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Most of the time, when Habit was home, Vinny either did not know or did not care what he was up to. He could often hear shuffling feet, or the dull murmurs of Habit thinking out loud, or the small but distinct sounds of a knife being tended to. Less often, he could hear a conversation he was not part of, Habit having dragged some poor soul into the attic to torment for whatever pleasure or whatever knowledge he needed.
Never, though, did he hear the television. Up until now, he had assumed it didn't actually work. It'd always been there, but Vinny didn't exactly like sitting in a common area when Habit was around, and he wasn't sure if Habit would approve of him watching a show or playing a game. It was a thin line, trying to occupy his time. Some activities were fine, and some Habit would grab from his hands, chastising that it's impolite to listen to music with company over. Vinny never asked who 'company' was.
The TV getting louder stirred Vinny from his thoughts, from his spot in bed. Socked feet hit carpet as Vinny navigated down the hall (which, today, led downstairs) to the living room. He stood at the edge of the room, eyes scanning to find Habit, lounging against the couch, snacking on candy as the opening credits of a movie rolled over the screen. Vinny hesitated to make himself known, but he didn't need to.
"It's rude to stare."
Vinny tensed. He didn't know Habit could see him. His back was facing Vinny, and his eyes were on the screen. Maybe he could just sense Vinny's gaze boring into the back of his head like he were an exhibit at the zoo. That gaze was matched as Habit turned his head, eyes meeting Vinny's expectantly.
"Well?" Habit prompted, displeased with Vinny's silence.
Vinny opened his mouth, then closed it again, not sure what to say. He took two steps into the room, then tried again. "You're watching a movie."
Habit's expression fell in a way that said, no shit. "Really? I didn't notice." He turned his attention back to the movie, popping a- well, Vinny couldn't see in the dim lighting if it was an M&M or a Skittle- into his mouth.
Vinny took two more steps, keeping a bubble of space between him and the couch as if it were poisonous. "I've never seen you watch one." He looked over the screen, eyes now adjusted to the bright rectangle against the dark of the room. Conversation continued, but now both of their eyes were trained on the screen, Habit much more invested than Vin.
"It's rude to talk over the TV." Habit said, and then grinned when Vinny started to apologize. "Sit down." He gestured with a pocket knife - why did he need a knife to watch a movie? - to the other side of the couch, pulling his legs in closer to himself. Vinny complied, sitting stiffly against the arm.
For a moment, there was quiet. Habit was focused on the movie, and Vinny was focused on Habit. Habit could almost have passed for human like this. He was relaxed, twisting his knife in one hand, bringing the colorful candy dots to his mouth with the other. He took the candy between his front teeth, cracking its shell (Vinny was close enough to see the brown insides, confirming their M&M status) and eating it separately. The lighting of the screen highlighted his features, but differently to the harsh lighting Vin was used to. His slight smile, his focused eyes, the hair that draped over his face. Vinny was transfixed. He couldn't tear his eyes off of Habit. He looked so much like Evan in this state.
Until he spoke. "Ever seen this movie?" Habit pointed his knife at the screen, and Vinny finally looked over to see a man in clown makeup shoot another guy.
"No. What is it?"
"House of a Thousand Corpses. Rob Zombie made it. You get to see his wife's tits."
Important detail, Vinny thought. He didn't have a chance to reply before Habit continued on, hands flying about to lay out his words.
"It's about this group of kids, fuckin' dying. They stop at this gas-station-slash-horror-attraction and go on a ride to hear about a bunch of killers. Albert Fish, Ed Gein," Vinny detected a hint of pride in Habit's voice at that name. "And ooh, Dr. Satan. And the main guy decides to drag them along to try and solve this mystery of where Dr. Satan's hanged corpse went."
So much for watching the movie. Vinny couldn't bring himself to feel disappointment. He was too busy feeling on edge, as Habit stood, pacing the room. When Habit was sitting, it was easier to feel like there was some level of calm, some level of safety. That flew out the window when he stood, because if he could walk, he could get closer. The knife didn't help ease Vinny's nerves.
"So clowny there," Habit made a circle in the air towards the screen as the killer clown showed up again. "He gives 'em a map. And they go to find the hangin' tree, but the see a hitchhiker and stop to help her. Her brother shoots out their tires, and they're forced to stay at the hitchhiker's house. You know what happens when you go to a killer's house?"
Vinny swallowed. Habit was staring pointedly at him, waiting for an answer. Vinny was inside a killer's house. "You die." He answered, his eyes flicking down to Habit's hands, watching for a threatening gesture. Much to his surprise, none came. Habit just continued on, elated to talk.
"You die!" Habit repeated with a pleased laugh. "They die. The main killer, he has this great scene, where he- oh, no spoilers." He held his hands up innocently, like he hadn't already spoiled the entire movie. "You'll see it when it gets here."
With that, Habit sat back down. His foot thumped the ground and his hands twitched. Vinny found himself staring again. It wasn't uncommon for Habit to get so.. worked up. So antsy. The only strange part about it was that this was a movie, not some thrilling chase and kill like he knew Habit loved.
With Habit quiet, Vinny had time to think. His mind drifted to the scene in American Psycho, Patrick Bateman playing an album for Paul Allen. How Bateman talked so passionately about his interest in music, as he was preparing to put an axe in Allen's head. He looked at the screen, then Habit, the screen, Habit. What is he playing at?
Vinny lost track of time after that. He'd relaxed a bit himself, letting the movie draw him in. By the time the scene Habit was so excited about came up, he didn't feel on edge anymore. He just felt like he was watching a movie with a friend - not quite Evan, but something that could pass as him, if it was quiet. If it smiled in the right way, if it got excited and fidgeted with its hands in the same way that Evan did.
"Huntin' humans? Ain't nothin' but nothin'." Habit said in time with the movie. Much less vigor than on screen, but paced the same. "They all run like scared little rabbits. Run rabbit run. Run rabbit, run rabbit."
Vinny smiled. If he ignored the eerie feeling he got when Habit stood up, when Habit began to pace like he wanted to follow the action, it could almost be fun. It could almost be cute, how into this Habit was. His laugh, his excited gestures, his slight shimmy when he finished his quoting.
"God, Vinny, this movie." Habit delighted as he fell back onto the couch cushions, arms outstretched. "Incredible! Just fuckin' great."
Since Habit seemed to be in a talking mood, now that his favorite part had played, Vinny spoke up for the first time in an hour or so. "You, uh.. Seen this a lot?"
Habit didn't answer outright, but his enthusiasm was agreement enough. "I tell ya. Rob Zombie knows what he's doing. Well, most of the time. The sequel is shit. Won't let it near this DVD player."
Vinny couldn't confirm or deny. "Has he made other things?"
"Couple other movies. He made two of the Halloween movies. With Michael Myers."
"Huh." Vinny replied simply. He stayed quiet the rest of the movie, letting Habit ramble his nonsense about whatever was happening on screen. As credits began to roll, he stood up, but Habit's hand shot out to grab his arm.
"Sit down. Listen to this song." Habit turned his eyes to the screen, reading exactly none of the credits. Vinny sat back down, watching Habit out of the corner of his eyes. He could tell that Habit was mouthing the lyrics to the song, which shared some of the same words as his favorite scene from before. Not exactly a song Vin enjoyed hearing, considering Habit did actively hunt people- rabbits, even, but he could appreciate it for what it is.
Habit wasn't one for casual conversation. Vinny didn't know why he was so willing to go off the walls for this movie. But he'd much rather Habit hum to a song with a dumb grin on his face than be holding a knife to his throat.