Chương 78: [The Worst Spy Movie I've Ever Seen]

Parmo followed Rika to the door of the shop where she'd stopped, head poking out, watching the street with a grin. I suppose this is better than explaining 50 shades to her...

"You want to follow them, don't you."

"Of course I do." She pulled back and looked at him.

"Come on, let's go." He shook his head and followed her out. They kept their distance, falling in behind Davan and Sara as they headed back in the direction of the flat, the afternoon warm and unhurried around them. At the junction the two turned right toward the war memorial and Rika adjusted without breaking stride. Her wings fluttered as she walked and the grin never left her face. Parmo couldn't help but smile along with her, her excitement was infectious. At the corner she stopped dead.

Parmo walked into her back. She made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a gasp and spun round, finger to her lips.

"Be quiet," she hissed.

"You're the one making weird noises."

"Well don't walk into me then. Watch where you're going."

"How about not stopping suddenly out of nowhere?"

"Stop complaining." She peered around the corner. Davan and Sara had paused on the pavement, looking around, clearly making sure nobody they knew was nearby.

"They're moving again. Come on." They followed a little further, Rika half a step ahead, whispering observations that Parmo hadn't asked for about the angle of Sara's shoulders and what that apparently meant. He wasn't listening. Man I wish I was still at the flat, I'd be asleep by now. I was so comfortable as well. He looked at Rika's wings move and her still rambling to herself. Well, at least she seems to be having fun. Rika suddenly stepped sideways behind a parked car and dropped into a crouch.

Her wings extended past either side of the bumper. Parmo stood next to her with his hands in his pockets.

"Duck, they'll see you," she whispered.

"Yeah, no chance. People are already staring at us." He looked at her wings, then at the car.

"Your wings are sticking out by the way." She looked at her own wing with a huff.

"What are they doing?"

"Still walking. I don't know why you thought hiding out of nowhere was a good idea, they haven't turned around once."

"Sara looked like she was about to turn her head."

"How on earth did you figure that out."

"I don't know, I just thought she was going to and the car seemed like a good place to hide," she said, smirking up at him.

"Why do you look so pleased with yourself? Hiding was pointless, unless you wanted everyone to stare at us."

"Oh just shut up and follow them." She stood up and set off again. Parmo followed. I wonder if them spotting us means I can get back to my couch sooner... They reached the civic centre steps where Mike was standing with a group of people, talking, mug in hand. He noticed them before they were close and the conversation he was having clearly became less interesting very quickly.

"Afternoon," he called over.

"Having a nice date?" Parmo stared at him.

"Hilarious. Anyone ever tell you that you should have been a comedian instead of a fireman?" Mike's grin only got wider in response.

"If this is his idea of a date then yes, I am actually," Rika said without stopping. Parmo blinked. He looked over to find her already grinning at him, wings up slightly, looking immensely pleased with herself. Mike laughed from the steps. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Parmo looked back at Mike.

"I don't have the energy for this," he said. Mike shrugged, still grinning.

"I'm sure she's worth it." Parmo opened his mouth, closed it, and followed Rika down the road. Mike's clearly got the wrong idea and Rika is taking the piss out of me. I'm just going to pretend this didn't happen, along with the DVD thing. They reached the marina a few minutes later. Davan and Sara were walking along the waterfront now, hands linked, not pretending anymore. The boats sat quiet in their moorings, the smell of salt and engine oil coming off the water.

Rika had her wings folded around herself, watching them with her head tilted.

"I don't know why they don't just tell everyone," she said.

"They don't need to hide like this."

"I kind of get it," Parmo said.

"If you've spent ages arguing with someone and then you come out as a couple, you're going to get shit about it. Best way to make it stop is to laugh it off. I get the feeling those two would snap at people which is the worst thing you can do. It would be like pouring fuel on a fire." Rika considered this.

"It's even worse," Parmo said, "when you're trying to make out like you're not a couple but there's evidence." He took his phone out, waited for the angle, and took the photo. One clean shot, their hands linked, the boats behind them. Rika looked at him.

"What did you just do?"

"Look." He held the screen out to her. She went still. Looked at the screen, at the two figures caught mid-walk without knowing it, their hands visible, the whole thing preserved exactly as it had been two seconds ago.

"Woah. That's so cool," she said.

"Yeah, it's called taking a photo."

