forum want me a romance? / oxo / closed

Started July 21, 2020 by @LittleRiver local_movies

tune

Finn ran to the line, breathing heavy.
Finally!, he thought to himself, seeing the line receded slightly. It had been forever since he had last been to one of the parks, and he wasn’t about to let his spirits get downed by long lines. He was thankful— since it was a Friday and all.
He slipped in past the line markers, ducking under railing until he was near the front. As he waited, the line began to fill in behind him, and he praised himself for tripping there just in time.
It was a wonderful day to be here, really. The sun wasn’t as vicious as it had been the previous days, and the shade from the nearby trees made the summer a little more enjoyable. Finn had always been a sucker for winter, but days like this at a place like this, couldn’t really be beat.
With a smile, he paraded up to the front of the line, nodding to the worker. Though, just as he was about to pass through the gates, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey, Porter, you gotta have two people on this ride, man,” the worker mumbled.
“Aw, come on, G,” Finn whimpered, giving a playful fake pout. “Can’t you just let me on?”
“Sorry, man,” the worker responded, shrugging. “Safety rules can’t bend, even for you.”
“Fine, fine,” Finn said with a chuckle. He promptly turned around, standing up on the tips of his toes and calling out, “Any one-riders? That need a partner? Calling any one-rider to the front!”
The worker, Garret, rolled his eyes with a smile. Finn was always.. extra.

Allya stood with her small group of friends, keeping up a little smile. She listened to them all converse, all quite eager as they waited in line. Though she kept her mouth shut, listening to them chatter away.
"It's gonna be awesome!" One of the taller boys grinned, pulling a girl about his height along. They were making their way over to a ride Allya was never very fond of- but she wasn't worried. This was a two-person ride. For once in her life, she was grateful to be the fifth wheel.
"Chill out, Gavin. You're pulling my arm off." The girl laughed, trying to keep up with his pace. The other two were trailing right in front of Ally, snickering as they made it to the long line. Something was muttered about them totally needing to date, and agreement from the other. But Ally was excluded once again.
"Alright, I'm taking Becca. Are you and Noah riding together?" Gavin asked as he turned to the two boys behind him. The one not addressed as Noah nodded a bit, trying to keep a smirk off his face.
"Yup- but… what about Ally?" He asked, glancing back to their quiet friend. Ally gave a little smile, waving it off.
"It's fine. I can just skip this one. You guys go on without me." She insisted, starting to pull back. Everything was going smoothly, and honestly she couldn't be happier.
"You're sure?" Becca asked softly, coming up to Ally with a light frown. "We don't want to exclude you."
"Yeah, I'm totally-" And that's when she heard it. The hitch in her plan. A boy at the front was calling out for an extra rider- oh god no. As soon as her friends turned to see who it was, dread painted her face.
"Hey! You could go ride with that guy." Noah grinned, turning back to Ally. As soon as their eyes were back on her, she forced a fake smile up and tried to relax.
"Um… right… l-looks like I'm riding…" She responded in a soft tone, trying not to let the sick feeling rise. With her friends pressuring her into this, she finally started coming up to the front- a tight lump in her throat.
"I… I'm a single rider…" Ally called out weakly, catching sight of the boy who had been shouting.

Finn, at the sight of the girl, smiled widely. It was a friendly and genuine one, nodding his head as he did so.
“Alright! Glad you could join me, madam,” he said playfully, taking a short bow. Garret hadn’t been lying when he inadvertently called the boy eccentric.
The worker gave the two a smile, ushering them to a spot at the back car of the ride. Finn had gone on this one many times with some of his friends, and he always strived to get the back seat. It was more fun for him, for some reason. Perhaps because the movements were more punctuated and drastic. Probably not a good thing for fickle riders, but Finn was probably the exact opposite.
He stood at the side of the end car, holding out a hand to let the girl in first. As he did so, he asked, “What’s your name, by the way? I’m Porter.”
He might as well have stricken up a conversation. The previous coaster was still unloading, and Garret had to wait until everyone was seated to begin checking belts.

Ally felt completely sick. Whenever the boy wasn’t looking at her, she let the sick feeling display on her face. Why of why had she let her friends sway her? She hated these rides- and now she was about to get on one with a complete stranger? Great. Just great.
“Oh- um, me?” Allya asked softly, glancing over to the boy who had introduced himself. “Um… I’m Allya, but most of my friends call me Ally.”
She gave him the smallest of smiles, as she tried to diminish the look of sheer terror and regret off her face. That wasn’t working great, but we’ll enough. When the cars were mostly clear she made her way into the last car. Her legs and arms were shaky, and she could barely sit down.
Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was quite surprised Porter couldn’t hear it. Or, if he could, he was polite enough not to say anything. She really hoped it was the first one. She didn’t want to come off as a coward.

