i would ☼ steven conklin

06) the only exception

"i've got a tight grip on reality but i can't, let go of what's in front of me here"

chapter six .. the only exception

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THE BOARDWALK WAS filled with tons of people. kaia could hear the screams and cheers from people on rides and she could smell a mix of hotdogs and churros. kaia loved the boardwalk, getting food that was probably 2000 calories and walking around going on rides was exactly her scene. it felt comforting amidst all the chaos she'd been experiencing lately

"you know, i'm kind of a natural introvert, so i can't tell if this place is horrifying or if it's just, like, my lizard brain in action" skye said

kaia took a spoonful of her mint chip ice cream, grateful to finally having something cold considering she'd been sweating her ass off for hours on end

"it's fun i promise" belly responded

"fun?" jeremiah raised an eyebrow, "because.. i seem to remember the last time we were here, you were crying" 

that spiked a memory in kaia's head, belly had been absolutely terrified of the 'tower of terror' drop tower. kaia remembered belly's expression perfectly, she got so pale and was clinging onto her for dear life. kaia hadn't really been scared of rides, she found them more exhilarating. she loved the way it'd make her heart race

kaia began to laugh a bit, "oh my gosh! i remember that!" she paused and took another bite of her ice cream before explaining the story "when uh- me and belly were, like, twelve, right? conrad beat her at 'shoot your shot', and her penalty was to ride the 'tower of terror'" 

jeremiah grinned, "belly was so scared, she threw up" 

"i was sick!" belly insisted

"sick with fear!" conrad spoke, his voice muffled from the ice cream in his mouth, "my mom had to throw out your clothes and carry you home in a caftan"

the group began to laugh and it made kaia reminisce on all the good memories she had with this group of people

"susannah used to force my mom to come here when they were kids, my mom always hated it, but susannah loved it so much.. so" skye added, which kaia thought sorta ruined the light-hearted conversation they were having

"you know what else my mom loved? the beach house" conrad replied

skye put their hands up in defeat, being seemingly done with conrad's snarky comments about the beach house

"my mom's not evil, conrad. and your mom wasn't a saint" skye said

kaia looked up to skye, for some reason, that comment really sent her through the roof, "okay, okayyyy" she said, her voice playful but still snappy, "let's talk about something else, yeah?"

steven, who always used humor in awkward moments, looked to kaia and took his spoonful of ice cream and flicked it at her face

kaia blinked, she wiped the ice cream off her cheek and shot him a glare, which made steven grin