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<05/23/2011 - 17:45 | Some Random Movie Theater, Austell, GA, USA>

As I promised before, I let myself be dragged straight into the place I've not gone to for a while. It hasn't been that long since I last arrived in the movie theater, but just being back here again gave me less pleasant memories. With the popcorn and drinks already in my hands, both my mother and Peterson were ready to take off and split.

"Okay son. Enjoy whatever you are going to watch by yourself." The faintest hint of curiosity left her lips, as she wondered why I wanted to come with when I was paying to see my own movie separate from the two of them.

I'm grateful that she finally trusts me to be on my own for a bit, enough to see any movie I want regardless of its content rating. I may be fourteen years in age, but none of those adult horror films faze me. What I'm watching anyway isn't even eighteen-plus.

But that's not really the dominating thought I'm having right now. It's kind of awkward the way she is addressing this. My mother thinks I'm actually here on my own, planning to watch a movie all by myself. For reasons I don't even have to get into, I can't actually share her the truth; that I'm here with a great friend. It was difficult enough hiding my own excitement to this silent party. "Alright."

"She makes it sound so weird."

By the time Lumina sounded off, my mother and Peterson went their own way. The theater was divided into two sections with no particular difference, and my movie happens to be towards the other direction at about the same time. Still, the moment I finally felt like I had real privacy, it was somehow more exciting to be out here by myself with Lumina. "Can you blame her? Nobody knows about your presence except for me. At least this way, I don't have to pay for two tickets." I'm literally sneaking a girl into the movie theater with me, except in this case, I'm sneaking in her consciousness? Her senses? I don't even know how to express the idea to myself, it's so strange.

"Yes Reed. I know that I'm invisible to everybody there."

"You make it sound so horrible." On one hand, having her hidden like this prevents me from proving her presence to others. But on the other hand, I'm skeptical my parents would approve of me spending time with someone who isn't the same species, likely out of fear.

"I feel like it is... And I wonder if I may have given you some bad advice about this. I want you to have at least one human friend. And if that's somehow not possible, I want you to at least trust your family a little more."

It's not the first time I've heard Lumina say that regarding my family. She's finally catching onto the fact that, while I love my mother and father very much, I certainly don't trust them for much in life. As the months go by, I find myself slipping further away from them, little by little. "I'm not sure what you are talking about. It's not as if anybody would believe me. And if my parents somehow found out about this, they would surely lock me in a mental institution. I'd rather kill myself cutting my own throat than ever step foot into one of those places. And also, I'm not crazy, so it wouldn't be a good fit for me."

"I know. I'm the one who told you not to tell all the other humans. I told you it was dangerous to even try... But I don't know if I was right to say that."

It hasn't been that long, but I think I know already why Lumina suddenly feels this way. Even though I don't express it to the same intensity, not having human friends burns a hole inside my heart, one deep enough to be shared to Lumina given our connection. However, I have yet to see this woman be wrong about a single thing so far. "You were protecting my feelings from being hurt worse given their probable reactions. At the time, I didn't know any better. But now, I understand how difficult it can be for a regular person to understand any of this, let alone believe it without any tangible evidence. But don't worry Lumina. I haven't given up on the idea entirely. I'll make one human friend, someday."

I really wasn't too bothered by the thought right now. No dark or serious topic could bring my mood down from the high pedestal it was thrown on. As I made my way towards the room featuring my choice in film, I let all that energy build within me some more. This moment feels like a lot more fun for me than it normally would. I've let Lumina see movies with me before, but not at the theaters. She'll get to see the big screen projector will loud surround sound speakers, a dark room, and full immersion. The connection is average, so things are good to go.

After finding my seat in that dark room, I made myself comfortable in those soft chairs, preparing the bucket of salted popcorn and my usual mental calm for the show. As soon as I got comfortable, Lumina did the same within her own world, sitting on that bed of hers to concentrate better through my senses while sitting down.

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"So this is it?"

"Yep. Get ready for twenty minutes of stupid trailers. At least I brought the popcorn."

"You know I don't like the taste of that stuff."

"Well there's not a lot of Lumina food in this world just waiting around the corner. If you don't like it that much, just shut off your senses to taste. I for one am enjoying this bucket of popcorn." I already started letting the salt and butter from the kernels melt into my mouth, enjoying that amazing burst of flavor. No matter how I try to do it from home, I can never get homemade popcorn to taste as good as the real thing. Even though I hate sweet foods, I'll go gaga over anything savory or salty. It's too bad Lumina doesn't like popcorn, but as I've recently learned, she doesn't really like much at all, unless it makes me gag.

