okay, this'll probably be the last one i upload tonight lol. i'm feeling myself get sloppier with my typing, and that's a recipe for writing disaster.
this one shot is based off of an amazhang one written by Thatathenagirl and she made Katie terrified of the Ferris wheel. I couldn't help but think what would happen if the roles were reversed. (Go check out Piper's stuff though, she's literally so good ahhhhh)
words: 1361
. . .
Ferris wheels weren't Travis' cup of tea.
They were rickety, and high up, and asking for trouble. He didn't trust the things. And the people operating the sketchy machinery looked like they wanted to watch you fall out of the carriage. Like they'd enjoy watching you tumble to your death.
He got shudders every time he thought about it.
But, there they were, Travis and Katie, in line to ride one. It was his girlfriend's birthday, after all, and he took her to the state fair. They'd had a great time, up until that point. They shot darts and he won her a stuffed dolphin. They'd gone through the petting zoo (and Travis discovered he was allergic to horses). They'd had their fill of funnel cakes, deep-fried who-knows-what, and enough frozen lemonade to drown in.
And then, Katie had to ruin it and say she wanted to ride the Ferris wheel.
As they stood in the line, his nerves rode up his stomach, shaking every fiber of his body. He couldn't hardly take even thinking about riding that contraption, how was he going to make it through the real thing?
Katie was never going to let him hear the end of it if she found out how scared he was.
So, he put on a brave face and told the man that both of them were going on. He paid the handful of bucks to ride, and into the next line they stepped.
"...and then she acted like she hadn't just dumped the whole pot of soil onto the floor!" Katie ranted, and Travis realized he'd missed half of their conversation.
"Wow," he mumbled absently.
"I know! It was a good thing Miranda and I had cabin inspection that day." She laughed, but when she noticed he didn't laugh with her, her joy turned into concern. "Hey, Trav, you okay?"
Looking at her with wide eyes, he said, "Huh? Oh, nah, I'm good. Lost in thought."
She squeezed his hand, but quirked her eyebrow. "Okay, if you say so."
The couple waited in their line for a few more rotations of the Wheel of Death before it was their turn. The operator motioned them forward and said in a gruff voice, "Next."
Biting his lip, Travis guided Katie onto the wobbly bench. He knew he was visibly shaking, but he tried to pass it off as a shiver.
"Alright," the man said as he secured the safety bar over their legs, "you're good to go. Keep your arms, legs, and head in the carriage at all times. You get one round, and we'll stop you at the top."
"Thanks!" Katie exclaimed, clearly excited.
It would've made Travis happy if he didn't feel like puking up all his cotton candy.
The man returned to his station behind the massive wall of buttons and levers, and pulled the big red one. It looked like it was straight out of a cartoon. He pictured the operator laughing maniacally and twisting a pencil-thin mustache as he carted Travis and Katie to their doom.
Travis hoped that closing his eyes would help him as their carriage jostled into movement. He gripped the bar in front of him and squeezed.
It didn't help.
"Seriously, Trav. You doing alright?"
He risked a peek at his girlfriend, who was now twisted to face him with scrunched eyebrows.
"No, don't turn like that! You're gonna fall out," he hissed, situating her shoulders to face front again.
"Are you... scared of heights?" Amusement laced her voice, but when she saw the pure terror in his eyes, her expression softened. "I get it, I really do. But why'd we go on the Ferris wheel, then?"
Travis groaned and tightened his grip on the bar, knuckles turning white. "You wanted to."
"But we didn't have to."
"It's your birthday."
"It's your fear."
"Hey!" he pouted, squinting at her. "I'm not that scared."
Her eyes were light as she smiled kindly. "Trav, you're as pale as a ghost."
"I don't feel so good," he grumbled, suddenly feeling woozy.
Katie's hand found his, and she pried his fingers from the bar to hold it. "Hey, it's okay. You're gonna survive, and then we can go find some funhouse mirrors or something."
He shook his head, muttering, "We're not gonna survive."
Sighing, she leaned over to flutter a kiss across his jaw. When he glanced at her, she pressed another one to his lips. "You've got this. You're Travis Stoll! You've been through wars with freaking gods in them!"
Tapping his foot frantically, he still disagreed. "Gods don't make you fight on a giant rotating ball of death."
"No, come on, you're Travis Stoll. You run a cabin full of delinquents and troublemakers, and they all bend at your will!" she insisted. "They all look up to you, because you're strong."
"Not if I fall from 500 feet right now."
She rolled her eyes. "This Ferris wheel isn't 500 feet up."
"How do you know, did you measure it?"
"Just listen, I'm practically showering you in complements!"
He took an unsteady breath and attempted to slow his racing heart. They'd only made it a quarter of the way. He could use some encouragement. Not to mention, bragging rights that Katie had complimented him more than normal.
"Alright, what else ya got?"
She giggled and looped her arm through his, making him jump slightly. She pat his forearm and hummed, "Well, you're really cute, for starters."
"Cute doesn't pay the bills, Kates." His eyes darted around as he heard a creak in the wheel. "Gods, Katie, we're about to die."
"No, we're at the top. They're stopping us."
He would've felt relieved if he didn't know that they still had halfway to go, and even before that they had to sit at the top and take in the horrific height they were at. He was certain that he'd pass out if he looked down, so he focused on the one thing keeping him grounded: Katie.
"You're hilarious. I can always count on you to make my day funnier and brighter."
"It won't be too funny when this bench gives out and we fall through the wheel."
Katie dipped her head. "That's not going to happen. Just keep listening to me."
She spouted off several other empty compliments, ones that he'd heard her say a hundred times. This wasn't working. It wouldn't work. No matter what she said, he was going to sit there and suffer until the Fates decided to cut the chord and send them spiraling into the mechanical abyss below them. Nothing Katie could say would stop his fear and-
"I love you."
Except that.
She looked as surprised as Travis felt. Had his heart not already been thumping out of his chest, it would have at her sentence. They hadn't said that to each other yet. They'd been dating for two months.
She said she loved him.
His head was spinning.
But this time, it wasn't because of the Ferris wheel. No, Travis had long forgotten about his fear - his girlfriend told him she loved him. It didn't matter now; he could fall through the ground and into the Underworld, and he still would've been elated.
"Should I... not have said that?" Katie bit back her wonder, trying to read into his silent shock.
He rushed to correct her. "No, no! I love you, too, I just wasn't expecting that, exactly."
"Oh."
The pair sat quietly as the Ferris wheel jerked back into action, making Travis panic again. However, this time, he let Katie grip his hand and felt calmer.
Once they miraculously made it to the bottom, Travis raced off the bench and back into the crowded ground. The beautiful, people-filled, safe ground. He hollered a loud "huzzah!" before turning to look at Katie.
She stood a ways away, walking towards him with a huge smile on her face. The lights of blues and reds and purples reflected her radiance, and she didn't miss a beat. She jumped into his arms and planted her lips on his.
He was safe. He wasn't going to die. Not today. He was back on the ground, with his beautiful girlfriend, who loved him. He was kissing said beautiful girlfriend who loved him.
"You love me, too?" she said breathlessly as they broke apart.
He pulled her into a hug - he'd survived, and never intended on letting her go. "Every part of me does, Kates."
Maybe Ferris wheels weren't so bad after all.