Episode 654: If You Stay

His eyes were closed. He’d figured the hurried footsteps rounding the corner would just pass right on by him on their way to find a vacant washroom before their previews ended.

They didn’t. They stopped. He knew they’d say something. They’d expect him to say something. It was probably one of the ushers. They’d tell him to quit loitering, when he couldn’t the fuss would start.

The last thing he needed was an overreaction. He didn’t want anyone calling for an ambulance or alerting his parents over a momentary illness.

His eyes felt so heavy, but Jesse managed to push them open. When he saw her, the surprise of it, and his relief, energized him a little. But only a little.

Caroline’s plain but pretty face winced. He couldn’t blame her, he was hard on her the last time she’d found him this way. He’d left her that note in her locker. It had taken him an hour to figure out what to write. It obviously hadn’t been enough to convince her that he wasn’t a monster.

She scrambled to her feet. As she collected her tub of popcorn from the floor, she spilled quite a lot of it. She was fortunate her soda had a lid on it or she would have had a major mess on her hands, never mind her pink t-shirt.

All because she was in such a hurry to get out of his way.

"Wait," Jesse called out, the weakness of his voice scaring him just a bit. "Could I have some of your soda?"

He was probably just dehydrated or something. It was probably nothing to worry about. Maybe if she stayed for a little while, maybe if he wasn’t alone in it, he’d feel better.

Episode 655: Secret