Gouda Night
Christen sits with a content smile on her face as the credits start to roll and The All-American Rejects song, Move Along, plays in the background. When the movie first started, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get into it. The opening few shots of teenagers playing soccer on the beach and the main character immediately falling, literally falling, for her boyfriend’s idea of game was enough to put Christen off. Oh great, it’s another one of these movies she had thought to herself. Then Amanda Bynes started coming to life with her patented style of reactionary humor and Christen was in laughing in no time.
Alex and Ali begin to stir from their spots on the floor and Kling moves from her seat on one of the beanbag chairs to go turn up the lights. Once the lights are on, Christen has to blink a few times before her eyes fully readjust.
Beside her, Tobin reaches both of her arms above her head in a stretch and then lazily lowers them again while letting out a deep exhale. Her right arm grazes Christen’s shoulder in the process, sending chills down the unsuspecting girl’s spine. Tobin’s right hand eventually lands mere centimeters away from Christen’s left hand, but she doesn’t shy away. The proxity is enough to make Christen want to pull her hand away but at the same time, close the gap to connect Tobin’s hand with her own. Each option is equally as tempting as the other, and Christen finds herself in a state of indecisive limbo. Luckily for Christen, she is drawn back to reality by the sound of Sarah’s annoyed groan.
Sarah uncoils from her balled-up position on her beanbag chair as her eyes slightly crack open.
“Ugh, turn the lights down, they’re too bright!” she groggily whines. Ali throws her pillow at her, smacking Sarah right in the head.
“Sarah, wake up, the movie’s over” she informs the sleepy Wisconsin native. Sarah groans again as she slowly lifts her head.
“No I missed the ending! Can we re-watch it?” she pleads, only to earn apathetic glares from her friends.
“No way, you do this every time” Alex fervently declines, “You always fall asleep!”
“I do not!” Sarah protests while sitting up, now visibly more awake than before.
“Name one movie that you’ve actually seen the end of –”
“Titanic!” Sarah proudly interrupts. Ali lets out a frustrated sigh.
“You didn’t let me finish” she explains as she starts rolling up her blanket, “Name one movie that you’ve actually seen the end of that we haven’t had to rewind because you missed it the first time.” Sarah sits silently in her seat.
“That’s what we thought” Alex concludes. Sarah crosses her arms and pouts as Kling reaches for the remote and turns off the television. After the Blu-ray player is taken care of, Kling turns towards Christen’s direction.
“So Christen” she starts, “What did you think of the movie?” Christen feels the smile that creeps onto her face.
“It was pretty hilarious. That pizza place scene had me in tears” Christen humoredly reminisces.
“Or what about the fight in the bathroom?” Kling excitedly reminds.
“Oh my gosh, yes! That was so good” Christen gushes. As cliché as a girl fight at a debutant luncheon while arguing over some boy is, that scene did not fail to make Christen’s stomach hurt from laughing so much. “You guys were right, I did like that movie.” The girls smile smugly knowing that Christen approves of one of their unanimously agreed upon, all-time favorite movies.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it” Tobin admits as she looks to Christen with nothing less than a pleased expression. Christen savors how genuine Tobin sounds in this moment. She almost seems like she was concerned about Christen’s happiness.
“There was one thing I didn’t understand though” Christen discloses as she watches Tobin’s eyes dance across her face in wonder. Christen averts her eyes so that she’s gazing over the rest of the girls and not just Tobin. The last thing she wants is to be caught staring.
“What’s that?” Tobin asks, all the while continuing to study Christen’s profile.
“Well” Christen hesitantly begins, “The part with Olivia suddenly falling for the real Sebastian. Like, I get that she loved the song lyrics that the real Sebastian wrote, but it still doesn’t make sense. When she admits to Viola that she has a crush on the fake Sebastian that Viola is pretending to be, she says she likes him for his smile and femininely refined features. She also seems to like his sensitive personality, so I don’t get how a few song lyrics could possibly make her think that the real Sebastian was the one for her. It almost seemed like she really fell in love with Viola.” The girls just stare blankly at Christen for a few minutes as they soak up her theory.
“Well damn” Kling finally breaks the silence, “I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“Yeah, me neither” Ali adds, “You do make a decent point though.” Christen shifts awkwardly in her seat. Was that too much? Maybe I should’ve just kept that to myself. Then, as if reading the insecure thoughts that pass through Christen’s mind, Tobin places a hand on her shoulder. Christen looks to her side and falls prisoner to the light brown eyes staring back at her.
“You should really be a movie critic” Tobin says as her hand starts to warm Christen’s skin through her shirt, “That was an impressive analysis.” Christen feels the blood rush to her cheeks. This is most intimate contact she’s shared with Tobin up until this point. It’s fairly innocent, but even just feeling the way Tobin’s fingers curl around her shoulder is enough to make Christen’s heart race. Christen can only manage a slight smile in response, but that seems to be enough for Tobin as she flashes Christen a smirk and returns her attention to the other girls in the room.
“Is there still any pizza left?” Tobin questions openly, only receiving guilty looks from her friends in return. Tobin dejectedly sighs. “You guys seriously ate all of it?”
“Sorry Tobs” Kling tentatively offers.
“Yeah, sorry Tobin” Alex adds as she deposits her grease-stained paper plate into the trash. “But as Sarah can confirm, you snooze, you lose.”
“You guys suck” Sarah interjects, obviously still sour about the whole missing-the-end-of-the-movie thing.
“Yeah, you guys do suck” Tobin agrees, “I paid for those pizzas.” Tobin’s hand slides sadly from Christen’s shoulder. Now Tobin isn’t the only one whose mood has temporarily drooped.
