What I do Stink Stink? @ramenthroughthe6 - Tumblr Blog

Moment 3: Boardwalk (Moderate Emetophobia warning)

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Note: Thank you all so much for being patient with me as I pop this out! It's been a wild semester in college and was downright impossible for me to get any writing done. But fortunately I was able to bounce back! After this I'll have two more chapters this summer for a total of 5, and we'll see what happens then. Enjoy!!

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You yawned loudly, stretching your arms high above your head.

You were a morning person

You weren’t a morning person

Regardless of how you felt about mornings, the rush for an early start still made you a little sleepy. Your sister Elizabeth stood beside you, impatiently tapping her foot as she waited for all the neighborhood families to finish filling their cars for a full day out.

Moms had run into the Kings earlier that week, and the four began chatting about ways they could “get the kids out and involved this summer instead of staying in”, as Mrs. King had put it. At some point Ma had brought up the board walk just past Prism Vista, and felt it would be a great opportunity to get out and enjoy some mid-summer sun. Naturally the Holden’s where invited, and Kyra’s love of seeing all things new was infectious enough to convince Mr. Holden to let Cove go too.

The slamming of the car’s trunk snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Sun screen, snacks…got my phone, wallet, keys…I think we’re all set!” Mr. Holden patted himself down as he listed everything we’d need for the day big day out.

You were antsy with waiting.

You were willing to be patient.

You really wanted to stay in today.

“Alright so we’ve got the trunk full, but do we all wanna be separate? The car’s got enough room for one more if thats better?” Your mom spoke to the group of adults but you could see her eyes shifting between you and Cove.

“We’ll keep our kiddo if it’s not any trouble.” Mrs. King grinned at her son, only to have her smile falter to one of embarrassment as she noticed Jeremy had fallen asleep standing up. As she tried to wake him, mom turned to you.

“Well, you two, did you wanna shift around a little bit?” Mom smiled.

“Who cares? We’re all going in the same direction.” Elizabeth added her input. Though it was true you’d all end up in the same place, your moms were okay with you making a choice in your travel plans.

“Can Cove ride with us?”

Mom shrugged, “Sure! Did you also ask Mr. Holden?” She drew out the last syllable in a subtle attempt to get you to act.

“It’s alright with me. Have fun, sport!” At his dad’s ‘thumbs-up’ of approval, Cove jogged his way over to you.

You greeted him with a hug.

You greeted him with a high-five.

You waved at him.

Once greetings were out of the way you, Cove, and Elizabeth piled into the car.

“Um…one of you is gonna have to take the middle. I am not sitting there for an hour long car ride.” Elizabeth folded her arms, clearly demanding a window seat rather than suggesting it. With little prompting Cove swapped with her, his gangly legs almost folded into his chest since the arm rest took up so much space. Elizabeth closed the door behind herself without even thanking Cove.

With everyone buckled in, and the engine sparking to life, the three sets of cars were off down a stretch of highway leading to the boardwalk.

At some point Ma had turned on the radio, switching stations until she found something suitable, and turning it up just enough for everyone to hear. It was a song Cove knew by heart, and he bobbed his head along to the melody while tapping his fingers on his scrunched up knees.

During your lengthy car trip, you and your family spotted a car that looked like a giant hotdog.

You jokingly wondered if the inside of the car smelled like a hotdog too.

Elizabeth joked it must be hard to find parking for that thing.

Cove wondered if it counted as a car or a truck because it was so long.

Ma laughed it would be hard to sell because “who would want a hot dog shaped car?”

Mom laughed about how it would be a nightmare to take to the carwash.

“Can I be in Mr. Holden’s car?”

“If Mr. Holden’s okay with it.”

“Absolutely! Welcome aboard Team Holden….and Kyra.” Mr. Holden joked as he popped his sunglasses on, earning a playful pat on the arm from Kyra.

You jogged over to Cove’s family, earning a smile from him. “Hey.”

