Oh, I'll be rollerskating to the theater, I don't have a car either. I could borrow my mom's but I usually don't because skating is more fun.

Let's meet at the theatre and then get dinner afterward? There's this really cute burger place just a little ways away from the theatre that serves the most marvelous ice cream sundaes. Or if you're not into that we'll have other options.

...well that was unexpected. Works though! (It's also weirdly adorable. So many things about her are adorable. He suspects this may be a constant refrain.) (Also he was worried about assuming incorrectly and he did that and everything turned out fine. He's very glad everything turned out fine.) 

Sounds good to me, see you then! 

See you then!! 💖

Come Saturday afternoon, John arrives at the theatre, about 25 minutes before the actual movie is supposed to begin. (He knows he's going to be early, but he would very much rather not be late, so this is how it must be.) His parents have given him advice (some of it humorous, thanks Dad) of varying quality (just because that's how it worked 20 years ago doesn't mean it works that way now) and pocket money to buy popcorn and dinner, since Rosy is providing the tickets (he suspects she could pay for all of it but wants to pay for some himself, and while he has some money on hand... he is grateful to his parents for this. Annoyingly). He locks his bike, walks the extra half-block to the theatre, and looks around to check and see if, somehow, Rosy has arrived more early than he has. 

Rosy arrives a mere 15 minutes early, sparkling up the street in holo-silver rollerskates with translucent blue wheels. She waves excitedly when she sees him.

He had not expected the sparkly nature of the roller skates (he had assumed something more in the pink variety) but this still completely fits her to a tee. He smiles and waves back, and waits for her to close the distance, admiring her as she moves. 

"Hi John!" she says as soon as she's within reasonable speaking distance. "Right, let me just reconfigure—"

She sits herself down on the edge of an ornamental planter in front of the movie theatre, pulls off her skates and her elbow and knee pads (also sparkly) and helmet (likewise), packs it all away in her backpack (except the helmet which hangs off the outside), and extracts in return a pair of purple sneakers with blue accents.

"There. I am now permitted to venture indoors."

(Reconfigure <3 . Help, she's adorable.) 

"It would be a bit difficult for us to watch the movie otherwise. Let's go get our seats, and then I can get us popcorn and anything else you might want if you want something else from the concession stand, if that sounds good to you?" He wants to take her arm in arm (or hand in hand, even), but that still feels too forward (despite the fact that John has made it clear to himself that "too forward" is a bit of a strange concept in a relationship that starts with the other person offering to be your slave. Still, though), and so he simply smiles and gestures towards the entrance. 

"Concession stand snacks are a sin but if you want to get them for me anyway I won't mind."

"Wait, why are they a sin?" 

"The theatre creates a situation of artificial scarcity by not allowing outside food in so you have to buy their absurdly overpriced candy, so letting them get away with it is giving in to extortion. I realize most people do not think like this."

"...so that's fair, but..." 

He pauses for several moments. 

"I like having popcorn, I guess? And also I'm supposed to buy you popcorn on a date. Especially since you got the tickets." His parents said so, and even if they hadn't he'd want to independently. Does want to. It's the right thing to do. 

"I said I wouldn't mind! Buy me all the overpriced candy you want!"

"Alright then, I will! What kind of overpriced candy would you like? We could stop by the concession stand on the way in. To see what they have, we should still get our seats first. At least, if you'd like. Like to see the concession stand, that is." He is being far too overly awkward, damnit. 

She boops his nose. "You're adorable. Yes, let's head inside, glance over the selection, get our seats, and then send you on a supply run."

(Yup, she just booped his nose and he wants to blush and melt. Well, not much to do about it except soldier on. Unfortunately. With hopefully a minimal amount of blushing.) 

"Sounds, sounds good to me!" 

They check in, and head for the concession stand. What do they have available, and, more importantly, what does Rosy want from what they have available? (And, he supposes, though much less important, what do they have that he wants?) 

They have so, so much candy. Rosy's eye is caught by the peanut M&Ms and chocolate-covered raisins.

Well, John's more interested in the Junior Mints, but is happy to get all three, as well as some popcorn, once they are all settled with their seats first. 

Delicious sin!

And then there are the previews, and then the movie starts! 

Rosy is a very expressive movie-watcher. She doesn't do anything majorly disruptive like yell out loud or dance around in her seat, but she laughs and gasps and winces and sighs, and at the tense parts she stares raptly, and at the happy parts she wiggles quietly, and sometimes when things get particularly exciting she claps her hands over her mouth and emits tiny muffled squeaks.

(Help, she's adorable. She's adorable and he wants to kiss her about it. He doesn't think it's a good idea to kiss her about it, especially in the middle of a movie that they're both watching, but he definitely feels the urge.) 

John is not as expressive of a movie watcher, though he certainly does occasionally make gasps of shock or dismay. (And occasionally a bit of a growl when the dystopia is being especially dystopia-y.)

"That was a pretty engrossing movie," he tells her, when credits start rolling. He stretches in his seat, working out whatever aches he has from sitting there a while, and stands up to leave the theatre. 

Rosy bounces to her feet.

"I liked the complexity of the romance! Katniss is clearly using her feelings for Peeta as leverage to secure her own survival, but at the same time there definitely are feelings, she just can't see them clearly with her intense drive for self-preservation in the way!"

"It's pretty sick that they made her do that. I mean, they didn't make her do that, but like, that they made it a good idea for her to do it. It was very clever of her to work it out but like, she shouldn't have had to. I mean, she also shouldn't have had to fight to the death against 23 other children, but rewarding her for acting in certain ways, whether she wants to or not, is just the icing on the shitty dystopia cake." 

"Oh, yes, absolutely. No argument here. But she has such interesting feelings about it!"