บท 30: Chapter 30 - roller coasters and secret gestures
"Declan!" Faun exclaimed happily, hurrying over to his side when they got back. "Look, so many!" He continued, showing Declan his spoils.
A small smile tugged at Declan's lips, his hand reflexively going to ruffle Faun's hair.
"Here, have one." He offered Declan out of his bunch, settling down carefully on a chair beside him. Only to pause and stare at the towering swirls of colourful cotton candy when he was all settled.
Declan glanced at the cotton candy in his hand then at Faun, noticing his hesitation.
He bit into his cotton candy. "Try it, it's delicious." He urged quietly.
Faun nodded almost imperceptibly, leaning forward to take a small tentative bite out of one.
Declan watched him intently the entire time, watching his eyes go wide in shock as he glanced down at the cotton candy in his hand like he couldn't believe something that looked so inedible was that delicious.
Faun was mind blown, taking a much bigger bite this time.
Lou watched the entire scene play out with a straight face, a thoughtful look in her pale blue eyes.
"It's so good!" Faun agreed, delving into the sugary clouds.
"Of course." Isla puffed out her chest like she was the one that made them by hand. "They're cotton candy."
Faun, ever the sweets enthusiast, was done with his share of cotton candy in no time, licking his lips like he could go through another round of three.
"Here." Declan offered his, he had only taken a single bite for Faun's sake.
"Thank you!" Faun didn't hesitate to take it, his twinkling eyes fixed on the prize.
Isla watched him practically inhale the cotton candy, impressed. "We should compete to…" She started to offer.
"No." Lou immediately cut her off.
Isla pouted. "You didn't even let me finish."
"I didn't need to." Lou said calmly.
"No fair, I just wanted to compete with Faun on who can finish the most cotton candies." She stubbornly said, looking immensely proud of herself.
Lou gave her a look. "No." She repeated.
Isla was a handful already, she didn't want to know what she would be like on a sugar rush.
"It's not healthy." She added. "And you wouldn't be able to eat anything else."
Isla seemed horrified by this possible outcome, immediately giving up on her competition.
"Alright!" Isla shot to her feet, slamming a hand on the table to catch everyone's attention. "Let's go on the roller coaster." She announced energetically.
Faun was caught up in her energy bubble and Isla seemed to be outdoing herself for his sake.
It was nice to finally have someone with similar energy levels as she did.
So they all made their way from the cotton candy stand, it was already late morning, the sun shining brightly as people milled around, trying out the fair's attractions.
They stopped at the ticket booth for the roller coaster to get their tickets.
Isla held onto Faun's hand, excitedly chattering to him about the roller coaster.
Faun found himself smiling wider and wider, he had no idea about what they were about to do so Isla info-bombing him was very welcome.
Declan watched with relief and the faintest hint of jealousy as Isla practically hung off Faun's arm. They led the way, heading for the roller coaster.
He glanced at Lou who had been really quiet since they left the cotton candy stands, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Don't tell me you're scared of rollercoasters?" He teased her.
Lou scoffed, crossing her arms and averting her red face. "Of course not."
Declan looked up at where Isla was urging them to hurry over. "Good, because we're about to get on."
"Wait, what?" Lou looked up with wide eyes, her shock palpable when Declan tugged her forward. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're enjoying my misery." She grumbled, letting herself be pulled along.
"Of course not." He mimicked her earlier words, letting Isla grab on to her instead when they got to the short line.
He beamed when Faun came over, holding onto his arm with wary excitement in his eyes.
Declan knew he wasn't scared of heights, he had seen Faun hang off trees too many times to know that as a fact but he asked anyway.
"You're not scared, are you?"
"A little." He answered honestly.
It was their turn to get in, Lou and Isla getting in the front of the carriage first.
Declan slipped his arm around Faun's waist to hold him instead. "You'll be with me, you'll be fine." He reassured him, feeling eyes on him as he did.
He didn't need to glance up to know that Lou was the one staring holes through his head, he gave her grudging respect, she was incredibly observant.
They got in the seats behind, another pair of strangers getting into the last seats behind them.
The ride operator helped to strap them all in, the carriage moving forward slowly to allow other people to get on the ride.
Isla busied herself with getting her phone out and fixing it on a selfie stick for maximum coverage. "Who knows when else I'll get to ride a rollercoaster with you all? I have to preserve the memory…" She rambled on even though no one asked.
Soon enough, the ride was about to start.
Isla held onto her phone, her excitement brightening up her pretty face, beside her, Lou was incredibly quiet. She tightly gripped the railings in front of them, her knuckles white.
Declan was impassive, paying attention only to Faun who's excitement was gradually surpassing his nervousness.
The ride started slowly, going higher and higher to the first of many dips.
It seemed to stop when they got to the top of the first dip, inching forward painstakingly slowly but that only added to the thrill.
There were three screams but the terror in Lou's voice was evident, while Isla and Faun were having the time of their life beside her.
Declan was still impassive, keeping a straight face as the rollercoaster sped across the rails, dipping and curving, the wind sweeping against them.
This wasn't all terrible.
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