Amusement Park
Bubble Tea"Roooad trip! ROOOAD TRIP!"
"SUNNY, SHUT UP!"
"Wah! Taeyeon-Unnie, tell Sooyoung-ah to stop being mean to me!"
"Actually, I was just about to say the same thing..."
"Ehhh? Why, Unnie?"
"Because you're being obnoxious!"
"Sica, tell Sooyoung-ah and Taeyeon-Unnie to stop being mean to me!"
Jessica, rubbing her temples with her fingers, had just about had it with the constant yelling in the bus. Since nobody except her, the other girls, and Hyukjae and Donghae were on it, they took it as a right to drive her insane.
"Yah! Everybody stop yelling!" Tiffany was finally the one to cut them off. Jessica thanked her mentally, still to busy with her headache to say anything. If she was already tired from the bus ride, she could only imagine what the rest of the day would hold.
Seohyun had her ipod out, sharing an earbud with Hyoyeon. Suddenly, the latter heard a new song come on, recognizing it immediately and jumping up. "Omo! I love this one! I know the dance, watch me!"
She stood in the middle of the empty bus, breaking into dance. She was, to Jessica's surprise, an amazing dancer, a talent nobody informed Sica of. She moved her body in ways that seemed impossible, clearly the queen of breakdancing.
Sooyoung laughed, yet clapped to the beat and sung along in despite of herself. The other girls gave whoops and cheers for their friend, and soon Yuri jumped up and shocked Jessica with her moves as well. The performance turned into a perfectly in-sync, powerful duet dance.
"W-woah..." was all Jessica could say.
"I know," Tiffany replied with a sly grin. "Our dancing queens!"
The song then finished and a new one came on. Hyoyeon and Yuri, as well as a few other girls with decent dancing skills such as Sooyoung, took turns freestyling to random songs, all the while trying to keep their balance as the bus changed speed at intersections. This lasted for the whole hour-long ride, until the girls-- and two guys-- nearly ran off the bus and to the amusement park gates.
Sunny giggled and pulled Jessica forward. "Sica, Sica, let's go on a roller coaster!"
"Yah, you always hang out with Sica," Seohyun complained. "What if I wanted to do something with her?"
"Ani," Yoona whined, "she's gonna play games with Yuri-ah and the Oppas and I!"
"I'm sure she wants to to the haunted house with me, right?" Sooyoung asked, grabbing Jessica's wrist.
"I'm not going with any of you if you're gonna act like this!"
Everyone stared at Jessica, eyes wide and mouths dangling open. She gave them a puzzled look.
"That was the first time you've stood up for yourself!" Taeyeon exclaimed happily, wrapping her in a bear hug. "Glad to see that you're finally overcoming your shyness! Now come on, let's go, everyone!" The group did as they were told, following after the leader. Even Hyukjae and Donghae, both being older than Taeyeon, followed her directions like she was their Noona.
After getting their tickets, the eleven friends started devising their plan of action. Taeyeon declared two rules: one, everyone's phone must be on at all times, and two, they must stay with somebody else at all times-- nobody can go alone.
Yoona, Yuri, Donghae, and Hyukjae all decided to wander around together and play games to win prizes.
Sooyoung and Hyoyeon made their first stop the haunted house.
Sunny, Seohyun, and Taeyeon chose to ride the fastest roller coasters they could find.
That left Jessica and Tiffany alone and with no plan, so they decided to roam around the food court together until they decided what they wanted to do.
"Okay," Taeyeon announced, "we'll all check in here at 2PM, araso?"
"Noona, you make it sound like a school trip!"
"Yah! Who says I'm your Noona? I'm a year younger than you!"
"But you feel like a Noona!"
"Whatever. Just remember to come. I don't want any of you getting lost."
They parted ways, and Jessica and Tiffany tried to find the food court, with much difficulty.
"Uh... Is it this way?"
"No, Sica, it's this way!"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. I've been here a bunch of times before."
"But the map says it's this way..."
"...Oh."
They finally found what they were looking for, sitting down on a bench. Jessica bought cotton candy for herself and Tiffany, the pink kind that sticks to your fingers and melts in your mouth. They talked as they ate.
"So," Jessica started. "I just realized something."
"What is it?"
"We don't know much about each other."
"Huh. You're right, aren't you?"
"I think we should change that."
"Me too! Let's take turns saying facts about ourselves. I'll start: I'm an only child."
"Okay, um... I have an older sister named Krystal."
"Let's see... I've never had a boyfriend."
"Me neither."
