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Not a single sound could be heard outside, other than the ones made by crickets and the like. The clock was nearing midnight and everyone was already home, most probably already asleep or getting ready for bed. This, however, wasn’t the farmer and Harvey’s case, who were still up at home. It had been a long day for both of them at the clinic and the farm, and they were just getting ready to relax, or at least that’s what they had supposedly planned.
Every Friday night they chose a movie to watch together while they cuddled on the sofa. This time, Harvey had let his spouse choose. They chose It Howls in the Rain, an experimental horror movie that was still screening at the movie theater until recently. Just the title was enough to make Harvey nervous and, after looking up a summary, he was less than excited to watch it. He, however, chose to keep it to himself instead of ruining the farmer’s fun.
He cut up some fruit and made some microwave popcorn for the farmer to enjoy as snacks while they watched the movie. At the same time he was mentally preparing himself for what they were about to watch.
Harvey wasn’t a big fan of the horror genre in any shape or form. The high pitched screams made him jump every single time and the eerie music made him nervous to the point of feeling his guts twist into knots. He had little to no problem looking at some blood, but he certainly did about everything else. He didn’t understand why would anyone willingly put themselves through that stress and he was certainly not going to find out any soon.
He carried everything to the living room, as well as some drinks for his lover and himself, while the farmer set the movie up. Harvey took some apple slices and started snacking on them to prevent himself from becoming more nervous. He put the bowl down only when the farmer sat down next to him and the movie started playing. They had turned the lights off.
“Here we go! I heard some pretty good things about this movie from Shane. Are you excited, love?”
“I sure am,” Harvey said with the nicest smile he could manage, dropping it as soon as they stopped looking at him.
Just the soundtrack was enough to give Harvey goosebumps. He snuggled closer to them trying his best to pay attention to the movie on the screen. Everything looked so dark he could barely see what was happening. Did that kid’s face always look so uncanny? And why were they carrying those knives? Oh, it was awful.
The movie felt almost too slow, yet not slow enough for him to actually understand what was happening and use that knowledge to calm himself down. The plot was going nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Intentionally anxiety inducing. Harvey was hating every second of it and couldn’t wait for it to be over. He held tight onto the farmer’s hand and rested his head on their shoulder, still watching, trying his best to not look away.
“Are you okay?” Harvey silently nodded without looking at them. “Are you sure? We can stop watching if you want, baby.”
“No, no, it’s alright.” Harvey kept looking into the screen to avoid looking into their eyes. “What’s happening? I got a bit lost.”
“Noah is looking for the creature by himself,” they explained in a whisper. “Watch out, Shane said there is a—”
The movie’s main character, a young looking ginger, screamed at the top of his lungs as the camera zoomed into the heads of his friends. Harvey screamed as well, almost throwing himself on top of the farmer and making them drop their popcorn bowl.
“Okay, that’s enough!”
Harvey kept his eyes closed as the farmer stood up from the sofa to stop the movie. As soon as there was not anything displaying on the screen anymore, they went back and sat next to him, telling him it was okay to look now. Harvey avoided their gaze, embarrassed. The farmer gently took his hands.
“I didn’t know you don’t like horror movies. I guess I should have guessed it. I’m very sorry, dear.” They held his hands up to their lips and gently kissed his fingers. “Why didn’t you tell me anything?”
“You looked really excited about it… I didn’t want to ruin it for you. I should have spoken about it.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” They smiled. “Next time let’s just watch a romantic movie, alright? I know how much you love those.” They leaned in and kissed him as a way to assure him their words were genuine. “Do you want to go to bed? I’ll let you be the little spoon tonight. That way I can keep you safe.”
“It sounds like a wonderful idea… Thank you, honey.”
“My pleasure.”