Let Love In

Noah woke up before her alarm with a smile on her face. She hopped out of bed and straight into the shower, singling along to the Jonas Brothers blaring through her iHome as she got ready.

“Wow, someone’s in a better mood today. I thought I was going to have to drag you out of bed or something.” Riley appeared at the doorway eating a banana.

“I just love Disneyland, okay?” Noah stuck her hands on her hips, making a face at Riley’s raised brow.

“Okay, I believe you…” Her tone dripped with sarcasm, both girls being fully aware there was more that Noah was obviously excited about. She smiled at her best friend, plopping down on the bed as Noah continued to get ready. “I brought my camera, so be ready for anything.” Noah turned to respond and was met with a blinding flash to the eyes.

“RILEY! I’M NOT EVEN DRESSED YET!” Noah yelled in obvious embarrassment as Riley snickered. “You should make that one your facebook default photo; you’d probably get a lot of great comments on it.”

Half an hour later, they were headed towards Disneyland, split into two cars because the six could not fit into Colin’s tiny four-seater car, no matter how hard they tried. Noah was not surprised when John volunteered to ride with Riley, and she was dragged by both Nick and Eric to ride with them in Colin’s car.

As they reconvened in the parking lot, John, Riley, Nick, and Eric all paired off respectively, leaving Colin and Noah left over. As they headed towards the entrance, Colin elbowed Noah in the arm.

“So, you think you can keep up? ‘Cause I LOVE roller coasters.” A big grin spread across his face as Noah nodded enthusiastically in response. She smiled as they scanned her season pass, knowing today was going to be a great day.

The six sat squished at a booth in the Rainforest Café as the sun was starting to set over Downtown Disney. “So what do we wanna do after dinner?” Riley spoke up as the waiter walked away with their orders. “I was thinking we could catch the last showing of that Aladdin show if you guys are up for it.”

“I love that show! The genie is hilarious!” Colin laughed as he leaned in close to swing his arm above Noah’s head, resting it on the seatback behind her, creating a little more space to maneuver. Noah felt a slight blush creep into her cheeks and the butterflies in her stomach were acting up again. Their day had been non-stop running around, riding ride after ride with their strategically planned fast passes, that she hadn’t settled down long enough for the butterflies to bring her shyness into play.

Riley shot Noah a smirk at the change in her demeanor, and Noah tried to keep her cool by directing her attention to the soda placed in front of her.

“Hey Noah, Colin, look over here.” Noah turned towards Riley, noticing the camera and smiled brightly as she felt Colin snake his arms around her as the shutter clicked.

“SO CUTE! Love it!” Riley smirked as she reviewed the photo, passing the camera across the table. Colin grabbed the camera and stared at the screen for a moment before responding with a seemingly generic “yeah.” Noah’s heart silently fluttered as she looked at the photo more closely before handing the camera back across the table.

When they left the theatre after the show, it was after nine, and the street lamps were on, illuminating the pathways along with the neon signs. “It’s almost time for the fireworks show.” Riley pointed out as the group slowly wandered aimlessly down the path.

“My favorite ride to ride during the fireworks show is the Matterhorn. You can see the fireworks great from that ride.” Noah was surprised at herself for suggesting it so easily, but the group agreed it was a great idea and headed off towards the ride.

“Okay, everyone has to take pictures while they’re on the ride. How cool would that be? Here Noah, you two go first.” Riley handed off the camera as Noah and Colin walked towards the metal car.

Colin snaked his arms around Noah’s waist for lack of better space within the car as they sped off around the corner, and Noah felt the butterflies bouncing off the walls of her insides. She snapped pictures throughout the ride of the décor and the fireworks in the sky. As they neared the middle level, Colin grabbed the camera and flashed it a little too close to their faces.

“Here, let me try it from out here.” Noah stretched her arms out in front of her and smiled brightly for the camera, holding down the shutter button to take several shots as they whipped around the corner. Noah thought she felt Colin’s lips collide with her cheek as they hit a particularly rough turn before the end of the ride, and her heart raced as she tried to push her imagination away, not wanting to make something out of what might be nothing. The ride slowed to a stop and Colin removed his arms from around her waist as the pair climbed out of the car to look for the others, handing the camera off to Nick with a “Your turn.” as he and Eric took off towards the entrance.

Noah wasn’t surprised in the least that she found John’s arms wrapped around Riley as the two watched the fireworks show several feet away from the ride. She decided against disturbing them as she wandered toward a bench to watch the show off to the side.
Colin wandered back from the bathroom and joined Noah on the bench, a silence settling between them that Noah couldn’t decipher whether it was awkward or she was just over thinking things.

As John and Riley appeared at the ride exit, their turn on the ride now over, the six headed slowly towards Downtown Disney, and back to their cars in a more comfortable silence.
“So… did everyone have as much fun as I did today?” Eric’s voice cut through the silence to liven up their lack of conversation after they had walked a ways. “I know I did bro, today was awesome!” Nick’s enthusiasm was met with agreement from the rest of the group, followed by a recap of the ride highlights that lasted the remainder of the walk.

“Y’know, it’s still early. We should like, rent a movie or something. I d’know, what else should we do?” Nick drummed his fingers lightly on the roof of Colin’s car. “I’m down if you guys are, we can go back to my house and use the TV in the family room.” Colin suggested as he unlocked the car doors. Everyone easily agreed and piled back into the cars in which they came, headed towards Colin’s house.

“We decided on Rocky Horror, in case you were wondering.” John moseyed into the kitchen in search of a drink, interrupting Noah and Riley’s conversation while they waited for the popcorn to finish. He poked his head in the fridge, pulling out a can of Arizona tea. “Is the popcorn done yet?” Riley rolled her eyes at him and laughed. “Does it look like it’s done yet?”

“Just asking a question, don’t mind me.” He took a swig of his tea as he turned to leave. “Okay, you can go back to talking about me now, ‘cause I know that’s what you were doing.” He laughed a light laugh, ducking as a towel came flying at his head, disappearing around the corner. Both Noah and Riley rolled their eyes at as the microwave beeped, bringing the popcorn with them as they headed downstairs.

"You girls are welcome to just crash down here with us if you’d like, instead of driving home since it’s so late.” Colin’s voice broke through the quiet as the credits started rolling as he glanced over at the clock on the wall. Riley was half asleep, curled up in John’s arms next to Noah and Colin on the couch. Half way through the movie, Noah’s head ended up resting against Colin’s shoulder and it stayed that way until he got up to turn off the movie.
“I’m good with staying here, unless you want to go home Noah.” Riley yawned, her voice a hushed sleepy tone. “Uhh, y-yeah, that’s fine. We can stay here I guess. Thanks.” Noah heard herself respond. She was honestly tired, and she didn’t want to drive this late.
Colin returned a few minutes later with an extra blanket and pillow for the both of them, handing them over as he walked towards the light switch. Eric and Nick had pulled out their sleeping bags before the movie, and by the looks of it John and Riley weren’t moving from their spot on the couch. “Well, goodnight then.” Colin flipped the switch and the sound of a rustling sleeping back broke through the silence along with a few mutterings of a goodnight from the others.

Noah had moved over to the other couch to stretch out and sleep, but when she closed her eyes, a ball of nervous butterflies kept her from easily drifting off.