Keep Away

“Trinity!” There was a loud repetitive knocking on the door. “Trinity!”

“Go away!” I cried out in reply, but the knocks continued. “Riley! It's Saturday!”

“That's exactly why I'm waking you up. We're heading to the amusement park and I was just wondering if you wanted to come?”

“Who's we?”

“Well, me, Thomas, Connor - “

“No thanks.” After yesterday, I especially didn't want to see Connor, much less hang out with him at an amusement park. “I rather spend my day writing the rest of my novel.”

“Seriously?” There was whining evident in his voice. “That's boring!”

“Maybe to you, but it's what's been keeping me company my whole life. You don't know.” His ignorance was now peeving me.

“Okay, but you'll be missing a chance to hang out with Braiden....” He sing-songed.

“What?”

“Yup. You didn't give me a chance to finish my sentence. Braiden's going. And guess what? He's afraid of heights, so he'll probably need someone to hold his hand when we force him on the roller coaster....”

“I'm in!” I blurted out, before I could fully grasp what I said. “Wait! I mean - “

“Cool! I'm going to tell the guys. They're already in the living room.”

“You're kidding!”

“Nope!” I heard footsteps running to the foot of the stairs. “Hey Braiden! Guess what? Trinity's coming!”

“Riley!” I screamed from my room. “Shut up!”

“Hurry up and get changed. We're leaving in fifteen minutes.”

I quickly scrambled out of bed and ran to my closet, which still was not organized, ever since I moved in. There were shirts still scattered on the floor, that I previously tried on last night, out of boredom. Usually, I could care less about how I looked, since no would ever noticed anyway, but things were starting to change. I finally fixed my attention on grabbing a long gray cardigan, a tank top, and jeans. I did all the other girl stuff I was supposed to, but stopped when I spotted a lone eyeliner sitting on the bathroom counter.

I didn't really wear makeup, but I just happened to take it from my mother's bathroom when I was packing all the things from my house. Next to the eyeliner was a makeup bag. I groaned, remembering I had no experience with makeup at all. Would Braiden even notice if I put it on?

“Trinity! Are you almost ready?” Riley's voice startled me and I nearly poked myself in the eye.

“N-No!”

“You girls take forever!” He moaned, followed by guy's laughter.

After five minutes, I had given up on the eyeliner and wiped away the remaining black smudges under my eye. Instead, I put on some mascara, which all that required was a simple tugging at your lashes with the brush. I applied a light pink lip gloss across my dry lips and stared at myself at the mirror, making various different poses. For once, I truly felt a girl.

Then there was another knock on the door.

“Riley! I told you I'm almost - “ I threw open the door, nearly hitting Braiden in the nose. He stood there, staring at me with surprise and relief. “I-I'm sorry! I thought you were Riley and I um....”

“That's okay. Riley told me to get you.”

“Why that little...” I cursed under my breath. I looked up again and Braiden was still staring at me, with his bright blue eyes. “W-What?”

“You look different today.”

“I-I do?”

“Yeah, your eyes are really pretty.” He smiled. “You look....cute.”

“Thanks. You too.” Oh damn. I slapped a hand over my mouth. “I mean, um...”

“Cute, huh? Usually my mom and my friends tell me that.” I started to say something, but Braiden beat me to it. “But I'm grateful for that.”

“Sorry, I'm just nervous.”

“Nervous?”

Argh. I was feeling frustrated, exasperated that I could no longer control my mouth the way I used to. “I mean...I'm not sure if people would like my....outfit.”

“Don't worry. It's cute.”

Is there any way for this kid NOT to make me blush? I followed Braiden down the stairs, my steps synchronizing with my heart beats. I closed my eyes for a second and pictured us in beautiful period drama clothing. Braiden was dressed up as a prince with a flowing cape and I was wearing a long red dress. This was exactly the same outfit Shamin and Edward wore in a ballroom scene, after the two jokingly crashed the party. Prince Braiden smiled and took my hand and he lead us down the stairway. The rest of the boys, dressed in similar outfits clapped and cheered for us.

“Finally!” Thomas cried as we reached the living room. “What were you two doing up there anyway?”

“Making out, I'm hoping?” Riley contributed, making Braiden and I's cheeks both flush.

“I never thought you'd had it in you man,” Thomas playfully punched Braiden's shoulder. He turned to Connor who was standing off to the side, not looking too happy. “C'mon, lighten up man. It's a joke.”

“I know,” Connor replied flatly. “I just wanna go already.” He marched out the door and we followed him in silence, shocked by his sudden tone.

Joan was already waiting for us in the van and Riley quickly climbed into the passenger seat. I stared blankly at the one seat in the van, that could only hold three people. “Sorry dear, we'll all gonna have to squish in the back.” She gave me a reassuring smile.

“No problem.” I murmured, sitting next to Connor. I was feeling awkward and Connor was probably feeling the same, but he was busy staring out the window. Braiden scooted next to me.

“Scoot over!” Thomas called. “I'm falling off the edge.” I had no choice but to move closer to Connor, my shoulder pressing against his. He didn't make any attempt to move away from me. I barely noticed when Braiden's shoulder pressed mine.

“Connor, you and Trinity will have to share seat belts.” I almost groaned out loud. Connor didn't say anything while he pulled the seat belt across his and my waist. I almost choked when he leaned over and clicked it for me.

The whole ride to the park, the boys engaged in conversations about how fun today would be. I wasn't even paying attention and instead, was focused on Connor the whole time and how he was just staring out the window. Finally we got the park and I snapped out of my daydream. We got in, after Joan paid for our tickets and I instantly felt edgy, being surrounded by hundreds of people.

