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Jackie turns off the lights in the kitchen, then slowly pushes her weight against the swinging door leading into the living room. She’s got a bowl full of popcorn in one hand, a flashlight in the other, and once she’s clear of the door, she uses her foot to gently close it behind her.
The lights in the living room are already turned down low, and Susan is engrossed in reading the plot synopsis on the back cover of the video they’d rented. Jackie creeps up behind her, being careful not to draw any attention to herself, then stops just short of the couch and turns the flashlight upright under her chin. She switches it on and booms in her best creepy voice, “do you like scary movies?”
Startled, Susan yelps as the video she’s holding goes flying into the air and then crashes to the floor. A truly impressive string of expletives comes out of her mouth as she glares at Jackie over the back of the couch.
“Happy Halloween!” Jackie exclaims cheerfully.
Susan makes a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. “I hate you,” she replies. There’s no actual malice in her voice though, and Jackie snorts as she turns off the flashlight.
“No, you don’t,” she tells her, coming around the front of the couch and plopping down beside her girlfriend. She nestles the bowl of popcorn into the dip in the cushions between them. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“Yeah,” Susan shoots back, “and I bet you can guess who I won’t be kissing with this mouth any time soon.”
“Oooh,” Jackie says playfully, tossing a piece of popcorn at her. “Is that a threat?”
“No,” her girlfriend retorts primly, folding her hands in her lap and sticking her nose in the air, “it’s a promise.”
Jackie shrugs. “Well, since I’m already in the doghouse,” she puts the flashlight under her chin again and switches it back on, “what’s your favorite scary movie?”
The corner of Susan’s mouth twitches, and Jackie can tell she’s trying hard not to smile.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she finally says after a moment, taking the question at face value and missing the reference entirely, “Hocus Pocus?”
Jackie lets her head fall back against the couch and groans. “Suze.”
“What?” Susan asks innocently.
“That’s not a scary movie.”
“It’s a Halloween movie,” Susan defends herself. “Aren’t all Halloween movies considered inherently scary?”
Jackie blinks at her incredulously. “Is that a serious question? Charlie Brown has his own Halloween movie, you know.”
“Fine then,” Susan huffs, feigning offense, “what’s your favorite scary movie?”
“Well,” Jackie says, leaning over to scoop their video up off the floor and drop the unneeded flashlight in its place, “this one’s pretty good. I still can’t believe you’ve never seen it. Psycho is a classic.”
Susan shrugs. “I don’t know, horror movies haven’t ever really been my thing. I know people love it, though. What else?”
Jackie tilts her head to one side, considering. “The Shining is really good. Oh, and Carrie. And Rosemary’s Baby. The Halloween movies too. But I think my favorite is The Exorcist.”
Now Susan really does smile. “Look at you light up. You’re really into this whole scary Halloween thing, aren’t you?”
“Oh, this isn’t even the half of it. There’s still the Lodge party, we’ll probably do something at the restaurant, and you’re lucky I haven’t let Roseanne anywhere near you the last two weeks or so.”
“That last part sounds ominous.”
“This is her favorite holiday,” Jackie tells her with a grin, “and she shows her love through pranks.”
Susan groans. “That’s the least surprising thing I’ve ever heard. Am I in danger?”
“You’ve got a pulse, and she likes you, so yeah. But I’ll do my best to keep you safe from her.”
“My hero,” Susan declares melodramatically, throwing her hand over her heart.
“Does that mean you’ll restore my kissing privileges?” Jackie asks her with a mock leer.
Susan arches an eyebrow. “Don’t push your luck. You’re still about to terrify the pants off me.”
“Are you sure? This is your last chance. We really don’t have to watch this. I won’t even make fun of you for bein’ such a wimp.”
Susan rolls her eyes. “Gee, thanks.”
“Aww, I’m just kiddin’,” Jackie says, elbowing her gently. “But seriously, if these kinds of movies really freak you out that much, we can just watch something else.”
“Jacks,” Susan challenges her, “how many movie musicals have you watched for me so far?”
Jackie wrinkles her nose teasingly. “And now it’s your turn at bat, sir?”
“Exactly,” Susan says, her point made for her. “So, you know, I want to at least try.”
Jackie nods solemnly. “You’re very brave.”
Susan cracks up and throws a handful of popcorn at her. “Oh, quit patronizing me and start the movie already, would you?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
By the time they get to the infamous shower scene, what’s left of their popcorn has been abandoned on the coffee table, and Susan is pressed so close to Jackie that she’s practically in her lap. Marion screams, black blood swirls down the drain of an otherwise spotless bathtub, and Susan buries her face into Jackie’s neck.
“Is it over?” she asks, her voice slightly muffled.
Jackie watches the water run on screen as Marion’s lifeless face presses into the white tiled floor.
“Yep.”
“She’s dead, isn’t she?”
“Also, yes.”
While Noman dutifully cleans up on screen, Jackie chuckles and pauses the movie before turning her head and tucking a stray lock of her girlfriend’s hair behind her ear. “Do you want to stop this?”
Susan straightens back up and gives her a determined look. “No, I’m ok.”
Jackie eyes her skeptically. “Uh huh.”
“I am!” she insists. “Really. Let’s keep going.”
