I craned my neck back to look up at him. “What now?”
“Now, I’m going to cut your hair.”
“My hair?” I plucked at the strands, realizing that they had grown at least another inch since the day before.
I vaguely remembered Percy telling me something about the keratin, but those damn cobwebs made it hard to grasp the memory. I shuddered and shook it off.
Feigning a smile, I focused back on Theseus and said, "Can you shave it all off?”
“Ha-ha. Not going to happen. I will, however, cut it up nice and cute.”
At my worried expression, he booped the tip of my nose before bending down to kiss me. “You’ll like it. Don’t worry.”
With my back stiff, I leaned back and tried to remind myself that even if it turned out horrible, my hair seemed to grow rather quickly nowadays.
Theseus turned on the TV, to a romantic comedy of all things, and began to run his fingers through my hair.
“That feels amazing,” I groaned, hoping he would just do that for eternity.
Surprisingly, Theseus made quick work of my hair. He pulled out a little kit with scissors, a comb, and a folded up smock, which he placed over me and fastened at my neck. With skilled hands, he combed back my hair and began to clip away.
Twenty minutes later, my head felt a lot lighter. Theseus picked up a small mirror and showed me his work. My shoulders relaxed as I took in my new haircut, which actually looked cute. He had cut it in a layered bob, the ends brushing right up against my jawline.
I tilted my head back at him. “You’re actually good at this!”
“Don’t sound so surprised. You didn’t think I would have come anywhere near your head with scissors if I didn’t know what I was doing, did you?” He chuckled.
I shrugged in reply and stood up, brushing all of the little hairs from the smock before taking it off and handing it to him.
When I saw Theseus glance at his watch, I asked, "What now?”
“It’s a surprise,” He took my hands and walked backwards, pulling me towards the door. “Come on.”
“Wait, I’m hardly dressed! And what about cleaning up?”
“I’ll get it later! We’ll be late if we don’t leave now.”
Quickly, Theseus pulled me outside and rushed us down the stairs. He didn’t even lock the door!
Off we went, driving to the next town over. It was awkwardly quiet at first until Theseus fumbled with the radio, mumbling something about forgetting. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he had it sitting on static. It was okay, I kind of liked the white noise.
When we got into town, Theseus pulled out his phone and checked it for directions before pulling in front of a small clothing shop.
Theseus hopped out of the car and opened my door for me. “Let’s go, pretty girl.”
“A clothing store?”
“Yep. I thought you could use a new outfit.”
I frowned and then looked down at the shirt and sweats.
“I don’t have my wallet on me.”
Honestly, even if I did, I wouldn’t have been able to get new clothes anyway. But I wasn’t going to mention that part to him.
Theseus snorted. “As If I would let you pay for your own clothes.”
I crossed my arms and scowled up at him, he really was very tall.
“Please,” He puppy dog pouted, “It’s my day to spoil you and I would love to buy you some new clothes. Don’t take offense, Atalanta, but most of your clothes are rather worn. I know you’ve been in Washington for a while, but over here it’s pretty cold all year round. I want you to always be warm and snuggly.”
He wasn’t wrong, but…still.
“Fine! But I will be paying you back.”
Theseus rolled his eyes and held out his hand for me to take and we made our way into the store.
Looking at the clothes, I realized I wasn’t sure what my size was.
My nose scrunched as I picked up a pair of jeans and put it against my hips. They looked too big, but I couldn’t tell. Was I supposed to measure it to my hips or to the side of my butt? I wished Cal was here. She was the one who usually helped me pick out clothes.
I paused, knowing there was something I was forgetting again.
Knowing nothing would come of worrying about it, I tried my best to shrug off the cold feeling inside and continued to peruse the clothes. Theseus helped me pick out some clothes that looked good me. A tight pair of jeans, calf high boots, and a really cute jacket that was similar to my father’s, with faux fur in the hood.
I felt so uncomfortable when we went to check out. I was wearing the clothes and Theseus just placed the tags down on the counter so the older clerk could ring up the items. When Theseus gave me a kiss on the cheek and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, I didn’t know whether to pinch him or kiss him back. The old woman didn’t make it better when she looked over at me and winked.
I played with the cuffs of my new jacket while Theseus led me out of the store.
“We don’t have much time, but luckily we will make it.”
“Make it where?” I laughed as we passed by his car and jogged down the street.
He didn’t answer, but I found out only two minutes later when we came upon a large brick building with an enormous tan sign that sported black lettering.
I tugged on Theseus’s sleeve. “A movie theatre?”
“Yep, and we’re just in time.”
Theseus took my hand and walked inside the theater. It was small, as expected for a tiny town, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn’t run down. We walked up to the service counter where Theseus got us tickets and asked for something I didn’t quite catch.
The ticket clerk smiled and nodded before picking out something from behind the counter and handing it to him. Coming closer, I could see that they were large bulky 3D goggles.
As we walked to Theater 4, I pointed to the goggles. “What are those?”
“These babies are called Closed Caption Glasses. They help me watch the movie.”
“Closed caption?” I took the glasses and held them up in front of my face. “So that’s what they mean when a theater advertises closed caption?
He nodded. “You see this button here? Thats the on button, and when the movie starts, subtitles will be projected onto the glasses.”
I frowned and pressed the button. Words flashed in front of my eyes but it was really uncomfortable. I passed the glasses back over to him and asked. "Wouldn’t it be easier to just put the subtitles on the screen?”
He opened the door for me and we walked into the dark corridor. “It would be, but a lot of people complain that it’s too distracting from the movie.”
“That’s stupid. I think subtitles add to the experience—“ I paused when I watched Theseus’s eyes begin to glow. “Uh-um, your eyes are doing the glowy thing.”
He chuckled. “It helps me see. If I can’t see, how will I know what you’re saying?”
“Oh… but won’t having light brights for eyes draw attention?”
“Good point,” he said as the glow in his eyes faded. “If you need to tell me anything, just text it to me, okay? And to answer your other statement: yeah, it can be stupid and unfair. But it’s better to let people live their own lives.”
“That’s not right! If they have such a problem with it, then maybe make separate times, at least? Like some of the show times have subtitles and some don’t?” I hissed.
He couldn’t answer though, as the previews had started and it was even darker than in the hall. Looking around, I could see there were several other people in the theater, but it wasn’t packed. I think there were a few couples there all snuggled up close. Something was odd. Squinting, I realized that the seats weren’t standard theater seats, but giant love seats for two.