of Dr. Pepper as well, in case they needed the caffeine. Her heart was thumping a little harder than normal in anticipation. "Hey," she said with a smile as Ophelia opened her door. "I have movies, and soda, and I'm ready to watch bad acting and gross death scenes."
---
Having someone to make sure she looked all right for a certain occasion was reassuring and Arc seemed to know what she was doing. She lent Ophelia a purple dress, which she'd wear with black tights. Some black eyeliner completed her look and Ophelia inhaled deeply as she heard the knock on the door. She went to open it and saw Mandy there, smiling at the other girl. Nervousness swept over her although she attempted to calm herself. Everything was going to go all right, she knew it. "Hi," she said. "I have a lot of snacks."
She pointed to the bags of candy on the bed and closed the door behind them, gesturing for Mandy to sit while she prepared the first DVD to play on her laptop. Once she placed the disc in the drive, Ophelia propped the pillows against the wall for them to rest their backs. The film started and she settled on her bed again alongside Mandy. "I'm excited. Anxious too because I hope I will not be ridiculously scared at lame parts." A small blush appeared on her face, but then she offered Mandy a bag of Skittles. "These are too tasty." She popped a couple into her mouth and smiled at the other girl. "So you have to tell me who is your favorite character... or character to make fun of so we can do it as well."
---
Ophelia looked damn good, and Mandy felt oddly underdressed. "Nice dress," she commented, giving her an approving once-over. "The over the shoulder thing look suits you. And hey, your hair matches!" She hoped that was complimentary, because she didn't know much about fashion, so she wasn't comfortable enough to fake a 'That style is so slimming' or 'The line of it really compliments your curves' or something like that. Besides, both those "compliments" made it sound like she was calling Ophelia fat.
Coming inside, she handed Ophelia the DVD- Saw. They had to start with the first in the series, of course. As Ophelia put the movie in the player, Mandy set out to shut off the lights and plopped onto the bed. Once they were settled and comfortable and eating Skittles (with the obvious "Taste the rainbow" comment from Mandy), Mandy leaned close to Ophelia, whispering because this felt like a movie theater. "The one we gotta make fun of is Cary Elwes. He's locked in the gross bathroom the whole movie. You'll probably recognize him, he was in 'The Princess Bride'. Anyway, he's a British actor but he's got a stupid American accent in this and it's just awful."
As they watched the movie, several scenes perfectly bloody and gorey and horrible, Mandy reached down to the floor and grabbed a pair of sodas. "Here," she said, handing one to Ophelia. "This movie isn't too bad for you, is it?"
---
Arc had warned her there was the possibility that she would be overdressed and Ophelia needn't worry about that. The important fact was she made an effort to look nice for the occasion and Mandy saw that she did. She possessed little knowledge in fashion so had to take someone else's word for it. "Thank you," she said. "It's not mine. I borrowed it from this girl named Arcelia. She has really nice clothing and so much of it, it's unbelievable." Purple was a color she started to appreciate more ever since she changed her hair colour to it and it had a variety of lovely shades.
She ate a few Skittles at first much too quickly and then only took a couple at a time, watching the film with morbid curiosity and fascination. "Okay," she said. "The poor guy, not playing to his strengths." Lots of British actors should not sound American, especially when they had lovely accents. It was odd - she thought seeing dead people would make watching scary movies more tolerable, although it just increased her sensitivity to blood and pain. She took a soda from Mandy and clutched it as she watched what was happening in suspense. "I..." It was difficult to answer her question. "I can't imagine what kind of ghosts they'll be." Just the thought of that was enough to lower her spirits, but she would sit through this one.
Just then something jumped out suddenly in the film and she was startled, gripping onto Mandy's arm before she realized it. It remained for a quarter of a minute before she let go. "Sorry!" Ophelia whispered.
---
Skittles were a candy that it was impossible not to inhale them. They were tiny and sweet and juicy, and the perfect size to pop ten of them in your mouth. Mandy did not begrudge Ophelia an over-indulgence in them because she herself was eating them like crazy.
