Chapter Text
Charlie’s taste in films always makes Pim anxious. He’s never been a fan of horror movies, they always had him on edge, as if something was following him or watching him. His encounter with that forest demon last Halloween only made things worse. However, it was Charlie’s turn to pick the movie on their weekly movie night. It’s only fair that he sucks it up and keeps on smiling.
The pair entered the cinema. Pim walked towards the concession stand, but Charlie grabbed the back of his shirt, stopping him in place.
“No, Pim, wait. I’ve got like a ton of snacks in my pocket, don’t waste your money.”
“Oh, um.. If you say so!”
Pim and Charlie made their way over to the guy who handles the tickets. Charlie flashed his phone screen, which had their tickets displayed on it, at the guy. He let them through and the two friends found their theater and sat in their assigned seats, right in the back so no one will get in the way.
Charlie blindly reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a box of Mike and Ikes and a can of Dr. Pepper. He handed them to Pim, then took out a Luncahble. It was a nacho one.
Pim hesitantly accepted his snacks. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble for this?”
“No way. Everyone sneaks in their own food, they don’t even care at this point.”
Pim still felt a bit anxious about getting in trouble, but he tried to shift his focus to the enormous screen in front of him, which was playing various trailers. One of them was for a Mr. Frog documentary.
Charlie seemed very excited about it. “Oh, dude, finally. They’re letting Mr. Frog tell his own story. This is what we’ve been waiting for.” The screen cut from a close up on Mr. Frog to a black background with white text that displayed ‘Coming to a theater near you on July 21st.’
“Okay, that’s it. You better clear your schedule for July 21st, Pim. We are seeing this. In fact, why don’t you just clear your schedule for the whole week. We’re gonna need time to process it all.”
“Charlie, Mr. Frog killed a man and it was at least partially our fault.”
“Ugggh, Pim that happened ages ago. People change, man.”
The screen went black as white text encouraged the audience to please put away their phones. Then the 20th century Fox bumper played and before they knew it the movie had started.
Pim shifted awkwardly in his seat. “Psst. Charlie?”
“Pim, be quiet.”
“I just wanted to ask if you’ll hold my hand for any scary bits.”
“Are you kidding me? No, I’m not doing that. How am I supposed to distinguish what parts you personally find scary?”
A man in front of them threw an empty cup at the two of them. “Shut up!” He exclaimed.
“Sorry! Won’t happen again.” Charlie watched as the cup landed on the floor between him and Pim.
Pim felt bad for making such a fuss, so he made a point to stay as quiet as possible for the remainder of the movie. There were many parts Pim found to be too scary and violent to handle. He resorted to just covering his eyes at those parts, though he peeked through his fingers so it didn’t really help.
The movie was about a vampire who’s set on curing himself and reverting back to a plain old human. The only way to do that was to track down the head vampire and kill him. There was a lot of pointless killing and gore that Pim did not like one bit, and the movie ended on a cliffhanger, leaving the head vampire still out for blood and roaming the streets in real life.
Pim shuddered as he and Charlie left the theater while the credits rolled. “That movie was uh… Really cool.” He rubbed the back of his head and glanced off to the side.
“Oh come on, Pim, are you gonna be all jumpy and scared of everything again?”
“No, no, I’m good. I’ll be fine.”
As the two friends were starting to walk home, Pim hears a rustling of branches in a nearby bush and is startled. He grabs onto Charlie’s arm and hugs it.
Charlie seemed a bit annoyed. “Dude it’s just a raccoon or something. You act like this every time I get to pick what movie we watch, it’s not really fair.”
Pim loosened his grip on Charlie’s arm and looked up at him. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I guess I do have a tendency to overreact a bit. I just-“
Pim is interrupted when the rustling of the bush grows louder. A man dressed in a complete vampire costume, cape and everything, leaped out from the bush and hissed at the two mortals. Pim shrieked and held Charlie’s arm very tightly, but the vampire man grabbed the little guy and yanked him away from Charlie.
Pim was now freaking out. “H-HELP! Charlie! Help me!” He cried as he kicked his legs at the vampire man.
“Hey, let him go, man! What’s wrong with you?!” Charlie shouted.
The man brought Pim’s neck up to his mouth and sunk his fangs into the side of it. He then began to suck on Pim’s neck like a juice box. All the while Pim was screaming bloody murder and desperately trying to escape the man’s grip.
“What the fuck?! Get off of him!” Charlie swiftly kicked the man in the crotch with as much force as he could muster. The man hissed in response and dropped Pim on the ground. He glared at Charlie as he dramatically swooshed his cape over his face, then took off down the street, disappearing in the shadows.
Charlie had trouble processing what just happened. He held out his hand to Pim, offering to help him up.
Pim began to cry. He accepted Charlie’s offer and pulled himself up. “Ch-Charlie!” He spoke between hysterical sobs. “The vampire! He- He bit me just like in the movie! What if he’s the head vampire?! What’s gonna happen to me, Charlie? I’m scared!”
Charlie consoled his friend with a pat on the back. “Pim, that was just some crazy person. I mean we could take you to the doctor or something but it’s kinda late, I don’t think anyone’s open right now.”
“What if… I turn! Oh, Charlie, I just can’t handle that! I can’t go around drinking the blood of strangers! I’d be a monster! Am I turning into a monster, Charlie?!”
“Look, everything’s gonna be fine. You’ve had a rough night, I think the excitement of it all is just getting to you. You need to get some sleep.”
Pim twiddled his fingers as he spoke in a hushed, shaky voice. “…Charlie? Can I crash at your place? Just for tonight? I really don’t want to be alone right now.” Pim gave Charlie a pleading stare.
“Yeah, okay, fine. As long as you calm down and go to sleep. No offense, but I really don’t wanna be up all night with you freaking out.”
“I won’t be a bother, I promise.”
The two friends continued walking towards Charlie’s apartment in silence. Pim had something on his mind, so he spoke it into existence. “Hey, Charlie? I-I really don’t feel very safe down here. I mean, what if something grabs me again?”
“What’re you getting at?”
“…Could I ride on your shoulders? If it’s not too much to ask?”
“Yeah, sure.” Charlie paused and gently lifted Pim up onto his shoulders, holding his legs in place so he didn’t slip off as he continued walking.
Pim hugged Charlie’s neck and rested his head on top of his. He felt pleasantly safe right now, with Charlie serving as his body guard of sorts. He thought about how much he appreciates Charlie and everything he does for him, and how lucky he is to have a friend like him. His thoughts grew kind of blurred and incomprehensible as he felt himself drifiting off to sleep, nestling his head into Charlie’s pudgy head.
Charlie heard a light snore come from Pim. This made him smile a bit and roll his eyes. He wondered if Pim knows that he cherishes their friendship just as much as he does. He wouldn’t let just anyone stay the night, let alone carry them around. Pim was a special case.