“Hi!” You ruffled his hair.

You gave him a fist bump.

You bumped shoulders with him.

After greetings were squared away, you climbed in the back of Mr. Holden’s older model sedan, taking a window seat.

Most of the car's white noise was filled with music on the radio turned to a low volume, and muffled conversation between Mr. Holden and Kyra. You supposed at one point she was supposed to be giving directions, but the conversation shifted into snippets of what there was to do at the boardwalk, wishing they hadn’t put all the snacks in the trunk, and other miscellaneous topics.

Eventually your small group hit traffic, causing Mr. Holden to groan as he trudged through the heavy sea of fellow drivers in vehicles big and small.

You and Cove made a game of counting how many blue cars you saw.

You used this time to take a nap.

You and Cove chatted about what you’d want to do when you got to the boardwalk.

When you had finally looked back out the window, the car was again rolling at a rapid pace, and your group hadn’t hit anymore traffic for the remainder of the ride.

“I’m fine where I am, thanks.”

“Alright!” Mom shrugged in agreement as her and Ma hopped into the car. You waved goodbye to Cove before following suit.

With the deafening, rattling cabin noise, your mom decided to shift in her seat to look back at you and your sister.

“You two have any music requests?” At mom’s idea Elizabeth just shrugged.

“I’ll listen to whatever.”

“Alright…what about you, honey?” Mom turned to you.

You chose a station you knew Elizabeth liked.

You chose a station you liked.

You let Mom pick

You let Ma pick.

Mom nodded at your choice before turning back around to tune and turn up the radio. The first few songs, in your opinion, where just okay. But a song came on that you’re whole family used to love.

Elizabeth shot up in her seat and gasped, “I haven’t heard this song in ages…”

Gradually Ma’s humming, your swaying, and Elizabeth’s head bobbing, turned into the whole car belting out into song. In unison, you all may have sounded terrible, but that was the fun of it.

After the wheels of the car came to a stop, you hopped out, followed slowly by everyone else. Mr. Holden stretched his back with an audible pop, Mom took to stretching out her arms and legs too.

Once everyone was nice and limber, they took to unloading lunches and supplies from their trunks. Ma handed you a thermal bag full of water and juice, while tossing what you assumed to be a tote full of sandwiches and snacks over her shoulder.

Excitedly, even with your arms full of supplies, you and Cove paddled off into the park, Elizabeth wandering nonchalantly behind the both of you. Sounds of rusting coasters and popping balloons, the beachy music playing over hidden speakers, and barking seagulls filled your senses; it was a beautiful day to be outside…

But you felt a little overwhelmed.

It made you were more excited to explore.

And you were curious about how the rest of the day would go.

Holding on to her son’s hand, though it seemed more like dragging him, Mrs. King pointed to a table close to the iron railing of the peer.

“Ooh! That seems like a nice spot for lunch. How’s about it, gang?” A few hums of approval and an ‘absolutely’ was all the confirmation needed for your families to set up shop at a rickety, older looking bench. The railing beside you had rusty, flaking paint that might have been dark blue once, but had since been sun bleached to near white.

Chips, fruit, sandwiches, and drinks were passed around in a flurry, and before long you were finally able to enjoy lunch. You found yourself sitting between Cove and your sister, but directly across from Jeremy. Rather than intently glaring at you in a way that would make your blood run cold, he looked down to the floor, his brows furrowed in, while slowly chewing on his sandwich.

“You okay?” You asked the question impulsively, not intending to say it out loud.

Your question made Jeremy’s eyes shoot to you immediately, “Why do you care?”

“I mean….you were kinda quiet this morning.” Cove added.

“So? I’m just tired.” Jeremy adjusted his round frames with his free hand while using his occupied one to take another bite of his lunch.

“If you’re sure…Usually people are excited to be at the boardwalk…” You mumble under your breath as you go back to finishing your own meal.

“The kid said he was tired, leave him alone.” Elizabeth butt in, head resting on her overturned hand.