For some unknown reason, the two burst into giggles, not caring that people were staring at them. Somehow, the invisible barrier that Jessica had put up between herself and the girls at the Cafe had come down. She hadn't even realized there was one, until now. Tiffany, the happy, mysterious, clumsy girl had broken the barrier. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
The pair finished their cotton candy and chose to wander around. They came to the balloon dart stand. Jessica knew she was terrible at it and didn't even attept to win anything for Tiffany, even though she wanted to so desperately. Tiffany, on the other hand, was a natural, winning a large, pink stuffed puppy.
"Here, Sica!"
"This is for me?"
"Yep! It's a thanks for buying me the cotton candy, okay?"
"Okay! Thanks!"
When 2:00 came around, the two girls went to their meeting place. The three hours they spent together seemed to fly by all too fast.
"Thanks for checking in guys! Everyone's accounted for, so we can get back to the fun."
This time, Jessica and Tiffany joined Sunny, Taeyeon, and Seohyun in riding rides. The feeling of her stomache lunging upwards and the sharp wind on her face made Jessica feel like a little girl again, riding roller coasters with Krystal. Tiffany squeeled beside her, appearing scared but clearly having a great time. Jessica squeeled with her just for the fun of it.
"Woah, I think that one was the best one yet," Seohyun stated as she stumbled off of what seemed like the hundreth ride of that day.
"Definitely," Taeyeon agreed. "Though I would have appreciated it if you wouldn't have busted my eardrums with your screaming, Sunny..."
"Heh heh, sorry, Unnie!"
Taeyeon glanced at her watch. "Aish! Is it seriously seven already? Man, time sure does fly."
"It does," Jessica agreed. She wished that the day would never stop, just her and her closest friends goofing off and growing closer.
It had been a momentus day, for she no longer felt shy around them anymore.
In fact, hours earlier when the whole group gathered together to eat an early dinner, Jessica had accidently spilled her cherry snow cone on her lap. Normally, she would have gotten completely embarrased, but this time, she just laughed it off. A nice old man who was working at the park got her a new one for free, and she looked him in the eyes and said a sincere thank you. Everyone agreed that it was the funniest part of the day, even Jessica herself.
"Sica, look! The sun's almost set completely," Tiffany exclaimed, pointing at the sky from their high point on the ferris wheel. The pair had decided to separate from the group at eight.
"Yeah, it's beautiful!"
Tiffany slowly snuggled up to Jessica, for it was starting to get chilly. Jessica smiled and did the same.
"This day has been perfect," Tiffany sighed contently. Jessica agreed. The ride came to a stop and the two got off, Jessica cautiously helping her clumsy friend. Having nothing else to do, they decided to lay down side-by-side on the hill beside the ferris wheel.
"Wanna keep playing the game we played earlier? The one where we say facts about ourselves?"
"Sure," Jessica said. "Let me see... my mom was born and raised in America. She moved to Korea with my dad when I was born."
"My dad came from America! He moved to Korea when he was eighteen and met my mom."
"Um... I live with my mom and Krystal. My dad died when I was a year old."
"I was kicked out of my house when I was fifteen because I'm a lesbian."
Jessica quickly turned her head to face Tiffany, who was dreamily gazing up at the stars overhead.
"W-what? Really?"
"Yeah. Do you... not want to be friends anymore?"
"What are you talking about? Of course I still want to be friends! I don't care if you're a lesbian or not, you'll always be Tiffany."
"Good! I don't know what I'd do without you!"
"So..." Jessica began hesitantly, "have you ever been in love with a girl before?"
"Yes."
"With whom?"
"Taeyeon-Unnie."
"...Huh?"
"It was because she found me on the street when I got kicked out. She came like an angel, taking me out of my terrible life and placing me in one full of love. I lived in the guest room of the Cafe until last year, when I turned eighteen. Unnie helped me find a nice apartment with a cheap price, so I can pay for it with the money I make at the Cafe."
"I... I had no idea..."
"Thinking back on it, I'm glad my parents kicked me out. I was able to find a real family at the Cafe, full of people who truely care about me." Tiffany had a true smile on her face. She really was happy about her condition. Leave it to her to find the good in something so bad.
"Are you still in love with her?"
"Hm? Well, I confessed to her a few years ago, but she's straight. She still wanted me to be her friend and employee, so that's what I did. I never really fell out of love with her, but my love changed into something different. I... I can't explain it, but she's something like a mother, best friend, savior, and the person I idolize all at once. I don't want to be her lover anymore; I just want to be by her side forever."
Jessica stared at Tiffany's face, which was ever so slightly illuminated by the moon and the lights from the amusement park. Then, Jessica touched her own cheek to find that it was wettened with tears.
The worst part was that she didn't know why.
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