Despite the imminent argument that Megan wanted me to have with Bobby, I was extremely excited to go to Universal. I had wanted to for years, but I hadn't been there for some odd reason.
Fate probably had something to do with it.
As I waited by the giant Universal fountain, which had a bunch of people crowding around trying to get a picture, I started to get a little impatient. It was a nice day to be outside, so I wasn't too irritable. But I was anxious as hell.
I waited for Megan, hoping that Bobby wouldn't come.
Did I not want him to come?
I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to figure out what his problem was.
I especially wanted to figure out why he tried to kiss me.
And possibly save our friendship.
I became lost in my thoughts, the throngs of people becoming white noise in the background. I had a really bad feeling, and my excitement for the day just created a weird mixture that flipped my stomach.
What will today entail?
I looked around once more, and caught Megan's eyes, more than thirty yards away. Right next to her was Bobby.
And he looked pissed.
It wasn't a noticeable anger, but I knew him well enough to see it. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were stoic; almost empty.
They made their way to me, and Megan smiled at me. "Ready for this?" she breathed excitedly.
"Yeah," I mumbled, trying for a smile. Bobby stood there, his eyes turned away from both of us, not wanting to speak obviously.
I saw what Meg meant by distant.
"Let's go," I quickly said, walking towards the ticket center. I didn't want to do this anymore, but I wasn't gonna let Bobby ruin this experience.
*****
"Water World starts in fifteen minutes! Let's try to make it!" Megan exclaimed, hurriedly running towards the back of the park (which was weird, considering she was faster than most people and only had one leg).
Bobby and I trailed behind, and I took a quick glance at him. He didn't look at me, just kept walking and looking ahead. The silence was sort of scary; he was usually very talkative, and being at a place like Universal would have him chatting nonstop. But we silently walked, me not wanting to say anything and him refusing to.
Water World was an outdoor show that the park put on about a future where the polar ice caps melted, leaving the world covered in water. It's an amazing show that had action--more fire than water, surprisingly--and it ended up becoming a movie.
The show was spectacular, and I had a hard time trying to keep up.
As a gas tank exploded, I could feel the heat from the fire touch my face, as we were seated pretty close. I turned away, afraid my eyebrows would get singed off. I ended up turning towards Bobby, who was staring at me. We were both caught off guard, and before any words could be spoken, he turned away, looking at the show.
I looked forward again, thinking. Why would he stare? He had been doing that a lot lately, but that was when we had actually been talking. Now, I had no idea why he'd stare again.
Was I over thinking things?
Something was up, and I intended to find out.
Later on, we explored the park, finding interesting characters. Megan bonded with Beetlejuice, Bobby took a photo with Marilyn (the only time he actually smiled), and I had a conversation with a French police officer. . . in French.
When I was done with that, we continued walking through the French-themed portion of the park.
"I didn't know you spoke French," Meg pointed out.
I shrugged. "It's a fun class at school."
Megan took a breath and said, "That's awesome."
I chuckled a little, and Megan suddenly screamed. I turned to face her, and she pointed towards the distance.
"Super Silly Fun Land!" she screamed--almost exactly like the little girl in the movie.
I looked to where she was pointing, and sure enough, the theme park from the Despicable Me movie was very noticeable. And close.
She ran over there, weaving around people like a pro. Bobby and I just followed quickly, having a harder time maneuvering through the crowd. She was so small, she made it look easy.
Pretty soon, we were playing games and checking out the store with the themed merchandise.
Bobby looked tempted to try on a Minion hat, and I watched him from a safe distance as he grabbed the hat and tried it on.
The hat was too big for his head.
It flopped over his face, and I found myself giggling a little. I was glad he couldn't see me.
He angrily took off the hat, threw it down, and stormed out of the store.
What is his issue?
I turned around to see Megan making her way towards me.
"What happened? He looked like he was starting to have fun."
"I don't know," I muttered, "but I'll talk to him later."
