Cinematic

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

--obviously reserved ♥

It was really late. Technically it was really early, considering it was just after 1 a.m. Either way, it was the middle of the night and the streets were deserted like they should have been an hour past midnight on a Tuesday night. Well, virtually deserted with the exception of Kellan Callahan and Kenneth Lorne. The two were strolling hand in hand through the dark streets, though only one of them knew where they were going, why they were going there, and why it had to be at 1 in the morning.

Kellan had promised him an exciting date, and this was it. No, not taking a walk through the dark town that only had streetlights every 1,000 feet. They were on their way there, and Kellan had refused to tell him where ‘there’ was. He would just have to be patient and wait to see what she had planned until they got there.

“We’re almost there,” she promised as they made a left at an old bakery. “Just a few more blocks.”

It was freezing, and everyone knew how much Kellan hated the cold. She pulled her jacket tighter with the hand that wasn’t in Ken’s and shivered. So maybe 43 degrees wasn’t exactly the Arctic, but it was cold enough for Kellan to wish that she had worn gloves and a hat. The blonde had a black backpack over her shoulders, and she had refused to let Ken see what was inside it.

She had a lot to lose if this night didn't prove as exciting as she hoped it would. She had promised Ken that if he didn't have a good time tonight, she would finally go on that romantic, traditional candle-lit dinner date. She could picture it now; a tiny table in the dimly lit corner of some restaurant, soft violin music playing in the background, a waiter with some strange accent. The thought alone made Kellan want to throw up.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

"You know, you probably could have waited 'til it was warmer. Or you can light something on fire," Ken suggested, grinning sleepily down at his date. Well, technically, Ken was Kellan's date. Kellan had planned whatever tonight's surprise was. And although Ken would love to be able to plan a 'romantic candle-lit dinner' for them, because that was the easiest date in the book (and least creative), he had decided that no matter what Kellan had in store for him, he was going to enjoy himself. Even if it was something horrifying like trying on make-up. Alright, Ken knew Kellan would never do that to him, because she was even more determined than him to make tonight/this morning awesome. Was it weird when sometimes he felt like he was dating himself? Kellan and him were so similar sometimes...

He pulled her in closer, then wound up wrapping both arms around her from behind, waddling down the street for a couple steps. Since this proved to be a very ineffective way to travel, he stepped to the side, keeping one big arm around her shoulders.

"So what's cookin', good-lookin'?" Ken asked finally, his curiosity getting the best of him. He kissed her temple, stealing the chance to sniff at her shampoo.

Girls always smelled so good.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan had no choice but to laugh when Ken suggested that she should have planned their date during some warmer weather because she had just been thinking the same thing. That would never work, though, because it wasn’t going to get warmer until March, and there was no way in hell Kellan would be able to wait four months to go out with Ken again. She kept this to herself because she refused to intentionally inflate that ego of his.

“I told you, we’re almost there,” she reminded him. “You know, you’re not a very patient person. Stop asking questions and just relax. This is going to be fun, I promise.”

At least she hoped so. Until that morning, Kellan had no clue what she was going to plan. She had been so close to calling Ken up and admitting that he should never have agreed to let her plan this night, but inspiration came at the last moment and what she thought was the perfect idea popped into her head.

They made a right at an auto repair shop, and a street light flickered as they passed under it. Kellan looked up at the light and watched it go out completely. They weren’t exactly in the nicest part of town, but Kellan wasn’t worried. She had done this before. Plus, who was going to mess with her when she had her own Incredible Hulk with his arm around her?

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

"Relaxing," Ken promised, slumping heavily on her, using his girlfriend for support. He chuckled as they trudged along, slowly now due to his added weight. Then the light flickered and he jumped and quietly screamed like a girl.

"Omigoooooosh! This is when the crazy ax-wielding murderer jumps out of the alleyyyyyyyyy!" He tried to imitate the voice of a panicking damsel in distress, but his naturally bass tone really failed at switching genders. He just sounded really... retarded. But it was totally the angle he was going for.

The drama queen he was swooped Kellan into his arms and he jogged down the rest of the street, deliberately showing off how awesome he was. Because Ken is awesome. _{<-just for Justin, because he thinks Kenneth is a dick}

"I'll save you, fair lady!" Ken cried like some sort of knight in shining armour. Or Kennedy Cavan. Whichever one fit the description better. He then placed Kellan down gently, grinning boyishly at her. That crooked smile of his puckered up and kissed her on the mouth.

"You're safe now," he promised, "no ax-wielding murderer will ever threaten you again. Er... or if he does, I'll save you from him again..." his little charade was growing dim, and he could feel it. Wrinkling his nose, he took her hand and in a romantic gesture (at least he hoped so), threaded his fingers in with hers and began swinging their arms between them.