“SEE! She gets it!” Jeremy motioned to your sister, wide eyes looking equal parts excited and upset, “But I don’t need your help making that point.” His face immediately fell flat with an unimpressed scowl.

“Pssht. Rude.” Elizabeth snorted, rolling her eyes.

As if on cue, Mrs. King’s hand came down to pat her son’s bowl cut, which Jeremy highly disapproved of as he tried to worm away from her touch. “I hope you’re playing nice with your friends, kiddo.”

“I already told you they aren’t my friends! I don’t even know these people. Especially her!” At that last sentiment Jeremy pointed at Elizabeth, who looked around confused.

“Well, sounds to me like a good opportunity to become friends!” Mrs. King encouraged.

“No!” At his defiance, one stern look from his mother at least got him to stop yelling. Jeremy pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and hunching over.

“Haha.. sorry about that. You know how kids can be!” Mrs. King waved the incident away like it was nothing, continuing on her previous conversation with a smile.

The rest of lunch was a little awkward.

You were glad Jeremy’s mom put him in his place.

You felt kind of bad for him.

You knew his mom telling him off wasn’t going to stop him from acting out.

You felt neutral about the situation. Mrs. King was just doing what moms do best.

Once lunch was finished, all remaining leftovers were stored away, and all trash thrown into the nearest trash can, your group took to wandering the boardwalk as their meals settled. Occasionally someone would point out an activity to do; the face painting cart or renting skates and bikes by the hour, or game booths and their giant, recognizable stuffed animals. Cove pointed out one that looked like a big goldfish with tired, droopy eyes, while you spotted another that resembled white dog with big eyebrows from a video game Lee likes to play.

Kyra began a shift in topic, “Really, I’m dying to see what's on the other side of the pier. I heard they had this small bar right next to this knick-knack shop that does AMAZING strawberry daiquiris!”

“That sounds so refreshing right now…” Your mom murmured just loud enough. The adults chatted about wandering the rest of the pier, before you all stopped at a familiar place: the tables you’d eaten lunch at.

“I suppose we’ve seen all we can in this area…” Mrs. King paused in thought for a moment, “Jeremy, you and your friends wanna play a few games?” As she spoke she reached for her wallet to pull out a ten dollar bill, handing it to him folded.

That seemed fair for games, you thought.

You’d seen Mr. Holden give Cove way more than that.

You felt guilty she was paying for all of you.

You were more than happy to take the money to play games.

Just as Jeremy prepared to pop the cash in his pocket, Mr. Holden sprung forward, handing Cove twenty dollars. “Here, bud. Don’t wanna send you off empty handed. Maybe you can chip in for a few of the rides too?”

Cove nodded, fiddling with the cash in his hand between his fingers.

By that point it was decided: with Elizabeth, sarcastically, ’solemnly swearing’ to watch after you, Cove, and Jeremy while your families walked to the opposite side of the pier, your group of ten would split into four.

“We’ll meet you kids at seven o’clock sharp by the lunch tables, alright?” That was the last thing Ma said before heading off with her group.

Cove examined the money his dad gave him. “I wish dad carried smaller bills…I’m gonna have way too much change-“ the ruckus of heavy feet immediately took Cove out of thought, as both of you looked away from the cash. Your sister Elizabeth had already began walking in the direction of the mini-attractions. “Hey! You aren’t supposed to leave without us!”

“Well then come on! I’m riding that roller coaster.” Elizabeth pointed to one of the few coasters on the boardwalk. It was a massive, orange looping track that rumbled the aging wood on the dock.

It made you excited to go on it too.

It filled you with fear.

Just looking at it made your stomach do a nauseating flip

Cove looked between you and your sister indecisively. “I mean…I don’t really wanna ride a roller coaster right now,” the comment made Elizabeth roll her eyes, “but I don’t want us to get separated either. Maybe we can just buy the tickets and look around?”

