Leon meets Nikki.

He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t holding out hope for some beautiful coworkers, but as his first shift wound to a close and he retrieved his camera from his cramped employee locker, there was nada on that front. If there were hotties working here, they all had the day off.

It was probably for the best though. Even with Jessie gone and his mother’s Link broken, he still had four women to form better relationships with. Rushing into even more Links would be brash and irresponsible.

But maybe it’ll fill this void.

...It got worse when he was alone.

There was nothing to look forward to when he walked out of the lobby’s double doors except a long walk back to Lily’s window, and he wasn’t ready for that yet, so he took advantage of his employee privileges to catch his first free flick.

Connor — the guy who trained him —recommended the newest Marvel movie. He thought Connor seemed like an alright dude, but his taste of movies were pretty opposite of his own. He decided to check out the newest film in the Scream series instead.

He was early, so he settled into one of the fancier armchair style seats and got comfortable. Those chairs were like spacious thrones compared to the regular seating, and since there were only two right next to each other, it was almost impossible to claim them unless you got there early or went to a dead show.

Some mediocre trailers played on the big screen, but he was too busy admiring the quality of the chair to pay them much mind. Besides, he didn’t really like trailers. They almost always spoiled more of the movie than they should.

“Is that seat taken?”

Leon almost jumped at the sound of the unexpected feminine voice, and looked over at the aisle. An attractively nerdy girl was standing next to him, illuminated by the pale light of the movie screen.

“It’s all yours,” he said.

From what he could make out of her facial features without staring like a freak, she seemed a few years older than him, but it was hard to tell because her glasses could’ve been making her look a little older. Either way, he had no problem sitting next to her, and — truthfully — he was already thinking about how to register her. A hot nerdy girl alone at a horror movie? Yes, please.

How many women will it take before I’m satisfied? 10? 20? And how many until I stop thinking about Jessie?

I do not believe you will be able to take a picture of this one with your camera, Leon Marshall.

Leon almost jumped out of his skin.

Cammy! Don’t do that! What’s this girl gonna think if I’m jumping around acting like a freak?

The girl in question had settled into her seat and was watching the trailers so intently that Leon was halfway convinced that it was an act to keep him from bothering her.

I apologize, Leon Marshall. I only wanted to offer help.

Help?

Yes. I would like to inform you that because I now reside in your mind, my power can be utilized from any picture taking device. Taking a discreet photo with your cellphone may prove more successful in this situation.

Oh...

Oh?

Yeah. I mean, I was getting used to relying on my camera. It was kinda fun. Using whatever I want is more convenient and all but...

Your personal camera still holds a distinct advantage over other devices.

It does?

It is still the only device that will be invisible to your Soul Links.

What? That’s crap! Why even use anything else then?

Leon Marshall?

...what?

If you do not stop complaining about arbitrary things I will shout very loudly for the duration of the movie.

That’s ****!

Yes, it is.

...Fine. I appreciate having options. Is that what you want to hear?

Thank you very much, Leon Marshall. I aim to serve. Please, enjoy the movie.

Cammy was gonna drive him nuts. At least he could safely register people discreetly... at the cost of letting Cammy live inside his head.

Back to the matter at hand. Leon did exactly as Cammy suggested and used his phone to register the girl while he pretended to put it on silent before the movie started. It wasn’t a great picture, but quality didn’t seem to matter to the System as long as there was a recognizable person in the shot.

Nikki Soska, Rank 0, Age 24, Happiness 55

It was a nice change of pace to encounter someone who was closer to happy than sad. He could use a few happy people in his life.

Leon registered her, and once again saw the same old Rank 1 benefits. It was becoming abundantly clear that there had to be some pretty special circumstances for Soul Links to receive any kind of unique Rank 1 benefit. Although, when dealing with a complete stranger he wasn’t about to belittle the conversation benefit.

He tried it right away. “You a big Scream fan?” he asked with his best ‘I’m a cool guy that you should get to know’ smile.

Nikki pulled her attention away from the screen and directed it towards him.

“Who me?” she asked. He hadn’t noticed how low cut her shirt was. That was an awful lot of cleavage on display. He tried not to stare, but good god was it hard. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to become Randy, if that tells you anything,” she replied with a grin, and turned in her chair as best she could so that she could face him. Universal body language for ‘I’m open to talking to you.’

“Randy, huh? Does that mean I’m sitting next to a bona fide horror expert?”

“Oh, most definitely.”

Leon wanted her to know he was interested, so he bravely went straight to flirting. “I don’t know... Randy is the king and all, but I think you’re more like Kirby.”

“No way, Kirby’s too new school.”

“But she’s sexy and nerdy.”

Nikki laughed. It was a breathy, sexy laugh that made his pulse quicken. “I’m no Hayden Panettiere.”

“I don’t know, I think you could give her a run for her money.”

“No you don’t. You’re only saying that because I’m a passable looking girl with a low cut shirt who’s down to nerd out about Scream with you.”

“Correction. You’re a hot girl with a very low cut shirt who didn’t immediately assume I was talking about Nintendo’s pink blob when I compared her to Kirby. What more could a guy want?”

Nikki laughed and reached out her hand, which he shook. “My name’s Nikki,” she said. “And I should warn you now: I have a boyfriend.” His heart dropped. “See, there’s at least one more thing a guy could want.”

“Touché. I’m Leon, and I’m really hoping you’re going to follow up that heartbreaking revelation with something about how it’s not a serious relationship and you’re open to new faces.”

“Four years and counting. New faces are strictly forbidden at this point, unless they’re friendly. And I mean just friendly.”

