"More Human Than Most" : A bonus scene for "When Death Gives You Lemons"

Alice G. Brooks — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 02:43:47 -0400

An unedited bonus scene for after the events of "When Death Gives You Lemons"

ISAAC

“Come on, I don’t wanna miss it.” I pull Grim by the hand through the lobby, a bucket of popcorn in my arm, over sticky linoleum floors and the sickly, sweet smell of sugar. “You’ll have fun.”
Grim follows me, dodging someone’s shoulder, his eyes darting around the room. “There’s so much going on,” he complains, “how do you know where to go?”
“It’s on our tickets.” I hold up the paper cards that’ll get us into the movie. “Room Eight. That’s over there.”
“And you’re certain this is something every human should do at some point?”
“It’s something every human has done at some point. Well, many of them, anyway.” I stop walking near the movie theater, pull him closer until our bodies are flush with one another, and I hold onto his arms as well as I can without spilling our popcorn. “You trust me?”
“More than anything.”
“Good.” I smile at him, press a short kiss against his lips. He smiles too when we separate, and he nods.
“Alright,” he says. “I’m with you.”
I take his hand again, and he enters the dark theater with me. It’s slightly colder in here than outside, making him shiver.
We find our seats, and he struggles a little with keeping his seat down. I watch with slight amusement until he manages to settle in, and hold out the popcorn for him. “Snacks?”
“I thought they’re for the movie.” He reaches in anyways, takes out a single popcorn. “What does it taste like?”
“Like you’ll get diabetes if you ate too many of them.”
He hums something, then carefully bites down before swallowing it. “Not bad,” he decides and reaches for the next.
I hold the bucket out of his reach, earning myself an annoyed glance. “For the movie,” I remind him. “Be patient.”
“I can be impatient, if I want to be.” Grim stretches his arm to reach the bucket, and I lean back further, until he loses his balance and we topple to the floor, the popcorn spilling over the carpet. His body is on mine, and he cracks a smile.
My hands find his jaw, and I pull him in for a kiss. “Damn,” I say when we separate, “you only had one piece, and still, you taste like popcorn.”
He scoots off of me and grabs the bucket. It’s still a quarter full, and he wraps his arms around it. “I’ll keep this safe,” he says and returns to his seat, watching as I join next to him. As he shoves a handful of popcorn into his mouth, he looks at me. “So, when does this start?”
“Few minutes,” I inform him. “They’ll show a bunch of ads first. The movie comes after.”
“And what’s the purpose of sitting in a giant room with other people to watch a movie we could also watch in your apartment?”
I shrug. “Fun. It’s an experience. One you shouldn’t miss.”
“How do movies work?” he asks. I’m reminded that Grim has never had any contact with a camera, the concept of photography, or media in any way. To him, this must be like showing a cellphone to someone from the middle-ages.
“I can’t explain the technological aspect,” I admit, “but it’s just a story. Told in visual format. None of it is real.”
“Why do they make movies if they’re not real?” He tilts his head.
“Entertainment. We love to avoid our reality by diving head-first into worlds that don’t really exist.” The lights dim and the curtains draw, and I signal Grim to shush, even though they’re only showing a shit ton of ads.
Still, his eyes are glued to the screen, his hand deep in the popcorn, and I have to fight to not stare at him the whole time. He doesn’t even know what movie we’re watching. He’s not familiar with the concept of genres, of horror in particular. I might have chosen a horror movie purely to have a reason to put my arm around him. It’s a cliché move, but it’s one that works quite well, especially if the other person involved has already been making out with you.
I’ve already seen the movie, so my entertainment comes from Grim’s staring and slow eating of popcorn. I wonder if he forgot that he doesn’t need to eat. I make a mental note to make popcorn for him more often.
When he flinches at the violence on screen, I make my move; scooting closer, placing my arm around his shoulders, and chuckling at his knowing glance at me. This movie isn’t even that scary; it’s good for beginner horror-fans, since I didn’t want to inflict too much fear onto Grim.
He throws a piece of the popcorn at me, but leans into my touch anyways, settling his head on my shoulder. “You’re an asshole,” he mutters with a smile.
“Eh.” I shrug, leaning my head against his. “I know my moves.”
“None of this is real, right?”
“None of it is,” I confirm. “It’s fiction.”
“You’re real.”
“I’m very real.”
Our eyes stay on the screen for the rest of the movie, his head never once leaving my shoulder until the lights turn back on and we have to leave our seats. Our hands link, and he threads his fingers through mine. “Did you only take me here to try and flirt with me?” he asks.
“It was part of the plan, yes.” I kiss his temple as we leave the cinema. “Couldn’t resist. And hey, being scared is part of being human.”
He scoffs. “I wasn’t scared.”
“You so were. You were the most scared person in there.”
“Not a person,” he reminds me. “Not human.”
“Oh, Grim. You’re more human than most people in the world.”

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Alice G. Brooks | Updates

"More Human Than Most" : A bonus scene for "When Death Gives You Lemons"