The healer had never stopped to think about what kind of ghosts these people would be, because ghosts weren't a part of her everyday life as they were Ophelia's. Maybe picking a scary movie and forcing the medium to watch wasn't the best plan. Still, Ophelia didn't look too traumatized, so hopefully it was okay. "I wonder if they even would be ghosts," she offered, hoping that this notion would make Ophelia feel better. "I mean, maybe some of them just moved on, decided not to stay behind." Ghosts could do that, right? Made sense. Otherwise, if every person who'd ever lived came back as a ghost, the world would be jam packed with them. Even the living wouldn't be able to move in that crowd.
Mandy didn't expect Ophelia to grab her so suddenly, which made her jump as well. She looked down at the medium, smiling and giggling softly. It seemed so cliche, that Ophelia would grab hold of her during a scary moment. If this were a film in the 1980s, and if Mandy were a boy, she felt she'd have her arm around Ophelia by now, trying to cop a feel with a huge grin on her face. Thankfully, none of those circumstances were present. "It's fine," she assured her purple haired friend, the smile still on her face. "At least you didn't scream." Mandy was having a good time, and Ophelia was good company. And cute, too. Her personality was secretly bubbly, but not annoyingly so. Like a toned-down version of her mom, or an upbeat version of herself. Maybe a mix of both.
While Ophelia continued to watch the movie, eyes wide and clearly waiting for something else horrible to happen, Mandy glanced sideways at the girl. She had never met someone like Ophelia before, someone who knew exactly who she was but seemed terrified by the prospect of that. Someone with timid confidence. Reaching a hand up, Mandy touched Ophelia's chin gently, turning her face toward her. Swallowing, the healer leaned forward and pressed a small, deliberate kiss to the medium's lips.
---
Eating candy while debating such a creepy thing like if ghosts chose to stay or move on was comforting and she popped two lemon flavoured candies into her mouth as she thought. They had to be satisfied with their lives not to remain as a ghost, but how could a person when they were murdered? "Yeah, but they were murdered. They're probably so angry and confused and want revenge," she said quietly, not sure if she believed just dying was the alternative. Maybe it was the better choice. "But I hope they don't. It's so sad."
Ophelia felt like such a baby for jumping and being startled at this kind of film and was embarrassed. At least Mandy did not mind her being silly. "It takes effort to scream. I guess it would have to be really scary for me to scream," she remarked in a low tone as well. She then became so engrossed in the film, waiting for something to pop out, that she was slow to process Mandy touching her chin. When she turned to look at her and hear what Mandy was going to say, the other girl leaned forward to kiss her. It was not very long, but it shocked her to no end. Here she thought maybe Mandy thought "so it's a date" was the expression people said and not anything else, nor did she have much of a clue Mandy liked girls. It was different, and soft, so when it ended, Ophelia just stared at Mandy for a couple of seconds.
Then she gave her a shy smile and turned back to the movie, clutching the ends of her sleeves and trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! she thought. What did she do now? Conversation escaped her, unfortunately, and she could only watch for the next frightening moment in the movie. She glanced to her side at Mandy, but something else caught her attention. From the glow of the laptop screen, she saw glimmers of ghostly figures standing nearby. They moved closer to the two and Ophelia winced.
"How ridiculous," murmured one of the ghosts. "What an inefficient way to torture people."
Ophelia was scared and yet annoyed. Was she going to have to listen to their talking throughout the rest of the movie? "Can you please go away?" she asked. "I have enough trouble getting through a scary movie without actually seeing ghosts and making it worse."
"Shut up, girl. I want to watch," said another, sounding male.
"You should make out." This ghost's voice was creepier than the rest. "Remove some clothing, tie each other up." Ophelia's face flushed hot and she buried her face in her hands. Why couldn't she have a normal first date like everyone else?
---
Ophelia's reaction to the kiss was not what Mandy had expected. The shyness was normal, the small smile adorable. Mandy was hoping for more, maybe, some kind of reciprocation, but she wouldn't push. And then Ophelia asked her to leave. "Um," she said, feeling totally embarassed. Great. She had messed up, and she'd messed up badly. She was about to slide off the bed and leave, her cheeks flushed, when then Ophelia said something about ghosts. Ghosts? She looked at Ophelia, confused. Who was she talking to?
