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Julien's POV:
Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting shadows on the pavement as my friends and I strolled towards the entrance of the amusement park. The air buzzed with excitement, mingling with the scent of popcorn and cotton candy, creating an intoxicating atmosphere that promised a day of thrills and laughter. We were walking in pairs, Lucy and Phoebe in front, and Vera and me in the back.
We all walked up to the ticket counter, borderline yelling as the loud ambiance of the park was so overpowering. 4 wristbands later we crowd near some benches to discuss the game plan.
"What should we do first?" Phoebe questions. We all look around, Vera spots the bumper car ride and suggests it while laughing. I give her a playful hit on the arm as well as an exasperated 'oh my god'.
"Wait Julien I thought you really liked the bumper cars?" Says Lucy, who is visibly confused while looking over at Phoebe. "No, no, I do," I explain, "I told Vera that and she said it was because I was a bad driver." I see all the others shoot each other a look that pretty much says 'well, she's not wrong'.
"No! See right after she said that she almost crashed the car!" I defend playfully. Phoebe and Lucy let out a 'WHAT?!' in unison, completely drowning out Vera's attempt to deny it. "That is not what happened! Julien distracted me and I didn't see the red light." Vera defends. I throw my hands up as a sign of surrender, making all 4 of us burst out laughing.
We did actually end up going to the bumper cars first, not only because it was what was suggested, but the line was one of the shortest. We paired up in our respective colours, Vera and Lucy in green, and Phoebe and me in red. As expected, Lucy and Vera went a little easier on the kids, Phoebe and I however, did not. As soon as we started we got hunted down by Lucy and Vera. While I was trying to get away from them, Phoebe completely let go of the wheel to snap a picture. This resulted in us getting completely slammed by them, spinning us off into an entirely different direction.
After a few minutes of chasing, bumping, and side-swiping each other and random people, the time was up and we all got off. Not even 3 steps out of the gate Lucy yells, "Why did you take a picture?!" Phoebe's response being something along the lines of 'for the vibe.'
Phoebe suggested the big drop ride, however both Vera and Lucy shut that down immediately, "I don't do big drops." both saying in unison. I didn't really want to go on the ride but I also couldn't let Phoebe go alone, so I reluctantly volunteered to go with her. And with that, Phoebe and I went off to the drop ride while Lucy and Vera went to the lemonade stand.
After a little bit of waiting in line it was finally our turn. We head to the far side of the ride that overlooks the city. I start to panic a little after the worker comes and checks our restraints. The internal panic attack I was having only gets heightened by the sound of the hydraulics and the little sputter it did before actually starting to rise. Phoebe looks over and starts laughing at my clearly stressed expression.
"Pheebs HOW are you laughing right now?" I half yell over the sound of the wind and the other people on the ride. "Just live a little dude!" She yells back in return. It's getting harder to hear each other even though we are just inches apart.
My arms desperately clutch the restraints as we go higher and higher, until eventually, the ride stops. At the. Very. Top. "Phoebe I don't think I can do this. I really don't thi-" I start to plead as the ride suddenly drops. I'd like to say I didn't scream. I really do, but in my defense, at least I wasn't laughing hysterically like the psychopath sitting next to me,
After stumbling off the ride, we make our way over to the same benches we were at when we first got here. Vera and Lucy were already there waiting for us, each of them having 2 lemonades in their hands from one the the overpriced lemonade stands with a million different flavours. I got handed a regular lemonade while Phoebe got a blue raspberry one. I'm immediately met with a spew of apologies from Vera, saying she just got me a regular one because she didn't know what flavour I wanted.
"Hey, It's fine, I would've just gotten a regular one if I went myself, thank you so much, Vera, how much do I owe you?" I ask, reaching for my back pocket to grab my wallet to pay her back. She smiles in relief until I reach for my pocket. "Nothing, put it away, you bought me coffee earlier." She says while grabbing my arm to keep me from pulling out money. I let go of my wallet while she lets go of my arm, putting my hands up in surrender.
We all sit at the bench and talk for a while. We end all end up taking sips of each other's lemonades just to try them. Vera got cherry while Lucy got watermelon. They were all good but I'd rather stick to my regular one. We finish our drinks and end up going on another dozen or so rides, ranging from fun houses (Lucy's idea), to the gravitron (Vera's idea). By now it was dark and it was a unanimous decision to go on the Ferris wheel as our last ride. We naturally split up into groups of two, Lucy and Phoebe, and Vera and I.
We were lucky enough to get a green carrier, which is pretty obviously Vera's favourite colour by looking at her house and the way her eyes lit up when she figured out we get the green one. After getting in and stopping us from swinging, thanks to the very graceful Vera, Vera pulls put her phone and starts talking photos of the view. I pull out my phone, but not to take pictures of the view, well not the view she was taking pictures of anyway. I end up taking a picture of Vera, unbeknownst to her. It was a pretty good candid, if I do say so myself. She turns around and I turn my phone and take pictures from the view on my side.
"I really enjoyed today. I had a lot of fun with you guys." Vera announces, looking over to me and smiling. "Me too, I think this was the most fun I've had in a long time." I admit, reaching to scratch the back of my neck, nerves hitting me all of a sudden. Our eyes meet, making both of our faces flush red. My eyes wander to her lips, before quickly returning to her gaze, which I notice is also pointed to my lips. Some involuntary force is pushing us together, our knees now touching and faces just inches apart.
We're even closer together now, I can feel Vera's sour breath on my skin, the faint tinge of lemon still sticking around. Before I know it I'm leaning in, and then the ride stops. We realize what's happening and Vera turns her head away as I clear my throat. We sit in awkward silence for a few moments before the ride operator opens the carrier and lets us out. We meet Phoebe and Lucy a few feet from the ride, all of us making small talk as we walk out of the park into the parking lot.
Vera separates from us, as she drove in her own car. We all hung and promise to hang out soon before we step into separate vehicles. I shut the door to the back seat, while Vera waves while pulling out of the spot. I slump back in my seat and after a few moments Lucy pulls out of the spot as well.
What the fuck just happened?
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1K READS HOLY SHIT DAWGS
Sorry for the delay, I should be updating more now that school's out!!
Also I hope the sour breath part doesn't sound weird I was trying to incorporate the title 🥲
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Faith Healer // JB
FanficVera Saunders is a well known hairstylist in the Nashville area, often styling minor celebrities for events. Today she has 3 names she doesn't recognize on her books. A Julien Baker fic