A True Horror Picture Show

(My boyfriend and I go to a midnight movie showing around Halloween. Though this movie is very popular around that time of year, it wasn’t part of my upbringing. I haven’t seen it before, but I have heard it is something you just have to experience, so I am excited. We get our seats and the movie starts. A few minutes in, the two people directly behind me start yelling at the movie. I am getting very annoyed, as I was always told it’s rude to talk during a movie and I’ve never seen this one.)

Me: “Why are they talking?”

Boyfriend: “It’s fine.”

Me: “But–”

Boyfriend: “Shh!”

(I sit for another ten minutes or so, getting more annoyed as time goes by. I can’t understand why nobody has said anything! Finally, I’ve had enough. I spin around in my seat and glare at the pair.)

Me: *harsh whisper* “Excuse me!”

Boy: “What?”

Me: “I’m trying to watch this.”

Girl: “Yeah?”

Me: “Can you maybe be quiet?”

Both: “What?!”

Me: “Please quiet down.”

Girl: “B****, shut up.”

Me: “You’re the ones talking the whole time!”

Boyfriend: “[My Name], be quiet.”

Me: “Me? Tell them!”

All Three: “Shh!”

(I storm out of the theater, furious. I can hear the two people sitting behind me cheering as I leave. My boyfriend follows me.)

Boyfriend: “What the f*** is your problem?”

Me: “Do you not hear them?!”

Boyfriend: *like I’m stupid* “That’s how it goes when you watch [Movie]. It’s called audience interaction. At a live show, the actors would leave spaces in the dialogue for that stuff. What’s wrong with you?”

Me: *now embarrassed and angry* “Well… why didn’t you say so before we went in?”

Boyfriend: “Who doesn’t know that?!”

Me: “Me! I’ve never seen [Show] before! I told you that!”

Boyfriend: “I thought you just meant the movie.” *shrugs and reaches for my hand*

Me: *pulls away* “Why didn’t you tell me the first time I said something to you?”

Boyfriend: *laughs a little* “It was kind of funny seeing you get so mad over something so stupid. I wanted to see if you’d say anything.”

Me: *stunned* “I have to go.”

(The next day, he called and asked if I’d cooled down. I told him that I had, but I wouldn’t have been so angry if he’d just told me that was supposed to happen instead of telling me to be quiet. He still didn’t think he had done anything wrong and actually sided with the other people, saying I was ruining the show for everyone. It’s been nearly 20 years and I’m still pretty sure that night was the beginning of the end for us; we broke up less than two weeks later.)