Chapter 9: Adrenaline (Bella's POV)
"What are we doing first?" Lucas asked.
"Close your eyes and spin around, the finger you point at, we'll go there," Charlotte shrugged.
"Me?" I asked.
"Yeah," everyone shrugged in sync.
"Why am I making all the decisions? You do it," I said, nudging Noah's elbow with mine.
"I don't wanna do it. I wanna do that one," he said, pointing to the biggest roller coaster there was in sight.
"No, best for last, pick one that's not so... grand," I said.
"Scared?" he teased.
"No, I just want to do the best one before we go," I retorted, heading to a completely different ride.
"We could split up. It's not like we have to do all the rides together," Oliver said.
"Split up and meet back here when?" Ava asked.
"Before we leave?" I shrugged. Everyone agreed and then came who was going with who.
"I can go with Bella," Ava said.
"Sorry, she's taken," Noah grinned, grabbing my wrist and beginning to pull me towards the rides. "Have fun!" he sang over his shoulder to them.
"That was mean, she's uncomfortable back there," I mumbled.
"She's not uncomfortable, she's nervous. They'll probably kiss at some point today. I just gave them the whole day to themselves," he explained.
"I thought I told you not to interfere," I huffed as we got in line.
"I'm not, I just wanted the day with you, that means she has to go with him, no other way," he shrugged.
"And why do you want the day with me and not Lucas? Who is your friend, may I add." I folded my arms across my chest, waiting for his answer.
"Because I want to know you better," he answered.
"Right, and roller coasters give us a lot of room for chit chat, don't they?" I chuckled.
"You two, up next!" We both stepped up and climbed into our seats.
"Why do you like roller coasters so much?" he asked while we buckled ourselves in.
"They're fun and as much as I love roller coasters, I think it's the adrenaline that I like more. You know the butterflies, the churning in your stomach, your heart pounding against your ribcage, the way your knees are weak when you hop off," I laughed, "I think that's what I like." I turned to look at him and he was just staring with a small smile. "What? That's not crazy to say, so many people like roller coasters for that reason," I scoffed.
"None that I've met. Except me," he shrugged.
"So then you're a roller coaster junkie too?" I smirked.
"It's the adrenaline. I'm an adrenaline junkie," he retorted. I laughed while shaking my head as the ride picked up and started its course.
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After doing every single ride, some of them more than once, we decided to call it a day. It was a little after three so yeah, we were here for a freaking while. Now, we were all hungry and craving some lunch, by all I mean me and Noah since we haven't actually met the others yet.
"Shouldn't we be giving them a call or something?" I asked while he pulled me along to the exit.
"I don't know, I was thinking just us two," he smirked. I rolled my eyes. "Also, I'm pretty sure they already left for lunch in their duos or pairs or whatever. Cause I have a text from Oli saying he's going for lunch and he'll meet us back at the hotel."
"So, Charlotte and Oli are gone. What about Ava and Lucas?" I questioned.
"They're probably gone too but you can call and ask her," he shrugged.
I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. "Hello?"
"Hey, are you still here or did you go for lunch already?"
"Sorry, we were really hungry so we left a while ago, meet you at the hotel?"
"Yeah, sure thing, see you later, bye," I said before hanging up.
"Told you," he smirked.
I chuckled, shaking my head before we left. "Now who do I call? Mr. Jenkins?" I asked.
"You can try asking if he's here, otherwise, we'll grab a cab or something," he shrugged. I dialed Mr. Jenkins who said he went back to the hotel because everybody split up, so we grabbed a cab and then headed out for lunch.
"Where to?" the driver asked.
"Wherever you think is the best place to eat around here," Noah said, climbing in the car beside me. The driver started driving and we trusted him blindly to take us to a good spot. "Can I ask you a question?" I nodded in response, turning to him. "Why have we never spoken until now?" he asked.
"Because of the rivalry," I laughed.
