He sits down and doesn't say anything. After a moment she says, "Aren't you going to ask me why?"

"There's a reason? I thought that was just a general statement."

"There's a reason all right. There was this girl just before you got here who had the loudest, most piercingly high pitched voice I've ever heard and she was dragging her boyfriend around, trying to act all cute and excited about everything. When they went to get some food she started whining about how she hated having to make choices. She actually whined it. She was like one of those bubbly anime girls, only 50 times more annoying, the kind of behavior you could only tolerate from the most beautiful of girls, and she wasn't even cute! She was almost ugly! It wasn't just me either, I could tell that almost everybody here wanted to hit her... you're not listening to me, are you?"

He looks down at his arm, held across the table, and flexes it slowly. "Have you ever seen a movie that energizes you? It makes things seem easier, clearer... like it's more natural to be in your own body. Comfortable, even." He leans back and stretches. "It's a hell of a thing."

She smirks. "So what was this beautiful film?"

"Well, the first rule is I'm not supposed to talk about it."

"Oh yeah, Fight Club. I saw that. I didn't exactly know what to make of it. Kinda all over the place."

He leans forward. "Yeah, Tyler's philosophy went all to hell in the end, but it was a fun ride while it lasted. It was one of those movies I felt like I could just step right into, like my thoughts could pick up after any given scene and just keep on going. And I get the characters under my skin, or in the back of my head – Renton from Trainspotting was the same way. I can feel them inside me, kind of sharing in my confidence, making me more sure of my actions." He lifts his arm and forms a fist, watching it as he slowly bends his wrist.

"So they take over, huh? Relieving you of a brain."

"Give me some credit. It's not like that. They impress me, in different ways. They remind me why I keep my back straight, why I should stand a bit taller, why it's important to look at people as directly as possible. Eventually it fades away and I'm just myself again, but sometimes that's even better. Because in the end I'm real, and they're not."

He's still looking at himself, and she smiles. "We should celebrate this newfound sense of efficacy."

"Trust me, it's not new."

"Okay, then let's just get the hell out of here."

He smiles. "Sure." They walk out of the food court, and he points to a bathroom down the hall. "There's a note in that bathroom that says to stop in at quarter after six for some anonymous gay sex. I noticed it earlier. It's almost time, I was thinking of going in."

She laughs. "Right."

"No, really!" He thinks for a second. "Well, the note's real, anyway."

"Look, there's a guy going in. Wink at him!"

"What? No way, you wink at him."

She rolls her eyes. "That wouldn't be funny."

"It would only be really funny if I went all the way. It'd be like renting my first porno – the first time I go meet a strange guy in a bathroom."

She looks over at him. "You're not really thinking of doing that, are you?"

"Nah," he says, then smirks. "Probably not."

They step through the mall doors and out into the parking lot. From there they walk uphill, turning onto a quiet street and walking for a few minutes. When they reach the center of a deserted overpass she motions for them to stop. She leans against the guard rail and looks out across the city. "Look at this. This is one of the best views in this entire town."

"And look a that," Liam replies, looking down at the street below them. Two girls walk together, talking, not noticing he and Elizabeth above them. "Look at the super new clothes those girls are wearing. And you can just tell they each took a shower this morning, first thing. I bet they grew up in the suburbs." He leans over a little further, to get a better look at them. "I always wanted to get to know girls like that, to teach them a few things, get them a little dirty..."

She laughs. "Show them how things are on the other side, huh? On the rough side of society."

"Seriously, there's a whole world of difference between us and them. If I were to tell them I don't like school and I don't go to church I'd be a certified rebel. And they all love drinking. I tell you, the opportunities for sex with yuppie-offspring are astounding." He looks over at her. "You could probably get in on it too. I bet at least one of those girls would fall head over heels for her own freaky lesbian experience."

"Heh, no thanks. Besides, where's the fun in giving them a vacation in reality-ville? It's not like they're gonna come live here."

"Yeah, but I'd just love to be the godless heathen to sit at one of their dinner tables, making small talk with the father, while I'm really just there to fulfill the daughter's need to be a naughty little girl. And see how that one almost looks like a handsome boy? I've always liked that for some reason, a little touch of androgyny."

She looks at him silently for a moment. "Why the hell are you telling me this?"

"I don't know. It just came to mind." He turns around and leans his back against the guard rail. "You're right though, they wouldn't be worth the time. There are people who help maintain a movie adrenaline high, and people who wilt them, and they'd be the second type."

She furrows her brow a little. "When did you watch this movie, anyway?"

"Last night. I'll be good for the rest of the day, at least. Someday I really want to get my own theatre, or a big room where I could project movies on the wall. I don't even watch that many movies, but the ones I like I watch over and over, and they're just not the same on tv."

Her face lights up. "Have you ever seen The Shawshank Redemption?"

"Nope. Is it good?"

She reaches in her pocket and fishes out a crumpled five dollar bill. "Here, take this and go rent it tonight. You have to see it."

"Alright, but I don't have a membership anywhere."

"Then I guess you'd better get one." She looks up at the sky. "It's getting dark anyway, we should get home. We can stop at a video store on the way and set you up."

"Cool. You wanna watch it with me?

"No, you have to watch it by yourself. It's not a group activity. I'm almost glad I didn't see it in the theatre, 'cause I would've hated having all those people around."

They begin to make their way down the hill. "So what if I think it's a completely boring piece of crap? Should I just pack up my things and get the hell out of town?"

"Yes. But there's no way you'll think that, because it's fucking fantastic. It's my favorite movie."

"High praise. Wasn't that written by Stephen King?"

"Yeah, it's based on a novella of his, which is also really good. But not as good as the movie. It's his one in a million piece – I don't think he'll ever write another story like that."

"Well, that's more than you can say for most people."

She runs her fingers across the leaves of a nearby tree, then looks up into the sky as they walk. "You're right about that."