Chapter Text
Today seemed like an ordinary day off for Zoe. She was at home, strumming her guitar, waiting for inspiration to hit her. Normally, Zoe was out and about, singing wherever music was welcome, but lately, she felt that the songs she had already written were getting old, and she needed some fresh material. However, inspiration wasn’t coming to her as easily as it normally did. Maybe she’d go to the park later and see if it would be easier to write there. If she got hungry, maybe she’d stop at the Taco Mia for lunch. Nothing was guaranteed though; Zoe hated excessive planning, and she preferred to let the wind blow her wherever it wanted to.
Suddenly, Zoe heard a knock at her door. She set her guitar on the couch and went to open the door. When she opened it up, she saw her friend Akari. Underneath her regular leather jacket and shoes, she was wearing a sparkly red jumpsuit with a matching scarf and hairband. She was also holding her hands behind her back. Zoe raised her eyebrow at her.
“Hey Zoe!” Akari said.
“Hey Akari,” Zoe began, “great to see ya!”
“It’s great to see you too!” Akari replied.
“So, uh, why are your hands behind your back?”
“Well, I got a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?”
“Close your eyes.”
Zoe closed her eyes, and Akari held her right hand out.
“You can open your eyes now,” Akari said.
When Zoe opened her eyes, she saw a movie ticket in Akari’s hand.
“It’s for you,” Akari explained.
Zoe took the ticket out of Akari’s hand and began to read it.
“Sugarplex Theater,” Zoe read, “Bread and Butterflies? Tonight?! Akari, are they actually gonna show Bread and Butterflies at the Sugarplex Theater? That movie was old even when we were kids!”
“They sure are!” Akari exclaimed, “it’s a sixtieth anniversary showing, and Allan’s friend Kenton got to do a special message before the movie. He got four tickets to the movie for his friends from Sugarplex, and he gave one to Allan, one to Pally, and one to me. His dad’s working tonight, and he didn’t know who else to give the ticket to. It’s been a while since we saw it together, and I wanted to ask, do you want to come with us?”
Zoe grinned at Akari. At last, she had something to do other than be bored! Maybe spending some time with Akari and seeing Bread and Butterflies would be enough to get her out of her creative drought.
“You kidding?” Zoe said, “of course I wanna come!”
“Great!” Akari exclaimed.
“So, uh, should I get dressed up?” Zoe asked.
“Not sure what Pally and the boys will be wearing, but I got dressed up. You can if you want.”
“Groovy! I’ll be right back!”
Zoe ran inside and changed into a white blouse, a baby blue pencil skirt, and a pair of armored tennis shoes; she figured Akari came on her motorcycle, and she’d take her to the movie theater on it, and she didn’t own any shoes that were both suitable for staying safe on the ThunderVolt and attending a movie premiere at the same time. She picked up a pair of high heels that matched her skirt. Lastly, she put two blue butterfly clips in her hair. Zoe winked at herself in the mirror before running over to Akari, holding her movie ticket and her high heels in her hands.
“Alright, I’m ready!” Zoe exclaimed.
“Alright, put the heels in the trunk and then we can get going!” Akari said.
Zoe did as Akari told her, and Akari got on the ThunderVolt. Zoe sat behind Akari and wrapped her arms around her. Akari started her motorcycle, and the two began to ride to the Sugarplex Theater.
Tacodale was very far away from Burgerburgh, but even though the sun started to set as they rode, the ride to the theater didn’t feel too long to Zoe. When she and Akari arrived at the theater, Akari parked beside a curb. She and Zoe got off the bike, and Akari opened the trunk. She handed Zoe her high heels and took out a pair of high-heeled red boots for herself. The girls changed their shoes and put their old ones in the trunk, and Akari took off her jacket and put it in there as well. Akari shut the trunk and put her hands on her hips.
“Alright,” Akari said, “now we need to find the others.”
“Do you know how they came?” Zoe asked.
“Allan texted me earlier,” Akari began, “he said that Kenton was driving all three of them.”
“You here, Akari, Zoe?” a clear and somewhat deep male voice called.
Akari and Zoe turned their heads, and there, they saw Kenton, wearing a nice outfit and standing in front of a black car, one hand on his hip and one hand holding the hand of his girlfriend, Pally, dressed up as if it was the Sugarplex Film Fest. To the other side of Kenton was Allan, who had a massive grin on his face and was eagerly waving to the girls. Akari and Zoe waved back and came up to the group. When she got close enough, Allan tightly embraced Akari.
“Hi babe!” Allan exclaimed.
“Hey baby!” Akari replied, “damn, did you check yourself in the mirror?”
“Yeah, about a million times,” Allan said, “why?”
“Because it looks like someone wrote ‘fine’ all over you.”
Akari winked at Allan, and he quickly leaned in and kissed Akari on the lips. Zoe, Kenton, and Pally all burst into laughter. Even though Zoe laughed with the others, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous. She couldn’t be happier that Akari found a boyfriend who loved her with all his heart, but at the same time, she wished she had someone to love too. Zoe took a deep breath in and out right before the laughter died.
“Anyways,” Kenton began, “are you guys ready to go inside?”
“I know I am,” Pally answered.
“Yeah,” Akari added, “that’s probably a good idea.”
“Let’s go in,” Zoe said.
The group headed inside the movie theater and followed Kenton into the VIP line. They handed their movie tickets to a young man behind the counter.
“Alright, do you want popcorn?” the boy asked.
Kenton asked around before giving an answer to the boy. Zoe was the only one who wanted popcorn.
“Just one medium box of popcorn,” Kenton said.
The boy pulled out a medium box and began to fill it with popcorn.
“How many cups do you want?” the boy asked as he scooped.
“Five,” Kenton answered.
“Got it,” the boy said, “you guys can just grab your cups and go get your drinks.”
The boy set the popcorn on the counter, and Zoe picked it up. Then, everyone in the group took a cup and went to a drink machine. Zoe filled her cup to the top with ice and Lemon Mist and sighed. Akari, who was using the machine right next to her, frowned and looked at her.
“What’s up, Zoe?” she asked.
“Oh, nothin’ much,” Zoe said.
“You sure you don’t wanna talk about it?” Akari replied.
“Oh, alright. Akari... would you be mad if I said I was a little jealous of what you got going on with Allan?”
“Oh, of course not! Why?”
“Well, Akari, Allan’s... perfect for you. You’re full of energy, a little stubborn, and Allan matches your energy and he’s there for you even on your bad days. I can tell just by looking at him that he has your back no matter what!”
“I’m lucky to have him.” Akari smiled and looked over at Allan, who was eagerly talking with Kenton.
“I don’t know as much about what Pally has with Kenton, but I know she’s shy, he’s confident and friendly, and they’re both super smart. They seem like a great match too.”
“Oh yeah, they are.”
“I don’t know, I guess being surrounded by happy couples... makes me feel a little lonely.”
“Aww, that’s alright, Zoe.”
Akari put her free hand on Zoe’s shoulder and smiled at her.
“Don’t worry,” Akari said, “I’m sure you’ll find the right person soon.”
“Thanks, Akari,” Zoe replied.
“Alright,” Kenton called, “is everyone ready?”
“We’re ready!” Akari exclaimed.
“Sure are!” Zoe said as she picked up her box of popcorn.
“I’m ready too!” Pally added.
“I think everyone’s ready, Kenton,” Allan said.
“Epic!” Kenton replied.
Kenton went back to the movie counter to pay, and then, he and the others began walking to the room where they’d be showing the movie.