Gathering = The collecting of materials that can later be used by crafters. This usually includes herbs, pelts, metals, stone and other things. It’s often a more time-consuming but also cheaper skill to train for a character. You can sell the items in the market place, but you can often make more money off it when you first gather and then craft something before you sell it. I like leveling my gathering skills as it’s calming and easy.

Dinner was... Fun and scary and totally confusing, all at once. I don’t know if it’s because we were nervous or because we just kept saying things that were a little odd... I don’t know.

Having Alex sitting across from me, laughing, talking, having her all to myself. I was very aware of her, I was very aware of the way she moved, of the way she looked at me, of the way she talked. And it made me do some foolish things, just because I didn’t know how to really behave myself... Arg.

But now we’re on our way to the theatre, on our way to actually see the movie that was the goal of this whole getting together thing. It’s still hot and bright outside, which was such a difference from the darkness of the pizzeria that we had to stand still, covering our eyes, for a moment before we could actually walk away. It’s not a long walk to the theatre, it’s only five or ten minutes, but it feels like time stretches and compresses, both, when I’m at Alex’ side.

“Oh!” Alex suddenly disappears from my side and as I turn around to see what’s going on, she’s already disappearing into a store.

I quickly walk back, following her into the store. It’s got all sorts of weird little things. Like small presents you can buy people and things you can put on tables and stuff in your house... I don’t even know exactly what made Alex suddenly jump into this store. And as I look around, I have no idea where she went off to. So I start browsing, looking at the shelves with craft supplies and notebooks and pens and other things. If she leaves the store again, she’ll have to pass me.

“Come on.” Alex grins as she pulls me back outside, back into the heat, a white bag in her hand.

“Sure.” I let her pull me along and she doesn’t stop walking until we can stand a little to the side, out of the sun and the busy stream of people.

“Okay. Open it.” She hands me the bag.

“What’s in it?” Did she just buy me something?

“You’ll see.” She looks so excited that I open the bag, and inside I find a fake flower, a light-red rose, and a flower-shaped electrical fan.

“Eh.” I look at Alex.

“Take them out.” She keeps grinning, so I do as she asks.

“The fan is so you won’t overheat. And the flower is for in your hair.” Her voice softens as she keeps smiling. Then she holds out her hand. “Can I put it in?”

I swallow, then I nod and give her the rose.

“Good, just stay still.” She takes the little card off the rose and then starts bending the stem.

At first I flinch, so used to working with real flowers that I can’t imagine that going right. But this is one with a bendable stem. Then she walks around me and braids the stem into my hair a little, making it stay in place.

“There.” She steps back in front of me, looking at her work. “Looks pretty.” She smiles.

I reach up, touching the rose, the way it’s in my hair, then I grab my phone and use the front camera to look at what Alex did. It’s simple, a rose sticking out of my hair, just over my ear, but the stem keeps it in place securely. But it also looks really nice, it looks kind of cute. “Thank you.” I can’t help the blush spreading over my cheeks, or the hot feeling I get when I remember that Alex just touched me to put it into my hair, or the big feeling in my chest over Alex buying me something just because she thought it would look cute on me.

“And now you can use the fan to cool down.” She winks.

“Cheeky.” I laugh. I’m not sure if that was the exact reason she bought both of them, but it’s funny anyway.

“I do try.” She starts walking again, and I take the fan before I follow her, turning it on.

I may not need it for the blushing, but the fan is really nice in the summer heat, and it gives me some nice coolness while we make our way to the theatre.

Alex just bought me something, just because she saw it and thought it was cute. Something you’d normally do for a friend you’ve known for a long time, but more likely, something you’d do for a... a lover. And now I really need that fan and hope that Alex doesn’t look too closely at my face in the coming minutes, because I’m burning up at that thought... My cheeks so aflame that I’m sure everyone walking past me knows exactly what’s going through my mind.

***

We reached the theatre early enough that we could buy some popcorn, even though we just had dinner. It’s not a movie without popcorn, Alex and I agreed on that. And then make our way to the actual hall we were in. The doors had already opened so we sat in our seats and just looked around.

“This one is different from the one in Grunn.” Alex sits up, looking at the back.

“Bigger, smaller?” I’ve only been to the one in Grunn a handful of times, but never in one of the main halls, since I don’t usually go there to a movie that has just been released.