Elizabeth audibly huffed, her arms crossed over her chest, only to drop them and walk in the direction of the ticket booth, allowing the rest of you to follow suit. Jeremy stepped up first to the attendant, struggling slightly with the high window. His ten dollars was almost enough to cover everyone, so Cove had to chip in with the money Mr. Holden gave him.

Jeremy pouted, much like your sister had moments ago, mumbling something under his breath.

“Huh?” Cove asked, taking his change from the attendant with his gaze focused solely on Jeremy.

“I…I said thank you. For covering the rest of the tickets…” Jeremy looked as though just saying 'thank you’ was a sickening feat.

Cove blinked for a moment in what looked like shock. “Oh…No problem.” The air was palpable between the two for a moment, while you and Elizabeth obtained your bright green wrists bands. Your sister waited much less impatiently as the boys got theirs. As soon as everyone was marked ready to ride, Elizabeth sauntered off again, leading Cove to follow.

You wordlessly followed them.

“Wait for me!”

You followed after your sister and Cove, as Jeremy ambled far behind you, clearly less enthusiastic about the whole ordeal.

The wooden planks beneath you rattled every bone in your body, and the boardwalk itself shook as though each loop of the roller coaster would break it in two. The towering orange coaster Elizabeth had longed to see seemed to stretch endlessly into the cloudy, blue sky. It’s rampant twists and turns careened in a way that made it hard to follow the tracks with your eyes.

Your eyes couldn’t even settle on her silhouette before realizing Elizabeth was already standing in line for the ride. Beside you Cove let out a low whistle,

“Sure is….a lot. Are you gonna go on?”

”Yeah, I’ll ride with my sister.”

“Alright. Well…enjoy. Are you supposed to say “bon voyage” when someone gets on a roller coaster or is that weird?” Cove pondered out loud though maybe it was more for himself than you.

“Not sure but I’ll take it anyway!” You waved before taking a spot beside Elizabeth in line.

”Yeah, can we ride together?”

“Alright.” Cove nodded pleased at your commitment. The two of you, nearly in tandem, queued in line with the other passengers atop a set of splintering, and warped wood stairs. It reminded you of the time Mom had to take a splinter out of your finger when you were little.

As you leaned over the railing, following the forward movement of the line, you caught a glimpse of nearly neon green hair.

“I almost forgot about Jeremy,” You nudged Elizabeth only whispering to her before shouting out, “Hey, Jeremy! Are you gonna get on too?!” You cupped your hand over your mouth to amplify the call.

“I can’t!” Jeremy crossed his arms tightly around himself.

“Why not?” You called as best you could from the platformed stairs that shook with the cacophony of the coaster behind you.

“Because my parents say I’m not supposed to! Why’s it any of your business?!” You let Jeremy sulk in place, watching as he sunk himself into a wooden bench.

Gradually, as you ascended the stairs towards the boarding platform, Jeremy was no longer in sight. You placed your bag in a cubby before being seated next to:

Elizabeth

Cove

As you slid into your seat, lowering the overhead constraint, you attempted to turn next to you and voice your excitement, only for the track beneath your feet to begin clacking louder and faster each time.

Without thought you were shot off into the distance, screaming with all the other passengers as adrenaline rushed through your system. A steep dip, a nearly vertical curve, and an extremely bold 10 story loop hit you with the spinning sensation of vertigo.

You were thrilled.

You were starting to feel nauseous.

You were horrified.

Another side turn whipped you to and fro in your seat, before grinding to a whiplash-inducing halt more than once. You took a deep breath, legs threatening to fail beneath you, as the ground became solid again.

Elizabeth, after retrieving her bag from the provided cubbies, made a swift exit without bothering to wait for the rest of your party. But Cove stayed nearby to hold open the exit gate for you.

”That was so fun!”

Cove smiled at that, clearly pleased you had yourself a good time.

“That was terrible!”

Cove frowned at that statement. “Aww. I’m sorry you didn’t have fun.”

