The next area you came across was the food court area, full of various food stands and souvenir items for sale. A large glass ceiling let in the warm sunlight, allowing all the tropical looking plants to flourish.
"How about we break for lunch?" (B/f) suggested as she eyed a pretzel larger than her head at one of the stands.
"Sounds good to me." You agreed. Leon was already making a bee line to one of the food carts, while Jotaro just hummed in agreement beside you. "Why don't (B/f) and I go snag a table while you get food, then we'll switch out, sound good?" He nodded and headed off to one of the other stands while you and (B/f) began scouting around.
"Ooh! There's one!" She quickly claimed it in the name of your group, sliding into the seat. You sat across from her and looked around, looking at all the options for food. "What do you want to eat?" You put a finger to your chin in thought.
"I'm not sure yet, what are you thinking?"
She shrugged, "I'm getting a pretzel for sure, but I don't know what else."
"I wonder what the boys are getting." You said as you rested your chin in your hand, propped up by your elbow. (B/f) turned her head and snickered under her breath.
"Getting checked out apparently." You raised a brow and followed her gaze. Sure enough, poor Jotaro was surrounded by a pack of younger girls; middle school aged or so it looked like.
"I don't get it." You squeaked in fear as your head whipped around beside you; Leon had slid in beside you while you were looking away. His gaze was also on the tall dark-haired teen absently biting off part of a part of a french-fry. "Is he really that good looking to you girls? He's a complete asshole." The three of you curiously, yet discreetly, watched as he spoke to the heard of girls, brows lowered angrily. "Ah my god, you're so handsome, I want to marry you, even though I'm like twelve." You and (B/f) burst out laughing as Leon "interpreted" the conversation between Jotaro and the girls, falsetto-voice and all. (B/f) joined in, pulling down an imaginary hat, "Yare Yare Daze," She said in the deepest voice she could. "Ohhhh, Jojo, I love it when you yell at me." Leon cooed as he batted his eyelashes at (B/f), his "girl voice" cracking.
"Shh," You tried to hush them in-between giggles, "you two are so mean."
(B/f) looked you in the eye, giving you her best Jotaro inspired scowl. "(Y/n)," She leaned in, taking your hand from across the table while you shook with laughter, "You're the only girl I mildly tolerate." She paused for dramatic effect, while trying to keep from laughing, "But, you're still a dumb bitch." The three of you lost it, howling with laughter. You covered your mouth as you tried to regain your composure should Jotaro start to head your way.
"What am I going to do with you two?" You exasperatedly as you finally managed to catch your breath.
"Love and accept us for who we are." (B/f) offered, still laughing a bit. She quickly sobered up as she noticed Jotaro weaving his way through the tables to the group. You cleared your throat, as if trying to rid yourself of any remaining giggles as you stood up, (B/f) doing the same. Jotaro sat down, as far away from Leon as he could. "We'll be right back. Don't," (B/f) held up a threatening finger to the two boys, "kill one another while were gone." She turned on her heel and began making her way to one of the food stands, you in tow behind her.
"You and Leon are ridiculous." You said, a new wave of chuckles coming as you thought of (B/f)'s Jotaro face. It was apparently contagious as she also began to giggle,
"I can't help it, it's just too funny. Like, we're at the aquarium with Jotaro of all people!" She said as she decided which line to finally get in.
"Yeah, it's pretty damn weird for sure, but its also for school; it's not like he came because we're all best buds." You glanced over your shoulder to make sure that Leon was still among the living before turning back around to look over the menu. "I'm pretty sure once this project is turned in, he'll go back to ignoring us, if not after today. He seems pretty annoyed by us." You added quietly.
"Whatever. We're having fun, its not our fault he's too high on himself to join in." You hummed in response, taking in her words. The two of you bought your food and headed back to the table, you taking your original place next to Leon, leaving (B/f) to sit next to Jotaro. Upon noting that you weren't next to him he shot you an unreadable expression before going back to eating. During lunch, one of your two partners in crime would subtly reference your earlier conversation, be it Leon batting his lashes or (B/f) discreetly pulling her imaginary hat down, trying to make one another laugh. You gave them both disapproving looks, telepathically telling them to knock it off or Jotaro may get upset. He already seemed annoyed at the three of you trying to cover your occasional laughter, the last thing you wanted was for him to find out that he was the butt of the joke. The three of you would probably end up dead or in the shark tank; possibly both.
Everyone seemed at though they were done eating, so you all packed up and moved onto the next area. It was a large room with a couple of large tide pools, a shallow pool that allowed you to touch small sharks, sting rays, and other small sea animals. You would never admit it, but you were always nervous to touch them, usually just letting your hand hover just above them. (B/f) and Leon took off looking for the biggest shark to pet, while you looked for the closest starfish or some other "safe" animal. Jotaro shadowed you as you reached your hand in, running your finger against one of the stingrays that glided by. You retracted your hand quickly as one of the nursing sharks circled by your wrist. Jotaro sighed in annoyance behind you, causing you to turn and look up at him.
