Survival Of The Fittest

((R.J. Lowe continued from Solemn Silence))

The sound of the engine revving was music to R.J.'s ears. Maybe it was just him, but something about motorcycles had always struck him as romantic. Straddling the metallic beast, it made him feel sort of like a modern day knight, perched atop his steed. Neither he nor the girl seated behind him could see each others' expressions beneath their helmets, but R.J. grinned with a sort of childish glee as he glanced back at his date while they waited for the light to turn green. Giving her a quick look, he flashed a thumbs up, making sure she was perfectly comfortable, before they were given the signal to go. Not far yet, he thought to himself; indeed, he could see Sunset Cinema up ahead, just past the next intersection.

Finding a good parking space on a Saturday was nigh on impossible, but it'd give them a little extra time together as they walked to the ticket window. They'd agreed beforehand on Cloverfield, and to be honest, he was surprised how receptive Mary-Ann had been to his taste in film. He'd seen it a couple times himself since it came out in January, and while it wasn't groundbreaking cinema, it was great for its intended purpose: to provide something to eat popcorn to. She seemed to understand that concept pretty well when they discussed their plans over AIM, and that was definitely a good sign, as far as he was concerned.

Finally pulling into a space at the far end of the lot, he kicked the stand down and pulled the key from the ignition, sliding it into his pocket and withdrawing his PDA in one quick motion. He let Mary-Ann off first before stepping down from his mount himself, then typed in the question, [font=courier new]You order, I'll pay?[/font]

((Mary-Ann Warren continued from Solemn Silence))

Mary-Ann held on for dear life as the motorcycle sped down the street, blurring her surroundings. Mary-Ann had never ridden a motorcycle before, and actually found the idea more than a little risky--however, she enjoyed trying new things, and would rather not let her own apprehension stop her from this date. Indeed, she had to say it was thrilling, the feeling the wind whip past her, even though her heart was practically beating out of her chest.

As they neared a red light, Mary-Ann loosened her grip on RJ and took a breath. Tonight, she decided to look a little more casual than usual: she wore a hoodie with pink sleeves (which she rolled up to her elbows) with a white chest area, a faded denim skirt, and pink hi-top Converses. Her brown hair was done in two low-hanging pigtails, with her bangs still swept off of her face. Mary-Ann looked up at RJ as he began shifting; he turned to her, gave her a thumbs-up and turned back to face the stop light. Mary-Ann took that as a signal to get ready, and tightened her grip again. Seconds later, the bike sped off towards the cinema.

The movie they were planning on watching was Cloverfield--Mary-Ann hadn't seen it yet, but she was eager to, despite critics ranting about the vomit-inducing camerawork--personally, she was a huge fan of monster movies; the thought of the existence of something as awe-inspiring (if not absolutely terrifying at the same time) as a monster gave her hope that the world wasn't boring.

As they finally pulled into a parking space (apparently Saturday nights were not the best nights in terms of parking), Mary-Ann relaxed and loosened her grip. Stepping off of the machine first, Mary-Ann never felt more glad to be able to stand on terra firma as she did at this moment. As RJ stepped off, Mary-Ann removed her helmet. As the unfiltered light entered her vision she squinted, allowing her eyes to adjust. RJ held up his PDA and Mary-Ann quickly read it. Considering everything, perhaps she should order, but she shouldn't shoulder RJ with the bill.

"How about I order and we both pay half, instead?" She said.

"How about I order and we both pay half, instead?"

Oh, come now. Almost immediately, he flipped up his visor and raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that almost screamed, "What do you take me for?" before responding. [font=courier new]Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't foot this myself?[/font] Not that he didn't appreciate the offer, to be sure, but he was in a particularly chivalrous mood today, and he was just the sort of guy to pay for everything anyway. He removed the helmet from his head, tucking it away into a satchel he carried at his side. It was a damn expensive helmet, after all; a Scorpion EXO-900 that cost him $270 even before he'd personally customized with the Minnesota Twins' logo. The bike, while it had plenty of its own personal touches, was at least insured; the helmet stayed with him. Smiling, he gestured toward the ticket booth with a nod. [font=courier new]Shall we?[/font] he inquired.

