Hold Tight
Andrew and Neil accidentally crash Abby and Wymack’s carnival date.
The fairground was rife with people and noise. Andrew had warned Neil that this would be the case, but the screaming, the music, the crowds; it all had Neil wondering what the appeal of a day at the fair could possibly be.
The day itself was drawing to a close, the sky turning a deep orange and fading to purple at the edges. Andrew had flown in that afternoon, and when Neil picked him up from the airport he happened upon the flyer for the Palmetto State fair.
Although, after spending ten minutes there, Neil came to the conclusion that they should have just had an easy night at home. Murder, She Wrote reruns were a better alternative to this.
Andrew caught him by the shoulders, yanking him out of both his thoughts and the warpath of an ice-cream-wielding toddler. Neil checked himself for stains, but he remained unscathed.
‘Thanks.’
‘Those jeans are designer,’ Andrew informed him.
Neil shook his head, smiling. He opened his mouth to respond when a familiar voice called, ‘Neil! Andrew!’
They both whirled to see Abby hauling Wymack over by the hand. She was beaming, her hair free from its customary ponytail and whipping around in the breeze. Wymack appeared to be reevaluating his life choices.
Neil met Andrew’s amused look with an identical one of his own, allowing Abby to catch him in a hug when they met them halfway.
‘I didn’t know the two of you were coming here tonight,’ she said fondly.
‘The warning would have been nice,’ Wymack added, less so.
Neil fought the childish urge to stick his tongue out at him. Living in the dorms with just Robin was beginning to have an effect on him.
‘We didn’t intend to crash your date,’ Andrew said, sending a meaningful look down at Abby and Wymack’s joined hands.
‘And what noble reason do you shits have for being here?’ Wymack returned.
‘Candy floss hunting,’ Andrew said at the same time Neil said, ‘Breaking in my jeans.’
‘They’re designer, you know,’ Neil continued when Wymack cast his eyes heavenward.
Abby laughed at their antics. ‘Have you tried any of the rides yet?’
‘Er, no.’ Neil tried to think of how best to skirt around the topic of Andrew’s acrophobia, but Andrew beat him to it.
‘I sustained a head injury in last week’s game,’ Andrew lied. ‘No roller coasters for me. So sad.’
Abby frowned. ‘A head injury? In which quarter? We watched the whole game.’
‘You must have blinked,’ said Andrew. ‘I’m going to line up for food if you want to take him on something puke-inducing before we eat. Coach?’
Wymack sighed but seemed to accept that his date had been crashed. ‘Yeah, take the kid on that death trap you pointed out earlier.’
‘The one you said would put your heart to the test?’ Abby asked.
Wymack huffed. ‘We’ll meet you by the tables.’
‘Are you sure?’ Neil asked Abby. ‘If you don’t want to—’
He trailed off when he saw that Abby’s green eyes were alight with excitement. She clutched his arm. ‘Come on, Josten. Don’t chicken out on me now.’
Neil couldn’t help but laugh as she dragged him across the fairground. The years between nurse and striker fell away, and suddenly they were both kids, nervously boarding a ride called The Crazy Coaster that allegedly spun as it sped over the tracks.
Abby’s joyful squeals accompanied the swoop in Neil’s gut at every drop, making him laugh harder. They took the first two dips facing forwards, but the biggest one was coming, and their carriage was turning.
‘Oh, god. Oh, god,’ Abby gasped, her hand fumbling for Neil’s. ‘Neil, we’re backwards.’
Neil managed a hysterical, ‘What do you want me to do about it?’
Abby finally caught his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Neil held tight to the woman who had patched him up so many times he’d lost count, who kissed his forehead and cheered him on at every game, who brought him on this stupid ride and showed him that surrendering your control to wheels and cogs and gravity could actually be fun.
The two of them shared a pair of frenzied grins as Abby said, ‘Here we go,’ and then they were falling.