"If you jerk your hand away in fear, that's how you get bit." He explained as he himself reached down and touched a passing by shark, a lot larger than the one you moved your hand away from. "They're harmless, or else they wouldn't let small children touch them."
"I'm not scared of them." You lied, crossing your arms. As if to prove it you reached down again and touched one of the passing rays. You moved to remove your hand from the pool only to have Jotaro's hand envelope yours, a squeak emanating from your mouth as he took a step forwards, his body against yours. His hand held yours down as it forced your hand against the large shark he'd touched earlier, while his free hand rested against the railing of the pool, caging your body in. Your eyes cut over in a panic to Leon and (B/f), whose backs were turned to you, too engrossed in who knows what. You internally screamed as you heard Jotaro from above you, "See? He won't hurt you." You had no idea if he was referring to the shark or himself, but either way this situation was too much for you to handle; what would Leon and (B/f) say if they saw you and Jotaro getting up close and personal? Jotaro held your hand against a few more passing sharks before finally releasing you, taking a step back. You turned around to face him, positioning yourself away from the pool to avoid getting trapped again.
"See?" He said, crossing his arms, "Harmless." Your heart felt like it was going to explode. You still weren't sure if he meant himself or the shark; either way you didn't feel like one was less harmless than the other. A shark can easily mangle your hand and Jotaro could easily cause you to have an elaborate series of heart attacks as well as manglw your hand at the same time. Taking a note from his book, you hummed in response before looking back over to the other half of your party, giving Jotaro one last look before making your way over to them, trying to act calm and collected even though you internally wanted to scream.
"What are you dorks doing?" You asked as you leaned against the tide pool beside (B/f), assuming Jotaro wouldn't just do the same thing he did at the other pool while she and Leon were around. You noticed that he was much more physical lately, but only when you weren't around people you knew. You weren't sure if it was because he was weary of what reaction they may have or if he just enjoyed psychologically torturing you when you were alone just for the fun of it; either way, Leon was right when he'd said "safety was in numbers".
"Leon's trying to figure out the legalities of owning a shark." (B/f) said flatly, while Leon looked over in embarrassment.
"Just a small one!" He said in his defense, not that it made it much better. Leon didn't seem like he could raise a pet rock, let alone maintain the upkeep of a large saltwater aquarium plus a shark. You rolled your eyes, "Let's go you two." You ushered them out of the touch pool area and into the next room, one of your favorite rooms; the shark tunnel. Maybe it was just the child-like wonder of being able to walk under sharks, or how the lighting was always a dark blue glow, making it almost like you were in a different world entirely, but it was always your favorite. As long as you didn't have to touch the sharks and there was a large portion of glass between you and them, you were fine. You and (B/f) excitedly pointed at a sea turtle swimming around, not a care in the world it seemed.
"He's so cute!" (B/f) exclaimed as she waved to him, obviously the turtle didn't react, just cruising by as he went about his day of turtle-ing. You both walked slightly ahead of the boys, close enough to intervene if needed, as you craned your necks upwards to watch various sharks of all types and sizes swim by. They all had various scars littering their bodies from fights long forgotten, a few even having chunks missing out if their fins. "Could you imagine falling into here?" (B/f) said as a particularly menacing shark swam by, teeth on full display. You shook your head 'no', not even wanting to think about it.
"I've heard you can punch them and they'll leave you alone." Leon piped up from behind you. You placed a hand on your hip and turned to face him.
"You can't punch underwater, the water is too dense or whatever. Besides, Leon, nobody is stupid enough to punch a shark." At your words, Jotaro let out an amused chuckle as he looked away. You and (B/f) side eyed him, before cutting your eyes to one another, narrowing them as you telepathically asked the other if Jotaro was indeed stupid enough to have punched a shark at some point in his life. You turned back around and continued through the tunnel, admiring the soft blue glow as well as all the various creatures of the ocean that you hoped to never meet in the wild.
The tunnel ended, throwing you back into the sunlight, as your eyes took a few moments to adjust.
"I think that's everything." Leon said as you all ended up back at the entrance of the aquarium.
"Looks like it." You said as you looked around. You'd officially survived the aquarium, and now it was time to head to the boardwalk and beach. "Well, phase two?" You said as you began walking to the exit, of course, located through the gift shop. You knew (B/f) well enough to know she was going to go home with something; probably something stupid. As soon as you all entered the shop, (B/f) split off, going towards the brightest most colorful section of the store. "I knew that would happen." You muttered to yourself as you watched your best friend looking through a spinning display of whatever; magnets, maybe? "Might as well look around." You said, shrugging to the two boys, who just shrugged and meandered away. You split off also and began looking around, stuffed animals of all various sea and land creatures in every color and size dominated most the shop. You idly looked some bracelets adorned with rhinestones and sea animals, dolphins being the predominant animal.
"Hey, baby, you lookin' like a snack." Your head whipped to the side to see that you were being addressed by a shark on a long stick, his plastic jaw opening and closing with a loud snap. You blinked before looking past the shark to see Leon puppeteering the plastic shark. "Yo, baby," He shoved the shark closer to your face, trying to get a reaction from you, "where have you fin all my life." You dropped your face into your hands, unsure if you should laugh or be embarrassed, as Leon poked you with said shark.
