Chapter 12: "Popcorn, Panic, and Handholds"
Ophira's POV
There's something sacred about chaos—especially when it's wrapped in dim lighting, horror movie echoes, and the occasional popcorn projectile.
Yasha picked the horror flick, of all people. She's usually the rom-com queen, but tonight, she wanted blood and jump scares. Fine. I can vibe with that.
We shuffled in, the kind of mess only fourteen people in a single row can create. The final sitting order made me sandwiched between Ozaire and Gaia. Not complaining. Ozaire smelled like vanilla musk and bad ideas.
I adjusted my jacket and tried not to stare. He looked good in low light. Like, annoyingly good.
Someone said something on screen and I snorted. Ozaire turned, eyebrows raised. "You laugh at that, but scream at flying cockroaches?"
"Cockroaches have wings. That's evolution's betrayal," I muttered back.
He laughed. I tried not to melt.
Meanwhile, chaos brewed down the line. Valerie's pre-scream squeak set off Yasha, who clung to Yuan like he was a life raft. Reese and Raiden were already bickering like usual. Honestly, those two could fight during a funeral and still flirt mid-argument.
At some point, Gaia whispered, "Statistically speaking, it's the grandma."
Gared responded like he was on MythBusters.
Percy and Paicey were holding onto each other like the demon would climb out and ask for a group hug. Beck passed them tissues. Bailey stared straight ahead, unbothered, like she was daring the demon to try something.
The movie started. And well... Valerie's scream echoed like a banshee. I flinched, Ozaire laughed, and—
I reached for his hand.
Not on purpose! My body just moved, like a muscle memory I didn't know I had.
He didn't even notice. Typical.
I almost pulled back. But... it was warm. Solid. Comforting.
So I let myself stay.
He didn't pull away.
My heart did a weird flip.
As the film trudged on, the group reactions became more entertaining than the movie itself. Raiden whispered something to Reese, who shot him a death glare. Vayden had popcorn in his hair. Yasha might have fractured Yuan's wrist.
By the time the credits rolled, everyone exploded into commentary.
"I was emotionally attacked," Valerie declared.
"The demon was hot," Bailey deadpanned. I blinked.
Pause.
Everyone stared.
"What?" she asked.
Valerie gasped. "YOU THINK SO TOO?"
"I didn't say too," Bailey replied, smirking.
I turned to Reese. "We need to have an intervention."
Reese muttered, "Get me a priest."
It was chaos—but the warm kind. The kind that wraps around you even as your ears ring from screaming and your brain short-circuits from jump scares.
After the film, we wandered into the food court, still laughing, still buzzing. Everyone split off naturally.
Yasha and Yuan were sharing a crepe like a Disney couple. Valerie and Vayden were sword-fighting over curly fries. Bailey and Beck were peaceful, almost poetic. Gaia was yelling at Gared over stolen pearls.
And then there was me and Ozaire.
We sat close. Maybe closer than usual. He offered me half a churro and cracked a joke that wasn't even that funny, but I laughed anyway. Too loud. Too bright.
I tucked my hair behind my ear. Classic move.
Did he notice?
No.
Did it stop me from doing it?
Also no.
At one point, his fingers brushed mine reaching for the same churro, and I thought: maybe demons aren't the scariest part of tonight.
Maybe it's how my heart stuttered when our hands touched.
We ended up in the arcade. That's when everything really spiraled.
I challenged Ozaire to air hockey.
He let me win.
I knew he let me win.
But he grinned when I scored, and I grinned bigger because I caught the slip.
Somewhere behind us, Reese and Raiden were screaming at a basketball machine. Percy and Paicey were posing in a photo booth with rainbow filters. Gaia and Gared were engaged in Trivia War III.
It was loud. It was alive.
And for a few heartbeats, I looked at Ozaire and wondered if maybe, just maybe, this was how something began.
Not with fireworks.
But with a churro. A laugh. A quiet handhold in the dark.
That last line hits hard with its raw pain—if you're going for emotional devastation, you're on the right track. Here's a slightly refined version to make the rhythm tighter while keeping the heartbreak intact:
However, everything was already too late.
I realized it the moment his phone rang in the middle of the game.
He glanced at the screen, then back at me.
And with that soft, affectionate voice, he answered,
"Hello, love."
It felt like a thousand needles piercing straight through my heart.
He turned slightly away, laughing at something she said.
That laugh—God, I used to be the reason behind it.
I clenched my fists, forcing a smile as I stared at the screen, pretending the game still held my interest. But the world had gone silent. Just his voice, low and tender, wrapping around someone else now.
I should've stood up.
I should've walked away.
But I stayed.
Pathetic, isn't it? Sitting there like a placeholder in a game he no longer wanted to play.
The call ended. He tossed his phone back on the couch like it meant nothing, like she meant nothing.
But I knew better.
"Sorry about that," he said, offering me a sheepish grin.
I nodded. "It's okay."
But it wasn't.
And he didn't notice.
Yasha called us over, breaking the tension that had settled in the air. We stopped playing and headed toward her, but my mind was still on the exchange I'd just overheard.
"Looks like these two will be here all night," Yasha said, nodding toward Raiden and Reese, who were still engrossed in their basketball game. "Maybe we should give them some space and leave them to it."
"Hey, babe, that's not nice," Yuan interjected with a grin, though he clearly found the idea amusing. "But maybe that's not a bad idea."
"Then it's settled," Yasha said joyfully, linking arms with Yuan. "We'll split off into pairs and enjoy what the mall has to offer."
I glanced at Raiden and Reese, still lost in their game, the air between them charged with something that felt far too intimate for my liking. I should've been happy for them—hell, maybe I even *was*—but there was something about seeing them like that that left me feeling like an outsider.
I stood there, caught between the familiar warmth of my friends and the unsettling chill that had settled in my chest.
Yasha, noticing my pause, grinned wider. "Alright, let's go!"
I shifted uncomfortably, my eyes flicking back to Raiden and Reese, their laughter and lighthearted banter still filling the space around me. A tight knot formed in my stomach as I pulled out my phone, desperate for any excuse to leave.
"Sorry, guys," I said quickly, typing out a message with one hand. "The girls from the basketball team are here, and they wanted to grab new shoes for the upcoming match. I'll go on ahead and assist them."
I forced a smile, my eyes not quite meeting theirs as I said it. The truth was, I couldn't spend another minute with Ozaire—especially not after hearing that sweet "Love" spill so effortlessly from his lips.
I didn't wait for a reply before turning on my heel and walking away, my mind still replaying the way my heart had splintered in those few seconds.
As I walked away, a quiet whisper of truth settled in my chest: Sometimes, the hardest part isn't letting go—it's realizing you were never truly holding on.
"Sometimes, the hardest part isn't letting go—it's realizing you were never truly holding on."