Say something, say something (Say something)

After Nick and Ella’s one hour in Dream Alley had elapsed, they emerged back in the center of the Shopping District with smiles on their faces. It hadn’t been the perfect hour, certainly not, but it had been a good time for all parties involved.

Of course, the date wasn’t over yet, not by a long shot. And more critically in Nick’s eyes, the burning question that Ella had asked him back in the café still had yet to be addressed.

After all… what was he supposed to do here? How could he make her turn her cynicism around and actually express some positivity? It wasn’t something he had a lot of experience with, even in his own journey to become a less cynical person.

Nick wasn’t great at the big picture. He was only decent when it came to little small pictures. All he could do was try to keep Ella smiling like she was right now.

“We still have a little bit of time left,” he said, checking his screen. “A lot of time, actually. Almost three hours until you need to be back at the Master’s Suite.”

Immediately he regretted saying that. After all, the Master’s Suite also represented the job Ella had to do in cleaning the suite. And that always caused her problems.

But it didn’t seem to bother her this time. So he counted his blessings and decided to push things forward, flashing a smile at her instead.

“Hey, I had an idea, Ella, why don’t we do something you want to do next?” Nick suggested. “I mean, we got to go to Deep Blue, and that’s what I wanted to do, even if you didn’t enjoy it very much. So it’s only fair we do something you want to do, right?”

“I-I actually liked Deep Blue!” Ella replied. “Well, I mean, there were things I liked about it, anyway. That underwater tunnel was really cool, and those flapjack octopuses were adorable! So it was actually a nice time.”

Plus she liked getting to spend time with Nick in a setting where her own issues weren’t a focus. That was something precious to her.

Nick nodded and wondered what they should do moving forward. But at the same time, he knew it might not have to be his responsibility.

That was the best part here. Although she hadn’t seemed to realize it yet.

“Ella, what I meant was that I think we should do what you want to do next,” Nick clarified. “Is there anything you might find fun?”

“Oh! You mean… I get to choose?” Ella’s eyes widened in surprise. She’d been very passive the whole date, just letting Nick take her around. And she’d been enjoying herself. The pressure of having to make a decision for the both of them, that was a lot of stress for her… in spite of Vivian’s insistence when designing her outfit, she’d actually been very grateful to not have to put any pressure on herself by being the active party of the date.

And now Nick was suggesting that she actually take the lead?

Well…

Maybe she could?

It was a possibility anyway.

…

Okay, I’ll do it! I’ll come up with something really cool and fun! And then maybe Nick will even start to like me…? …No, no way he will! After all, I’m… but maybe… aargh this is too stressful! I just knew that having control over this date would be a mistake!

All these thoughts occurred to Ella within the span of a couple seconds. But when she finally regained her composure and realized that Nick was still waiting for her to make a decision, something very obvious stood out to her-

Her feet were getting sore.

“Actually, I feel a little tired and exhausted,” she admitted, finding a nearby bench to sit down on. “I’m not used to walking around like we’ve been doing… it feels like we spent a lot longer than an hour in that aquarium!”

They had been walking around the Shopping District for a lot actually, and her feet could really use a rest.

“I could use a break too,” Nick agreed. “So I guess that means we aren’t going to the Botanical Garden?” He joked. That was one of the ideas they’d come up with, and one that Ella had seemed supportive of at the time.

But she shook her head, clearly not interested in walking around a garden in her present condition, not with her feet feeling so sore. She just wanted to sit down for a couple of hours and take a long relaxing break!

That’s when she remembered one of the other ideas that had occurred to her during their discussion earlier.

“Oh!” Ella jumped to her feet, forgetting all about her soreness for a second. “What about going to watch a movie?”

Nick was surprised to hear that suggestion.

“Are you sure?” He asked, frowning. “I would have thought you’d be **** to go see a movie again, you know, after what happened last time?”

Ella winced. That was true. The last time she and Nick had gone to watch a movie together, it hadn’t exactly gone well.