"I admit, the teams took it too seriously, on both ends. But it's not like people from our school didn't hook up, or talk, or hang out with people from yours. How come we never talked at a party or something?" he pressed further.
I shrugged, "I don't know, we never really ran into each other. You hung out with one crowd, I hung out with another."
"Right, I hung out with people from my school, you hung out with the losers from yours," he scoffed.
"I'm pretty sure our school has beat yours more times than you can count," I chuckled.
"I'm pretty sure you're lying. There's no way, our school was state champion three times in a row," he reasoned.
"So? That was recent. Look at it from the beginning of time, there's no way your school has won more than mine."
"Why is that?"
"Because ours existed almost two years before yours," I laughed. He rolled his eyes. "We were in the game before you, of course, we have more wins," I shrugged.
"Okay, count from when we joined. Count from the first game our schools played together. I'm pretty sure we've won more," he argued.
"That's not true," I laughed, shaking my head.
"How do you know?"
"I don't know it for a fact but I'm almost certain that's not right. We've just got more experience. And I mean, a lion? Seriously?"
"A wolf? Seriously?" he said mockingly.
"I thought we were pushing past the rivalry here," I lifted a brow at him.
"True, but you don't even actually like your school, do you?" he chuckled.
I sighed in defeat, "No. It's a shit show of the worst kind. Oh, my god, I'm so glad I've graduated now. I mean, yeah, I'm supposed to be all 'go wolves, yeah! Woo hoo!' but no, absolutely not. I cheer for the team in the stands because well, I go to that school, but the team was run completely by the captain, the coach would never even show, there was barely any after school practice, the teachers were shit, the building was shit, the subjects were shit. Never again," I said, leaning my head back.
"That'll be $20." I paid 10, Noah paid 10 and then we both hopped out and headed inside.
"A table for the couple?" the guy asked with a wide grin.
"Oh, we're not-"
"Yes, please," Noah said, cutting me off, putting an arm around my waist. I rolled my eyes as we walked to the table, following the employee.
"I'll be back in a moment to take your order," he smiled before walking away.
"Couple? Really?" I asked, sitting opposite to him.
"Couples get discounts all the time in Vegas. All I have to do is fake a proposal right here," he shrugged.
"Hmm, and where do I get my diamond ring?" I asked.
"Excuse me!"
The waiter walked back over. "Yes?"
"Can we get two cans of coke please?" Then we got two cans of coke and placed our orders. Once the waiter walked away, he turned to me. I raised my eyebrows at him expectantly. He pulled the can open, pulling out the pop-top.
I looked at him quizzically while he grabbed the butter knife and grated the inside, removing any rough edges before pulling it wider a little bit. I narrowed my eyes at him and he held out his hand. I placed my left hand in it, resisting an eye roll as he slipped the pop-top on in the perfect shape of a ring.
"Ta-da!" he sang.
I looked at it, twisting it around my finger. No sharp edges, all smooth, it genuinely looked like a simple silver band. "Not bad, I'm keeping this," I said, shrugged.
"It's yours to keep," he shrugged. Our food was brought in and we both talked our asses off during that lunch. I learned a lot more about him. Like the fact that he played Tarzan in his school play in elementary school.
"Wait, you what?" I laughed.
"I played Tarzan in a play in elementary school, why is that so funny?" he chuckled, looking at me weirdly.
"You wore a wig and everything?" I asked.
"No, I had long hair."
"Oh, my god, no fucking way," I doubled over. I just couldn't imagine a little Noah with hair down to his chin or shoulders on stage under the spotlight. "Oh, my god," I grabbed my stomach.
It wasn't that funny, but the image in my head was. I can't picture little Noah. Must've been adorable.
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Chapter nine
I'm sorry I didn't update at all today, but basically, I didn't even do school because we just welcomed a brand new baby girl into our family as my first cousin so I was super excited and not to mention at the hospital waiting lmao taking care of my already existing first cousin
sorry for not updating but gotta take care of the fam you know
next chapter: Italian