Beth, a walking loyalty extractor.

It started at the movies.

Beth and her friends had met for dinner and a movie. Everything was normal during dinner as they discussed their lives, made jokes, and decided to watch an action movie. For some reason, Joseph insisted on paying for the whole table. It made people a little uncomfortable, but they soon forgot it and headed to the theater.

At the concession stand, Beth ordered a large popcorn and a soda. When she handed the cashier her card he got a funny look on his face before refusing it.

"On the house, ma'am," he said with a smile. Beth was confused, but not too confused to turn down free popcorn. "Anything else we can do for you here at the Cineplex?"

She smiled and politely thanked him and they were on their way. During the movie everything seemed normal. Beth sat between Marcus and Kat. After a few elbow bumps, they both gave her the armrests and she enjoyed the rest of the movie with her arms fully supported. Soon she was lost in the grisly gunfights and thrilling chase sequences.

As the credits rolled she turned to Kat. "So, how'd you like the movie?"

Kat smiled in weirdly eager way. "I don't know, what did you think?"

Beth grinned. "I loved it! Oh man, that sequence where he was dangling-"

"-and the rope caught fire!" Kat finished. "God, my heart was in my throat!"

Beth regarded her friend curiously. Kat was the artsiest of them, very snobby about her tastes. While she wasn't a complete elitist, she usually turned her nose up at action flicks.

"And the cast wasn't too hard on the eyes..." Kat mumbled and Beth rolled her eyes. Kat was the bisexual horndog of the group and it seemed like she couldn't go twenty minutes without bringing it up. Kat seemed genuinely stricken at Beth's gesture, though, and seemed to sober up immediately.

Meanwhile, Joseph turned to her. He had an oddly eager gleam in his eyes. "What do you wanna do now?"

Like Kat's, Beth thought. It was the same thing she'd seen in Kat's face.