Chapter 14
I’m surprised Kai has gotten on with everyone so easily. Meeting new people has never been his strong point. He’s been talking to Elijah a lot. They have a lot in common, like their music taste and how much they love anime. I had a feeling those two would get along.
We drive through narrow country roads, with greenery on either side.
It looks like a portal to a fantasy world, which is exactly what Kai and I used to imagine as kids.
We would make up stories that involved us saving a prince in a castle far away, and we had to traverse lots of different landscapes to get there.
It’s weird being friends with someone you’ve known for so long.
We both look so different now. Even though we’re both much older and life has changed us with its cruelty, I still catch glimpses of the kid he used to be.
Sometimes it comes out when he laughs or when we’re joking with each other.
We’ve both changed so much. But also stayed the same in certain ways.
I’m glad we’re still friends all these years later.
“I don’t know how you can drive on roads like this, Elijah,” Kai points out, looking out the window. Elijah takes a draw of his vape before replying.
“Well, we’re in a big van; if someone wants to crash into us, they’ll be a hundred percent worse off,” he laughs.
“Oh, don’t say that, Eli, you’ll jinx us!” Daisy shouts from the back. Cat simply laughs at the interaction while the two of them draw on each other with Sharpies.
“You’ve just smudged that bit,” Daisy complains.
“Well, stop making me laugh!” Cat laughs, attempting to fix the drawing. She tickles the crook of Daisy’s arm, making her giggle.
Elijah laughs as he starts drumming along to the music by tapping the vape on the wheel.
“What flavour is your go-to?” Kai asks, referring to the vape in Elijah’s hand. He stops drumming and holds it behind his head.
“Do you want to try it? It’s watermelon flavour,” he says, glancing up at the rear view mirror. Kai thanks him before taking a draw. His eyebrows go wide as the vapour enters his lungs.
“Oh, that’s really nice, I’ve never tried that one,” Kai mentions before passing it back. They both smile as I continue to look at Teddy, who glances back at us all with a grin.
We all walk into Flambards, discussing what we’re going to do first. Teddy and I look at the map while holding each other’s hands.
Kai looks over and gives me a look, saying we’ll discuss the hand-holding later.
We used to joke that we could telepathically communicate with each other, but sometimes I feel like I can actually read his mind from just a look.
Teddy squeezes my hand a couple of times, drawing my attention back to the map.
I glance up at his eyes just as he looks at mine, which makes me smile.
We haven’t been on any rides yet, and I’m already having the time of my life.
“Last one to the big roller coaster has to do all the dishes for a week, that includes you guys too,” warns Elijah, pointing to Kai and me.
We all start sprinting to the biggest roller coaster in the park.
I’ve been here multiple times with Kai, so I know which one he’s referring to.
It’s the one that looks like a bee and goes extremely fast.
I’m in front for a while as my legs begin to tire. Daisy speeds past me, her ponytail flapping about behind her.
“How did you…?” I say in a breath. The rest of the pack rushes past me, including Teddy. That dickhead. He looks back for a moment and winks. I think I’m going to faint. Why do I need to be so incredibly unfit?
I eventually reach the ride. I try to get air back into my lungs. I bend over slightly and lean on a pole beside me.
“You okay?” Teddy asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Yep… just… give me a minute,” I say breathlessly, holding a finger up.
“I don’t even care that you don’t live with us, you’re still doing all the dishes for a week. A bet’s a bet!” Elijah sneers. I laugh at him sarcastically before giving him the finger. He returns it with both hands. I stand up straight again after one last deep breath.
“Just an excuse to come over more often, eh Noah?” Teddy says, patting me on the back. That makes me blush, and literally everyone in our group notices.
“Get a room, guys,” Daisy jokes, playfully pushing Ted.
We begin to line up for the ride. I look up at the track and begin to feel a pit in my stomach. I’ve never ridden this one. Never had the guts to.
“Nervous?” Teddy asks.
“Yep… you have no idea,” I gulp. I have butterflies flying around in my tummy. I don’t know if it’s the thought of going on this roller coaster or because of Teddy. He responds with a smirk that makes me want to kiss and strangle him at the same time.
So much for keeping myself away from him. But fuck that. I want to do something I want for once, it’s just my stupid brain telling me not to.
We make it to the front of the line, and I can feel myself shaking inside. I love rollercoasters, but the dread leading up to them makes me not want to go on them half the time.
“We don’t have to ride it if you don’t want to,” Teddy whispers in my ear. I almost take him up on his offer, but something inside me pushes me to do it.