“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” Cove gently smiled at the sentiment.

“That wasn’t worth the wait.”

“I know right. Geez, I thought it’d at least last a little longer,” Your sister complained along with you over her shoulder before slowing down to bump you playfully with her arm, “maybe we’ll just have to find something else to ride.”

You stayed behind.

“Wait, I don’t wanna go!”

You stood firmly in place, watching as Cove and Elizabeth attempted to fade off into the distance.

Cove stopped upon noticing you and Jeremy hadn’t moved anywhere. “You’re not coming?”

You shook your head, clearly expressing you’d rather not go.

“But I don’t want us to separate! What if we get lost and our parents said Elizabeth is supposed to be watching us.” Cove was becoming frustrated with the change in plans, as he rubbed at the scar on his left arm anxiously. However his annoyance was no match for the wrath of your sisters.

“Come on, you two! It doesn’t take a week to walk in one direction!”

Cove pouted, “Well they don’t wanna go! I can’t force either of them.” Cove’s phrasing made you realize you weren’t in defiance alone, Jeremy stood beside you looking equally unmoved.

Elizabeth could only groan as she approached your group of disgruntled barely-teenagers, arms crossed over her chest, “Look, I’m not getting on that roller coaster by myself, so you three gotta figure it out. Besides, I’m not allowed to do whatever I want because I promised moms I’d watch you.”

There was an uneasy lull in conversation, Cove glared at you with a tenseness you’d never seen from him. Maybe routine was that important to him after all. But you would rather Cove be a little upset at you than ride that roller coaster

You knew you’d get sick

You were terrified of heights

It was far too overwhelming for you

You didn’t want to feel forced to do something that would make you uncomfortable. After a beat, Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “Fine. You, glasses, you’re getting on that thing with me.”

“Why me?!” Jeremy threw his arms out angrily.

“So I can get these two to stop fighting, now come on.” Elizabeth immediately swept off in irritation, prompting the three of you to follow her. During the walk Cove wouldn’t even look at you.

You didn’t understand why this was such a big deal to him.

You thought he was acting like a brat

It hurt that your friend was upset with you

It made you sad to not talk to Cove.

The looming metal monstrosity rumbled above you, its tracks squeaking to a halt as the passengers ahead of you prepared to exit. Jeremy had his arms crossed tightly over his body, and each step he took with the moving line was labored.

“I don’t wanna ride this stupid roller coaster, lady.” Jeremy mumbled under his breath.

“Better than your friends arguing right? Get over it. It’s a little two minute ride.” Elizabeth side-eyed the smaller boy, who only sunk into himself at her comment. "Unless you're chicken?"

"I'm not chicken. I'm allergic to rollercoasters." Jeremy sounded so confident, as though the statement made sense.

Elizabeth hummed thoughtfully before smirking, "Sounds like being chicken to me."

With Jeremy and your sister out of sight beneath the line’s canopy, you and Cove took to sitting on a weathered wood bench. Neither of you spoke to one another, as you picked at the flaking and sun bleached blue paint.

It was silent for a while before anyone spoke up.

“Why does it bother you so much if we split up?” The question fell out of your mouth unprompted.

For a moment Cove opened his mouth, only to have no words come out. He tried again, “It…it’s because we’re not supposed to. We were supposed to stay together, and go to the same places- why would we change that all of a sudden?” Another lull in conversation, “I just don’t wanna get in trouble I guess. Or change what we’re supposed to be doing.”

You couldn’t quite understand what he meant

It still didn’t make sense to you why splitting up was such a big deal.

You could understand completely.

You hated when moms would change plans last minute.

You couldn’t understand, but you were willing to accept how he felt.

That was just Cove’s way, and there’s nothing wrong with how he feels.

You nodded along as he spoke. Before you could say anything more, Cove interrupted, “Sorry.. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m not even mad…just frustrated, I guess. Besides, I’d rather hang out with you today anyway than split apart.”

