Dylan has recently come out of the closet in his second year at college. With little experience and luck with guys, his best friend decides to set him up on a blind date. But when he arrives at the theme park, the last person he expected to see was...
We walk in a somewhat uncomfortable silence, the tension from our argument still lingering in the space between us. The air is thick, which is strange because we're surrounded by huge trees that must be contributing to at least 80% of the UK's oxygen count. My hands feel clammy and my face is warm, even though it's kinda breezy outside today. I don't know how Simon is just wearing a shirt, he must be freezing!
The trees begin to part, and the sound of adrenaline fuelled screams bleed down the path. I guess all the arguing and splashing people over at the Battle Galleons took a little too long, and now we're behind a stream of bodies all running to be first in the queue. We round the corner and are met by a blur, followed by loud pistons as carriages fly along the track overhead. "That looks so cool!" Simon cheers, excitement filling his eyes.
The track itself looks rusted, weird patches of mossy green blending with red to make it appear really rundown. This must be Rita, I remember Aimee telling me about it. It launches you from the station super fast, and it's supposed to be like you're escaping from the Dark Forest.
"Yeah, really cool," I mumble, not overly keen on the idea. Rollercoasters are fun, I do enjoy them... I just need a little time to pluck up the courage to get myself in the queue is all. Starting off with the fastest ride here feels super intimidating, only made worse by the fact that most of the rides in this place are themed around death and escape. Not great for someone who needs to slowly build up their tolerance!
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"Are you ok? You're looking a little pale there," he asks, noticing my hesitation.
"I- I just... it looks really fast," I say, trying not to squirm at how stupid I sound. "Maybe we could start on that one instead?"
"You mean ThI3teen? Are you sure..." he asks, looking to where I was pointing. Weaving in and out of the trees was a black track that didn't seem all that scary. The drop wasn't too high and it didn't seem to be going too fast. Definitely not as fast as Rita.
"Yeah, it looks a little more tame," I say, and Simon simply shrugs as a playful smirk graces his lips.
"Ok... as you wish. Let's get in the queue then," he smiles, leading the way. Something about the way he smiled has me on edge, but I bite my tongue and follow him, thankful that I've avoided Rita for now.
The path winds in and out of itself, typical rollercoaster line bullshit. But there was something weird happening... the further we walked the more my eyes began to play tricks on me. Weird shadows darting amongst the trees, catching my eye but vanishing before I could make out what it was.
Simon seemed to notice too, but he didn't say anything. In fact, he seems to be enjoying my ever-growing nerves as they bubble just beneath the surface of my skin. "Do you know the story for this ride?" he suddenly asks, as we continue to weave around the path. Luckily, we were yet to hit the wall of people also queuing so we might not have to wait that long to ride.