As Tobin sulks from her seat beside her, Christen thinks back to when they were all watching the movie. Throughout the whole thing, all the other girls sporadically got up to get more pizza. All except for Christen and Tobin. I didn’t get up because I wasn’t very hungry, but obviously Tobin was. Why didn’t she move to get some then?
Christen contemplates that bit of information as the girls around her begin to pack up. Alex and Ali roll up the blankets as Kling and Sarah begin to clean up the snacks and tidy up Kling’s desk. Soon, Christen feels the itching need to help out, so she pushes Tobin’s blanket aside and rises from her seat on the futon. A pang of disappointment flashes through Tobin’s features as she watches Christen stand.
“Want me to take your plate?” Christen asks once she turns back towards Tobin. It’s not much, but Christen thinks taking care of the trash is the least she can do. Tobin’s eyes warm again as she nods up at Christen.
“Sure, thanks Christen” she replies as she holds her plate out to the other girl.
“You’re welcome” Christen kindly returns as she reaches for Tobin’s plate. Once she gets a hold of it, Tobin’s fingers skim her own as they make the exchange. Christen gets goose bumps. She quickly turns and walks over to the trash bin before Tobin has a chance to notice. I was finally getting used to talking to the girl, I can’t handle us unintentionally touching each other on top of that! I’m not prepared, it’s too much for me to handle right now!
Christen takes her sweet time placing the paper plates into the trash, using every last second to regain the composer she’s worked so hard to keep. When she eventually turns around, she sees the other girls with their belongings in their arms.
“Well this has been fun guys but I have to go to bed. My roommate snores like an elephant and if I have any chance of getting a good night’s rest, I need to be asleep before she gets back to the room” Sarah explains as she approaches the doorway.
“Me too, I’m exhausted” Ali admits with a large huff of her breath.
“I should to go too” Alex adds, “I need to get my beauty sleep after all.” The other five girls in the room roll their eyes in unison. Kling smacks Alex with a nearby pillow for extra emphasis.
“Ow! Hey, what was that for?” Alex naively exclaims.
“You’re hot and you know it” Kling reprimands, “Now get out of my room before I deck you for real.” Alex lets out a small giggle.
“You think I’m hot? That’s very kind of you to say” Alex teases. Kling gets a better grip on her pillow and raises it over her shoulder, ready to swing.
“I can make that pretty face of yours a little less pretty if you don’t leave in the next 30 seconds,” Kling faux-threatens. Damn, Sarah was right, Kling is a feisty one.
“Alright, alright” Alex chuckles, “I’m leaving now, by girls!” The other girls in the room wave Alex off. “Bye Kling, I love youuu!” Alex sings over her shoulder as she walks farther and farther down the corridor. Sarah and Ali turn towards the door as well and everyone exchanges a chorus of ‘bye’s and ‘see you later’s. Soon the only ones left are Kling, Tobin, and Christen.
“Well” Christen exhales, “I guess I should be on my way as well.”
“I’ll walk you out” Tobin offers as she springs up from her spot on the futon.
“She literally lives outside our door” Kling points out as she tosses her pillowly weapon on top of her bed.
“I just want to be a courteous host” Tobin nonchalantly explains as walks over towards Christen and the door. Kling lets out a boisterous laugh.
“Yeah ok” Kling mutters to herself as both Tobin and Christen leave the room, “Courteous host my ass.”
When the two step out into the hallway, Christen pauses in front of her door. She turns to see Tobin comfortably standing beside her, just like she’s been beside her all night.
“So…” Tobin begins as she shoves her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants, “ ‘Do you like cheese?’ ” Christen can’t help the giggle that escapes her.
“ ‘My favorite’s gouda’ ”Christen responds in a high, girly voice, playing along with Tobin’s movie reference. The two share a laugh. When they finally settle down, Christen’s eyes connect with Tobin’s.
“Thanks for letting me crash your movie night, I had a really good time” Christen genuinely admits.
“You’re welcome to crash it anytime” Tobin grins back at her.
Silence falls over them as the two girls gaze at each other, smiling like fools. Both of their breaths steady and their faces relax. Tobin’s eyes briefly dart towards Christen’s lips, causing Christen to do the same. Every fiber of Christen’s being is screaming at her to lean into Tobin and take a chance. To close the gap between them and see where they go from there. To find out if Christen’s feelings of attraction aren’t unrequited. Christen looks back into Tobin’s eyes and notices that they look as if she’s thinking the same thing.
Just as Christen feels her muscles starting to move forward, better judgement catches up to her. Stop. Stop right there. What do you think you’re doing? It’s only been a few days and you’re already trying to mess everything up? Think, Christen. This girl lives across the hall from you. ACROSS THE HALL. Do you really want to risk making the entire rest of the year awkward if this doesn’t work out? There’d be no avoiding her. No escape. You’d be trapped in the consequences of whatever would be the result of what you were about to do. Are you about to ruin your first year of college before it even has a chance to start?...No. No you’re not.
Christen turns her head back to her door and hurriedly unlocks it. Once it’s open, she turns back to a slightly confused looking Tobin.
“Well this has been fun, but I should probably get some sleep. Night Tobin!” Christen quickly rambles out. Tobin just takes a breath and confidently takes a step closer to Christen, causing Christen’s heart to jump to her throat.
“Gouda night, Christen” She replies with a twinkle in her eye and an amused smirk plastered on her face. Christen nods and Tobin turns around, strolling back into her room. Once she’s out of sight, Christen slams her door shut and leans against it for support.
Oh shit, this is a disaster.