Welcome to the Jungle (David) (The Lost Boys)

Strangers

Welcome to the Santa Carla Boardwalk," Stella reads the sign.

We walk in. There are people everywhere, crowding areas like shops and lines for carnival rides.

"Well, what do you want to do first?" Emmett asks.

I look at Stella, leaving the decision to her. If we don't, she'll get upset and feel like she has no voice. We've had that argument with her before.

"I want to ride that," she says. She's pointing to a roller coaster that I think is made of painted wood.

I've always liked roller coasters, but it's been years since I've even been near one. Emmett agrees, so we join the line.

In order to keep myself from wimping out, I look at the sky rather than the ride. Already, the sun is starting its descent. Behind the clouds, the bright blue is beginning to shift to a soft purple-pink color.

Our turn comes faster than I thought it should've. Before I know it, I'm sat next to some girl I don't know. An operator is reading out rules as people load onto the train.

"Hi, I'm Raven," the girl I'm sitting with tells me. She's grinning at me, her light blue eyes shining.

Her smile is contagious. I can't help but return it. "I'm Aurora."

"Have you been on this ride before?" She asks.

I shake my head.

Emmett turns around.

"You alright, Rory?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'm good."

Stella complains about her restraint, so Emmett turns back around to help her with it. Another operator comes and checks all the seatbelts. A moment later, the ride starts.

When the ride is over, I'm tempted to go again. But Emmett wants to look at some movies, and Stella isn't looking all that good. We hurry off and Emmett turns around.

"I'll see you around, Aurora," Raven tells me.

"See you," I reply, knowing I'll probably never see her again in my life.

Emmett comes over to me, his eyes not leaving Raven as she walks away.

"Who is that? And how do you know her?" He asks.

I shrug. "Her name's Raven. And I don't really know her; we just had to sit together."

He nods.

"Well, Raven is pretty."

I nod.

"Where to next?" I question.

Stella looks around, then looks at us.

"There's a video store over there. I know you wanted to go, Em."

He nods, and we make our way over. Despite the number of people flooding the boardwalk, there aren't many people in the shop. A woman smiles at us, asking how she can help.

As Emmett talks to her, Stella and I break off into separate ways. She goes off to look at the horror movies, while I make my way to comedy.

As I'm scanning over the titles, Stella comes over.

"Look what I found," she says. She shows me three titles I've never heard of, but the art on the covers looks promising.

"Cool," I respond.

She nods, smiling.

"Have you found anything good?" She asks me.

I shake my head. "No, but I think I'm going to go look in the documentary section. There are a few history ones I've been wanting to see-"

I stop talking when I realize Stella isn't even looking at me. Instead, her focus is behind me. Frowning a little, I glance over my shoulder.

The five boys standing a few feet behind me make me jump. I didn't see or hear them come up.

I make eye contact with the one in front- a blonde one with gorgeous blue eyes- and he smiles at me.

"Let's go, guys," he tells the boys behind him.

I watch as all five of them leave. None of the others really look at me or my sister.

"That was weird," Stella says.

I nod. "Yeah. It was."

But, for some reason, I can't take my eyes off the group until they're gone.