"I'm doing all I can to distract myself from trying to figure out this date. You could help a little, y'know," he wiggled his eyebrows at her, suggesting she aid in 'distracting' him. Only Ken...

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

It was unnatural how much Kenneth could make Kellan laugh. She could be having the worst day ever, but he always knew just what to say or do to make her forget all about it, and he didn’t even have to try. Today hadn’t even been bad, which meant that it was just that much easier for him to make her crack up.

When Ken picked her up and took off down the street, Kellan protested and did her best to wiggle out of his arms, though she knew it was pointless. It didn’t matter how many cries of, “put me down right now!” she let out – she knew Ken wasn’t going to let her go until he wanted to.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he finally put her down and her feet hit the ground. She would never admit it, but Kellan secretly loved it when he would pick her up like that. His arms were so strong and she knew that he would never drop her.

“Please, I could take on any murderer this town’s got,” she defended herself, a confident smirk on her face. Because everyone knew Kellan didn’t need a hero. “Horror movie rule number one – the slut always dies first. That means I’m safe. You on the other hand, well you might want to start looking for an escape route.”

She winked and poked him in the side before the pair started off down the street again. She looked up at Ken and for the four-hundredth time noted that he really was too attractive for his own good.

“Mmm, there’s plenty of time for distractions later,” she promised. “But for now, we’re here.”

She stopped walking and grinned. They were standing in front of and old abandoned movie theater. If the place looked like no one had been there for years, well it was because no one had. It was dark, dirty, and pretty creepy looking. There was a big lock on the front doors, but none of this seemed to bother Kellan at all. She just grinned up at Ken like it was the greatest place she had ever seen in her life.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

Le gasp.

"You're calling me a slut?!" He pressed an offended hand to his chest, "Where is your proof young lady! That is a wild accusation and you'd better be able to back it up!"

Sure, Ken was a nefarious man slut, but he'd obviously deny it if called on it. Okay, so maybe he was proud he was an infamous whore, but seriously, his own girlfriend calling him one? Kellan's boyfriend made a face.

But then she indeed distracted him, but by ending his curiosity. Momentarily. When he saw where they were, his WTF meter was way off the charts. It was way up there with a level that was reserved for if he ever saw Kellan kissing Raelena. Okay, maybe not entirely the same, but this was certainly a wtf moment.

"It's locked," he said stupidly, but her gigantic grin spoke volumes. He giggled childishly and raised an eyebrow.

"Kellan, you never mentioned that this date would involve breaking and entering!" He clucked his tongue at her in a harmless reprimand and returned her fiery grin. He put his finger through the lock and turned the chunky piece of metal around in his palm.

His crooked grin widened when he flexed his finger and broke the skinny bar that kept the lock sealed. He never grew tired of the moments when he could show off in front of Kellan. She might not always show how pleased she was, but he knew she was secretly thrilled that she had a boyfriend with such an awesome gift.

And Ken would be lying if he ever told you that Kellan and her abilities didn't turn him on.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan’s grin couldn’t have been more smug. Ken’s reaction confirmed that she had indeed surprised him, and he couldn’t have any clue how much satisfaction she got out of that. That satisfied smile quickly fell, however, when she watched Ken snap the lock off the front doors. She had just pulled a bobby-pin out of her pocket and was planning on picking the lock (a skill she had learned while searching the house for Christmas presents when she was younger), but apparently her skill wouldn’t be needed tonight.

“Listen Ironman, you’re the one who did the breaking. I was just planning on entering. You better figure out how we can lock this place up later when we leave,” she warned him, taking the lock out of Ken’s hand. Kellan let her backpack slide off one shoulder and swung it around to the front of her body. She unzipped the bag, tossed the lock inside, and pulled out two flashlights before she zipped it back up.

“Here,” she told Ken, handing him one of the lights. “You’re gonna need this. Make sure you close the door behind you – I don’t want anyone to know we’re here.”

Kellan flicked on her light and tugged open the heavy metal doors. She took a few steps inside and shined the flashlight on what used to be the theater’s candy counter. The usual gummy bears, popcorn, and soda had been replaced with dust and cobwebs, and the glass case that usually displayed the candy was cracked in the corner.

“My brother and one of his friends took me here a couple weeks ago when he was visiting,” she explained, betting that Ken was probably curious as to how in the world she knew about this place. “The theater’s been abandoned for like ten years, but for some reason the electricity is connected to the barber shop next door, so it still works. There should be a control room here somewhere with the fuse box.”

She ran her light across the walls, looking for the door to the tiny room where Reese’s friend had flipped the power on.

