Hellbound With You

”Childhood friend? Didn’t that little girl, Betty, say you don’t have any male friends?” he questioned.

”Hmm… well, I don’t have any contact with him anymore. I haven’t seen him for many years now. So I guess, we’re not really friends anymore,” she replied, looking a bit nostalgic as she stared at the man’s face. ”This guy here and I grew up together. We even have the same dream back then. We wanted to become stars. When we were seventeen, we both planned to go for an important audition. We promised to reach our dream together. But I ended up not going to the audition…” she paused. ”So, as expected, he passed the audition and since then, I never saw him again because we also moved out of the city after that.”

Alex watched her intently as she told him that story. It seemed that this was the boy he saw in many of her pictures at their house.

”Ah, let’s go, Alex. Tonight’s the premier so we need to hurry or we might not get a good spot.” Abi pulled him as Alex glanced sharply at the photo of the man on the poster.

As Abi expected, there were a lot of people already in the movie theater and they actually got the last seats. Abi was a bit disappointed but Alex seemed to be glad that they were going to be sitting at the furthest row to the screen.

’As expected with a superstar,’ Abi thought. They came early and yet they still only just managed to get the last tickets.

From the start of the movie, Abi and Alex’s hands were intertwined. Abi was smiling as she glanced at him, squeezing his hand occasionally. Her popcorn sat on her left side and she was feeding Alex every now and again. It was a very nice feeling, having Alex sitting next to her and watching a movie with her.

But as the story progressed, Abi’s attention started to be fixed on the screen. She didn’t let go of Alex’s hand but the man, who had been more focused on her than the movie, was a little displeased, especially when he noticed the pride and admiration in her eyes as she watched that guy.

Trying to get her attention, Alex let her hand go and stretched his arm out and draped it over her shoulder. Abi looked at him and smiled before she returned her gaze to the screen again. Still displeased, Alex moved his fingers and it crawled from her shoulder to her collarbones. Abi jolted and her popcorn almost spilled on the floor.

”Alex…” she whispered.

Alex finally got her attention and he smirked triumphantly. He leaned in on her and whispered in her ear.

”Did you know what couples usually do in places like this?” he whispered seductively and Abi couldn’t help but blush.

”Of course.”

”Really? Tell me, what are they?”

”Watch the movie, of course, and feed each other popcorn and share a drink and hold each other’s hands.”

”That’s all?”

”Uhm… hugging for a while, maybe?”

”Want me to show you something much more interesting?”

”Uhm…” Abi saw the naughty glint in his eyes and she swallowed quietly. ”We must focus on the movie, Alex...”

”Look, the actors are kissing, shouldn’t we kiss too?”

Abi was speechless and before she could react, the man bent to capture her lips but due to Abi’s surprise, she knocked her popcorn over and it fell on the floor.

She quickly pulled away, blushing hard, as she bent down to pick the spilled popcorn up. At the same time, the guy sitting on her left also bent to pick it up.

The two nearly butted heads. Abi smiled at him as he gave her the popcorn.

Abi slightly bowed at him as she took the popcorn when suddenly...

”Abi?” the man said. Abi’s eyes widened. She couldn’t see his face because he was wearing a mask but his voice seemed familiar. Someone she knew?

The man removed his mask and Abi’s lips slightly parted.

”C-chris?” she almost exclaimed. Christian Lu, her childhood best friend and the current highest paid actor in the country was here? Sitting next to her?!

Abi was taken aback. This guy was her childhood bestfriend. They were even closer than siblings back when they were young. Both of them were talented and they were actually even each other’s rival during their school days. They both dreamt to become movie stars one day and to star in the same movie together. They also made a promise to reach the peak of their dreams together but during the audition, Abi didn’t come…

Because that was the day she found out about her illness.

Christian called and messaged her that day but she was at the hospital. He told her that he passed the audition and was upset that she didn’t arrive. But Abi didn’t tell him the truth. She told him that she didn’t want to pursue their dream anymore and that she was giving up.

The boy was so upset and since then, they eventually lost contact with each other as Chris was taken away from the city to train as an actor in one of the biggest entertainment company in the country.

Every time Abi saw him on television and magazines, she was reminded about her childhood and her lost dreams, but she was happy for him because just as he promised, he reached the peak of he was aiming for. In fact, he had become a legendary young actor of their generation.

”W-what are you doing here?” Abi asked him and the man, who seemed to be much more surprised than her, snapped out of his shock. He covered his face with his mask again and he suddenly held her hand.

”Abi, let’s go talk outside,” he said as he stood up and tried to take her away.

However, in the next moment, he heard a chilling voice.

”And where do you think you are taking my girl?”