“Thanks Cove, I’m sorry too. I-” in a flurry of colors, Jeremy whizzed down the exit stairs to lean over the trash can beside you, belching loudly before getting sick into it. You and Cove leapt up from your seats on the bench to put distance between yourselves and Jeremy.

You were terrified.

You started to feel sick yourself.

You felt bad for him.

“What happened?!” Cove threw his hands out as he asked Elizabeth, though Jeremy interjected by lifting his head out of the trashcan.

“I TOLD you I’m not allowed to ride rides. I’m allergic to roller coasters!” Jeremy’s aggravated shouting only made him dry heave.

“You aren’t ‘allergic’, you just get motion sick.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest in an act of disgust as opposed to anger. There was a beat before she lowered them to her side looking apologetic, “take a seat, I’ll go get you some water…. maybe some breath mints too.” With that, Elizabeth meandered away.

Jeremy listened, sitting down on the same splintering bench you and Cove had been on seconds before. Stained shirt, glasses lop-sided, chunks of lunch littering his mouth; he looked like a tornado had localized itself over his head.

“Are you okay?” Cove asked hesitantly. Jeremy scowled. A deep, fiery scowl worse than you had ever seen him make, before he plunged his face into his knees. Jeremy curled himself into a ball again, like he’d done on the beach weeks before. You and Cove looked at each other with an obvious understanding that Jeremy would not want to talk to anyone for a while.

Cove stayed standing awkwardly near Jeremy,

You sat near him, but kept your distance.

You sat as far away as you could from him.

You sat right next to him.

After what felt like an eternity, Elizabeth came back with a handful of napkins and a small plastic cup full of water.

“Here, kid,” at Jeremy’s unresponsiveness, she nudged his balled-up form with her forearm, “Here! Take it.” He looked up, eyes puffy and red before carefully taking the water and napkins from your sister. While he sipped, Elizabeth instructed him on how to use the excess water to wipe himself off, “You don’t need the napkin soaking wet, just enough to get that puke stain out…”

Jeremy was somewhat more collected, though maybe it was because was able to sit still for a while.

“Thanks…I’m sorry I almost puked on you.” Jeremy said 'sorry' so quietly, like he was uttering a forbidden word.

“And that you had an attitude with me, and made me get you water, and scared me half to death,” Elizabeth counted off Jeremy’s minor wrong-doing on her fingers.

“Okay, okay- Sorry for those too. What took you so long?”

Elizabeth looked shocked, “Um, ungrateful much? I was trying to find your parents to tell them their ‘baby boy’ spit up all over himself… but I couldn’t find them.” She put her hands on her hips defeated at that last statement.

Jeremy grumbled, “I’m not their baby.”

After a while, Elizabeth sighed. “Well, what now?”

“We could play a game or something.” Cove suggested.

So it was agreed you all would set out to play a game. Cove picked one of the games where you toss big plastic rings on a bottle.

You cheered him on.

You silently hoped he’d win.

Cove only won a smaller prize after getting two out of four bottles. He picked a smaller version of the goldfish plushie he’d seen earlier. It looked cheaply made, but when he turned it this way and that in the light, some of the scales glittered iridescently.

He hummed thoughtfully, “Not bad. Um….do you want it?” Cove’s face turned a little red as he avoided your gaze.

You happily took it.

You held the little tired looking stuffed animal in your hands. “Thanks, Cove! It's cute.”

He smiled nervously, “It’s no problem.”

You didn’t want it.

Cove nodded in acceptance, keeping the toy clutched under is arm.

Elizabeth suggested the next game be one where Cove could win a live goldfish, but he was adamant that seemed cruel.

“What if it gets all shaken up on the ride home and dies! I’d feel like a monster.”

“It’d also probably get huge in your tiny little tank. Aren’t goldfish a kind of carp?” You added.

After making jokes about how Cove could own the worlds largest goldfish, Elizabeth decided to play a game, much to your surprise.