Finn slipped inside the cart next to her, and it was only then did he catch her brisk glimpse of horror. He raised an eyebrow, looking down for a moment to fasten their belts, then shifting his gaze back over to Allya.
“I love that name,” he said sweetly. “It’s really.. unique. I don’t think I’ve heard it before.”
He paused for a moment, noticing her terror, and the fact that she was shaking quite badly. He didn’t know what to do— he had never really been afraid of roller coasters, or any ride in general. Or anything in general. Except for bananas, but everyone found that irrational. Even him.
“Are you alright?” Porter asked softly, trying his best to lead a calm voice. He didn’t know how to calm someone down about this— he had never had to before.
“You— You don’t have to go on this if you don’t want too,” he said with a small laugh. “It’s okay, I can find a different rider. Although, I can’t say I’m not growing a little attached to your company thus far.”

Ally was gripping the bar in front of her, trying not to look over at him. But with him talking to her- it was getting harder to just kind of ignore.
“Um- yeah. It’s a European name, I’m pretty sure.” She mumbled a bit, trying to force herself to relax. Even with the little bit of small talk, her thoughts were mainly focused on the retched ride.
’I swear- I cannot throw up.’ Ally focused on her breathing mainly, being disrupted when he started talking once more.
“I-I’ll be fine. My friends insisted that I ride with you. I can handle it.” Ally whispered, hearing his last comment. That only made her feel the need to stay more. He wanted her to stay- in a way at least- and that was enough for her.
“I- I’ve just never been a fan of rides like these. I doubted I’d have to, since we’re a group of five. I’ll get over it, though.”

Porter let out a small smile.
“I like the confidence,” he said with a breathy chuckle. “I have no doubt you’ll be okay. And don’t worry— I go on this ride a whole bunch. Garret— the worker— has totally got your back. He’s the safest dude I know.”
He hesitated a moment before continuing. He wasn’t positive he was helping, but he was giving it his best effort. He knew for a fact the girl would be okay. She seemed tougher than she looked.
He glanced from her to Garret as the worker checked their bar and belt, making sure they were both secure. He gave Ally a reassuring smile, and Porter a pat on the shoulder.
“Have fun, kids,” he said happily, even though he was only a few years older. With that, he walked back to his station, flicking a few buttons. The ride beeped, unhitched from the station, and began its slow ascent.
Porter didn’t know what he could do to make her feel better about the ride. It’s not like he could just reach over and give her a hug. Even if he could, he didn’t know if he’d be brave enough.
So he just looked over, put on his best charming smile, and asked, “You ready to conquer this?”

(I'm sorry for my spread out replies. I promise it won't always be this bad.)

Ally glanced over to Porter, her breath caught in her throat. She had been listening to his encouraging words the whole time, but didn't have a response. What was she really suppose to say?
With his last comment, Ally swallowed the hard lump in her throat before nodding.
"I- I… I think so." She started, her grip on the bar tightening. It was just one ride she had to get through- nothing more. If she could do that, she wouldn't ever have to worry about this again. She would just be bluntly honest about it to her friends.
"It's really not bad? I'm really gonna be alright by the end of this?" Ally asked in a soft tone, feeling the ride starting to move. She watched the cars leaving the 'loading bay' and felt her heart rate pick up. She was really doing this.
"You promise me, I'll be fine?" She continued to mutter things under her breath, looking over to him.
Only now did she realize he was kind of cute… that was certainly enough to take her mind off the ride. Currently at least.
But as the ride started climbing up a hill, she felt her heart completely stop in her chest.

_{(Don’t worry, you’re all good! :)}

“I absolutely promise you,” Finn replied, his words as true as he could make them. The feeling was genuine, because it was something he really did believe.
“Plus, when you get to the top…,” he began, spreading out his arms. “It’s gorgeous. It stops for a moment for us in the back, so we can see the rest of the park. I think it’s breathtaking, but then again, I’ve always been a sucker for good views. Maybe I should start painting landscapes…”
With the last sentence he trailed off slightly, cocking his head and squinting as they rose. He had never really tried that, but since when was he afraid of trying something new?
The answer was: never.
Reeling back from his thoughts, he gave a giddy smile over to Allya, holding a small thumbs-up.
“We’re gonna do this, together, alright?” he asked playfully as they neared the top. “We totally got this.”
He said ‘we’ instead of ‘you’, figuring it would be more inclusive and therefor make the girl feel like she wasn't alone in her worries. It was one of the only things he could think to do.

