Batter up!

"Horror it is." Brian declared much to Andrew's delight. Sure he was stuck in a dark theater for two hours watching cheesy effects but at least he didn't have to listen to bad lines that worked on no one. Brian helped guide Andrew through the darkened theater to their seats in the center row. 'Obviously, he forgot how much better the back row is for making your move.' Oh well, he didn't want him making any real moves on him anyway.

When Andrew went to sit he was shocked to find no back and immediately fell hitting his head on a soft pillow. "What?" Brian sat on the edge of what turned out to be a bed and placed their drinks in holders.

"Yeah, apparently they have theaters with beds in them. Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah." He had to admit it was. He was glad Brian had insisted on carrying their drinks and snacks otherwise he would have drenched himself in icee. "This had to be super expensive though."

"You're worth it."

Andrew felt a twinge of guilt, this was supposed to be practice, not a real date. He shouldn't blow all his money on this. "Brian...this is-"

"Hey," he gently held his friend's head in his hands, "Don't worry about it. This might be the only date I get, so I might as well do it right, right?"

He frowned, even after all this his friend still had no hope a girl would find him desirable, or attractive. "It won't be."

"We'll see." He lay his head on the pillow next to Andrew's and smiled, "Hey look, first date and I already got you into bed." Brian regretted it as soon as he said it.

"That's two." Andrew slapped Brian's arm.

"I'm sorry, I am. I'm still a little nervous."

"There's nothing to be nervous about." Andrew took his friend's hand in his, unaware of their new level of intimacy.

The trailers rolled and as always they discussed what movies sounded fun to watch and which ones were terrible while they opened their snacks. Soon, the movie began and despite himself, Andrew found himself enjoying the movie. The acting was good, so was the dialogue, and the director favored practical effects over CGI. His enjoyment had made him forget the type of movie they were watching. Until the first brutal **** on the spaceship. Andrew jumped, kicking at the screen as he did so and accidentally kicking his Icee to the floor.

"It looked so real!" He whispered.

"It's not babe, you're safe." Andrew knew it wasn't real, but a six-foot tendril with razor-sharp teeth bursting out of someone's chest still makes one jump a little. "I'll be right back, okay?" Andrew nodded. When Brian left Andrew took Brian's pillow and clutched it tight. Having something to hold made the next **** easier to handle. Brian finally came back with a handful of wet paper towels and cleaned up the sticky mess from the floor before it got worse.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Andrew whispered and offered to help but Brian would hear nothing of it.

When Brian returned to his spot Andrew had to give up his comforting pillow, thankfully there had been a lull in the action allowing him to relax. Brian would offer Andrew a drink every so often from his own cup. The next jump scare had Andrew clinging to Brian for safety. The more gruesome the attacks became the more he relied on Brian for comfort until he was laying his lead on Brian's chest, holding him tight. Hoping that the monsters would all go away if he just held on long enough.

Brian wrapped his arms around Andrew's back and stroked his date's hair with the other until 'her' rapid breathing slowed. Brian was scared out of his mind at every jump scare and ****, his mind was preoccupied with making his friend/date feel better. Slowly the killer monster had whittled the original crew of 12 to just two. The two leads raced the clock and the monster to the escape pod. They made it with seconds to spare but a tendril wrapped itself around the female lead's leg. With the tendril blocking the pod door it wouldn't close or jettison them to safety as they planned. The male lead **** the door open just enough to squeeze himself through on the other side. The slimy tendril wrapped around her leg loosened enough for her to escape. The door slammed sealing her and her crewmate off, along with the monster. The pod jettisoned mere seconds before the explosion destroyed the station and killing the creature. Or was it?