Chapter 2

Blake's POV

Quinn's smile faded. "Why are you throwing a tantrum now?" she snapped.

"I have no idea what's going on with you," Seth said, spreading his arms. "We can just watch the comedy if you want to watch it so badly. There's no need for you to give us attitude. You're acting as if we're teaming up to bully you."

Quinn's expression turned cold. "We don't need to bend to his whims. We came out to watch a movie together, and we're going to stick to the plan."

She then forcefully dragged me toward the ticketing counter.

The next show for the romance movie was about to begin. The screen showed only three seats left. Two seats were next to each other, and the last one was across the aisle.

Quinn handed me the ticket for the seat across the aisle without hesitation. "Seth has astigmatism. He won't be able to see the subtitles clearly if his seat is too close to the side. You can take the seat that's across the aisle."

"I don't think that's right," Seth chimed in, looking at me. "Blake is your boyfriend, after all. I'm fine with sitting on the side."

"Blake doesn't like watching romance movies," Quinn said while pressing the ticket into my hands. "He'll just be scrolling on his phone even if we do sit together."

We entered the hall after the staff member checked our tickets.

Quinn and Seth sat next to each other with Seth holding a bucket of popcorn. They reached into the bucket at the same time.

When their fingers brushed against each other, Seth turned his head to the side and chuckled softly. The corners of Quinn's lips curled up into a faint smile as she said something in a low voice.

I averted my gaze. The man next to me suddenly shifted, taking my armrest.

"Are you here by yourself, handsome?" the man asked.

I ignored him and shimmied to the right, putting as much distance as I could between us. But the moment the screen went dark, I felt a rough hand touch the outside of my thigh.

The man moved his lips close to my ear and whispered, "Your pants are so short. You're just asking for someone to touch you, right?"

A loud buzzing filled my ears. I shot to my feet and shouted, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

My outburst drew everyone else's attention in the hall. My finger shook uncontrollably as I pointed at the man and exclaimed, "He touched me! Not only that, but he also said disgusting things to me!"

The man also rose to his feet, wearing a good and honest expression as he innocently asked, "Why are you screaming, sir? The seats are a little cramped, so I just accidentally touched you. I swear that I didn't do it on purpose. Please don't cause a scene and ruin the movie for everyone else."

The others began whispering among themselves.

"He's right. He looks like a good and honest man. He doesn't seem like the type to harass another person."

"He overreacted. It's not like he's going to lose anything just because the guy touched him for a few seconds. Besides, perhaps he isn't even into men."

Nobody took my side. I shot a pleading look at Quinn, saying, "He really touched me, Quinn…"

"It's pitch black in here, Blake," Seth said while covering his mouth with his hand. "Perhaps you were just imagining things? He looks like an upstanding guy."

Quinn didn't stand up or shield me. Instead, she impatiently snapped, "Is your tendency to paint yourself as the victim acting up again, Blake? You were stalked in the past. Is that why you see everyone as thugs now?"

Her words made me freeze in place.

During my junior year in university, Quinn and I were stuck in a long-running cold war because I chose to stay with Seth. Seth was annoyed that I looked for Quinn every day, so he intentionally dumped my belongings outside the door.

I had no choice but to find a place for myself, but someone ended up stalking me.

A man broke into my place at midnight and pinned me against the mattress. Fortunately, the neighbors heard the commotion and called the police.

Quinn's eyes were bloodshot when she finally rushed over. She frantically pulled me into her arms and said, "It's okay, Blake. I'm here. You don't have to be scared."

She healed the wound in my heart with her warmth. However, at that moment, she was tearing the scar open with her own two hands and displaying the bloody wound for everyone to see.

Quinn spoke in a low voice to the man who was sitting next to her. After wiring him some money, the man grabbed his things and moved to my original seat.

"That's enough. Don't just stand there and let everyone make a fool out of you," she said as she pointed at the vacant seat. "I know that you just want to change seats. Come and sit next to me."