"So," Ethan said as they continued walking through the mall, "are we finally past the friend stage, or are we somewhere in that confusing area between friends and... whatever this is?"
Annie smiled awkwardly. "Well... this is our first date, so..." She raised a finger and pointed vaguely at the air between them. "I'd say we're somewhere around... here."
Ethan looked at where she was pointing. "Here?" He reached out and lightly touched the tip of her finger. "Where exactly is 'here'?"
Annie looked at him for a second before laughing. "I don't know. Somewhere between friends and dating."
Ethan nodded thoughtfully. "So we're in the relationship equivalent of 'work in progress.'"
"Pretty much."
"That sounds incredibly inefficient."
Annie rolled her eyes with a smile. "Not everything has to come with labels five minutes after the first date."
"Fair enough. I was just trying to figure out which chapter we're on."
Annie laughed. "I'll let you know when I figure it out myself."
"Well, figure it out soon. I'm really curious."
Annie laughed instead of answering. She reached over, hooked her hand around his, and gently pulled him along as they continued walking.
"I heard there's a new movie playing today. We should go watch it."
Ethan gave her a suspicious look. "It isn't another Vought Cinematic Universe movie, is it? Because if it is, you should tell me now. I'd rather save myself two hours of corporate propaganda."
Annie couldn't help laughing. "No, it isn't a Vought movie."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure. It's just a normal movie."
Ethan let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Good. I was worried I'd have to sit through another film where Homelander saves the world for the fifteenth time."
Annie smiled. "I promise, there aren't any Supes in this one."
"Perfect."
A few minutes later, the lights inside the theater dimmed as the movie began. The story turned out to be a romantic drama with an obsessive female lead whose affection for the male protagonist bordered on frightening.
She constantly monitored him, manipulated the people around him, and refused to let him leave her, while the male lead spent most of the film looking genuinely afraid of her.
Ethan watched quietly. "Well... that's different."
Annie smiled. "I had a feeling you'd say that." She looked at him for a moment. "So, what would you do if you were in his position?"
Ethan didn't even need to think about it. "I'd welcome it."
Annie blinked. "You're serious?"
"Sure. Love's still love. Besides, I doubt she'd be able to do much to me anyway."
Annie laughed. "I don't think that's the point of the movie."
"Maybe not. But I'd still be more worried about her than myself."
Before Annie could respond, a whistle came from the row behind them.
"Well, sweetheart," one of the men said with a grin, "if you're interested, me and my buddies could show you what obsessive love really looks like."
The three men laughed among themselves. Annie's smile disappeared. She recognized the type immediately — they weren't interested in the movie. They were looking for attention.
Ethan slowly turned his head toward them, his expression calm. "So, you paid for movie tickets just to annoy strangers?"
"Just because you came here with a girl, you think you're some kind of man? Keep your mouth shut," one of them said with a sneer.
"Oh?"
Ethan smiled. Annie lightly touched his arm, intending to tell him to ignore them, but Ethan gently gestured for her to stay seated.
"What did you just say?" Ethan asked calmly.
The three men looked directly into his eyes. Their smirks disappeared.
Without warning, the movie theater vanished.
The screen.
The audience.
Everything dissolved into darkness. A cold, metallic smell filled the air. The ground beneath their feet became wet. They looked down.
It was covered in blood.
One of the men felt his throat go dry. "...Where the hell are we?"
No one answered. A slow scraping sound echoed through the darkness. Then another. Then dozens.
The three men turned around. Blood-covered hands crawled out of the darkness. Behind them came pale, twisted faces with empty eyes and mouths frozen in silent screams. More hands emerged from beneath the blood-soaked floor, reaching toward them from every direction.
"Run!"
The three turned and sprinted. They barely took a few steps before fingers wrapped around their ankles.
Another hand seized a wrist. Another dug into a shoulder. They struggled with everything they had, but more hands kept appearing — every time they pulled one off, two more grabbed them. Their screams echoed through the endless darkness as they were dragged backward into the mass of grasping hands.
In reality, less than a second had passed.
All three men suddenly leaned back in their seats. Their eyes rolled upward. They collapsed unconscious without making another sound.
Annie stared at them before looking at Ethan. "What did you do?"
Ethan shrugged. "Nothing much. Just let them experience a little fear."
Annie looked at the unconscious men again. "They're going to be alright... right?"
"They'll wake up." He casually turned his attention back to the movie. "Just ignore them. The movie's getting to the interesting part."
Annie looked back at the screen. The obsessive female lead had just chained the male lead inside her house while happily talking about how they would never be separated again. She slowly turned toward Ethan.
"I have a feeling your definition of interesting is very different from everyone else's."
Ethan nodded without taking his eyes off the screen. "Probably. But you've got to admit she's committed to the relationship."
***
A/N: And on Patreon, The Boys arc started.
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