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elen_nareTitle: Movies and Nightmares
Fandom: X-Factor USA 2012
Rating: G
Length: 1303 words
Summary: "“Horror movies? Wouldn’t something like, oh, I don’t know, Thomas the Tank Engine, be more appropriate for you?” Simon asks."
“Well, that’s business out of the way for today. What do you feel like doing until dinner?” Simon says to the other judges, shuffling his papers into a folder and putting it away. Demi stands up, stretching. It’s been a long day, and it’s not over yet - Simon invited them all to stay to dinner after their meeting at his house.
“Just watching some TV, maybe? I’m pretty done in,” LA suggests, and Britney nods.
“TV sounds fine... is there anything good on?” she asks.
“It’s nearly Halloween, there’s probably some horror movies,” Demi replies. Picking up the remote from the coffee table, she flops back onto the sofa and switches on the TV, scanning the listings.
“Horror movies? Wouldn’t something like, oh, I don’t know, Thomas the Tank Engine, be more appropriate for you?” Simon asks, trying to take the remote from her.
She pulls a face at him, holding the remote out of reach. “Funny. Do they even show that...” she trails off, staring at the listings. She’d flicked to the children’s channels just to show him it wasn’t on - and there it was, just starting. Simultaneously, everyone burst out laughing.
“Are you a closet Thomas the Tank Engine fan, Simon? I’m learning so much about you,” Demi manages to say between giggles.
“Oh no, you’ve discovered my deepest secret!” he replies, also chuckling.
After a few minutes, she manages to calm down enough to keep looking for something to watch. “Okay, there’s a zombie movie or a vampire one, both starting in half an hour,” she finally announces. “Which do you guys fancy?”
“I’d rather have the vampires,” Britney says, and LA nods.
“Real vampires, or sparkly teenagers?” Simon asks suspiciously.
She sticks her tongue out at him. “It’s not Twilight, Simon.”
“Let’s go with the vampires then, but if you have nightmares don’t blame me,” he tells her.
“If I do, I’ll phone you,” she promises cheekily.
“Don’t you dare,” he replies, pointing a finger at her. “I need my sleep.”
“I was joking! Of course I wouldn’t phone you, you’re, like, the least comforting person I can think of to phone after a nightmare.”
“You’d better not,” he admonishes, standing up. “I’ll get some drinks, shall I?”
“Need any help?” Demi offers.
“No, I can manage,” he answers quickly.
“Shall we put Thomas the Tank Engine on for Simon until the movie starts?” LA asks, grinning.
“Ha ha, very funny,” he replies over his shoulder, as the others laugh.
It takes some time, but eventually he returns with the drinks, and they chat quietly for the next half an hour. As the movie begins, Demi stands up to switch off the lights before returning to her seat next to Simon. It’s a true horror movie, scary and quite gory in parts; Demi and Britney both scream several times, and even LA and Simon cry out once or twice. Demi’s not quite sure when it happened, but at some point she realises she’s huddled up against Simon, clutching his hand. She wonders if she should move away, but he doesn’t seem to mind - in fact, his grip tightens on hers in several particularly creepy scenes. Clearly, he’s not about to let go, and neither is she.
As the credits roll, Demi turns to Simon, intending to make some teasing remark. When she sees his face, however, she screams instead, jumping back. He’s wearing vampire fangs, and really does look scary in the flickering light of the tv screen. LA and Britney both look around sharply at her scream; though they must have been expecting something, they still flinch when they see Simon. He bursts out laughing.
“Simon, you asshole, I’m going to kill you!” Demi exclaims, punching his arm. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Well, you were the one who wanted to watch horror films, I thought you had stronger nerves,” he says, his words slightly distorted by the plastic fangs. Reaching up a hand, he pulls them out and continues, “I got these for the Halloween show, I thought you’d approve.”
She leans back against the couch and glares at him, feeling her heart rate return to normal.
LA stands up and turns the lights back on, chuckling softly. “Nice one, Simon,” he says, sitting down again. “What?” he adds as Demi turns her glare on him instead. “You’d have done the same if you’d had the fangs, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” she admits, a smile twitching reluctantly at the corner of her lips. “I am going to phone you now if I have nightmares, though, Simon, because it’ll be all your fault if I do!”
“Oh, that’s not fair,” he complains, pulling a face at Britney when she says it sounds completely fair. “It’s not my fault you wanted to watch a film that was too scary for you, brat.”
“The movie wasn’t too scary for me,” she retorts, “it’s seeing you in those fangs sitting right next to me!” Then her curiosity wins over her annoyance, and she asks “When did you get them, anyway? Or were you just carrying them around until you got an opportunity to use them?”
“No, I grabbed them when I got the drinks,” he answers. “Anyway, shall we have dinner, or do you want to keep arguing?”