It hadn’t exactly been a movie, either. More like a sick sadistic puppet show authored by Dakota for the purpose of tormenting Ella enough to bring Cinder to the surface.

For obvious reasons, neither of them wanted a repeat performance of that little nightmare.

“Maybe I wasn’t thinking,” Ella agreed, scratching her head and sighing. She sat back down now that the throbbing had returned to her feet. “I just wanted to rest my feet a little bit… I can’t believe how sore they are!”

Way back when she was still living in the misery of her youth, Ella’s body had adapted to very harsh physical conditions. Calluses on her hands from all that dusting, sores on her knees from all the scrubbing, and tough feet from all the stretching to reach high places.

But after such a long time spent not having to toil away for her family (thank you prison and the trial she’d ducked out of) her body had acclimated.

Most people got hard when they went to jail. Ella had actually gotten softer and more flabby (even if only a little).

Nick wondered if there was anything else they could do to pass the time for Ella’s sake. It was a difficult thought, to say the least.

Then he had a better one.

“Well, we could still watch a movie,” he pointed out. “Unlike Dream Alley, there are probably a lot more things playing. And I have an idea.”

“Oh?” Ella was intrigued. “If you have an idea, I’d like to hear it. I want to make things better, too!” She nodded. A movie still sounded fun. It just needed to be the right movie!

If Nick could set that up, then it would be perfect.

Nick tried his best. But he couldn’t exactly “set things up” in a technical sense.

He could do something else, though, and that was get in contact with Dakota.

Which was exactly what he did.

“Dakota, I know you’re still watching the date, I need a favor,” Nick said, startling Ella. She stared at him with wide eyes as Dakota reappeared in front of them with another exaggerated bow and an amused smirk on her face.

“Why Nick… I’m shocked,” she purred, tapping her chin. “Didn’t your stepmother ever teach you that it’s very rude to call up another woman while you’re on a hot date? I’m sure she did… in fact, I remember it like it was yesterday… or maybe two days ago?”

She smirked.

Nick rolled his eyes. “Get over yourself,” he scoffed. “This is about making our date better, it’s not about you.”

Dakota’s expression shifted into a cold glare, and Nick realized that maybe he’d gone a little too far here actually.

“W-well, I just mean, um…” He tried to stammer out a response, but he wasn’t sure if he should be making things even worse.

Thankfully, Ella was willing to step in and help, rather than hide behind Nick this time around. She approached Dakota cautiously, like a wary puppy, but she still approached her.

“We… Nick and I… we were talking about going to see a movie together to wrap up our date,” she explained.

Dakota reacted with a look of surprise, which was comical considering how closely she must have been monitoring the date up until this point. “Oh really? A movie? Finally a good decision!” She applauded the choice. “Going to see a movie on a date is simply phenomenal!”

“Yes, I’m quite aware of your position on that,” Nick said with a wry grin. “Now then, the reason we wanted to talk with you is because the last time we had this idea, it didn’t exactly go the way either of us wanted.”

Dakota batted her eyelashes and gave him an innocent smile. “Oh? Whatever do you mean?” She asked, as if she wasn’t responsible for the horrid results of Nick’s last date with Ella, and how Cinder had gotten free.

Nick didn’t dignify her obnoxious response with a reply of his own. He just stared at her and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for his point to sink in.

Dakota sighed and rolled her eyes, giving up the ghost. “…Fine, fine, I understand. You came to me for my phenomenal reputation of a film aficionado of the highest order, is that right?”

“Something like that, sure,” Nick nodded. “Frankly I just want to make sure you’re not going to screw us over again if we DO go to watch a movie.”

Dakota’s mouth fell open and she placed her hand over her chest, giving Nick a scandalized look. “Why, I would never-! This is an important date for you, Nick. I would never want to ruin it!”

Somehow, Nick didn’t think she was being completely honest with him. He sighed and rolled his eyes, while Dakota herself just giggled.