"Oh my God, there are ghosts in here?" Mandy asked, her interest piqued. She looked around, trying to see them, like maybe because she knew that they were there they might become more obvious to her. Of course she saw nothing. "Where are they, what are they doing?" Ophelia looked distressed, and that would not do. Mandy scooted closer to her, their arms and legs touching now. "Anything we can do to make them go away?" she suggested.
---
Great, there was no way she wanted an audience to a very special occasion in her life. Ophelia grabbed her cell phone not too far away from her, an idea emerging. "Yes," she told Mandy. "They want to watch the movie with us and they're not exactly silent movie attenders. Don't worry, I don't think they can harm you." She had no idea if they could harm herself, but that was another worry for another time. "Please go away, otherwise I have to call my scary exorcist friend... and I don't think you'll like him very much." Her threat had little effect on the ghosts like she thought.
"You're just bluffing," said the first ghost. "What a silly little girl."
"You can't make us leave," the second added and Ophelia started a text message to Simon: Help! Ghosts in room 4 date and won't go away. can you please come here with hands on fire and laughing deeply to scare them away? She hoped Simon was willing to do this favour for her because she had no idea what else to do. Sitting so close to Mandy was a nice consequence of this whole thing, though, and she reached out to squeeze her new friend's hand.
She lowered her voice. "I have an idea. I hope it works." The movie continued and the ghosts started to talk about creepier things, causing goosebumps to form on Ophelia's arms. She tried not to notice how close the spirits were to touching her although that became more difficult by the moment. After a couple of minutes, she had to hold Mandy's arm somewhat tightly in order to distract her. She wanted everything to go perfectly and if the ghosts could just get out of her room maybe the nice evening might continue.
---
Mandy hadn't even thought about whether or not ghosts could hurt her, mainly because ghosts were not a part of her everyday life. But what if they could? Imagine being hurt by something you couldn't even see. Freaky thought. It made Mandy more curious than scared, but she liked morbid things like that. What interested her more was this exorcist friend Ophelia was talking about. Was there even such a thing? And if so, how did Ophelia know this person? Was it a student with those abilities? That would be awesome. For every power there had to be an opposite. Seeing ghosts was one, maybe getting rid of them was another.
Ophelia seemed very nervous, which just solidified Mandy's original idea that maybe watching a scary movie with a medium wasn't a good idea after all. She felt dumb for even having suggested it. This was why she didn't have friends- because she couldn't do things right. KImmi was perfect at this stuff, always knew what to say, what to do. Mandy felt awkward and weird. But Ophelia was holding her arm, which meant she wasn't mad at her or anything. That was promising, right? "I guess we'll see," she said reassuringly.
---
This brought back memories, oddly enough, of the time she went to a haunted house. Ophelia inhaled a deep breath discreetly, she hoped, and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. "I went to a haunted house with my parents once when I was six. The sheets that were supposed to be ghosts didn't scare me as much as the fake eyeballs," she told Mandy. "I can't stand disembodied limbs. Or just skin falling off, you know? Zombie movies gross me out so much every time." The more she talked, the more it drowned out the ghosts' voices.
She hoped that Mandy would take the hint and continue with the conversation because it was helping her. "And thank you..." Her voice fell to a whisper as she said that. "I never thought a girl like you would kiss me and it was really nice." It was probably more than obvious no other girl had done so with her and she was blushing hard, but she was happy. "I promise I'll be much calmer after the spirit brigade leaves. If they leave. Otherwise we just let the DVD continue playing and sneak out of the room to go somewhere more peaceful."