He’d stood up as he spoke, and now he’s holding out a hand to help her to her feet. Taking it, she lets him pull her up, replying “What makes you think I can’t argue with you while we have dinner?”
“Please don’t argue all through dinner! Have a heart!” LA exclaims, and Demi smiles at him.
“All right, just for you,” she says, laughing at Simon’s theatrical sigh of relief, and they head towards the dining room together.
Heart pounding, Simon suddenly sits bolt upright in his bed. That was a very nasty dream indeed. It’s already fading, but the memories are still clear enough to make him shudder. He picks his phone up from his bedside table to see what time it is, and to his surprise there’s a text from Demi. He opens it and laughs.
I hate you.
He checks when it was sent; not ten minutes ago. She’s probably still awake.
Aww, did you have a nightmare? Poor brat. Sleep well... dream of me ;)
A few seconds after he sends it, his phone rings. It’s her, of course.
“Dream of you?” she cries with no preamble. “I just did, thank you very much! Why do you want me to have more nightmares?”
He laughs into the phone. He can almost see her indignant expression. “Really? You had a nightmare about me? I’m flattered,” he says teasingly.
“God, I hate you! And your stupid fangs!” she snaps. Then, thoughtfully, “Why are you awake at this time, anyway?” Before he can come up with a plausible excuse, she exclaims “Oh wait, I know! You had a nightmare too, didn’t you?”
“Of course not.” He does his best to sound convincing, but he knows it’s not very good. She’ll know he’s lying, she always does.
“You so did!” she crows. “Looks like I’m not the one the movie was too scary for.”
“Believe it if it makes you feel better, sweetheart,” he replies in the most patronizing tone he can manage.
“I know I’m right, even if you won’t admit it. The great Simon Cowell had nightmares after a movie I picked.”
“As you would say, ‘whatevs’,” he answers dryly. “Anyway, fascinating as this conversation is, I do need my sleep.”
“Oh yes, I know how irritable you get when you don’t sleep enough, old man. Night-night, sleep tight!”
He rolls his eyes, even though he knows she can’t see him. “Good night, brat.”
He dreams of her, later that night. It’s not a nightmare at all.
Fandom: X-Factor USA 2012
Rating: G
Length: 1303 words
Summary: "“Horror movies? Wouldn’t something like, oh, I don’t know, Thomas the Tank Engine, be more appropriate for you?” Simon asks."
“Well, that’s business out of the way for today. What do you feel like doing until dinner?” Simon says to the other judges, shuffling his papers into a folder and putting it away. Demi stands up, stretching. It’s been a long day, and it’s not over yet - Simon invited them all to stay to dinner after their meeting at his house.
“Just watching some TV, maybe? I’m pretty done in,” LA suggests, and Britney nods.
“TV sounds fine... is there anything good on?” she asks.
“It’s nearly Halloween, there’s probably some horror movies,” Demi replies. Picking up the remote from the coffee table, she flops back onto the sofa and switches on the TV, scanning the listings.
“Horror movies? Wouldn’t something like, oh, I don’t know, Thomas the Tank Engine, be more appropriate for you?” Simon asks, trying to take the remote from her.
She pulls a face at him, holding the remote out of reach. “Funny. Do they even show that...” she trails off, staring at the listings. She’d flicked to the children’s channels just to show him it wasn’t on - and there it was, just starting. Simultaneously, everyone burst out laughing.
“Are you a closet Thomas the Tank Engine fan, Simon? I’m learning so much about you,” Demi manages to say between giggles.
“Oh no, you’ve discovered my deepest secret!” he replies, also chuckling.
After a few minutes, she manages to calm down enough to keep looking for something to watch. “Okay, there’s a zombie movie or a vampire one, both starting in half an hour,” she finally announces. “Which do you guys fancy?”
“I’d rather have the vampires,” Britney says, and LA nods.
“Real vampires, or sparkly teenagers?” Simon asks suspiciously.
She sticks her tongue out at him. “It’s not Twilight, Simon.”
“Let’s go with the vampires then, but if you have nightmares don’t blame me,” he tells her.
“If I do, I’ll phone you,” she promises cheekily.
“Don’t you dare,” he replies, pointing a finger at her. “I need my sleep.”
“I was joking! Of course I wouldn’t phone you, you’re, like, the least comforting person I can think of to phone after a nightmare.”
“You’d better not,” he admonishes, standing up. “I’ll get some drinks, shall I?”
“Need any help?” Demi offers.
“No, I can manage,” he answers quickly.
“Shall we put Thomas the Tank Engine on for Simon until the movie starts?” LA asks, grinning.
“Ha ha, very funny,” he replies over his shoulder, as the others laugh.