"Well, if you insist on paying, then all right." Mary-Ann reluctantly concurred. The slightly odd-looking (after all, RJ was almost a complete foot taller than Mary-Ann) pair walked side-by-side through the parking lot. The sun set a long time ago, and the city lights illuminated the occupied lot, casting a ghastly blue glow on the parked cars.

As they neared the cinema, the glow became a brighter, cheery yellow, and the drone of voices filled the air. They walked into the lobby of the building, instantly smelling the buttery aroma of popcorn. "Smells good." Mary-Ann said with a smile. As they waited for their turn, Mary-Ann looked at the people in line. There were some families there: parents with hyper children running around, excited to see a movie. But there were actually more of their classmates there--however, Mary-Ann decided before the date that this was her time with RJ. She turned to him and smiled.

As they finally reached the ticket booth, they were greeted with a "Welcome to Sunset Cinema." Tonight, one of their underclassmen was working the ticket booth. Mary-Ann smiled at him as she spoke.

"Hey there. We'd like two tickets to see Cloverfield."

"All right, miss. That'll be $15.50." As the ticket salesman handed them their tickets, RJ stepped forward and placed the money on the counter. Mary-Ann walked over to the concession stand and inhaled deeply, letting the smell of the popcorn activate her salivary glands.

"What would you like, miss?" A girl asked. She looked to be in her early twenties--probably a college student. Behind her a popcorn machine rumbled as the corn kernels busted within the kettle. Mary-Ann quickly looked over at RJ, her pigtails whipping around.

"Well, RJ, what would you like?"

"Well, RJ, what would you like?"

He didn't need to answer that, conveniently enough. "Large Diet Coke, right?" R.J. gave a thumbs up, signaling in the affirmative. He worked the projectors here on weekends, so he was familiar with most of the staff. [font=courier new]And a small popcorn for the lady, please,[/font] he added, palmtop at the ready. He hated the slimy crap this place passed off as popcorn, but she seemed excited at the prospect. His primary concern with any first date was, naturally, making sure his partner enjoyed herself, after all. Just to be sure, he double-checked with her. [font=courier new]Popcorn's cool with you, right?[/font] A nod. Hope she doesn't mind if we save the first kiss for later, he thought to himself. It wasn't something he usually did so early anyway, but he'd keep it in mind all the same.

Along with her drink, and minus his employee discount, the total came to a still-ludicrous $12.75. The things I do for a little romance. He paid for the food, silently giving Kate his thanks for not embarrassing him like she had last time he brought a girl here. That was, suffice it to say, an incident he wouldn't soon forget or elaborate upon. He glanced back as they walked towards theater #12, where the movie would be starting in... oh, fifteen minutes, give or take? Kate mouthed the words "Good luck" back to R.J., to which he gave his usual thumbs up in reply. Focusing his attention back to Mary-Ann, he smiled and asked her, [font=courier new]You ready for this?[/font] before turning the device off and sliding it back in his pocket for the duration of the film.

"I'm ready." Mary-Ann smiled at him as they took their seats in the middle of the theater. Other people continued to file into the theater, some were even couples, though they didn't look quite as odd as RJ and Mary-Ann did. One of the couples sat two rows in front of Mary-Ann and RJ; a blond guy and a brunette girl--their facial features were hard to make out in the dim lighting. The lighting began to dim even more, and soon, there were only lights from the projector and the guide lights in the aisle.

The advertisements began to play onscreen; an active advertisement about the refreshments played, and then began the previews. After each preview, Mary-Ann thought, That looks pretty good. Soon, the movie began, and Mary-Ann sat back in her seat. She dug into her bucket of popcorn as she glued her eyes to the screen. However, a slight motion two rows in front of her caught her eye, as the blond guy placed his arm around his date, and she placed her head on him. Mary-Ann smiled and thought, Aw, how cute, and returned to viewing the movie.