“You’re all tense,” Jackie observes, slowly sliding her hand up her girlfriend’s back to rest at the base of her neck. Gently pressing her fingers into the muscles there, she begins to rub in soothing circles.
“I’m not tense,” Susan argues. “I’m just not a huge fan of this stuff and oh, that feels good.” She’s quiet for a few seconds before adding, “If you keep doing that, I’ll watch whatever the hell you want me to.”
Jackie laughs and restarts the movie. It takes her until Lila is nearly about to discover what’s actually become of Mother to realize that she’s been having more fun watching Susan’s reactions than she has rewatching the movie. Though her hand is wrapped tightly around Jackie’s, Susan’s also leaning as far forward as she can get without leaving the couch, clearly intrigued.
When the old woman’s mummified corpse is finally revealed, Lila screams and Susan jumps with a yelp of her own, unintentionally upsetting what’s left of their popcorn and sending the bowl tumbling down onto the carpet. Jackie cackles out loud.
Susan briefly turns around and gives her a mock glare. “You shut up.”
Jackie playfully salutes her and does as she’s told.
Susan’s grip on Jackie’s hand soon relaxes, but her eyes don’t leave the screen until Marion’s car is being pulled up out of the swamp and the ending credits roll. She stretches and collapses back into the couch cushions without a word, then finally focuses on Jackie’s expectant expression.
“So, what did ya think?”
A slow grin spreads across Susan’s face. “You were right, that was great.”
Jackie grins triumphantly. “Told you so.”
“Sure,” Susan continues, “it was absolutely terrifying, and I’ll probably never take another shower ever again, but still great.”
“In that case,” Jackie says eagerly, “how do you feel about demonic possession?”
Susan chuckles as she slides off the couch to begin cleaning up the popcorn she’d spilled earlier. “How about I think about it?”
“I’ll take it,” Jackie says with a smile. She rises to her feet as well, returns the movie to its cover, and turns off the TV and VCR. Turning her wrist over to glance at her watch, she whistles. “It’s late. Time for bed?”
Susan tosses the last few popcorn kernels back into the bowl and then stands. “I thought you’d never ask,” she jokes, reaching out and taking Jackie’s extended hand in hers. “So hey,” she says, bumping her elbow into Jackie’s as they walk toward the bedroom together, “what if we watched one of your scary movies every night from now until Halloween? Or at least every night that one of us doesn’t have to work late.”
Jackie looks surprised. She releases Susan’s hand and heads toward her own side of the bed. “Are you sure you’d be up for that? Psycho’s kinda mild in comparison to some of the others, and I was kiddin’ about the whole demonic possession thing.”
Susan nods as she starts changing into her pajamas. “I know, but as long as you go easy on me and I have some idea of what I’m getting into, sure. Let’s go light on the gore though, I get enough of that at the hospital.”
“Alright,” Jackie says skeptically, sliding into bed, “as long as you’re sure. I think we should try something like Misery next and take it from there.”
“That’s the one where Kathy Bates kidnaps the author, right?”
“Yeah,” Jackie confirms. “It’s scary, but a lot less intense than some of the other movies I talked about.”
Susan gets under the covers on her side of the bed and says thoughtfully, “I do like Kathy Bates.”
“Everyone likes Kathy Bates,” Jackie wisely points out.
“Then that makes it the perfect choice, doesn’t it?”
Jackie leans in to kiss her goodnight. “If you say so.”
Barely an hour after drifting off to sleep, Susan shoots up in bed gasping for air and accidentally kicks Jackie in the process. Startled awake, Jackie reaches out for her as her eyes adjust to the darkness. When her hand comes up empty, she sits up too.
“Suze,” she says softly. “You okay?”
“Not really, no.” She’s gripping the blankets so tightly that her knuckles are white, and she takes a deep breath in an effort to calm herself down.
“Nightmare?” Jackie asks sympathetically.
Susan nods and focuses on further controlling her breathing as Jackie begins rubbing comforting circles into her back. Her racing heart slowly begins to subside, and her cheeks turn pink as embarrassment begins to set in.
“Shit,” she swears, pressing her fingers into her eyes. “This is really fucking stupid.”
Jackie cracks up. “What is with your mouth tonight?” she asks teasingly. “You’re too pretty to talk like that.”
Susan glances over at her and glares, but her expression softens when she realizes Jackie isn’t being serious, and she lets herself smile. “Ok, Mom.”
“Made you smile,” Jackie gloats as she lays a hand on Susan’s arm. “You good?”
“Yeah,” Susan admits, “thank you.” She grabs her pillow and lays back down, then puts it over her face and groans. “But seriously though, I’m way too old for this.”
Jackie chuckles. “To be freaked out by a horror movie? I don’t really think there’s an age limit on that.” She snuggles back down into the blankets, then reaches for Susan’s pillow and lifts it off her girlfriend’s head. “Come over here, I’ll protect you.”
Susan looks suspicious. “You’re not going to make fun of me for being scared?”
“I already promised I wouldn’t,” Jackie tells her patiently. “C’mere, would ya?”
Susan doesn’t have to be told a third time. She scoots closer to Jackie, turns back over, then finally relaxes when she feels her girlfriend’s arm loop around her waist and pull her even closer.
“Better?” Jackie asks affectionately, dropping a kiss on her temple.
Susan lays her arm on top of Jackie’s and smiles to herself as she begins to drift off again. “Much better.”