“What? I’m here I might as well.” She shrugged. It was a game where you throw baseballs at wooden standees of clowns. Your sister got a few good throws in, but three out of five wasn’t enough to get her a prize.

The next game you saw was something you hadn’t seen on the boardwalk before: it was a kind of archery game where you shoot an arrow with a plunger on the end into a target. Jeremy immediately stepped up to it, getting his wristband scanned.

The woman running the booth gave Jeremy three arrows and a bow. He took them and backed up far, far away from the designated line.

“You sure you don’t need to move closer?” You asked.

“Uh-huh. And I only need one shot.” Before you could argue that Jeremy was just bluffing, he pulled the bow string and fired. It hit the bullseye immediately and a large bell rang out.

“Oh my God! How did you do that?” Cove shared your utter amazement.

Jeremy simply shrugged as he walked up to the booth woman, “My parents made me take an archery class for a month.”

“Nice shot, kid. Pick your prize!” The booth woman pointed all the way at the top row where some of the bigger stuffed animals sat. He mulled over his options for a bit before pointing at a large stuffed bear.

“That one.” At his pointing, the woman used a long hook to bring the bear down to Jeremy. It looked like your fairly normal teddy bear, besides being half Jeremy’s size, had a yellow bow tied around its neck. Jeremy looked at it for a moment before holding it out to Elizabeth. “Here.”

She immediately looked floored, “What? Why?”

“‘Cause I don’t have any money to pay you back for the water. So just take this stupid thing instead. I don’t want it.”

“What makes you think I want it?” Elizabeth smirked.

“Just take the stupid bear!” Jeremy’s cheeks had already grown red with embarrassment.

Your sister rolled her eyes, “Fine. I guess you owe me anyhow. What with the mistreatment and all.”

“I already said sorry! You want my liver too?!” Much to Jeremy’s chagrin, Elizabeth was having a blast teasing him.

“Eh. I’ll forgive you one day. Now let’s focus on getting everyone back to the tables.” Elizabeth’s playful teasing left Jeremy slack-jawed and pouty, but he followed her in the direction of the picnic tables regardless.

Cove held out his hand so you could follow suit. “Come on.”

You took his hand.

You shook your head and walked along-side him.

You linked arms with him.

Your group took their time getting where they needed to be. You all stopped for another cup of water, which Jeremy was shocked to learn was free this whole time, and even popped into a gift shop.

Elizabeth crossed her arms, “How are they gonna have ‘Eliza’ and ‘Lizbeth’ but not ‘Elizabeth’ on a stupid keychain?”

“At least your name’s not ‘Cove’ then you’ll never find one.” Jeremy snarked. Elizabeth nearly keeled over with laughter.

“Hey!” Cove did not take lightly to that joke, but the moment passed with a playful air.

“So Jeremy,” You started,

“How long have you been doing archery?”

“Only a few months.”

“Do you like it?”

He gave you a flat unimpressed look, “No, I just do it because I like wasting my own time…yeah, it gives me something to do. So what?” Despite his sarcasm, it was nice he opened up to you a little.

“Are you feeling better?”

“About what?”

“I mean, you got sick earlier.”

“Oh, right. Yeah I’m fine. That just happens sometimes.” Jeremy seemed genuinely unbothered by this fact. But at least he felt alright.

Your families were already by the tables when you got there, and had a very evident reaction to seeing Jeremy a total wreck. Mr and Mrs King immediately ran to their child.

“Oh, honey! you look like you’ve been raked through the mud! What happened?! What’s on your shirt?!” For once, at his mother’s doting, he didn’t pull away. Jeremy probably needed the comfort of being held by his parents.

Elizabeth answered for him, “Sorry…We went on a roller coaster. I had no idea he’d get motion sick. I tried to find you guys-.” Your sister raised her arms to cross them, only to lower them to her sides nervously, not knowing what to do with her hands.

“Elizabeth!” Mom’s jaw immediately fell open.