“…So you don’t believe me. Well, that’s alright. You don’t need to,” she said, shaking her head. “No, I’ve got my own plans… Wait, did I say plans? Forget that.”

“Dakota…” Nick knew there weren’t any “plans”. If there were, she would have kept her mouth shut. So she was just teasing at this point. Which was nice, because it was better for her to be teasing than actively malicious, but right now he didn’t want Dakota teasing or flirting with him while he was with another girl.

She seemed to sense his reticence, because she quickly calmed down and returned to being all business on the matter.

“Well, it’s clear that you two need something exciting to get your date moving,” Dakota said, tapping her chin. “How about this? Since you’ve caught me in a very good mood today, I’ll let you pick the movie! Whatever you’d like to watch, it’ll be there!”

“Really?” Nick asked, surprised. “…Wait, isn’t that how the Movie Theater is supposed to work? We can pick the movies?”

“No, I pick the movies. You should know that by now, Nick.”

Fair enough. Even when they were little kids, Dakota always got to pick the movies when they had sleepovers. If she didn’t, she’d whine and complain and throw a tantrum until she got her way in the end.

So really, not a lot had changed in their relationship after all these years.

Ella, on the other hand, was thrilled. “You… you really mean it?” She asked hopefully. “I can watch whatever movie I want?”

“Of course!” Dakota purred, curling her lips up into a smile. “Think of it as an apology for what happened with the movies last time. Your pick! Anything you like. …Not that I imagine you have a very wide selection of films to choose from, of course.”

She couldn’t help it, could she? Nick sighed in exasperation at Dakota’s insistence to plunge the dagger into the other girl’s back, getting a last shot of pettiness in on her for no reason.

But he couldn’t let himself focus on that. He wanted things to go well on this date, for Ella’s sake as well as Dakota’s.

Ella was obvious, but if Dakota could actually see how good it felt to do something nice for someone out of the goodness of her heart, that was a positive in his book. Even if he doubted that things would go so easily.

“Um… you’re right, I don’t have many experiences with movies,” Ella admitted. “But I have read some picturebooks! Maybe… maybe a movie based on one of those?”

“The Barbie Movie is a thing,” Dakota replied. “Seems like the kind of film a girl stuck in her youth would enjoy.”

Ella blinked. “Err… no, I didn’t ever like Barbie…”

Those toys were the kinds of things her stepsisters would get, but never her. She had always been deprived, and been **** to stick with more traditional, “poor” forms of childhood entertainment, like half-used Disney coloring books.

That gave her an idea.

“What about… a Disney movie?” She asked. “I’ve always heard that those were pretty good, can we watch one of those?”

“A Disney movie? I suppose we could work with that,” Dakota nodded. “How about Captain America 5/Avengers 6.8, The Multiverse’s Multiverse of Thanos?”

Ella stared blankly at Dakota, not entirely sure she got the other girl’s frankly terrible joke.

“…Fine, everyone’s a critic,” Dakota scoffed, rolling her eyes and flicking her cane. “Traditional Disney it is then. Knowing you, you’d like a faerie tale, is that right? Well, I know them all. How about a version of the Lion King, but where the lions are actually humans in late 16th century Denmark?”

Ella shook her head. “That sounds horrible,” she said. “Who would want something like that? The lions are the best part!”

Dakota held her sides and doubled over laughing, while Nick struggled to not do the same. Ella may not have got what was funny about that, but she might someday.

Unfortunately, she was starting to get a little miffed. “It… are you just messing around with me?” She asked sadly, looking from Dakota to Nick and then back to Dakota again. “I really… I thought you were being serious. Do I not get to pick after all?”

“Dakota…” Nick took up a warning tone, noticing that things weren’t going the direction he’d like them to be going. He wanted this to be good for Ella, not for Dakota to make everything way more troubling for her.