She nodded and said, "Okay. Hey, let's go see if the line to Jurassic Park is long."
I nodded and headed out the store, finding Bobby leaning against the outside wall and staring blankly at a ride, and the joyful kids on it. He seemed to be thinking hard; his eyebrows were furrowed and almost angry. I nudged him and said, "We're going to Jurassic Park."
He didn't even look my way, or say anything, just started walking.
I could tell he was mad at something, since it was now Megan and I who tried to catch up.
We were on the escalators that led to the lower lot, where Jurassic Park was. They were covered with glass domes, and the music they played was always Top 40. I was behind the other two, who were talking quietly about five steps below me. I gave them their space, not wanting to interfere, but grateful she was able to take the situation into her own hands.
Maybe I won't have to talk to him at all.
They kept talking, and they both seemed a little tense. It stayed that way for a while; even in line for the ride, I hung out behind them while they talked. I tried to pay attention to the videos they put on to create the mood for the ride while you were in line, but as they started getting repetitive, I kept glancing at Bobby and Megan. They were practically arguing, their hand motions rather exaggerated. He looked pretty angry, and Megan looked hurt. I wondered what was going on.
Finally, as we neared the front of the line, they stopped entirely.
And they turned away from each other.
And they didn't seem too happy to get on the ride.
I tried to enjoy it, but I kept looking over at them, their anger charging the air in our row.
No noise was made from them.
Not even at the huge drop.
I screamed along with everyone else, but they remained silent.
And compared to the silence that Bobby and I endured, theirs was much worse.
After the ride, we walked aimlessly, finding the Harry Potter store near the ride.
They stayed silent, so I decided to take action.
"I have an idea: let's go to Hogsmeade," I told them inside the store, "We can be total nerds, as God intended."
Bobby remained emotionless as usual, but the slightest of smiles spread across Megan's face. "Sure, I'm down."
Bobby just started walking again, not bothering to even verbally agree. Something was definitely wrong now. He was arguably a bigger nerd than I was.
We walked diligently, making it to Harry Potter heaven: Hogsmeade, the imaginary village that J.K. Rowling created to be a fun place for students at Hogwarts to hang out. And it was busy with children and adults alike.
We made our way through, the tall structures and fake snow seeming kind of authentic. I loved Harry Potter, and I wanted it all to be real. It all felt real. And despite the electrified air between the couple, I was enjoying it quite a bit.
Megan pointed out a cool retro red wagon, where they were selling the famous butterbeer from the books and movies. She excitedly said, "I'm gonna wait in line, you guys want some?"
Bobby and I both shook our heads, and she nudged me before walking away towards the cart.
That nudge meant something.
She wanted me to talk to him.
"Megan!" I called to her. She turned swiftly, squinting at me because of the sunlight.
"I'm going to the ATM right over there!" I pointed to a little arch, a tiny space in between two buildings. There was a sign above it that read "Gringott's Automatic Teller Machine" in a metallic bronze.
They really went all out.
She nodded and went to the wagon.
I rushed through bustling people, a laugh echoing through my ears occasionally. I made it to the arch and started the withdrawal process.
Bobby slowly followed, and stood behind me in the small space. It was like a little cave, a private area meant for the person who used the ATM to not feel like their information is being put out there.
Bobby sighed and spoke to me for the first time in over two weeks, "What do you need money for, anyway?"
I took the fifty dollars that it dispensed and turned to face him. "I want to buy a wand. And considering how they're like, 40 bucks, I needed money."
He stood there, a look of confusion on his face. "That's dumb," he spat.
"No it's not, I take an interest in this stuff, and I want a souvenir."
"You don't have to make your interests known like that," he chided, shoving his hands in his back pocket, "This stuff is dumb."
I scoffed, a little offended. "What is your problem? You don't talk to me for two weeks, then downright insult me because I want to have fun?"
"I'm just not in the mood for all this bullshit right now," he rolled his eyes away, huffing.
