Jay's shoulders shook as silent sobs rippled through her, and she barely noticed the soft rustling of people around them shifting, glancing at them. A few turned their heads to look at them. Someone even whispered.
Venelope leaned in sharply, elbow on the armrest, and hissed out of the side of her mouth, "Enough, Jay! You're embarrassing me."
She yanked her ridiculously floppy hat down over her face, trying to hide. Her voice dropped lower, more urgent and she paniced. "I swear to God Jay, you're going to get us kicked out for emotional disturbance."
Jay tried to stifle her crying, biting her lip, but it only made a hiccup escape.
Venelope groaned. "Bro…" she muttered, half into her hat. "If you don't stop crying, believe meI'm out. I'll leave you here in this puddle of strange people."
Jay let out a broken laugh in between sniffles, her breath catching mid-sob. She turned to Venelope, eyes shining with tears, mouth trembling with a grin.
"Oh Lord," Venelope mumbled, peeking at her through the brim. "This woman has officially lost it."
Jay giggled again, quietly now, brushing the back of her hand across her cheeks. "I can't help it. They're just so…so…stupid! They loved each other and never said it! And now he is dead…" she motioned wildly toward the screen!"
Venelope sighed dramatically. "And now you're crying in the dark like an idiot over his death more than his lover!?"
Jay laughed more freely this time, her voice muffled. "I swear, I'm okay. This is just… emotional purging."
"Yeah, yeah say whatever you want…well, my purging doesn't involve public weeping and drawing the attention of six unamused men in the back row," Venelope replied, peeking behind them. "Seriously, the man in the maroon vest is judging your whole existence right now."
"You want something?" she hissed at him… and he feigned ignorance at her reaction.
Jay laughed again quiet.
Venelope reached into the popcorn bucket and offered her a caramel-coated piece like an olive branch that took with a sheepish smile.
"You okay now?" she asked, softer this time.
Jay nodded slowly. "I think I needed that."
Venelope tilted her head. "Crying over fictional people because you don't know if your real-life story will end like theirs?"
Jay blinked. "Something like that…"
Venelope leaned back in her seat. "We'll write your ending. It won't be tragic. But, girl, next time just wait for the end credits to break down, okay?"
Jay wiped her face with her sleeve, took a deep breath, and whispered, "hmmm."
…..
They stepped out of the cinema, the cold of the night settling around them. The world felt quieter now gentler like even the streets had paused to let them walk undisturbed. Arms still linked, they laughed softly, walking aimlessly under flickering streetlights and the golden haze of store windows closing down for the night.
"What's next?" Venelope asked, her voice teasing, her eyes bright.
"I don't know," Jay murmured, a wistful smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Just then, her phone buzzed sharply in her pocket. She pulled it out, squinting at the screen as it lit up with missed calls and unread messages.
"I think…" Venelope said, nodding toward the phone, "we should probably head home. Your folks must be thinking the bride has run away."
Jay chuckled under her breath.
"And without any doubt, I am the prime suspect and the culprit," Venelope added with mock gravity. "it is no surprise if I find your mother on doorsteps in a while with police, if she doesn't hear from you in a while"
Jay snorted, still staring at the screen, but she said nothing her smile dimming a little. Venelope caught the shift, the hesitation, and her teasing fell away.
"You want to come over to my place tonight?" she asked quietly, "Like… for the night?"
Jay turned to her, startled. "Can I?" she asked, her voice almost too small.
Venelope grinned. "Of course you can, silly. It's just for one night. I've already told you I'd help you run away if it ever came to that. This is nothing."
Jay's fingers danced across her screen, ignoring her mother's messages entirely. Instead, she typed:
Dad, I'll not be home tonight. I'm staying at Venelope's. I'll share my location once I get there.
She hit send, locked the phone, and slid it back into her pocket with a sense of quiet finality. "Shall we go?" she asked.
Venelope simply nodded, and together they began walking toward the edge of the market, the city thinning into stillness.
They walked in sync, arms swinging gently between them, steps slow and unhurried. It was one of those rare nights where the world didn't rush them nor did it seem to demand anything at all.
"Hey," Jay said after a pause. "Can I call you V?"
Venelope smiled, amused. "Hmmm," she murmured, tilting her head.
Jay grinned.
"V," she tried again, savoring the shortness and the closeness of the nickname. "What do you think of life?"
"What do I think of life?" Venelope echoed, her brow furrowing in curiosity. "In what sense?"
"Like… what is it to you? What do you enjoy in life? Like … what do you think overall of it?"
Venelope didn't answer right away. Her gaze lifted toward the sky. The moon was high, soft and full, wearing its brightness like a crown.
"Tell me," she said suddenly, "what do you think of that moon? And the sky?"
She rolled her eyes playfully. " I asked you first."
"Yes, yes, I know. But I'm questioning to answer you," she countered, eyes still stuck on the stars. "Tell me."
Jay sighed and looked up, letting the silence stretch for a moment. "I think… it's beautiful," she whispered. "It's calm. It's soft. But… I don't know what horrors or storms it's hiding in its black parts. I only know that for now… it's peaceful. And that feels enough."
Venelope looked at her with something like reverence. "Exactly," she said softly. "That's how I feel about life. I don't know what it holds. The pain, the heartache, and the things we can't even imagine. I don't know if I can even handle them. Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. But right now… I feel calm. And I think… that's all I can ask for. That's all any of us can do. Just… be calm, be still… and do our best." She continued.
Jay said nothing. She just listened. And then, without a word, she gently leaned her head onto Venelope's shoulder. Walking under the dark of the night, unaware and unrelated to what might come their way.
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