Through the point of view of Beatrix
"Alright, so tell me Beatrix .. where do you see yourself in ten years?" Anthony asks me as he picks up an eggroll.
I chew my food and swallow before answering the question in length.
"Honestly, I hope to be living in an apartment or house .. with a girlfriend or boyfriend-or partner I'll say, no kids and maybe .. two cats. One for me, and one for them." I explain, laying out the korean face masks for the two of us.
There's silence as Anthony digests the answer to his question. He pauses and I take the opportunity to ask him a question as well.
"And .. what about yourself? Where do you see yourself in ten years?" I question and Anthony starts to think of an answer.
I'm taking a sip of my water as he begins to speak.
"Well, I'd also like to be living with my partner. Maybe somewhere with a lot of sun, and adventure. I'd also like to have at least one dog in the future too." His answer leaves me a little surprised, but I try not to show it too visibly.
"No kids..?" I inquire, my curiosity still evident despite my efforts.
"Well, maybe .. but that's only if my partner wanted to. If they didn't then, I wouldn't really want to either." Anthony elaborates for me, and I take in the information silently before speaking after a minute.
"So what do you want to be in the future?" I ask him, eating some of my noodles as he thinks of the answer.
"I don't really know yet. My parents want me to pursue being an athlete, but I feel like it isn't secure enough, you know?" He starts.
"One injury and my entire career could be gone. I want something I'm going to do for the rest of my life to have more security than that." I agree with a small nod, and he goes back to eating as I pause.
"You're not wrong, Anthony. Job security is just as important as enjoying what you do." I say before taking another sip of my water.
"And how about you Beatrix? What do you want to be when you get older?" Anthony asks, and I put my fork down to think of an honest answer.
After a minute of contemplating, I speak.
"I think I want to be a writer. It's one of my passions." I tell him, sitting back against the cushion as Anthony takes in my answer.
We talk for a couple more minutes before I have to spend ten more convincing to do a face mask with me.
Eventually he caves in to my begging and we both have our face masks as we choose a movie to watch for the night.
"What about mystery?" He asks, and I shake my head.
"Thriller?"
"That's the same thing, Anthony." I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
"No they aren't. Don't you want to be a writer?" He asks, making me take the remote from him. I begin clicking through the Horror section, eager to find a good movie to watch.
"Hey-"
"What about Horror? The Shining? Halloween? 28 Weeks Later?" I say, reading aloud our options for the horror genre.
"Ooh, let's do 28 Weeks Later. I love that one." He agrees, and I put the movie on before the timer on my phone goes off to remind us to take off our masks.
"Cmon, let's hurry before the good part starts!" Anthony says jumping over my couch as he runs to the bathroom, and I follow him in tow with a laugh.
We take our masks off and wash our faces while talking.
While I'm brushing my teeth, Anthony decides to flick some water at me and this evolves to us having a mini water fight in the bathroom.
We get back to the couch right after an ad ends and the movie starts. It's quiet in my dorm as the opening scene begins.
"Are you scared?" Anthony whispers, and I look over at him briefly.
"No I'm not scared dumbass, I've seen this movie a million times.." I tell him with a roll of my eyes, grabbing and blanket from the far end of the couch.
I'm quiet as I drape the blanket over both of our bodies before turning back to watch the film.
"Oh my god .. He just left his wife!" I exclaimed pointing, watching as the main character leaves his wife in the horde of zombies. Anthony laughs and looks over at me with a smile.
I feel his eyes, and glance at him.
"What?" I ask, for some reason feeling a little bashful tonight under the gaze of his brown eyes.
"I thought you said you watched this before?" Anthony asks me and I pull the blanket away so it's only on me.
" I have, I never said I've seen it recently though." I tell him, and he scoots closer to me before grabbing the blanket back from me with little effort.
As the movie goes on, I start to feel a little tired.
I let out a yawn, and shift in my seat before laying my head on Anthony's broad shoulder. He freezes and I move my head immediately, pulling away.
"I'm sorry .. I was just a little sleepy." I begin, trying to explain.
"It's alright B, you just surprised me is all. Come here," Anthony gestures for me to come with an arm open.
I'm nervous as hell as I join him once more and Anthony wraps an arm around me. He holds me securely with a strong arm around my hip and soft hands at my waist.
"Do you want to go to sleep after this movie?" Anthony asks, his attention diverting from the movie to me.
My eyes go wide not at his question, but how close I finally realize we are. Looking into his eyes feels like torture to myself at this point, but I do it anyway.
Were his eyes always that shade of brown? Or is this my simple imagination?
"No! I can stay up .. I'm not ready to go to sleep yet." I clear my throat, looking away from his face and to the movie.
"You sound like a little kid," He tells me and I have to resist the urge to take my blanket off of him once more.
"Shut up, Anthony." I reach my hand under the blanket and pinch his stomach gently.
There's not much to pinch, since he has like literally no fat but I still get my hand swatted away with a chuckle from Anthony.
"We're going to sleep after this movie Beatrix." He states and I shake my head, trying to focus on the movie once again.
A more time passes, I feel my eyes closing slowly once again.
I breathe a sigh out of my lips and shamelessly start to doze off. More time passes, and I start to drown out the sound of television, actually falling asleep now.
"My god, B. I knew you were sleeping!" Anthony says a little too loudly, and I groan at him to shut up.
My eyes open to the sound of shuffling around and I watch as Anthony folds the blanket we were using. He places it back in the couch before turning to me.
"Can I pick you up?" He asks me, and I tell him that he can.
Almost too easily, he scoops my body up into his arms.
I knew a small part of me would've been so embarrassed at having let this man carry me to bed like a drunk teenager .. but at the moment I was too fucking tired to care.
"Where's your room?" Anthony questions and I point to my room across the hall.
He carries me there effortlessly, and I'm grateful to have an athlete as a friend for this sole purpose.
Anthony pushes the door to my room open with his foot and immediately sits me down on the bed.
"Take your slippers off," He instructs, holding a hand out as I rub my eyes slowly.
I hold my feet out, decorated with my fuzzy gray slipper and Anthony takes each off of my foot gently.
Once he's done, I sit back and pull the covers off of my bed, patting it.
"Come on." I say, and Anthony looks shocked at my suggestion, maybe even embarrassed even?
"I can just sleep on your couch," He tells me and I give him a come-over-here-and-get-in-this-bed-or you'll-be-sleeping-outside look.
Anthony hesitates and I roll my eyes, turning my back and getting comfy under my blanket as he watches.
A minute later, the bed dips with his weight and I feel myself slipping into a small smile.
"Good night, B." Anthony speaks aloud, his tone the softest I've ever heard it. Though I assume it's to not rouse me even more.
"Good night, Anthony." I say back, my eyes closing as I finish the sentence.