"That doesn't give you the right. Look, whatever is going on, don't take it out on other people, Bobby. Your girlfriend is starting to worry for you, and I'm worried for you too."
He turned to me and said, "Don't say that."
"I can say what I want," I said a little louder, "Don't tell me not to care because I do."
"You shouldn't care, I just think that this stuff is stupid," he spat again, literally this time.
I quickly retaliated, "Bobby, last time I checked, you were just as much of a nerd as I am."
"Maybe you don't know me as well as you used to."
It sounded rather cryptic, and I really wanted to figure out what his problem was.
He sighed again and ran a hand through his strawberry blonde hair.
I crossed my arms and calmly asked, "What's wrong, Bobby? Why are you in such a mood?"
He mumbled, "It's not that easy to explain."
"Please try," I pressed, "Because I'm worried for your relationship and, frankly, our friendship isn't looking too hot, either."
"I can't explain it that easy," he looked down as he clenched his jaw.
"Bobby, I understand that you're going through things, and maybe being with Megan isn't all that it's cracked up to be, but-"
"This isn't about Megan!" Bobby cut me off, still fuming.
"What is it then? Because all I want to do is help!" I hissed, trying not to draw attention.
He suddenly gripped my shoulders with the ferocity of a man dangling from a cliff. My eyes widened noticeably, my anger melting away to make room for fear.
"I'm angry because I can't seem to deal with these feelings for you!"
I stopped, my breath hitched in my throat. He was inches away from my face, and his eyes suddenly lit up as he finally expressed his issue.
And I finally saw that adoration deep within his vibrant eyes. The adoration that I longed to see, to feel. And it was real. It wasn't for Megan; it was for me. It didn't seem real.
No more words were spoken.
Before I could even think, our lips connected in a blur of heat and affection.
His lips were soft at first, moving slowly against mine, and it warmed my toes and sent sparks shooting up my spine.
I deepened the kiss, my hands finding refuge in his hair, as his glided from my arms down to my waist. I tugged firmly, and his hands squeezed my hips in response. We moved as one, not even thinking about what we were doing. It was totally wrong, but it felt so right.
Chick-flick writers knew what they were talking about.
I was so lost in the warm kiss that I barely heard a female voice round the corner to us.
"This stuff is good, you guys should--"
Megan stopped dead in her tracks, and we abruptly stopped our lip-locking to face her.
Her face was caught in a chokehold of pain, her eyes already starting to water.
"Wha. . . what?" she breathed, her lungs working harder to get air to her brain. The plastic cup of butterbeer that she held loosely in her hand slipped and fell, the thud of the cup hitting the ground echoing in the small space.
"Megan," Bobby began, but by then, she was hurrying to leave. He turned to me, his hair messed up from my overeager hands. We still didn't speak, only hurried after her.
She weaved through the people effortlessly, and the crowds seemed to make it worse for us as we tried desperately to reach her.
We called her name so much that it sounded unfamiliar. We had apologized to strangers so much, we didn't even bother with it anymore after a while. We followed right back to the fountain at the front of the park, where the setting sun reflected on the giant metal globe and cast a weird shadow over Megan. She ran right out of the park, crutches and all.
I hurried after her, but Bobby grabbed my hand and stopped me. I turned to face him, feeling a little agitated.
"Wait, we can't just ignore what happened," he said quickly.
"Bobby," I sighed, "I have no idea what just happened. But I do know that the girl we just chased is your girlfriend, and I do not want to be the reason you two split. You have to fix this."
"What if I don't want to fix it?" he asked.
"Bobby, you can't just create messes you don't plan on cleaning up!" I yelled, yanking my hand away. He just stared at me, his gaze starting to look a little sad.
I didn't know what else to say. It got way too complicated way too quickly, and I couldn't process it well enough. Instead, I turned around and ran after Megan.
I was almost certain she was gone.
Maybe I just wanted to run.