“Any chance you and your boyfriend are trying out polygamy to bring the spice back into your four year relationship?” he asked with an arched eyebrow. The question earned him a friendly slap on the arm and a cute giggle.

“Nice try, but don’t hold your breath on that one.”

Leon laughed, but in reality he had no idea how to go about handling the situation. He’d never pursued someone who was already in a relationship (he wasn’t counting Marlene because he didn’t really have to do much pursuing there), and even if he wanted to break up a four year relationship out of pure selfishness, it surely wouldn’t be an easy task...

“Ah well, sorry for hitting on you when you’re trying to enjoy your alone time. I’m just honored to be sitting with a fellow fan.”

“Don’t be sorry! I’m seriously flattered. It’s not everyday that I get hit on by total strangers.”

“Really? I figured a hot geek like you must be getting asked out left and right.”

“Geek?” she asked, and her easy smile dropped from her face.

Shit.

“Not in a bad way! Geeky girls are sexy!”

“Oh, I see, so any geeky girl would do it for you? Great, thanks.”

“Wait, no that’s not what I meant! I just think that it’s really cool that you’re so sexy and so into horror movies! Kirby is a geek but that’s part of what makes her so attractive!”

Nikki stared him down angrily for a solid minute before she winked at him and said, “Chill. I’m fucking with you. And I don’t know if I’d call Kirby a geek. She’s a badass.”

“You- you’re fucking with me? You’re not mad?”

“Do you really think I’d get mad at being called a geek after I just told you I wanted to be like Randy from Scream? You’re such a dweeb,” she teased. His reddening cheeks probably matched the deep red of their seat cushions. Thank god theaters were so dimly lit.

“... I take it back. You’re not like Kirby at all. You’re more like Angela from Night of the Demons.”

“Bitchy and possessed?”

“Exactly.”

“No way! Go back to comparing me to Hayden Panettiere!” she cried, and this time a few people shushed her. Leon hadn’t noticed how full the theater was getting as they chatted. Nikki offered a ‘sorry’ towards the other seats and lowered her voice.

“Hmmmm,” he mused as the lights turned off and the movie started. “Guess we better be quiet now, Miss Panettiere.”

“Guess so.”

Was that disappointment in her voice?

---

Throughout the movie the two of them pretty much stayed quiet and focused on the film. They were horror fans through and through, so even though they enjoyed each other’s company, when movie time started they zipped their lips and paid attention. It was still a pleasant experience, being reminded every once in awhile that he was enjoying a movie in the company of a pretty girl. The only thing that would have made it better was if he could put his arm around her shoulder, but that seemed too presumptuous considering her status as a taken woman.

When the movie ended and the credits began to roll, they discussed their thoughts on it. As they talked and joked around, Leon decided that he liked Nikki. Not just because she was hot and he wanted her to wrap her long legs around- well, not just because of that, but because she was genuinely fun to talk to. They shared a lot of the same opinions about horror movies too, as it turned out.

Since the System already revealed to him that she was more happy than not, he didn’t want to butt into her relationship and risk ruining that. It wouldn’t kill him to be put into the friend zone, just this once, so he kept the flirting light and pressure-free as they walked out of the theater and towards her car. When they got there, she stopped and twirled on her heel to face him.

“Well Leon, you know what they say about good things.”

Leon shrugged. “They last forever?”

“Sadly, no. Though that would be much more optimistic,” she said, and unlocked the door of her green PT Cruiser with the key fob. “They all come to an end.”

“If it really has to end, then I don’t suppose I could get my Scream Queen’s number?”

Nikki paused with her hand on the door of her car and shook her head sadly.

“I’m sorry, but no. I don’t want to be one of those girls that sneaks around behind her boyfriend’s back while she secretly texts strange men.”

“So tell him about me. Then I won’t be a secret, I’ll just be strange.”

“I can’t. He’d get depressed if he knew I was getting along with another guy so well. He’s really sensitive when it comes to things like that.”

Leon sighed and put his hands in his pockets. “I guess I can relate. I’d be scared of losing someone like you too.”

She walked over to him and gave him a light, friendly hug. He took his hands right back out of his pockets and did his best to return the hug without seeming too eager.

Even now, after the things he’d done over the past few days, the warmth of another person still felt somewhat foreign. It hadn’t been that long since he was alone in his room day in and day out, but now he was here, hugging a cute girl he met at the movies.

“I’ll be here on Saturday for the marathon showing of the Child’s Play series. I wouldn’t dare miss Chucky the killer doll in action. Maybe we could-“

Leon cut her off. “I’ll definitely be there too,” he said. “I don’t think I ever mentioned this, but I work here. First day on the job.”

“Wait, seriously? That’s so cool! That means we can hang out...”

“Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. That is, if you can handle being the girl who has a secret movie friend.”

“I’ll learn to live with it. It’s not like we’re doing anything bad, and besides, I’ve always wanted a horror buddy. Dave just doesn’t understand the triple Bs of horror.” Nikki had revealed her boyfriend’s name to him during the credit roll.

“Blood, boobs, and beasts?”

Nikki cheered and gave him an enthusiastic high-five. “See? You get me, man!”

Leon opened her car door for her and couldn’t help but look down her shirt when she stooped to get in. There were two perks that came with gaining a friend like Nikki, and he was looking right at both of them.

“See you Saturday?” he asked.

“See you Saturday,” she replied, and closed the door. He backed away so she could pull out of the parking lot, and waved to her as she drove away.

There was an hour or so walk ahead of him before he could take out his sexual frustrations on Lily, so once Nikki’s car was out of sight, he started walking.

---

(Author’s Note - Nikki’s shirt in this chapter: https://images.app.goo.gl/APzBoa7ZHUSLHZKt7)