“I’ll be fine, I love rollercoasters,” I say, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“If you say so,” Teddy replies, peering over heads to see the end of the line. It must be easy for him since he’s so tall.
As we approach the front of the queue, we are told to move onto the carts.
“You want me to go first?” Teddy asks.
“Ah, yeah,” I squeak dubiously.
I climb in and slide against Teddy, who’s smiling like an idiot.
“Hey there,” he says.
“Hi,” I reply, smiling at him.
“Get a room!” Elijah shouts from the back. He is sitting on his own until Kai slides in beside him. His face goes slightly red, and I can’t help but giggle as I turn around.
“I remember during our first date when we rode this together, you were terrified, it was so cute,” Cat says to Daisy behind us. Daisy blushes and mumbles something I can’t hear. Cat smiles like embarrassing her girlfriend is a hobby.
Then the bar comes down and rests on my chest tightly.
“You okay?” I ask Teddy.
“Perfect,” I say sarcastically.
We begin to move slowly, and my nerves build up quickly.
We’re going up a hill slowly, and I can feel the vibrations of moving parts beneath me as we reach the top.
We’re so high up now, and I can see the entire park.
Children are running around, and teenagers are laughing as they run to the next ride.
There are so many different rides, there’s a go-kart track, restaurants and—
The rush of air is quick and massive. We all begin to scream as the coaster soars through the air at a speed I can’t fathom.
We’re going round and round at a multitude of different angles, and I love the sound of Teddy screaming in my ear.
He’s making me laugh in between screams. I move my hands to be over his on the bar.
The ride comes to a quick halt, and we both jolt forward, then back again. A laugh escapes us both as the ride starts, slowly creeping forward to the start.
“Oh my god, that was so good! Can we go again?” Elijah asks the man controlling the coaster. He’s a big, bald man who would serve better as a bouncer, I think.
“Do you not see the queue of people waiting to get on? What do you think?”
“No…?”
“Correct.” The man grumpily says.
Elijah looks defeated as he climbs out. Kai jumps out behind him with Elijah’s assistance. I offer Teddy my hand, which he grabs before I start pulling up. I somehow don’t get sent flying with Teddy’s strong grip.
“Ice cream sounds really good right now,” Elijah announces to the group as we walk towards a little stall. We’ve been on every ride at least once and even tried some of the stall games. I learned today that I can’t throw for shit and that Teddy is very competitive.
“What would you like, work colleague?” He asks.
“Stop calling me that!” I shout, and both of us laugh. “Could I get a ninety-nine, please?” I reply, only to be met with confusion.
“A what?”
“Oh my god, you have to be taking the piss. How can you not know what a ninety-nine is?” I ask, my eyebrows raised.
“I just don’t!” He laughs, and his face goes red.
“It’s like… the best!” I exclaim. I tap Cat’s shoulder and ask her, “You know what a ninety-nine is, right?”
“Yeah, it’s my favourite!” she beams.
I point to Teddy, “He’s never heard of it before.”
“Noah—” Teddy starts.
“Teddy, you’re joking. Really?”
“No, I’m not joking! What is it!?” He shouts. We all start laughing.
“Sorry, dude, we can’t be friends anymore,” Elijah pipes in.
Teddy hands me my ice cream while holding his in the other hand. We walk away from the stall, and I see Kai bought one of those Twister ice lollies. It was always his go-to when we were kids.
“Are you having a good time so far?” I ask him before licking my ice cream.
“Yeah, it’s been good, everyone’s really nice actually,” he says, smiling. He looks over at Elijah, who is talking to the girls.
We walk over to the group, and Teddy flashes me a smile.
“Hey, you like your ice-cream?” I ask, pointing to it.
“Yeah, it’s nice, I’ve already eaten the flake,” He laughs, before we begin to walk behind the group. “I’ve seen people have them before, I’ve just never had one myself.” He takes a massive bite of the ice cream, and I instantly recoil.
“What?” He says, his mouth full.
“You bite your ice cream?”
“Yeah, don’t you?”
“No!”
Yup, he’s definitely an idiot.
“You’re gonna have to learn to put up with all of his little… quirks,” Elijah tells me, and a laugh erupts amongst us.
“I don’t have any quirks,” he retorts. I put an arm around him.
“I don’t mind, just means you have to put up with mine,” I tell him, before he puts ice cream on my nose.
“Hey!”
“That’s for making fun of me!” Teddy laughs.
“Well, I think you secretly love it.” Teddy mumbles something I can’t hear. “What was that?” I ask.