--
Simon had been playing his guitar, strumming and practicing chords when his cell phone buzzed from inside his pocket. He wasn't sure whether it was just the guitar vibrating or his phone, so he hesitated looking at it. Ophelia was the only person who would bother texting him, and she was on her date with Mandy. Still, maybe something had gone wrong, and she needed him. Placing the guitar gently on the bed beside him, Simon grabbed his phone- one text from The Big O. At first he didn't understand what Ophelia was talking about, his brow wrinkled as he read the letters a few times. Finally, it began making sense. There were ghosts in the room, and they wouldn't leave Ophelia alone. So it was time for some theatrics. Simon smiled, slipping his phone back into his pocket and getting off the bed. He's never actually managed to set his hand on fire before, just burn other things that he was touching. But maybe... He raised his hand to the level of his eye, focusing. It was getting hot, his skin turning red, but nothing as impressive as what Ophie was ordering. He was frustrated with himself. That seemed like it should be simple, to just create fire in his hands without needing something to burn. Why couldn't he do it??
Then, suddenly, there was a low 'fwoom' and his hand was engulfed in hot orange flame. "Shit!" he cried out, not having expected it. As soon as he stopped concentrating it began to die, so Simon stared at it hard, opening his bedroom door with his free hand. He walked to Ophelia's room carefully, keeping his hand up and his eyes on it, trying not to bump into anyone. A few people looked at him strangely, but for the most part someone walking through the halls with their hand on fire was fairly normal. When he finally reached Ophelia's room, he reached out to open the door a crack then stepped back, pushing himself as hard as he could to get his other hand going. It was a small flame, and he was getting a headache from concentrating so hard, but it would do. Raising his foot, Simon kicked Ophelia's door hard, the heavy wood swinging easily. He stepped inside, hands burning, tall frame filling the doorway. "GET OUT!" he bellowed deeply, trying to make his voice as spooky and loud as he could.
---
Conversation Mandy could do. She was a natural born talker when you got her going. "I love disembodied stuff. I'm gonna be a doctor someday, I think. Makes sense, since I'm a healer. I don't know how I'm going to hide that from people, and be stuck healing in the usual ways. Maybe I'll just have a small practice or something." She was babbling, and she realized it and forced herself to stop. Besides, what Ophelia was saying next interested her more than talking abut herself as a doctor. Mandy smiled, laughed softly. "You don't have to thank me or anything, I'm just glad you didn't walk out. For a minute I thought you were mad about it." All signs had indicated that Ophelia was interested in her, so when the medium had seemed annoyed it was like the rug was pulled from under Mandy's feet. But Ophelia had been scolding the ghosts, and that was a huge relief.
Mandy was distracted by Ophelia and thinking about ghosts and the movie was still playing, so she didn't even notice the door open slightly. Then seemingly out of nowhere there was a loud bang and some tall guy (who was ON FIRE) burst into the room, yelling. Mandy pressed herself back against the wall, screaming loudly.
---
Wow, Mandy wanted to be a doctor! Ophelia was so impressed with that lofty and achievable goal and smiled. "That's amazing! You can help so many people with your medical skills and your ability!" she said. "Maybe you can be a healer for the supernatural community... okay, your practice might be small, but you'll have loyal patients who will bake you cookies and invite you to Christmas dinners." She had an active imagination, wanting happy things for friends because they deserved to be happy. "I hope I can see you heal one day. Talking to ghosts isn't as impressive because you can't see me doing it, you know?"
Ugh, the ghosts were still there and she did her best to ignore them. Truth of the matter was, she would never be able to walk out on someone unless they had upset her very badly. Kissing was a whole different story and if that meant she was interested (and Mandy must know Ophelia was interested as well because she was sure she was obvious). There was a moment between them, she was sure it was that, as they were looking at each other for just long enough... Ophelia was so wrapped up in thoughts that the opening of the door startled her as well. She gasped at the sound, turning to see a figure in the doorway alight with flames.
The ghosts noticed too and their screams of fright echoed in the room before they fled through the wall. Ophelia sprang from the bed to her friend, so relieved. "Simon, you did it! They're gone!" she exclaimed happily and made sure his flames were extinguished before she hugged him. How fortunate she was to have such a kind friend to do this for her! Ophelia flicked on the light so Mandy could see who it was would not harm her in any way. "Mandy, this is Simon." She hoped she was able to lighten the mood so Mandy felt less embarrassed. "I wanted to scare the ghosts away. It was a long shot, but it worked!"