Allya glanced between him and the front of the ride a couple times, before taking a few deep breaths.
"I can do this… I can get through this." She whispered as she let her grip loosen on the handle. She shut her eyes tightly, waiting to look until they got to the top.
When the car stopped, her breath hitched in her throat once again, and she slowly opened her eyes. With the sight of the park, she let out a slight gasp of awe. Porter was right- the view was completely stunning from up here.
"It really is like a painting…" She whispered a bit, her eyes growing as she let the scene settle. "I… it's stunning."
Allya was in awe at the picture perfect scene. He had mentioned something about trying to paint- and only now was she remembering that's something she enjoyed doing. But it seemed a little late to mention it now. Oh well.
The whole scene was definitely something she would need to remember. She didn't want to have to ride this again to see it. One time was plenty for her- even though she might consider it, because this was gorgeous.
Mentally she painted the image in her head, trying to remember every little detail.
"When… when are we going to go down?"

Finn looked from the view, then back to Allya, seeming to see her for the first time. He could finally distinguish her features without the distraction of boarding a roller coaster. Granted, this was debatedly even more distracting, but he didn’t seem to mind.
His own light blue eyes seemed mesmerized by the halo of the sun Allya bore, and his smile fell more soft than before. Sure, he was excited, but he had been on this ride many times. It often lost its thrill, but never lost its fun.
Porter was suddenly knocked from his thoughts when she asked her question, and he held up a hand, listening to the cart as the wheels clicked.
Tick.
Tick.
“Right about now,” Finn said with a smile.
And just like that, the carts dropped, and they raced down the other side.

Allya let out a shrill shriek when the cars dropped, the fear returning to her face. She didn't even notice she had reached over and grabbed Porter's hand when they started down. But here she was, holding on tightly.
With every twist and turn, Ally was slowly starting to get familiar with the ride, and her fear written face was slowly changing into one of delight. Not exactly- but as close as she could get. Of course she was still quite terrified, as her hold on his hand was still very tight.
Even with the tight hold on his hand, you could see a grin pull up if you paid enough attention.
She was getting to the point she was slowly getting over her fear. Maybe not fully, but enough to not be completely terrified.

Finn let out a light-hearted giggle as they plummeted, then slowly churned to switches, turns, and loops. He loved the feeling of his stomach dropping, then the zero gravity effect when they went over the next arc. It would never get old for Finn at all.
It wasn’t until Allya grabbed his hand that he was nervous. Surely, the ride never got his heart rate up this high. But he didn’t mind it whatsoever— in fact, he held her hand right back. It was the least he could do.
And then he looked over, seeing her… smiling, was it? It was difficult to tell, but he was almost positive. At the sight of it, his own smile grew wider.
It wasn’t long before the cart slowed, coming to the end of the ride. It soon stopped back around where they had first boarded, but a little ways back, since the first car still had to unload its passengers. Porter looked over to Allya, squeezing her hand slightly.
“Well?” he asked, possibly a little too chipper. “What did you think?”

Allya was staring out in the distance, breathing heavily with a very small smile. She wasn't responding quite yet, trying to realize what had just happened. She had done it- she had managed to make it through the ride.
"That was the most terrifying, sickening thing I've ever done." Ally responded simply, her chest still heaving a bit.
Her hair was a mess, as she had left it down before getting on the ride. The wind had done what it wanted with it. So she slowly ran a hand through her hair, trying to neaten it out. Her eyes were still wide from the excitement, and her fingers intertwined with his.
Ally kept quiet for a couple more seconds, trying to just catch a breath. Her heart rate was just as fast as it had been when she had gotten on, and was starting to slow. But not by much.
Turning her head, she let it rest against the seat, a wild grin growing on her features.
"I loved it."

“Now that’s what I wanna hear,” Finn said with a laugh. “Not so bad, right?”
It was only then he realized they were still holding hands. He didn’t protest— barely even acknowledged it anyway. Still, his heart beat quickened and he gave a genuine light-hearted smile.
“I mean, the first time is normally like this,” he said, meeting Allya’s eyes when she looked over. He used his free hand to brush the hair from his face, trying to untangle it absently.
“But once you do it enough, you just fully enjoy it. It’s not troubling anymore. Not scary, just.. thrilling? If that’s the right word for it. It’s a nice adrenaline, if you know what I mean.”

