Captured

"I hate you so much," I embraced him as tightly as I could.

He laughed a little, hugging me back, "That's how you say goodbye to me?"

I let go and looked at my shoes, and swayed my hand bag to-and-fro. I've always sucked at goodbyes. Peter Pan's "Don't say goodbye because goodbye means going away. And going away means forgetting." had been a significant quote to me. I've always been scared that once someone important in my life leaves, he/she is not coming back anymore.

"This is not about Harry, right?" I looked up at his brown eyes.

He shook his head, "Nope. Although now it seems like it's a blessing in disguise. Now that I will be away, Haz is not going to worry about me anymore. But trust me, my aunt did not die for this."

I smiled a bit. He could still joke about this. I pulled him into a hug again and whispered in his ear, "Take care of yourself, Zayn. And my thoughts are with you and your family."

"Thank you, Austin. I promise, I will call on your birthday. And please tell me if Harry does something terrible."

When Zayn pulled back, Harry was walking towards us with a Starbucks to-go tray. "I've got you both iced tea lemonade and iced skinny latte for me."

It's already two in the afternoon, but Harry still sounded groggy and appeared drowsy. Exhausted from their show last night, he decided to stay in bed this morning, until I dragged him out to company me in sending off Zayn at JFK.

"Thanks mate," Zayn took his beverage, "Well, I have to go now. See you soon."

He gave me and Harry our final hugs, then disappeared into the departure gates. I stood there for quite a long time, mostly because I wasn't sure what else to do. When I turned around, Harry was leaning against one of the poles, sipping his latte, head under his hoodie.

I wasn't even sure this morning why I asked him to come with me. After what happened last Monday, we kind of ignored discussing things between us. The boys and Bridget knew that I kissed him, and they kept bothering us whether we're dating already or not, but how are we to answer the question if none of us - Harry or me - is sure of what's going on.

"Let's go," I startled him, but he did not move from his leaning position.

"I did not wake up and travelled all the way to Brooklyn for forty five minutes just to go home after a fifteen-minutes send-off when I could have just stayed in bed and enjoyed the beautiful Saturday afternoon."

"What do you want?" I crossed my arms and walked closer to him.

He finally stood straighter, and had his thinking-face on. "Well, I've got something in mind."

Harry hailed a cab, and before I reluctantly followed after him, I asked, "What about your driver? Where are we going?"

"I've sent our driver back to Manhattan already," he replied, closed the door then turned to the taxi driver and told him in a very eager tone, "Coney Island please."

Twenty five minutes later, the cab pulled up in front the entrance of Luna Park. We spent five minutes stopping for fans who wanted to take photos with Harry, another five arguing on which Wristband Deal to take, and three more waiting in line. Ultimately, we settled for the Ride and Play, and Harry gave the man at the booth a 100 dollar bill.

Surprisingly, Luna Park had a moderate amount of people in it today, but whether it is jam-packed or isolated, I'd still appreciate it. This amusement park always seemed like the perfect escape from whatever you're trying to run away from, or a wonderland to frolic around in times of merriment.

Marcus, Bridget and I went here often when we were kids. We've had trips across the country and sometimes abroad and have been to other theme parks such as Disneyland and the Universal Studios, but the three of us agreed that the most real kind of magical place is Luna Park.

The first thing that caught Harry's attention was the Brooklyn Flyer, and when Harry took my hand and pulled me towards its direction, I swallowed real hard, and asked myself why am I trying to get myself in this situation.

I'm not acrophobic. As a matter of fact, I like roller coasters. Just not flyers. Not even the smaller version of Brooklyn Flyer, the Lynn's Trapeze. Both just looked incredibly dangerous, like when you're up in the air, the cables would suddenly snap and send you plummeting to your doom.

"Please don't tell me you're scared," Harry said before we entered the area, but he did not stop for any respond. He just dragged me in and next thing you know I was already strapped in a red plastic bucket seat.

I decided to close my eyes, the same way I do whenever I'm intensely afraid of something. When it rose slowly, I began reciting Hum Hallelujah even if it did not make any sense. Suddenly, we were flung out in increasingly wider orbits as the seats lifted up about 100 feet off the ground.

The ride ended quickly, thank god. I paused by the exit for a while, winding down, while Harry went out already. When I found him outside, he had this amused look painted all over his face, and was pointing at the Electro Spin, our next ride, and possibly my cause of death.

"For fuck's sake," I mumbled when Harry did not give me a chance to protest.

"This doesn't look safe," I yelled at Harry before the disk started spinning.

He heard me and grinned, "You'll be fine, I swear."

But I wasn't going to be fine, because the disk was rapidly gaining speed, whirling around. I swear I could feel my stomach in my throat, and the screaming of the other riders and Luna Park's theme song in the background did not help either.

When it was finally over (who would have thought it would), I had a hard time stepping on the ground. I was woozy and staggering, until his arms caught me. He was laughing when I'd at last regained myself.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I asked very loudly, as Harry stood in line at Nathan's.