It takes some time, but eventually he returns with the drinks, and they chat quietly for the next half an hour. As the movie begins, Demi stands up to switch off the lights before returning to her seat next to Simon. It’s a true horror movie, scary and quite gory in parts; Demi and Britney both scream several times, and even LA and Simon cry out once or twice. Demi’s not quite sure when it happened, but at some point she realises she’s huddled up against Simon, clutching his hand. She wonders if she should move away, but he doesn’t seem to mind - in fact, his grip tightens on hers in several particularly creepy scenes. Clearly, he’s not about to let go, and neither is she.
As the credits roll, Demi turns to Simon, intending to make some teasing remark. When she sees his face, however, she screams instead, jumping back. He’s wearing vampire fangs, and really does look scary in the flickering light of the tv screen. LA and Britney both look around sharply at her scream; though they must have been expecting something, they still flinch when they see Simon. He bursts out laughing.
“Simon, you asshole, I’m going to kill you!” Demi exclaims, punching his arm. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Well, you were the one who wanted to watch horror films, I thought you had stronger nerves,” he says, his words slightly distorted by the plastic fangs. Reaching up a hand, he pulls them out and continues, “I got these for the Halloween show, I thought you’d approve.”
She leans back against the couch and glares at him, feeling her heart rate return to normal.
LA stands up and turns the lights back on, chuckling softly. “Nice one, Simon,” he says, sitting down again. “What?” he adds as Demi turns her glare on him instead. “You’d have done the same if you’d had the fangs, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” she admits, a smile twitching reluctantly at the corner of her lips. “I am going to phone you now if I have nightmares, though, Simon, because it’ll be all your fault if I do!”
“Oh, that’s not fair,” he complains, pulling a face at Britney when she says it sounds completely fair. “It’s not my fault you wanted to watch a film that was too scary for you, brat.”
“The movie wasn’t too scary for me,” she retorts, “it’s seeing you in those fangs sitting right next to me!” Then her curiosity wins over her annoyance, and she asks “When did you get them, anyway? Or were you just carrying them around until you got an opportunity to use them?”
“No, I grabbed them when I got the drinks,” he answers. “Anyway, shall we have dinner, or do you want to keep arguing?”
He’d stood up as he spoke, and now he’s holding out a hand to help her to her feet. Taking it, she lets him pull her up, replying “What makes you think I can’t argue with you while we have dinner?”
“Please don’t argue all through dinner! Have a heart!” LA exclaims, and Demi smiles at him.
“All right, just for you,” she says, laughing at Simon’s theatrical sigh of relief, and they head towards the dining room together.
******
Heart pounding, Simon suddenly sits bolt upright in his bed. That was a very nasty dream indeed. It’s already fading, but the memories are still clear enough to make him shudder. He picks his phone up from his bedside table to see what time it is, and to his surprise there’s a text from Demi. He opens it and laughs.
I hate you.
He checks when it was sent; not ten minutes ago. She’s probably still awake.
Aww, did you have a nightmare? Poor brat. Sleep well... dream of me ;)
A few seconds after he sends it, his phone rings. It’s her, of course.
“Dream of you?” she cries with no preamble. “I just did, thank you very much! Why do you want me to have more nightmares?”
He laughs into the phone. He can almost see her indignant expression. “Really? You had a nightmare about me? I’m flattered,” he says teasingly.
“God, I hate you! And your stupid fangs!” she snaps. Then, thoughtfully, “Why are you awake at this time, anyway?” Before he can come up with a plausible excuse, she exclaims “Oh wait, I know! You had a nightmare too, didn’t you?”
“Of course not.” He does his best to sound convincing, but he knows it’s not very good. She’ll know he’s lying, she always does.
“You so did!” she crows. “Looks like I’m not the one the movie was too scary for.”
“Believe it if it makes you feel better, sweetheart,” he replies in the most patronizing tone he can manage.
“I know I’m right, even if you won’t admit it. The great Simon Cowell had nightmares after a movie I picked.”
“As you would say, ‘whatevs’,” he answers dryly. “Anyway, fascinating as this conversation is, I do need my sleep.”
“Oh yes, I know how irritable you get when you don’t sleep enough, old man. Night-night, sleep tight!”
He rolls his eyes, even though he knows she can’t see him. “Good night, brat.”
He dreams of her, later that night. It’s not a nightmare at all.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 05:10 pm (UTC)I'm not very familiar with this show, but the story is adorable. I love the Thomas the Tank Engine parts. :) Simon wearing the fangs was unexpected, but it worked really well.
The last part, with the phone call, is really sweet. I love their bantering relationship. And poor Simon, having a nightmare. ;)
He dreams of her, later that night. It’s not a nightmare at all.
Awwwwwww. :)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-24 02:59 pm (UTC)I'm happy you liked it! Thomas the Tank Engine came about by Googling US children's channels and discovering they show it! We didn't actually get it when I was a kid, but I remember loving the books.
Simon showed up with the fangs at the beginning of the Halloween show, so I thought I'd use them when I got this bunny.
I'm glad you enjoyed the phone call and the banter :)