Allya hadn't exactly noticed that their hands were still intertwined, as she was distracted on trying to relax her pounding heart.
"I'd definitely say so. Thrilling is definitely a good word. But I wouldn't get rid of the word scary. It's still intimidating." Ally insisted, keeping up her grin as the bar unlatched to let them out. Lifting her hands— pulling his along with hers— she started to stand up to get out.
"But I might end up going on it again, some other time." She insisted, stepping out of the car before putting her gaze fully on him.
Her legs were a little shaky still, mostly from her anxieties before the ride.
Slowly she realized she was still clinging on to her hand, and felt her cheeks growing pink. When had that happened? "I swear- have I been holding his hand the entire time?" Ally asked herself mentally.
"Um… right now, I… I think I've done enough pushing myself to my limits."

Porter didn’t seem to mind holding her hand at all, as he gladly let himself be tugged up from the cart and lead off. He continued walking, having her by his side as they left the boarding area.
“Well, I’m glad you could join me for the time being,” he said, bowing his head with a grin. “It’s always nice to ride with people. I normally don’t mind going here solo, but amusement parks are some kind of experience you have to share with people. At least, that’s how it is for me.”
He glanced over, his cheeks a light red as he spoke.
“Not many of my friends like these kinds of things,” he continued, shaking his head slowly. “Nothing against them, though. They’re just, like you. They have other things they’d probably rather be doing than rocketing down a railway in a small cart. I, on the other hand, do not.”
With that he let out a stiffled laugh, not really taking the time to review or mind his own tendencies.
“If I could come here every day, I would.”

"It's not that I don't like coming here, I do. But it's hard when most of my friends are invested in each other. I get excluded a lot, so it's not really any fun." Allya shrugged a bit, glancing around the park. There were a lot more rides she hadn't seemed to notice before. Maybe Porter would be interested in going with her on another ride.
Shaking off the idea, she glanced back over to him with a little bit of excitement. If he wanted to, he would ask her. She wouldn't push her suggestion.
"But it's fine, I'm use to it by now." Ally smiled softly, continuing to meander along through the park. She knew that she should probably wait for her friends- but hanging around Porter sounded way more appealing, in a dozen different ways.
"Do you have a favorite ride? Besides the roller-coster, that is." Ally asked softly, tucking her dark hair out of her face.

“Oh, absolutely,” he replied, eyes dancing around the rest of the park. He knew the place like the back of his hand. Considering he had almost grown up here, he wouldn’t doubt it for a second.
“And, if you ever need anyone to go on a ride with, you can always ask me. Shame I didn’t find you sooner, huh?” he asked, not really needing an answer. “As for my favorite ride, it’s one called Sea Shanty. Kind of like your typical log-ride, but a little longer, and the drop is more dramatic. Plus, it has this whole pirate aesthetic I loved when I was younger. I’d actually be lying if I said I didn’t love it still.”
Porter then squeezed Allya’s hand slightly, tugging her closer and pointing up to a weaving ride raised in the air. It spanned decently high, although not as high as the coaster they had just been on, and was painted to look like wood. It twisted, but only slightly, having a calm little river until it dropped down and out of view.
“You see that one? That’s toward the end of it. It has a little river part before that plays a ton of pirate songs. The only downside is that you get absolutely soaking wet.. if you even consider it a downside. In the summers, it feels like heaven.”

(I'm sorry for the wait- my response got deleted, and I got too busy to type it all up again.)

Ally smiled softly as they walked, listening to him talk. Even if she didn't seem like it, she was pretty invested in what he had to say.
"It sounds fun," Allya stated before he pulled her close, to point out the ride.
Her face grew increasingly pink the closer they got, but never said anything about it as he pointed out the ride. It definitely set her nerves on edge- the drop most specifically of all. That seemed a lot steeped than the one on the roller-coster.
"Do they have towels you can use, once you get off?" She asked softly, starting to imagine how awful it would be to walk around all wet. "Or maybe one of those dryers you can step into, after paying?"
If the answer was no for both, she would probably have to pass up on the ride. It was too cool in her opinion to walk around wet. She also wasn't dressed very appropriately for a ride like that. It was more like she was going out on a date, instead of a day at the amusement park.
"I bet it would be miserable if they don't… or is it not so bad?" Ally continued to ask questions, pulling back from him to continue walking.
Of course she liked sticking close, but she didn't want to make things more awkward. They were already holding hands, after all.