"It's fairly dark in here."

"Yeah, that's kind of the point. You need the darkness to make the projector show up properly. But just wait until you hear the surround sound."

Once the movie got started, Lumina and I were fully immersed from the very beginning. The movie was called Stardust, presenting a magical adventure about a woman who figuratively is a falling star from the skies. Through it all, we both enjoyed every single second of it. Lumina only asked me a couple of questions part way in, just specific details she thought I somehow knew.

I don't know how, but we certainly managed to enjoy this style of movie much better than my home system, and I know she was enjoying herself too, since her emotions spilled into mine and vice versa. By the time the credits were rolling, I think she was almost in tears from how beautiful the story was.

"That was such a good movie."

"Yeah... It was."

"Huh? Reed! What's wrong?"

"Nothing to worry yourself over..." It seems she's finally noticed it by now. I was really doing my best to hide what was happening to me, but with my body cringing and tensing like this, even my telepathic voice sounded like it projected through clenched teeth. My breathing was already a bit rapid, and what control I still had of my situation was already crumbling away quickly. But at least... At least I made it all the way to the end. "The movie was really good... But maybe we shouldn't try it this way in the future."

"I don't understand. What's happening?"

"The dark room that I've been stuck in for over two hours? Does that answer your question?"

"Oh no! We both forgot that you can't do dark rooms! They trigger more of your headaches!"

Lumina sounds a little too worried about it, but I didn't forget at all; I just chose to tough it out and see if I could go for this kind of experience more often. However, as she clearly pointed out, the truth was painfully pulsing through my veins in the form of a tension headache.

For reasons nobody can understand, ever since that incident I had with learning my body had an emergency mode for level ten headaches, I've also learned that fluorescent lights somehow help with headaches. But in contrast, if I'm in a dark room for more than thirty minutes, without fail, a tension headache will be triggered. If I already have one, a dark room will make it worse, while the lights will make it better, or at least delay the pain climb. There have already been two instances I didn't mention in which staring at the fluorescent lights actually cured and eliminated level ten headaches, though I can't always invoke that miracle when I want. I don't even understand any part of it myself.

I was hoping deep down that this was my cure to the condition, but sadly, the darkness is only one of many unknown triggers for these headaches. I can do everything right with light and dark, and still wind up in pain at random. But the situation has become so intense now, that if I don't stay in a well-lit room for most of my day, after the first hour of being awake and three hours before I go to sleep, there is a guarantee that I will quickly develop a headache, one always more intense than I'm used to. As a result, I've had to keep my room lit during the day at all times, even when watching a movie with Lumina. If I so much as go outside for a walk at night, assuming it's not close to my usual bed time, that will trigger it as well. It's even annoyed some of the school teachers who like to do slide show power points with mini-projectors, forcing me to sit outside in the hallway or have them turn on the lights. I only hope that doesn't happen more than it already has.

But in any case, it's the reason why Lumina sounds so guilty right now. I've already told her about the light and dark thing. Honestly, I'm amazed I lasted this long in the dark. My pain scale is going from a five to a six right now, but I'm trying my best to delay it. I'm not ready to say goodbye to her yet. "Almost everything causes them these days, but don't act all surprised. I came here knowing it was a risk, but I wanted you to enjoy this with me, at least once... Man, I'm going to be in a lot more pain though, later tonight."

"I thought the connection was gradually weakening due to the temperature outside, but it turns out you were fighting back one of those terrible things... Maybe it's both. I can't tell when you're indoors. I'm so sorry you're in pain again Reed."

"Why? I mean, yeah, that part sucks, but we still made it all the way to the end of the movie. It was worth it, even though I'll probably never come here again." There was a reason I haven't been here in a while, and this pain I'm feeling now was it. I guess I can't will it out of existence. "When I get home, I'm going to take the good pills."

"I did enjoy the movie Reed. Thank you for that... But I'm going to have to talk to you later. The pain you're in will force you to lose focus on the connection, soon by the looks of things."

"I know Lumina. I know. But on the bright side, I can always call you back soon."

"You'll be okay in that time?"

"Yes. I'll see you later Lumina." With that gentle parting, I shut my eyes and concentrated on another ability I picked up from her, disconnecting from the telepathic link. It wasn't difficult to learn at all, nor was it something to ripe about, but I had no choice in shutting it down now. I've endured this for as long as I possibly can. "What a terrible way to end things today. So much for movie theaters. I'll never be able to enjoy them again."