Gerard walks with me to the cinema sign, a light hand on my back. But when we get to the sign, I realise that it's just a sign next to a turn-off - no actual cinema at all! Confused, I look to Gee, but he's looking elsewhere. He's looking behind him where we parked the pick-up earlier - except that the car isn't there! A missing truck and a missing cinema. Seriously, if they were stolen, then that's one heck of a thief to steal a car and a building.
"Gerard, where's the -" I start, but I'm interrupted by the wheezing sound of an old car go down the turn-off. At a first glance, I think it's just a car, but when I look again I see the back of the pick-up.
What's going on here?
"Follow me." Gee says, a twinkle in his eye.
I walk after him, still perplexed, down the turn-off. The street's a little muddy, but my boots don't seem to be too badly affected.
When we get to the bottom, I see a guy with dreadlocks and a beard at a stall next to a popcorn machine. Gerard approaches him swiftly, still propelling me along with his hand on my back.
While he walks to the dreadlocked kid, I look to my right and suddenly piece it all together. It's an outdoor cinema! Look, there's the screen...and look at all those cars! Ah, I get it, it's drive-in - that's why a person that works here moved it for us. Gee must have paid him advance. That was real kind of him...but man, I feel stupid now for not even working it out. Still, I'm sure Gee said we'd be inside. I guess it must have been a Frankish lie - for good, but still a little white lie!
"Hey there, A.J!"
I look forward again and see Gerard greet the boy.
"Oh, hey Gerard! Good to see you! Come to see this month's Shakespeare? King Lear is it?" A.J burbles with a smile, and starts taking nacho chips out of a bag. "For two, I guess?"
Gee glances at me, and I nod happily. Cheesy nachoes are always a good thing to me. "Yeah, thanks man. It's Romeo and Juliet this month. I came to see it with my friend, Sunny."
"Hey, Sunny! Cool name. Short for Sunshine, right? Good to meet you!"
I start to realise that A.J likes to talk. A lot.
"You too." I grin. "Thanks. A.J, right? Are you Gee's friend, then?"
A.J puts the nachoes in a box with cheese, and turns on the Coke machine. "Yeah. We met a few years ago, when we first started showing Shakespeare remakes here. He always comes alone, same spot and everything - sits on the bonnet of his truck, don't you Gerard? Heh-heh, he's one of our regulars...so we usually just ask for money for his car to be moved. Everything else is free! But don't tell my boss."
"I won't." I wink back.
Just as he opens his mouth to say something else, Gerard takes the food - which now also has a pizza box on it.
"Okay, thanks man, bye!" He yells, grabs my hand and we run for it in the direction of the screen.
"Why'd you do that?" I laugh as we get a few yards in front of the screen, the pick-up in view.
"Come on, Sunshine. He's a nice dude and everything...and it's just too awesome when he gives me freebies, but he sure can talk when he wants to!" Gee giggles, and leads me to the car.
We hop on to the bonnet, and lie with our heads on the windscreen. The food's balanced on the sunscreen, and when I glance upwards I notice that it's gone a lot darker than before. I can see the stars, and they're stunning - each a beautiful twinkle in the almost neverending blackness.
Gerard nudges me with a grin as the advert comes off of the screen, and the film starts.
"Excited?" I ask.
"Yup, but just to warn you I'll be blubbing like a baby."
"As will I!"
We share a smile just as Juliet appears in front of us.
Two hours later, Gee and I gaze at each other for a while as the film credits come up. I wonder what he's thinking? All I'm thinking is that his hazel eyes are just...beautiful. Must be how Juliet saw Romeo. Beautiful. There's no other way to describe Gerard, y'see - to me, everything is beautiful about him.
"That was awesome. Sad though." I say, wiping my right eye with the back of my hand...but my gaze still rests on him.
"Tell me about it." He smiles, though I can see his face is wet. Gerard's stare suddenly turns into a brow furrow (the one that I've witnessed many a time this week) and he shakes his head slowly. His eyes look saddened again as he looks back to the now black screen, his teeth gritted.
"Why do you do that?" I ask suddenly, unable to keep the burning question inside me for much longer.
"Do what?"
"You always seem to...I don't know, kinda like frown at random times." I demonstrate. "Like this, see?"
...oh no, I bet I seemed rude, just coming out with it like that! But I guess I've been wondering for a nearly a week now, and it's been hard not to ask. Gee's done it more than 7 times since the day I met him, that puzzled look of...what? Hurt? Sadness? Anger? Confusion? I truly don't know why he frowns, why that brow furrows so often; maybenow I'll find out.
He looks across at me, then sighs deeply. "It's not at random times, or random things Sunny. I keep getting these stupid thoughts in my head, and I get them when I see something, hear something...feel something that reminds me of a certain person. I'm angry at myself for even thinking that...God, I don't know. I'm just so full of want for that person, I forget the difference between real life and fantasy. What can and can't happen in my life. But I just can't shake those thoughts out., and I haven't been able to for a while." He's gone all awkward and shy sounding now, but his teeth are still gritted. I can see the whites of his knuckles as he grips the sides of the bonnet. "The day I first realised those thoughts, I was confused. I'd never felt like that before. I didn't know how to handle these emotions. So I didn't handle them. They got out of control, and now..."
"Now?"
"Now I'm in love with that person." He says quietly.
I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. It's a horrible, sickening pang. I suppose I always knew he wouldn't like me back...but the thought of him with another girl makes me feel like breaking down into tears. I think I'm going to!
I can't take it, I just can't take it. But...I have to be strong. Bulletproof heart, that's what you've got, Sunny. Yeah, can't get hurt at all.
...at least, that's what I thought before. I guess that's gone a little awry, as I've just hopped off the bonnet and the empty food wrappers fly to the ground with the movement.
"Okay, thanks Gerard, that was great. Awesome, even. Better go now, bye!" I gabble this faster than A.J.
"Wait, Sunshine! Where are you going?"
He follows me as I speedwalk back down the hill, and practically run past A.J's stall. He shouts a goodbye but I'm too upset to say bye back.
"Home. Didn't I tell you that?" I feel the tears trying to spill over, but I hold them back for just enough time to say goodbye again.
"Wait, Sunny, are you okay? I can drive you home, y'know! Sunshine! SUNNY!" He yells.
I've turned the corner now, and Gee's stopped following me. I run all the way down the road in the other direction until I'm a safe distance away from him...
...and I sit on a bench near some shops and cry, and cry, and cry.
