A Defining Mistake

Chapter 9 - Ruin

"You have to wear them!" Ada demanded, handing out Mickey Mouse ears to the whole group. "They're almost like 25 euros each so if you don't, I'll be upset."

"25 euros each?" Jo stared at his ears. "And you just bought... how many?"

"Like 15," Ada laughed, slipping her ears onto her head. "I just spent almost 400 euros on Mickey Mouse ears."

"You know that you and Jordan will be the only people wearing them by the end of the day, yeah?" Alyx teased, throwing up a peace sign as he took a selfie. Ada shrugged.

"Yeah probably. That just means we've got to take a group selfie before that happens!" A couple walked past and Ada stepped towards them, brandishing her phone. "Excuse me! Could you take a photo of all of us please?"

The woman stepped forward and took the phone with a smile. Ada collected the group to they could all fit in the photo and she positioned herself in the middle with Jordan next to her, feeling like the proud parents of them all. In her excitement, Ada wrapped her arms around Jordan's waist, squeaking. He looked down at her, smiling, they had been planning this day for weeks. This was the first time either of them had gotten to visit a Disney with another person who was as big a fan as they were and they had been driving everyone crazy with their incessant planning. Ada felt herself relaxing, turning her head to look up at him, gazing into his brown eyes, entirely swept up in the moment. She imagined herself kissing him, imagined how romantic it would be, having their first kiss at Disney and how they would take trips every year to recreate the moment, telling their children and then their grandchildren how their relationship began. A voice she vaguely recognised quickly pulled her out of her ridiculous daydream. A voice that wiped the smile off her face and filled her with dread. A voice that made Jordan jump away from Ada as though she were on fire. Ada fought to correct herself, plastering a big smile on her face and blinking away the tears.

"Jordan!" Amy shouted, waving and running up to the group. She barrelled into the middle, jumping into Jordan's arms, unintentionally knocking Ada out of the way.

Ada stepped up to the woman holding her phone, who was still snapping photos of the happy reunion. She held out her hand impatiently. "Thanks."

Standing on the edge of the group that were welcoming Amy, Ada flipped through the photos, grimacing at the slideshow reel of Jordan and Amy's reunion. Her finger hovered over the delete button, wanting to remove the physical evidence of Jordan's relationship on her phone. Sighing, she left the photos alone, knowing that she needed to put her feelings aside and keep the photos for Jordan and Amy's sake. Now that was she was single, Ada had finally been honest with herself. She had feelings for Jordan and she had for a while. Judging by the fact her sister and friends had noticed from afar, there was no way that Jordan didn't know. Yet he said nothing. While she knew she had to take this to mean he wasn't interested and saw their relationship as purely platonic, Ada couldn't help her feelings. Especially now she had acknowledged them.

"You okay, kid?" Alyx hooked his arm around Ada's neck, peering over her shoulder at her phone. Ada was about to respond when Jordan dragged Amy over to meet her.

"Amy, this is Ada!" Jordan gestured between them, smiling. "She's been the one keeping me sane dealing with these idiots."

"So nice to finally meet you," Amy smiled. "I've heard so much about you."

"Likewise," Ada managed to smile in return.

"Ada, have you got another set of ears for Amy?" Jordan asked.

"No I haven't," Ada's response was met with disappointed sighs. Amy set about telling Jordan that it didn't matter when Ada interrupted, taking off her own ears.