After throwing up the pitiful amount of food I had in my stomach and feeling slightly better, I stood back up before looking back in search of Helen, having forgotten about her in my desperate need of a trash can. It was then that I saw her standing only a few metres away, watching me with a blank expression. An expression that left me with a deep sense of embarrassment as I suddenly remembered how I had acted on the ride and how I had just thrown up right in front of her.
Just when I felt she was about to show me a look of pure disgust or revulsion, and I got ready to call the entire outing a complete and utter failure, I watched as her shoulders began to shake. Before I knew it, her face had broken into a massive grin that seemed to get larger with each second, until she was breaking into a raucous laugh so loud she drew the attention of all the surrounding park guests. In response, I simply stood there, stunned, as well as for some reason feeling a strong sense of deja vu I couldn't place.
Slowly, her laughter began to die down, turning into a light chuckle before she was finally able to stand up straight once more and make her way towards me. As she reached me I didn't know what to do, unsure if her laughter meant she was no longer pissed off or she was simply laughing because of how stupid I looked. I wasn't sure, so I simply stood there, frozen, waiting for her to clear things up.
"That was the funniest shit I had ever seen. You looked like you were one fright away from passing out." Helen chuckled, as if she was remembering what had happened once again.
"Uhh, yeah, I guess." I stammered out, still feeling lost at how she was acting. I was starting to wonder if maybe she was bipolar. It would explain the rapid mood swing I had just witnessed.
At my response she rolled her eyes, "Calm down I'm done acting like a bitch. After that ride, I think you've suffered enough."
"Wait. You mean you're not actually pissed off at me?" I asked, hopefully.
"Don't get ahead of yourself buddy, I'm still annoyed with you." Immediately, I began to deflate, looking like a beaten-down puppy and earning another eye roll from Helen. "But I'm not as pissed off as I was pretending to be. I just thought, after what you did to me, you deserved a little punishment. And it was actually quite enjoyable watching the way you squirmed under my gaze."
A mountain of relief overcame me at hearing such news, as well as a burst of happiness in knowing she didn't hate my guts as I had suspected. Yet now that she was talking to me once more, I felt the overwhelming urge to once again apologise for how I acted before, since I hadn't yet done so in person. "Helen, I'm so sorry for ignoring you, it wasn-" However, before I could even finish, Helen gave me a swat on the arm.
"Quit that". She said with a scowl. "I swear, from how apologetic you are, you would think you killed someone or something. Besides, I kinda owe you an apology as well. When I planned out this little revenge scheme, I didn't realise you had such a fear of roller coasters. I almost called it off when I saw how panicked you were before the roller coaster started." She said, her face having gone slightly red in embarrassment.
Just thinking about the roller coaster made me shiver in fear. Yet with an air of faux confidence, I stuck out my chest. "What do you mean panicked? That ride was nothing. I almost fell asleep from how boring that ride was."
"Oh, really?" She asked, amused. " Maybe we should go back in line for another go around?"
"You know I would, but it was actually so boring that maybe we should go look at some of the other rides. Preferably the teacups or something." I joked.
"Sure, sure, whatever you say." She said with the most beautiful smile I had ever seen plastered on her face, looking even more spectacular than before. I wondered if there existed anyone in the whole world who could even hold a candle to how dazzling she looked at that moment. That was until my vision was blocked by her hand, rapidly moving from left to right in front of my face.
"Hello. Earth to Adam. You alright? That ride didn't turn you into a moron or something did it?"
"Sorry, I zoned out. What were you saying?"
"Oho. What, were you too enraptured by my beauty to even pay attention? Not like I could blame you." She responded arrogantly while flipping her hair in an exaggerated manner. Despite knowing she was joking, I still found myself unsuccessful in stopping the bright red blush from forming on my cheeks from being found out. A blush she soon saw and reciprocated once she realised that was truly the reason.
"Oh, uh, d-do you want to get some food?" She stuttered out, something that if I weren't so embarrassed, I would have found amusing.
Upon hearing her offer, I felt my stomach twitch uncomfortably in opposition. There was almost nothing I wanted less after just throwing up than the assortment of greasy foods available in our vicinity. Just the smell of such food was making me nauseous once more; a complete one-eighty to the effect it had on me when we first entered the park. But wanting any excuse to move on from what just happened, and unable to think of anything else, I agreed.
"Absolutely, I'm starving, let's go!" I exclaimed quickly before beginning to march forward in search of food.
Eventually, after quite a few minutes of awkward silence as we walked in search of something to eat, conversation began to pick back up between us. Before we knew it, to my relief, we were back to laughing and joking around. Though I couldn't help but notice the weird atmosphere that seemed to surround us. And if the blush I saw occasionally popping back up on her face was any sign, then I wasn't the only one.