Hospitals and abandoned theaters. Those two really had a sick sense of what qualified as fun.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

Ken pouted. Yeah yeah, this was Kellan's date, and she wanted to show off. But she was already really hot and sexy. Ken was still trying to catch up. He'd already figured out how he was going to 'lock' up. It wouldn't be very subtle, but then again... nothing about Ken was subtle. He accepted the flashlight Kellan handed him and he flipped it around his hand once before gripping the handle.

"It's like... twenty after one," Ken reminded her, dropping his hand back down by his thigh after checking his watch. He stepped inside and closed the door as instructed, flicking the flashlight on right after Kellan's traveled across the room.

"Your brother and a bunch of his girl friends, right?" Ken teased, pretending to be the jealous boyfriend for a moment. They both knew he wasn't like that though. He listened as she told her story about discovering the place. Older brothers left monuments like this behind often, Ken noticed. Hell, Joshua found an awesome abandonned Twinkie factory a couple years back. Yeah, they learned the hard way that the twinkies were inedible (Ken gained $10 that day), but it had been a great place for hangouts before they replaced it with a mall.

"You need help with the electric stuff? I know a bit," he offered, hoping he wasn't offending her by offering to put in some effort to her surprise date. He really was impressed; so far this date was pretty fun, and they hadn't even got to the meat of it yet! He flashed his light on a creaky old door that looked like it could have been used as a 'control room' at one point.

"This it?" He wondered aloud, flicking the light over it rapidly to grab her attention. He knew a little bit about hooking up amps and mics and musical equipment. He'd never seen an old theatre set-up, but it couldn't be too difficult to figure out. That was of course, if Kellan wasn't sure how to do it. He wouldn't want to step in again just to learn that she had the answer already.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

“Aww, is it past you bedtime or something?” Kellan laughed when Ken let her know what time it was. “We couldn’t exactly come here in the middle of the day. This is just a little bit illegal, if you weren’t aware.”

Ken had no right to ever call her boring or accuse her of spending all her time in the library ever again. She knew that he was kidding whenever he made fun of her, but she still felt that it was her duty to prove him wrong every time. This night, she was sure, was excellent proof.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head when Ken asked if her brother’s friend had been a girl or not, but the smile on her face was evidence that she wasn’t actually annoyed. She was finally starting to be able to tell when Ken was being serious and when he was joking. It was usually the latter, so she tried not to take too much of what he would say seriously.

“Ooh, that’s it,” Kellan confirmed when she followed Ken’s light to the door. She walked over to the door and pulled it open. The room was less of a room and more of a hollowed out portion of the wall set back farther than the rest. It held all the fuses and breakers that controlled the building’s power. There were rows of switches and buttons, all for different parts of the theater To Kellan, it all looked like one big mess.

“I need you. I have no clue what I’m doing,” she admitted. She backed away to let Ken get a look at all the switches. She probably could have figured it our eventually, but she could tell that Ken really wanted to help. Plus, she knew how much he liked to show off…

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

"I meant it's other peoples' bed times," Ken sniffed, "we don't have to worry about people stopping in for a late night flick."

And when Kellan continued to detail that what they were doing was illegal, he chuckled. Oh Kellan. Kellan Kellan Kellan... she didn't answer his question. Well, sort of. He stuck his tongue out at her eye-roll, and wrinkled his nose at her smile. Hmph, Miss Popular With The Boys hanging out with her brothers' friends. At least that's what it looked like he was thinking. Instead he was actually musing over whether or not the popcorn machine might still be working. If not, perhaps there were some unpopped bags he could stick down Kellan's shirt to make them explode. He giggled to himself while Kellan made her way over to the door illuminated by his shaking flashlight.

But he snapped out of his fiery daydreams when Kellan relented that yes, she needed him to figure out the wires. Grinning like a little boy on Christmas morning, Kenneth stepped forward. His mouth pulled into a frown when he saw the equipment.

"Man this is oldschool," he mumbled to himself. He shouldn't have expected anything else, but Mr. Modern with his brother's amp had been assuming wires and cables and plugs would be involved. But this wasn't above him either. In fact, some of the machines at the hospital his mother worked at looked like this. Actually, that machine was the speaker system.

This was cake.

He stepped around Kellan, holding a hand to her back as he passed her.

"Any hints as to what we're watching?" Ken asked while he began probing for a power switch, "Gimme a genre maybe?" he found the switch, but nothing happened. Ducking beneath the soundboard, he found the problem and fixed it quickly, nearly shocking himself as he shoved in the rusted and nearly stripped-bare wire that looked like it had been ripped right out of medieval times (because Ken knows that they tots had power cords in the medieval era).