“About the same size, actually.” She looks around again. “But the arrangement of the chairs in different, as are the lights and the whole layout of the room. Interesting.” She now properly sits down. “Interesting to see how two theatres of the same company can be so different.”

I hadn’t really thought about that, but I guess that makes some sense. “Do you go to the movies often?”

Alex shrugs. “I go see some with Cerise, when she’s in town anyway. She’s going to college in a different town, so I don’t see her as often anymore. Troy... Meh. Sometimes I can get him to come with me, but he’s not really that interested in seeing movies in theatres. He prefers to watch them at home.” She rolls her eyes. “The guy just doesn’t get the excitement of seeing an action movie on like... the huge screen. Right?”

“Duh.” I laugh. “Yeah, I sometimes see one with some of my friends, or with Jade, my best friend, but if it’s an action movie, I’m generally on my own.”

“Awh.” Alex reaches out, taking my hand. “If you ever get lonely seeing one of these, just tell me. I’ll come support you in your difficult times.” She laughs, but my heart is beating like crazy and I’m sure my hand is sweaty in hers.

I don’t want to let her hand go, so I keep holding it, squeezing a little and Alex squeezes back. “I’d really like that.” I manage to find my voice.

“I’m always available.” Her voice also sounds a little different, in a way that makes me want to reach out and touch her a little more, but I don’t, too scared.

“Good.” I sit back, still holding her hand, hoping she won’t pull it back. “Have you seen the other movies with this actor?” I try to find something to talk about.

“Him? Not so much. But the actress I’ve seen in a lot of action movies. If she’s in it, I usually try to see it in theatre.” Alex laughs a little. “There is just something to the way that she can kick ass and just demand all the attention on her.”

I think for a moment. I agree with her, though I’d never really thought about it in that way. And I guess I’ve seen a lot of movies that she’s in, but that’s what I get for binge-watching so many movies during playing videogames. “Yeah. She really does. I think that she sometimes is even better than the guy.”

Alex nods. “She has to be. She’s the one who has to do all the real fighting, he usually just gets to use his superpowers and expensive gadgets.”

“True.” And then I realise the other thing, Alex is focused on her, talks about the woman, about watching everything she’s in, not him. I get differing tastes, but if I talk to one of my ‘Mom approved’ friends, they’d turn the subject to another actor who they’d prefer if they didn’t like the one in the movie we were discussing, they’d talk about another man. But Alex doesn’t, she just switches to the woman in the movie. Is that... Does that mean...

“Oh!” Alex turns to me a little, still holding my hand. “Did you see the other movie she was cast in? It’s like... a sort-of action movie, but it also has a bit of a romance plot in it... I’m just hoping that they don’t totally ruin her for it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sometimes, they turn these really strong actresses into these weepy princesses if they give them a romance plot in a movie. Like, suddenly they can’t stand up for themselves even though they’re normally the ones kicking the most ass.” She seems so annoyed by it. “It’s just so unfair. We love watching them, and we love the type of characters they play, and then as soon as they’re supposed to play a character who’s in love, they have to give up their strength. I don’t like it.” She sighs, sitting back again.

“Is it really that bad?” I don’t know, I like romance movies, or even ‘chick flicks’, but I can get her point of view on some of the characters that the actresses have to play.

“When I like an actress because she’s great at kicking ass, I don’t really like to see that power taken away from her like that.” She frowns a little. “It just feels unfair, both to the actress and to her fans.”

“I guess so. I don’t think many people really worry about that when they see actors. But I guess when it’s an actress, it’s different.”

“There are so many generic ‘cool action hero’ or ‘damaged action hero’ actors out there, like, sometimes I even forget who is in what. But for actresses, there just aren’t that many. There aren’t that many who get to play these kick-ass women and to then change who they are for a movie just because they now have a love-interest because the people in charge believe that’s what the viewers want... I don’t know. Like... They try to appeal to female viewers with a romance sub-plot, but then ruin the character that so many women want to watch because the people in charge don’t believe that romance and kick-ass somehow go together for female characters.” She sighs. “Sorry. Just... Something I sometimes get annoyed by.”

“Do you...” I swallow, but it’s still not enough of a rest to stop me from blurting out the question. “Do you like girls more than you like guys?” I quickly close my mouth, my heart going into overdrive, and I pull my hand from Alex’ to cover my mouth, preventing me from saying more stupid things.

Alex looks at me, surprise in her eyes, and I wish I could take my question back. I wish I could take my stupid question back right now.