“Fun day officially starts now!” Thomas bellowed. “And I say we start off with the roller coasters!”

“C'mon dude, you know that I don't like them.” Braiden groaned. “Why do we always gotta start with the roller coasters?”

“We're not asking you to come with us.”

“I know, but you always end up forcing me on the ride!”

“No worries,” Riley patted my shoulder. “Trinity will hold your hand the whole time.”

“Riley!” I hissed.

“Aw Trinity, don't be so mean.” Riley started pushing Braiden and I to the roller coaster line. “You can't leave a terrified boy like him, alone.”

The whole time in line, I fixed my eyes on Braiden's hand. Riley had already promised him I would hold his hand, despite my permission. I looked down at own my hand, opening and closing my palm. There was already sweat forming and I wiped my hands across my pants. Braiden was deathly quiet, like the first day I met him, staring nervously at the track ahead of him. Thomas, Riley, and Connor were absorbed in a conversation and I was a bit relieved because Connor seemed a little more cheerful now.

Before I knew it, I was strapped down to my seat with Braiden next to me, now looking a bit terrified. I looked at his hand that was gripping the large handles of his seat a little too tightly. He was afraid, yet I was the one feeling jumpy about holding his hand. The ride started and I noticed a drop of sweat slip away from my brow. I had just came to the realization that I haven't been on a roller coaster before and I was now feeling uneasy at the last minute. The coaster slowly rose up the tracks and I felt my heart pound faster and faster in my chest. Then suddenly, we went down a large drop and screams filled the air. I screamed too, out of absolute fear. I looked over at Braiden whose eyes were tightly shut. Suddenly, the roller coaster jerked in a sudden turn and I found myself abruptly grabbing Braiden's hand. He didn't pull away, but instead squeezed mine. Our eyes remained shut the whole time until we felt the ride halt to a complete stop. I opened one eye and glanced over at our now-sweaty, intertwined hands. Braiden's eyes were now open and we both scrambled out of our seats, our hands still connected .

“I didn't think you'd actually do it Trinity.” Riley gave us a whistle, eying our hands. “How cute.”

“I was actually pretty spooked myself,” I admitted. “That was my first time on a roller coaster. I think my teeth are still chattering...”

“Seriously? Did you like it?”

“No! I never wanna go on one again.”

“Thank god!” Braiden cried. “Someone agrees with me!” I felt bad because he was still shaking. “Oh god. I think I'm gonna throw up.” He dropped my hand and ran to a nearby trash can. I suddenly felt empty without it, even though my hand still had sweat dripping from it.

“Let's go ride the Scorpion!” Thomas who didn't seem to notice our expressions, ran over to a nearby ride with Riley and Connor following behind.

Braiden came back, looking a little green. “Where did everyone go?”

“They went to ride something called the Scorpion.”

“Eh. I wasn't a big fan of that ride anyway.” He looked around awkwardly. “So....what do you wanna do?”

“I have no idea.” Then something caught my attention. A large Ferris Wheel was just a couple of feet away, looming over us. I couldn't speak, it was an actual Ferris Wheel. I was actually looking at one in person.“Whoa...” I ran over to the line, forgetting that Braiden was still with me.

“Trinity, I don't think...” Braiden ran after me anyway. “Um...the Ferris wheel?”

“Yeah, it looks so cool....and romantic...” I murmured under my breath. I was such a sucker for romantic moments and places. In my novel, Shamin and Edward rides a Ferris wheel together and share a first kiss there.

Soon, we were on one of the rides and Braiden was nervously looking at the ground. “Trinity....I'm no good with heights.”

“Yeah, I know.” I stopped and came to an understanding. “Oh my god! I completely forgot! You're afraid of heights. I'm so sorry! I was in such a daze that I completely forgotten. Is it too late to get off?” Braiden nodded. “I'm sorry.”

“I-It's okay, I guess.” He was trying hard not to stutter, but he unknowingly let one slip out.

The ride started and I stared in awe at the view ahead of me. “Why would you hate heights? Everything is so pretty from up here.”

“I don't know,” he admitted. “It just always makes me jumpy. I mean, what if I fell down and died?”

“I'm pretty sure we're safe. Don't close your eyes.”

“I can't help it.” Braiden already had his eyes shut.

“Isn't there something that could help you, not think about it?”

“Uh...um....not really.”

“What about your iPod?”

“Huh?”

“Your iPod! Maybe music will distract you.”

“Uh...okay.” Braiden opened an eye and rummaged through his pocket, before finally founding his iPod. He looked over the seat and gulped, then he turned on his iPod, scanning through artists. “Oh! Did you listen to my music recommendations yet?”

“No, I haven't.”

“Oh, well here's that song I've been telling you about. It's by Short Stack remember? It's called Princess.” He handed me an earphone and he put the other bud in his own ear. He pushed play and music flooded my ears. At first, I was a little taken back by the singer's almost scratchy voice, but as the song progressed, it grew on me. It was way different from Riley and Connor's singing, but it was so catchy.

“Princess, why you so contagious? Every single step breaks every single breath.” I heard Braiden singing to himself. His eyes were still closed, but he was smiling so much while he sang. I just giggled to myself. He was absolutely adorable. He was so unlike Connor, much nicer and sweet.

Connor was cute, but he had such an ugly personality.

The ride came to sad ending and I was slightly disappointed that we didn't share a first kiss.