"Whoo," he cheered to himself, fiddling with the audio levels while at the same time trying to read the faded and ancient taped-over labels. He turned and grinned at Kellan, "We're pretty much set... although I don't think we'll be able to play 'Happy Feet' on BluRay..." he joked.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Kellan simply stood back and observed Ken fool around with all the breakers and wires, shining her flashlight so he could see what he was doing. Whatever he was doing, he was obviously doing a good job because the lights flickered on and off a few times before finally deciding to stay on. They were old, so they weren’t very bright, but it was just enough light to be able to get around the theater without the need of a flashlight. Kellan flicked her light off and dropped it into her bag sitting on the floor.

Someone would have to be blind not to notice just how hot Ken looked messing around with the electricity. She opened her mouth to tell him this, but quickly snapped it back shut. It had been her mission from day one to deflate that ego of his. Because of that goal, compliments were something that she didn’t hand out to him on a regular basis. But the more she thought about it, the more unfair that seemed. He was always telling her how great she looked and stuff like that. Stupid ego or not, he should know that she thought he was incredible.

She completely ignored his question about what they were going to watch, Instead Kellan sucked up her pride and let him know just what she was thinking.

“You know, I don’t compliment you enough,” she confessed, looking disappointed by this. Sad, even. “I never tell you how funny you are and how good-looking I think you are and how I love being around you. I’m actually kind of mean to you, but you never complain. I’m really sorry.”

Kellan did her best not to look as guilty as she felt, but it was a lost cause.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

Ken didn't miss the change of topic, but what threw him was the topic Kellan chose to bring up. He turned to look at her, and raised a quizical eyebrow at the girl who looked like she was admitting to stealing cookies from her mother's cookie jar.

"Kel, don't think like that. Call me cocky, call me honest, but I know how you feel about me. Why you even put up with me sometimes is beyond me, but I know that you do, and that's enough," he stood up, dusting off his hands and looking around at the dim lights. What a mood-setter! He sauntered on over to Kellan and lifted her chin the way guys did in the movies.

"The moment you become a swooning girl for my manly charms is the moment you're not yourself. And I know that you've told me that you like me, but I wonder sometimes if you know how much I like you."

So he kissed her. The way a boy kisses a girl when he knows there's no one else in the whole wide world that can make him feel the way he does in that very moment. The way a boy kisses a girl when he's in love. When he broke the kiss, letting it linger between them, that crooked smile of his slowly spread over his mouth and he opened his eyes.

"We could be our own movie, don't you think?"

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

That brief moment of vulnerability was just enough to give Kenneth a glimpse at the side of Kellan that she always worked so hard to keep hidden. She liked being the tough girl who wasn’t phased by anything. When it came to her emotions, Kellan tended to put up a wall, even around the people who knew her best. It took a lot for that wall to crack, but apparently there was enough emotion tonight for that to happen, even if it was just for a minute or two.

But then Ken kissed her, and just like always, he had that incredible ability to make her forget about whatever was bothering her and just think about that moment. He had sort of been right; she had always known that he liked her, but never knew how much. His kiss answered any question, though, and Kellan had the worst trouble trying not to smile through his kiss.

“I don’t think anyone would want to watch a movie about us,” she confessed, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head. Just like that, her insecurity and guilt was replaced with an admiring smile. Kellan stood on her toes to give Ken a quick peck before she picked her bag up from off the floor.

“Come on,” said to Ken, grabbing his hand and tugging him away from all the breakers and toward the actual theater. “I didn’t bring you here to get all mushy by the candy counter.”

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

After the passionate kiss, Kenneth waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I'd want to watch a movie about us. We're hot!"

He took the peck willingly and let Kellan pull him out of the control room. He chuckled at her words.

"I'm not mushy. Everything about me screams finesse and expertise. I just don't do mushy. Now come here Jelly Belly Kelly..."

...Kenneth Lorne really should never attempt baby talk. But he wrapped his arms around her and waddled out and toward the doors that lead into the small screen room. He was giggling like a school girl though, so at least he knew how silly he looked and sounded.

[Kellan Grace Callahan]

Jelly Belly Kelly? Oh, that so wasn’t going to fly with Kellan. She wriggled out from under his arms and stood with one hand on her waist, hip cocked to one side.

“You just called me fat,” she observed. She doubted that that had been Ken’s intention, and that he was just trying to be annoyingly cute, but that still really wasn’t something that any girl wanted to hear.

“Do you know who has a jelly belly? Santa Claus. Are you really trying to compare your girlfriend to a fat, old guy who’s wearing the same outfit in every single picture he’s ever been in?”

She was just giving him a hard time, and while she hated that stupid nickname of his, she couldn’t keep a smile from pulling at her lips.

“And my name isn’t Kelly,” she added. Kellan hated that name. In all of her education, at least half of her teachers took a month or two to realize that her name ended in A-N and not with a Y. She poked Ken in the stomach (which was sooo far from a jelly belly that it was sickening) to emphasize her point. She couldn’t stay mad at the boy is someone paid her.