"Saturday night at the movies. Who cares what picture you see?
When you're hugging with your baby, last row in the balcony?"—The Drifters
Blissfully unaware of the chain of events he set in motion by calling the Stovall house, Eric Anderson anxiously rang the doorbell to the Lawson residence, pleasantly surprised that Spencer answered before he could push the button a second time. While her parents were usually prompt answering the door, Julie Stovall always kept him waiting in the Stovall family living room until she was "ready".
"WOW!" said Eric, staring at her. In his (very biased) opinion, Spencer not only looked as beautiful as when he last saw her, but she was actually wearing a dress!
"Thank you for the compliment. I thought, considering this was our first date, that I should honor the occasion," replied Spencer, starting to blush a bit. "It's not too much, is it?" she asked self-consciously. The dress went below her knees and really didn't match her sneakers, but it was at least one size too small and did absolutely nothing to hide the fact that Spencer Lawson was a young girl maturing into a young woman.
"Honestly? I'm honored you agreed to go out with me at all," admitted Eric. "Except for Julie..."
"Let's not talk about her anymore tonight. Okay?" asked Spencer, giving Eric a quick peck on the cheek. Then she locked her front door, put the house keys inside an inner pocket of her jacket before zipping it up, and said, "Let's go," before taking Eric's hand and starting out for the local cinema.
The Moon Lake Theater was a two screen operation within what used to be an old grocery store near downtown Moon Lake.
One side was always dedicated to showing more seriously adult movies (rated XXX and higher), which allowed the business to dedicate the second screen to more public fare at greatly reduced admission prices, although you had to wait a while to see something that was first run elsewhere months ago.
With their drinks and popcorn, Eric and Spencer watched Superman: The Man of Steel together. Other than some hand holding and Spencer leaning toward her date as much as the clunky seat rest between them would allow, they didn't display much in the way of romantic gestures between them. With hardly anyone around them in the barely occupied theater that night, since most movie goers had already seen the film, Eric and Spencer spent most of their time talking in low voices, in case there might be other weres nearby.
"I'm always surprised how, in these long term franchises, you can have multiple performers in the same role, but none of the other characters question the differences in each others' appearance from movie to movie," said Eric.
"Me too. At least in Doctor Who you have the Time Lord's regeneration to account for that," replied Spencer.
"You watch Doctor Who?" asked Eric. "Me too!" he added, happily surprised at this development.
"I'm sure your DVRing it, like me. But don't you think the movie's plot is derivative of the Christopher Reeve films?"
"Yeah, but a lot more violent."
"Different times, different formats," was Spencer's only comment.
There were moments when Eric couldn't help stealing a glance at Spencer. I cannot believe I'm here, enjoying a movie with a girl! Julie would have been bored out of her skull unless this was a "chick flick". Yet Spencer is not only enjoying the movie, she can have a meaningful conversation about it too! If I'm dreaming, please don't let me wake up!
Meanwhile, Spencer was not only aware of the fact that there were times Eric was watching her more than the movie, but was having similar thoughts about their date. What the hell is it about you kid? You're totally different from anyone I've ever been with before, and I like it! But before things get THAT far, if they even should, we've GOT to resolve the problem of me being a hybrid were and you're a normal first.
When the movie was over, Eric and Spencer started to leave the theater, but were surprised to face Ben Twist and his boyfriend Alex Ramsey.
"See, I told you it was them," said Alex. "You owe me $5."
"Yeah, yeah," said Ben, wondering how Nate would feel about this new development, not knowing how serious things have become between his friend and the werepanthress Kenya Adaeze.
"Where were you two?" wondered Eric. "We didn't see you in the audience."
"Up in the balcony to get a better view," was all Ben would say, not admitting how little of the movie he and Alex actually saw, because they were more occupied with each other. "We were going to the diner next for a late snack. Care to join us?"
Eric looked at Spencer, who answered, "Sure. Our parents are down in his basement doing who knows what together, so we've got plenty of time. Let's go!" she finished, holding Eric's hand in hers as the older boys led the way.