"How did you do that." Parmo explained what a camera was, what the phone could do, that he had loads from back home stored on it. Her expression as he talked shifted from confused to amazed to something that looked dangerously like planning.

"Can anyone do that? If they have one of these?"

"Yeah. Actually," he said, "don't know why none of us ever thought to show you guys. Slipped our minds I think, we haven't really had much of a use for them lately. I'll show you some when we get back."

"I'd love that. I also want a phone of my own."

"Why?" Parmo asked, the first signs of this being a bad idea cropping up.

"No reason," she said, without meeting his eyes. On the bench ahead, Davan and Sara had sat down. Sara's head was on his shoulder, both of them looking out at the water, completely unaware. Parmo raised the phone and took the second photo. He looked at Rika. She was already grinning. He grinned back.

"Let's head back to the flat."

The others were where they'd left them, more or less. Phil was laid on Parmo's couch. Torren had the armchair. Luka was back in the centre of the room with his dome going again. Leo and Shai were at the table with mugs, Shai with her elbows on the table listening to something Torren was saying from the armchair. Rika was already talking before she'd cleared the top of the stairs.

"You'll never guess what we just saw."

"Davan and Sara," Sam said, before looking away from her back at his UI. Rika stopped.

"How did you know that. Were you following us?"

"What? No. You have that same grin that you always have when those two come up."

"Oh. Well yeah, we saw them while we were in the shop and followed them." Parmo looked at his couch. Phil was on it, eyes closed, looking comfortable. Parmo walked over and stood next to him.

"Move." No response.

"Phil. Move. If you don't I'm using you as the couch." Phil didn't move. Parmo sat down on top of him.

"What the—get off me—" Parmo wrapped both arms around him and stayed put.

"I warned you," he said.

"You're a grown man, get off—""Stop moving, I'm trying to get comfortable." The room laughed. Phil managed to get out from under him and stood up.

"You're a dickhead, I was nearly asleep."

"So was I, then I got manhandled and roped into the worst spy movie I've ever seen. I just want to sleep man." Luka looked over from the centre of the room.

"The walk can't have been that exhausting."

"You have no idea," Parmo said, still not moving. Rika scowled at him.

"Our date wasn't that bad."

"God, don't start with that. Mike is going to give me so much shit next time I see him."

"We saw Agnes on the way back as well," Parmo said to the room.

"She was watching us like a hawk. Her friends are going to hear some wild story about the two of us, no doubt." He shook his head.

"Right." Rika had already moved past it. She looked around the room.

"Brandon has something to show you."

"I've just laid down, can't it wait?"

"He has loads of photos from home. He said he'd show me them."

"Oh yeah, why didn't we think of that sooner," said Sam, looking up from his UI. Parmo sighed and sat up.

"We saw Davan and Sara holding hands," Rika added.

"He took a picture. Show them." Parmo pulled up the photos and held the screen out. It did the rounds, Sam leaning over to look, Phil grinning, Leo shaking his head slowly. Shai and Torren looked at the picture in awe.

"This is amazing. Your phones can do this?"

"Yeah," said Leo.

"See that circle on the back of the phone? That's the camera. You point that at something, click the button on the screen and it takes the photo. If you don't lose it, technically it could last forever."

"Brandon's going to get me a phone," she said with a smirk. The others looked at each other.

"You uh, sure that's a good idea dude?" asked Luka.

"Nope. I never said I would, she said she wants one and I guess that counts as me agreeing." Rika huffed.

"Sara is going to lose her mind when Rika reveals these pics," Phil said.

"That's the point. It's going to be so good," Rika said, looking pleased again.

"Man, I'm so glad I'm not the focus of her fixation," said Leo. Phil, Sam and Luka nodded. Parmo grimaced.

"Oh, also," she said, completely casually, settling onto the arm of the nearest couch.

"Parmo wouldn't explain one of the DVDs in the shop. Something called Fifty Shades of Grey." The four lads turned to look at Parmo, horror dawning on their faces.

"I want to know what it's about," Rika added.

"I don't think it's something you'd enjoy Rika. It's kinda terrible," said Leo.

"Yeah, it's one of those movies that make you feel like you wasted an hour and a half of your life. Just forget about it," added Sam.

"What is this film?" Shai asked.

"Yes," said Torren, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"I am also curious." The lads looked at each other once again, hoping for anything to help them get away from this conversation.