"Leon, if you don't get that shark out of my face, I'm going to cram it so far up your-"
"Oi, (Y/n), come look at this!" You were saved by (B/f) calling you, fleeing to see what she wanted. You passed by Jotaro was looking at all the various things, a calm expression on his face as his hands were buried in his pockets. As you got closer you saw she was looking at a jewelry display, two necklaces in particular. "Ta-da!" She presented you with the necklaces, as you simply raised an eyebrow at them. They were simple, a black cord with a silver shell with 'BFF' stamped on them.
"You trying to put labels on our relationship?" You joked looking up at her as she rolled her eyes in response.
"Oh, haha," She said dryly, "They're cute!" She defended.
"Yeah, they are." You said, knowing exactly where this was going, and exactly where (B/f) was going; the register. You loitered around the counter as (B/f) made her purchase, eyes widening as something caught your eye. It was a bracelet, a wire wrapped piece of sea glass in the center. You placed your hand under it, looking it over. It was a beautiful blue green aqua color that was being hugged by silver wire swirls. (B/f) peeked over your shoulder to see what caught your attention
"Wow! Are you going to get that?" She asked as she turned back to have the boy working the register her money. You shook your head and dropped your hand.
"Nah, it's pretty, but I don't need it. Plus, I don't have the spare cash right now." You said wistfully, turning away from it. You and her politely moved away from the counter so the worker could help the next guest, ending up beside a mountain of stuffed stingrays.
"At least you got a cool new necklace now." (B/f) said as she presented you with one of the shells.
"That's true." You giggled as you put the necklace on, admiring it in one of the nearby mirrors. (B/f) joined in behind you "vogue posing".
"Whale, whale, whale, what are you ladies up to?" A third person joined you two in the mirror's reflection. This time it was a killer whale on a stick. Your eyes rolled upwards as (B/f) giggled. "Those necklaces look fin-tastic on you two." You pushed the whale away, moving out of it's range, before looking for your other party member, Jotaro. Apparently he was buying something as well, as you saw him hand the boy at the register money, receiving a small bag in return. While you were curious, it wasn't any of your business as to what he bought. He approached the rest of you, as if letting you know he was ready to move on. "Let's go have a killer time a the bea-" The killer whale on a stick was grabbed our of Leon's hand by Jotaro, who carelessly tossed it into a nearby barrel full of stuffed seahorses. "What the hell, Kujo?"
"You were being an annoying idiot, Caldwell." Jotaro replied in a surprisingly calm voice as Leon turned away from him, walking alongside (B/f) as you all began to exit the gift shop. When you were certain your other science partner and friend were out of earshot you turned to Jotaro.
"Thank you." You said, grateful to have been saved from more of Leon's dumb puns and even worse, his pick-up lines. "Well, are you ready to go to the beach?" He hummed and nodded, opening the door for you as you were met with the warm, salt scented air. (B/f) and Leon were leading up against the boardwalk railing, looking up at the large Ferris wheel. "We going on that?" You asked, hoping that your anxiety wasn't present in your voice. Heights weren't your strong suit, especially when it came to metal Ferris wheels that probably have been corroded by the sea salt and water and could collapse at any moment; likely that moment would be the one time you were riding it.
(B/f) turned to face you, "Leon says we're supposed to wait until sunset." Your brows furrowed in confusion, "Why?" you asked.
"So you can watch the sunset from the Ferris wheel, duh! You know, like in the movies and stuff."
"What movies are you watching, boy?" You asked with a laugh, eyebrow raised. That sounded like something out of a cheesy romantic movie as opposed to a movie with gunplay and violence involved. "Fine, we'll wait until sunset to ride. Let's see if we can go find a spot under one of the umbrellas." You said as you pointed towards the beach, a sea of various colored umbrellas taking up a good portion of the shoreline. The four of you were fortunate enough to find one in front of the others, so no other umbrellas or people would be blocking your view of the ocean. A family also tried to claim the umbrella, but you had a feeling Jotaro's scowl non-verbally told them to buzz off. You set your bag down as (B/f) began to spread out a large outdoor blanket over the sand. You gazed off over the water for a moment, just enjoying the sight sounds of the ocean, trying to ignore the fact that most the creatures you'd just saw possibly resided in this very ocean. You thought back to what Jotaro had said earlier, harmless; yeah, right.
YOU THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE TOUCHING, BUT IT WAS ME, TIDE POOL. Sorryyyyyyy. To be fair there was some touching, so yay???
I wanted to get this chapter out of the way, because there's not a lot of Jojo interaction, but it's a necessary evil. Lots of Leon and (B/f) shenanigans here. If I ONLY had (Y/n) and Jotaro interact, then it probably would be as "real" feeling, you know what I mean? (Tries to add realism to anime fanfiction)
Anyway, lets go to the beach, beach.
I just re-read this and fixed a bunch of shit. This thing was riddled with typos jfc. I need to stop writing at like 2AM