----
The fire fizzled out as soon as Ophelia was off the bed and running toward him. Simon hugged her back, making sure not to touch her with his hands because they were still hot. "Great," he huffed, actually quite tired from the expended energy. But he would do anything for Ophelia. He looked at poor Mandy, who seemed quite suprised to see him there. Simon blushed a little, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hi Mandy," he said, getting his firsdt good look at her. She was kinda pretty, seemed bookish. A quiet type, definitely Ophelia's type of person.
"I'm glad I could help," he said to Ophelia with a smile. "I'll let you two get back to your movie." He wasn't sure why, but he felt kind of strange being in here with them. It was probably because they were on a date, and he was being a third wheel. "It was nice meeting you, Mandy." He gave Ophelia one last quick hug, grabbed a Dr. Pepper and headed for the door. "Payment," he said with a wink, wiggling the can back and forth. Out in the hallway Simon closed the door carefully, curious about the strange sensation in his belly. Something about Mandy he didn't like, and couldn't put his finger on it.
---
Mandy's heart was pounding so loud she was sure they could hear it next door. She had screamed, something she didn't normally do. But the guy had come in and he was on fire. She blinked as the light snapped on, her eyes adjusting. So, this was the infamous Simon. She looked him over. He seemed nice, kinda shy, very tall. She could see why Ophelia liked him so much- he had come to her rescue like a night on his noble white steed. And he'd brought fire. "Hello, Simon," Mandy said with a wave. "Sorry for screaming."
Waiting patiently for Ophelia and Simon to hug and say goodbye, Mandy sat on the bed and watched them. A small part of her was jealous of their friendship. She'd never had someone as close to her as Ophelia and Simon obviously were. When Simon finally left, Mandy slipped off the bed and swatted Ophelia gently on the arm. "You could have warned me he was going to do that!" she scolded. "God, I thought I was going to have a heart attack!" She was smiling, indicating she wasn't angry. "So, now that the ghosts are gone, can we get back to the movie? I was thinking maybe we could watch something else. Something less scary."
---
Ophelia didn't want him to go, of course, but it made sense that they remained alone for the remainder of the date. She smiled as he stole a soda cheekily and said, "All right. Bye!" The door closed and she turned back to Mandy, half tempted to blush, though with the other's comment it was impossible not to do so. "I'm sorry! If I told you, the ghosts would hear and I didn't want the plan to be ruined." The expression on her face wasn't anger, so Ophelia supposed Mandy had it let it go. She was so laidback or something, it was amazing.
Something not as scary was good as she was so horrible with that type of movie, as demonstrated. It was pathetic. Nodding, she turned to her shelf that held all her DVDs and found the one she wanted to show Mandy. "How about this one?" she asked as she held up Drop Dead Fred. "It's about a woman whose old imaginary friend comes back during her mid life crisis to stir things up a bit. It's funny, but also thoughtful, I promise." It seemed startlingly fitting given her ability and hoped Mandy would enjoy it as well. She stopped the movie playing on her laptop, ejected the disc and placed it back in the case. When the other DVD was in her laptop and starting to play, Ophelia returned to the bed and patted the space next to her.
---
Sitting on the edge of Ophelia's desk, Mandy waved her hand at the medium. "Pick whatever you want," she smiled. "I'm not picky when it comes to movies." She didn't mind what they watched, so long as they were alone now and they could hang out and relax. Sipping her soda, she waited for Ophelia to set up the movie again. "I think I saw this when I was really little," Mandy said as she sat beside her purple haired companion, scooting close to her. "My mom likes funny movies."
As they sat, the movie starting, Mandy brushed her hand against Ophelia's leg, rubbing it slightly until she found the girl's hand, slipping her hand in Ophelia's and entwining their fingers. Ophelia had soft hands and small fingers, that easily fit in Mandy's hand. The healer smiled to herself, leaning slightly against her date. She'd never had a real girlfriend before, and maybe this was the start of something great.