"What do you want to ride next? I'll warn you though, if it's anything like 'The Descent', then be prepared to see that hot dog I just ate come back up."
"Gross, too much info," Helen replied, scrunching up her face and giving me a light shove. "Umm, how about the 'Bouncing Rabbit'? Even children can ride that, so you should be fine." Not liking the idea of what that ride was going to entail, but not wanting to emasculate myself any more than I had already done, I tentatively agreed.
The next few hours were some of the most agonising of my entire life, which was saying something. If it wasn't for the fact that Helen was with me, I would have immediately left the amusement park after almost throwing up once again from the 'Bouncing Rabbit'. Instead, I had to pretend I was alright and be subjected to ride and ride after ride. Until finally, Helen was satisfied, or noticed the green complexion of my skin, and decided to give me a break.
"Phew! That was great. I've always loved roller coasters, ever since I was a kid." Helen exclaimed with a smile as we walked around the park in search of something interesting to pique our interest.
"That doesn't surprise me. I bet when you were younger that you were an absolute terror of a child." I remarked, unable to imagine Helen as a shy or quiet child.
"You're not wrong there." She snorted in laughter to her own embarrassment. "What about yourself? I bet you were a proper timid kid. All huddled up somewhere hidden with a little book." She teased, making me bark out in laughter.
"Why thank you very much," I sarcastically replied while weaving through the stampede of people to keep up with Helen, who seemed to glide through the crowd with nary an issue. "But you couldn't be more wrong. I was a hell spawn of a kid, always getting into fights and arguments. Especially with Matthew of all people."
"Really? So you two hated each other all the way back since you were kids? No wonder you got so pissed off during your fight. Can't say I blame you." Hearing her reply, while casual in nature, made me freeze in surprise, causing Helen to stop as well, looking at me with concern in her beautiful, hazel eyes.
"Adam, you alright. Are you feeling sick?"
"Weren't you disgusted by what I did?" I asked, ignoring her question.
"What? Disgusted with what?"
"By what I did during the fight with Matthew! How can you say you don't blame me for what I did? I fucking brutalised him." Just with the mention of that incident, I could feel myself getting worked up and lightheaded, remembering not only what I did but the emotions I felt as well. The fear, the anger, the excitement. Soon, my heart was thumping with thunderous strength, and my chest began to heave with short, rapid breaths.
"Adam, you need to calm down; you look like you're going to faint." Helen gently grabbed my arm before dragging me to one of the benches, not too far away, that littered the park. Her arm ran up and down my own in a slow, hypnotic gesture the moment we sat down.
"Look, I don't know where you got this bizarre idea that I was disgusted with you for what you did to Matthew. I mean yeah it was fucking shocking to say the least, but that was it. Alright?" Hearing the calm and reassuring tone she spoke in, I slowly managed to calm down and get my breathing in order.
I knew it was an overreaction, but I had just spent the past month thinking that she wouldn't want anything to do with me because of what I did. So to hear that she did, it almost brought a tear to my eye. The only reason it didn't was because of the last sliver of male pride I had that wouldn't allow it.
After finally calming down, I let out one large sigh, releasing the last bit of tension and stress I still possessed before turning back to Helen. "Sorry about that, I don't know what came over me. The truth is that after what happened with Matthew, I thought you wouldn't want anything to do with me afterwards." I brightly smiled towards her, feeling a weight lift off me.
"Wait!" She rapidly stood back up, looking down on me with her hands on her hips and with an angry expression. "Is that the reason you stopped talking to me for a month!? Because you thought I was freaked out by how you acted!" Seeing the guilty look that no doubt drifted across my face, she looked incredulous, her mouth rapidly opening and closing, unable to find the right words to say. Eventually, giving up, she pulled me up by the arm and began dragging me through the crowd.
"Where are we going?"
Just when I thought she was going to once again subject me to the silent treatment, she suddenly pulled me off to the side before coming to a stop in front of what seemed like an arcade. The sound of laughing and blaring music rolling out of the building in tides, with bright neon lights flashing wherever I looked.
"Because of your moronic thoughts," Helen said with a stare, causing me to wince at the admonishments I no doubt deserved. "I've had to suffer quite a bit. So now you're going to make it up to me." She spoke, her tone serious, yet the sudden smile on her face letting me know she wasn't mad, causing me to let out a breath of relief before offering a smile of my own.
"Why of course. Whatever the lady wants." I replied immediately, all too eager to take her up on the offer, performing a mock bow that made me cringe internally the moment I did so. Thankfully, from the chortle I heard, it seemed Helen at least thought it funny.
"Well then, after you." And with that, we entered the arcade.