He did not say anything until he was back with two beef hotdogs with chili and cheese toppings. "But you looked like you enjoyed it."

"I looked like I was dying," I grunted as I took my first bite of the hotdog. All those breakneck rotating in the air wiped out completely everything that was in my intestines.

"Did you really have to make me go through all of that? If you wanted to kill me you could have just said so. There are like a thousand other ways to eliminate an Austin. Do you hate me that much Harry?"

"Austin's there is -"

"What?!?" I yelled again. The adrenaline had just started to kick in, which is quite abnormal. But it makes me talk faster and louder. "I am telling you right now, there's no way I'm going near another ride that spins like hell. And if you persist, I swear what I'm eating right now will end up on -"

Before I could finish my sentence, Harry dropped his hotdog and drew me in, a thin layer of space between us, then kissed me. His abrupt gesture took me by a whole lot of surprise, which shut me up of course, and eventually made me drop my hotdog as well.

Oh my god his mouth tastes like caffeine.

When he pulled back he said, "There's cheese on your lips. And I'm sorry if I've been hauling you everywhere. It's just really amusing to see you bamboozled and all. And it now proves that you're still a scaredy cat despite your tough personality."

"You did all of that just to prove I'm a scaredy cat?"

"I actually have one last scheme up my sleeve," he said with an evil smirk.

I shook my head no.

"After this, you get to choose the rides. Please, Austin. Pretty please."

Don't you dare show those dimples.

Oops, too late.

"How are you going to kill me now?"

"Cyclone."

I smiled when he couldn't see me. Little did he know the Cyclone Roller Coaster is my all-time favorite. Aside from the fact that the attraction has been there since 1927, and it's wooden, every roller coaster enthusiast would agree that compared to modern-day behemoths, the Cyclone is still the best thrill machine, and it will always be groundbreaking and legendary.

The crew members that run the Cyclone are probably the most normal crew members in the world, with their simple t-shirts and ball caps and whatever they have chosen to wear that morning, and their chiding calls at riders to hurry up. That is one reason why I truly love this ride.

A lanky crew signaled us to get on the low-slung two-person seats, then Harry pulled down the lap bar. "I am so going to enjoy this," Harry uttered as the train rolled out to activate the chain lift.

I shot him an I-hate-you-so-much look, but did not really mean it, because I was the one who was going to enjoy this.

At the top, where the coaster stops for a while and summons every apprehension, the view of the boardwalk and the beach is, without any elaboration, spectacular. I glanced at Harry, who at the same time was appreciating what I was seeing.

Then all hell broke loose.

Well at least for Harry, who screamed really really really loud as we were sent to the bottom of the steep hill, and just as swiftly, was raced up to the second one. The structure was shaking and we were being launched in reckless abandon, lurching skyward then whacking into up-stop wheel.

Cyclone offers you tons of euphoric airtime, except when your seat mate literally slams into you. And it would be okay if my seat mate is a soft, huge ass stuffed toy, but it's Harry, who's got a strong build and weighs a lot.

At the end, it was painful for my arm and decidedly fun for Harry who could not admit that he screamed more than I did.

"Well that's unfair," he said when it was my turn to laugh at his scared and pale face, "You've probably been riding this since you were a child."

I took his hand and dragged him out of Luna Park, the same way he did to me the entire afternoon. I led him down the boardwalk, then moved to West 12th Street.

"I thought you were going to choose another ride?"

"Yes, I have chosen just the perfect ride," I told him, then stopped at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park.

After I paid for the ferris wheel, Harry and I entered in one of the colored cars, and the operator had just started the machine. The Wonder Wheel is really just an innocent good old ferris wheel, except that it swings you back and forth, until you become nauseous.

"Remind me again why we're here?" Harry asked, but staring out into the ocean view.

"I believe we've had enough thrill rides for one day."

He turned around and he was toying with his lips, a sly grin creeping, "Or...you wanted to have privacy. I'm a very patient man, Austin. I could wait until we get back to Tribeca, but if you really insist, just tell me."

My eyes leaped out of its sockets, "Patient? Wow, you were really patient when you kissed me at Luna Park."

Silence.

After one rotatiom, Harry held my hand. "I had so much fun today."

"Of course you did. But I had fun too. Thank you."

Silence again.

On the next rotation Harry said in calmer and serious-er voice, "You're aware of the all people who have seen us today, right?"

I nodded affirmatively.

"The photos have probably been uploaded on the internet already. And some maybe cooking up rumors now. What are you going to say when they ask you?"

I knew exactly what Harry was talking about. And I had only one answer.

"I'll tell them I'm your girlfriend."

The smile on his face went from ear to ear, and he held my hand tighter, until the very end of the boring ferris while ride, until the drive back to Battery Park City, until he walked my to my porch and kissed me good night.