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She fed him another popcorn, as if she was giving him a treat for caring about her. "I was bad. I'm feeling better, though." Letting your emotions out in loud, abrasive manners helped Maebe to grieve in a startingly healthy way. She hadn't held back, for even a moment. She'd cried, she'd screamed, she'd rampaged through a town in a Halloween costume while completely drunk.

She did feel better. Still sad, but better.

"Sometimes, you just need to go ******** nuts for a little while. It helps." She huffed out a soft laugh, and fed him another popcorn. "I'm still a little mad at you for not wearing your costume, though. You'll have to make that up to me, eventually." Or now, she almost said. Her lips parted to even suggest it, but all that came out was a shuddered sigh.

Gently. Dawson deserved gentleness.

"I'll think about it." She teased breathlessly with a smirk. "I didn't have the goods to pull off my costume, either. Felicia made most of the big bits. She probably would have hooked you up too, if you were having a problem. You should rely on your friends more often, Dawson. We kind of like you."

She dropped the last few kernels of popcorn in her mouth, and wiped her hand off on the hem of her skirt.

"Popcorn is messier than I remember." God, she was nervous. She didn't even know exactly what she was nervous about, but she was.

"I don't know if I'd go that far, but we're - something. We're okay." He pulled his hat down, and her eyes narrowed slightly. She could feel him pulling away, despite her best efforts not to push him. A twinge of anger was beaten down, kept away from her thoughts by the little flame of hope still burning within her.

"Hey." She whispered, reaching to pull his hat up just enough to get her under it. "Don't hide from me." She swallowed, and gave him a reassuring smile. She was going to admit something she really hoped she wouldn't regret, later on.

"I'm nervous, too."

That little flame was blown out by the breath of his apologies, and her nervous little smile disappeared.

"You did." She murmured, leaning up to press her cheek against his. "I did too. I tried not to, because it's better to be safe than sorry, but - " She swallowed the lump in her throat, and kissed his cheek. "I'm really glad you weren't joking. I think, I would have been really hurt if you hadn't been serious."

But he was. And he tried. Both of those things meant more to her than he would ever realize.

She pulled away, and tugged on his cap playfully. It hurt so much to admit defeat, but she hid it effortlessly, as always. "Maybe we can watch a little Pocahontas."

Perhaps it was just hearing that word again. The soft drawl of the way he always seemed to be apologizing to her.

Or perhaps it was because, for the first time ever, she actually agreed with him. Maybe she wasn't as worthless as she always claimed to be. But neither was he, and neither was any of this his fault.

She watched his eyes for a long moment, and then her lips turned wry with amusement.

"It's a little early to be apologizing, I think." She murmured. She gave up on him so easily. Too easily. She was starting to think that wasn't fair to either of them, anymore.

"I didn't ask you here to give you reasons to start drowning in all those thoughts inside of your head again. I see it, when I look at you. There's a million things buzzing around inside that head, things that you keep to yourself and you suffer with when you get overwhelmed. I don't want to keep putting you in that position, anymore. That's never been the point of this, Dawson."

She reached up, gently taking his hat away and settling it down on the pillow. Her hands were in his hair before he could complain, running through the locks and brushing comfortingly against his scalp.

"Do you know why I want this?" She asked. "It's because being with someone like this is meant to give you a chance to stop all that thinking, and feel. It's the same reason why we watch movies; all the annoying thoughts about our own pain, our own past, they fade away as you lose yourself in someone else's story. And then you can just feel. So you laugh, or you cry, or you swell with emotion when two people finally fall in love. That's the point of movies, baby. They help you stop thinking, and just feel."

One hand left his head, and reached out to take one of his own. She held his hand in a loose grip, just toying with his fingers for a moment, before she took a deep breath and placed his palm down against her thigh. Her hand rested on top of his, guiding it to just brush against her leg repeatedly.

"See, this is feeling. All the bullshit that plagues us every day, it tries to get in the way of giving us a chance to enjoy our lives. Most days, it works. But I just want to stop thinking, for a little while. And I want to do the same for you. Because we both deserve a little better than the bullshit life's been throwing at us, lately."

She grinned, helplessly proud that she thought she deserved something, for once. "So if watching a little Pocahontas is going to get you out of your head long enough to enjoy yourself, then maybe we can watch a little Pocahontas."

"I'm not always right. But when I am, I make sure everybody knows it." She took a deep breath in, and let her body relax, one muscle at a time. It was time to take her own advice. Don't think. Just feel.

"I don't have any. I've got beer in my cooler, if you're just thirsty. I could get you some, but I'm finding it really difficult to move right now."

His touch was simultaneously comforting, and enticing. She arched her leg closer.

"If you promise you'll keep touching me when I come back, I guess I could manage to get you one."

"That sounds terrible." She made a face, sticking her tongue out. "We already established that I wouldn't be able to put a dent in that thing without you. You're the lion, not me."

This prompted her to reach into the tub and grab another handful, holding two pieces out to feed him again.

"You're going to get thirsty." She warned him, but she didn't sound very worried.

She rolled her eyes at the prospect of him not eating that much, and then shifted to curl up against his body, claiming it entirely for her own. "It's been playing. You've been so involved in how sexy I am, that you didn't even realize it. I can't blame you. I'll restart it."

She uncurled just enough to reach over, and move the bar all the way back to the start. Then she turned up the volume so they could hear it, and returned to her haven in the crook of his body.