The King’s eyes widened in unison, though not with anger, “You did what?! Look at you getting big and bold, prince! Did’ya have fun?”

“No! I threw up all over myself!” Jeremy crossed his arms furiously.

“B-but you tried something new. Where you s-s-scared?” Mr. King tried to smooth out his son’s messy bowl cut.

“No. Why would that scare me?” Jeremy’s parents ‘oohed’ in tandem.

“Well look at you, big man! Did you have a good day?” Mrs. King tried to fix her son’s messy collar

Jeremy hunched in on his already closed off form, puffing out his cheeks, “Don’t treat me like a baby… but it was okay.” Despite his tantrum, you could tell he beamed a little with pride; he had fun today.

With Jeremy sufficiently fussed over, your families felt it was high-time to leave the boardwalk.

While walking behind your parents, Elizabeth turned to Jeremy, “Thanks again for the bear. I’ll probably nap on it.”

“Whatever. You seem kind of spoiled so I figured you would.” Jeremy said very matter-of-fact.

“Okay. I’m not about to argue with someone wearing coke-bottle glasses.”

Jeremy’s jaw dropped. He had no rebuttal to that so he just flipped her off.

Elizabeth looked equally shocked, “Tsk, tsk. After everything I did for you. I may be spoiled, but you’re a brat.” You could tell in that moment Jeremy wanted to laugh.

The parking lot was much more empty than it had been when you arrived. Every other spot illuminated by a florescent yellow lamp post as the remaining ombre of sunset sunk into nightfall. Jeremy climbed into the back seat of his parents sedan, and seemed to almost immediately fall asleep against the window.

“Elizabeth, do you have anything you want to say to Mr And Mrs King?” Ma nudged Elizabeth lightly on the shoulder to get her to speak.

“I’m… I am so sorry I made Jeremy get on that roller coaster with me. I didn’t wanna ride alone, he didn’t tell me he got motion sick I just-“ Elizabeth seemingly cut herself off.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Mrs. King interjected, “you were just trying to make sure he had a good time! If anything we should be thanking you! You got our kiddo out of his shell.”

“…Sorry about the, y’know, puke on his shirt.” You hadn’t seen your sister this apologetic

Since that fight playing pretend with Cove.

Ever!

“It’s like you said, you had no clue that was gonna happen,” Mrs. King leaned in to your sister, “And between you and me, he does that a lot anyways.”

Elizabeth smiled a bit at that but you could tell she still felt terrible.

“To show you there’s no hard feelings, we’ll pack up the van for you!”

Mom’s eyes flew open. “What?! Are you sure?”

“Absolutely! Trust me, when you’re in the hobby business lifting heavy things is your forte! C’mon, honey.” And with a show of her somewhat muscular arms, Mr and Mrs King made light work of putting the thermal bags and totes into everyone's car.

With many ‘good-byes’ and ‘we-have-to-do-this-agains’, you and your family hopped into the car. For a while it was completely silent. Elizabeth rested her chin against the large stuffed bear, and you figured she’d be moody again all night.

Then she burst out laughing.

You laughed along with her. Today had been wild.

“What’s so funny?”

You just looked at her. You were so confused.

“I can’t believe its normal for that kid to just puke all over himself!”

“Maybe he has stomach troubles, Elizabeth.” Ma glanced at her in the rear-view mirror.

“Either way, he’s a pretty tough cookie. If he can just bounce back after all that, he’ll do alright in the world.” Elizabeth chuckled approvingly. It was nice to know she was warming up to Jeremy.

You still hadn’t.

You still hated him.

You thought he was alright.

You thought he was great!

At some point you must have fallen asleep on the way home and ended up in bed. A long day at the boardwalk could do that to anyone. Cozily, you snuggled back in bed and dreamt about:

Your next adventure.

Jeremy.

Cove.

#xoxo droplets #jeremy king #gb patch #our life beginnings & always #writing #fanfic #Jeremy king dlc

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