Dakota could see that she was maybe starting to reach the limit of Ella’s patience, and could recognize the problem with that. While it would certainly be good for ratings if Cinder were to make another appearance, Nick would absolutely hold me responsible for that. No, thank you. Much better if she loses it all on her own. So I’ll take a step back for now.

She flashed a diplomatic smile.

“Apologies for trying to have some fun at your expense,” she said with a contrite bow. “Now, back to the matter at hand, what would you like to watch for your movie?” She asked.

Ella felt relief wash over her. Finally she’d get to make an actual choice. “I-I want a faerie tale!” She declared. “A Disney one, of course. Um… they romances, I… I really like those…”

She glanced at Nick, and her cheeks heated up.

Dakota smirked. “Oh, looking to get a little hot and heavy even before you get to the Master’s Suite, is that so?”

“DAKOTA!” Nick exclaimed.

“They-they’re kids movies!” Ella sputtered in shock.

“Fine. No ‘Snow White Gets Gangbanged by Seven Dwarves’ what movie do you actually want?” Dakota asked, clearly exasperated by this point.

Nick was about ready to call it too and tell Ella she should change her mind since there was no way the other woman would take this seriously, but he lost his chance because she blurted out exactly what she wanted already.

“Beauty and the Beast!” Ella exclaimed.

Dakota reacted with surprise at that one.

“…Oh. I see. What a pick indeed.”

Ella squirmed a little. “It… I really like that one. It’s my favorite…”

“Really?” Dakota asked. “Because I would have thought for sure that given your experiences, your favorite Disney movie would have been C-”

“Dakota…” Nick warned her.

“…Coco,” Dakota finished. “A heartwarming film about embracing family and one’s Latin American cultural heritage.”

She turned to Nick and clicked her tongue while shaking her head in disapproval. “Really, Nick, quit being so stereotypical and prejudiced. I wasn’t going to suggest anything having to do with a faerie godmother.”

Nick’s eye twitched.

Ella cleared her throat. She was starting to get a little impatient, and she didn’t like the fact that Nick and Dakota actually seemed to be getting along right in front of her.

Jealousy was a new feeling for Ella, but a strong one.

“Can we watch Beauty and the Beast or not?” Ella demanded.

“Why of course!” Dakota replied immediately. She waved her cane, and suddenly the street shifted so the Movie Theater was right in front of them. “I think that’s an excellent choice. And I’m sorry about what I said before about your pick. I can understand why you would like Beauty and the Beast. A love story involving a monstrous beast who’s sensitive and sweet inside, but so guarded and hostile due to years of prejudice and isolation, making it difficult to control their emotions? It’s a rather touching story in my opinion.”

Ella flinched. The accuracy of Dakota’s words stung, but… she wasn’t wrong.

It would be a lie if Ella said that the reason she loved that movie (or at least the picturebook version of it from the library) was because of how much certain parts spoke to her own situation.

She might not have an enchanted rose, but she really hoped that it would be possible for her to find true love herself.

“In fact, because I feel bad, I’m going to do you one better,” Dakota said, waving her cane again. “Yes, animated Disney is great. But did you know, they actually released a live-action version of that movie, with real actors? They really expanded the narrative and developed the plot in a unique direction, and the production values are something else! Perhaps that could be worth a gander? If you’re so inclined, of course.”

“Really?” Ella’s eyes widened in excitement. “They made a new version? Wow! Is it good?” She really loved the original. But a new remaster had to be superior, right? Why remake a movie if you weren’t going to make it better?

“It’s just like all those digital remasters of the Star Wars movies they made,” Dakota replied diplomatically. “But I’m glad you sound excited. I hope the movie lives up to your expectations, don’t you, Nick?”

Nick kept his mouth shut. He knew exactly what he was about to be getting into. But if he opened his mouth, then Ella might have her mood ruined.

He just had to hope that this wasn’t as bad as he expected it would be.

With a sigh, he **** a smile onto his face and followed the excited Ella into the theater.

Perhaps this was what he deserved for making her sit through all those fish exhibits…