3. Totally Failure

Lea stopped her steps but reluctantly turned around. And a moment later, someone suddenly grasped her fingers from behind.

"I’m sorry ...," Shane said while looking at her seriously.

"Let's try watching the movie first," the man continued in a persuasive tone.

Lea no longer knew how to answer. She just obeyed as Shane guided her towards Grace and Freddie and walked hand in hand into the movie theatre.

It was already crowded inside. The big screen was already playing the opening commercial. Shane still held Lea's hand while walking along the rows of seats to find the seat number that matched with their tickets.

After finding the place, Shane invited Lea to sit down, and he sat next to her. Lea looked around for Grace and Freddie but couldn't find them because the lights had been turned off completely. Only the light from the projector was the only source of illumination.

Shane, who seemed to be ignorant and cold, was also caring. He still thought of bringing a big box of popcorn and two cups of drinks. Lea received it with a fair amount of admiration.

"A delivery from Freddie earlier." The ice block man's words instantly dispersed her admiration. If it was in animation, his charisma that was depicted as a mirror had instantly cracked into pieces.

With his bent face, Lea relaxed her seat at least so that her body would be more relaxed than her mood. However, her elbow accidentally nudged the popcorn box that Shane had placed on the arm of the chair between them. The poor popcorn immediately toppled over and spilt its contents all around.

"Oops!" Lea was confused and embarrassed by the mess in front of her. Especially seeing the fierce expression of the man next chair. How annoying.

"What? I didn't mean to!" Lea unconsciously exclaimed, forgetting that they were in an area that should not to be noisy. Which automatically made many pairs of eyes look in her. Oh my! Everything didn't seem right tonight! Lea was really annoyed. If there were a disappearing door, she would have used it right then and there.

Already feeling guilty, Lea did her best to clear the popcorn off the chair and left it scattered below. What else could she do? Did she have to find a broom to clean it up, too? Of course not.

However, the unfriendly look in Shane's eyes made Lea completely uncomfortable. If she left there now, all eyes would be on her. She didn't want to be the centre of attention like that. But... if she stayed there, she wouldn't be able to stand the ice block's unfriendly attitude either.

"Shut up and sit quietly until the movie is over. After that, you are free to leave without me holding you back." Shane said in a flat tone.

How the ice block man knew that Lea was eager to leave was a mystery for her. And even into the future, she would continue to wonder silently how Shane could understand her way of thinking even at the same time the thought had just crossed her mind.

"Oh, okay. I feel like a prisoner." Lea commented sarcastically. She was annoyed but didn't want to look so.

"Who would want to take a stiff, celeb-like you captive!"

Another one of those super-striking sentences issued by the flat-faced and sword-tongued. Lea spontaneously glared at Shane while flabbergasted. Wordlessly, she got up and stormed out of the theatre at a half-run. He didn't care about Grace or Freddie anymore. Especially with the response of that damn creature named Shane. Don’t care about the devil!

Outside the theatre, she was still walking fast, stopping at the edge of a cold drink box, buying one with a slip of money and downing it to soothe her emotions.

This was not who she was. She was not cut out for this kind of blind date in the first place. Especially if she knew her partner was the North Pole ice block. It was bound to end in a cold war.

Lea's cell phone rang. She put her cell phone in the bag and didn't want to pick it up at the moment. It must be Grace who asked why she left first. Ah, later, she will be blamed for being too ignorant, for not being cooperative, even though it's just Shane who's annoying. Better to be quiet, Lea thought, ignoring the ringing of her cell phone.

Lea then chose to spend time at a food court near the exit. Because she was too lazy to go home alone and risked being interrogated by her mother, she waited for Freddie and Grace and went home with them. Oh, Grace should know that she owes her sister a huge favour.

Waiting for someone to go out with a stranger who is as annoying as Shane is an uphill battle for a single woman like her. While chewing her fried potato and sipping her bubble cocho ice, Lea played with her cell phone. She asked Amanda how she were doing with her respective boyfriends through the chat app. One minute, two minutes, nothing. Oh, probably she still busy, she thought to herself.

Lea hadn't told Amanda about this sudden blind date plan. If she had known the full story, she would have laughed at her. According to Amanda, finding a match for Lea was indeed a super difficult thing to do. In addition to her high standards, her explosive attitude is sure to make many men decide to leave after getting closed with her.

She could already imagine what kind of words Amanda would throw at her. Definitely blame her rigidity in behaviour. The standard of taste was too high, and also the problem of how to respond to the feelings of the opposite sex in general.

Huh, so annoying. Lea stirred with such emotion her cup of bubble cocho ice that it accidentally splashed onto the person who was passing by next to her chair. Suddenly, the man's slick, clean, white, long-sleeved shirt was stained brown.

Lea looked at the owner of the shirt, scrunching his eyes in horror in case she would be severely scolded by the man who was now staring at her like a lion about to pounce on a village goat that accidentally entered the forest.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to!" Lea said regretfully.

.

The man continued to eat him with such a piercing look that Lea almost thought of running away from there. She was afraid she would be persecuted for trashing the man's shirt. She unconsciously glanced at the security at the main door. If he had to, she would ask the security for protection, she thought in panic.

A voice then appeared to take control of the situation.

"Excuse me, just let it go, Brother. She was indeed very careless. But she didn't do it on purpose, please understand. Small incidents like that are common in our lives, right?"

It was the ice blocker, Shane, who came to rescue Lea.

***