Legend (MxM)

Chapter XX

"Yeah, total strangers getting really close."

"You know I once went to a place that was highly recommended to me." His smile dropped but not completely. "It was overrated but the actors had the most refreshing breath I ever smelled." Now he was casually leaning his side against the gate.

"That sounds kind of gross but I guess some fears never truly go away."

"You wanna know a secret though?" I found myself leaning closer, intrigued. His eyes followed my subconscious movement but he did not move away. I did though because I didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

"Pretend to be scared?"

He laughed a little at that. "Don't over do it of course."

"Of course," I parroted but not to imitate him. "I don't want anyone to feel like they're not doing their job right."

As if fate had decided for us, there was no longer a line for the ride. Maverick noticed this immediately and he gave me a look.

"Fine, let's go." I might have looked like I was pouting, so I turned to look over at him to say, "They do say that fortune favors the bold." Then I turned and let him follow me.

****

As much as I resisted the urge, I couldn't help it. I clung to him a few times. The little thing we had to ride on was small and he was all I had to cling to. He didn't seem to mind though. Compared to what we talked about earlier, about pretending to be scared. Well Maverick just looked like he enjoyed himself the entire time. Then again there were no scare actors at all. Just a bunch of freaky machines.

Despite the times I actually got scared, I enjoyed myself too.

We had just come full circle and our feet had just gotten back on solid ground. "I can't believe the whole festival hadn't heard Thom screaming. Did you see that freaky clown? Thom would've undoubtedly flipped his shit or got himself out of that ride somehow. I don't recall ever seeing him get off the ride back there. Maybe I should call him? Man that had a lot of practical effects. It was awesome! I had no idea what was coming next."

Maverick looked like he was only half listening. He suddenly took a gentle hold of my arm and started to move a little faster. I had to throw my empty slushie cup and barely missed the garbage can. "What? What's going on? Oh you can't be serious?"

I was hesitant because it was a ride that swung back and forth like a pendulum. It was the kind that took you upside down and you'd hang there for a couple of seconds. If there was something major that Thom and I could agree on, it was to avoid rides that involved going upside down. I could hear the indie Irish band somewhere performing again. It brought back a memory from before, when Maverick was looking at me.

Maverick was looking at me again and something in my heart broke away. I did not want to disappoint him. "Fuck it." Once again, I led the way.

****

Before I knew it, Maverick had me on every ride that I never would have never gotten on. I'm sure there were some that not even Avery would have stepped foot on. Or Ryker who was actually the most adventurous of us all. Admittedly, most of them weren't nearly as fun as the dark ride had been. There were moments that made me want to throttle Maverick.

Maverick laughed the loudest. At least one of us had a good time.

We had just gotten off the worst ride of them all. It was called an ultra max I think? Which swung like a pendulum but you also rotated in a slow circle. Twice I nearly threw up but I fought it. My stomach was still feeling a little queasy when we stepped off.