And She Made the Shape of My Heart With Her Hands

“Pat! Pat!”

“Oh my God, it’s Pat!”

“Seriously, it’s fucking Pat Kirch! Turn around!”

I chuckled a little as I heard things being screamed like that. I sort of stood there while Pat got pictures and signed things.

That’s when a girl that looked about 15 or 16 years old suddenly approached me. She adjusted her thick glasses a little and ran a hand nervously through her dyed red hair. She started to speak with an unsure voice, “Hi.”

“Hello,” I greeted back.

“Are you Garrett’s sister?”

“Yeah. I’m Cara. Nice to meet you,” I said nicely as I stuck out my hand.

“Anna, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” It was very apparent that she was insecure, nervous, or just an awkward sort of girl by the way Anna tried not to look me in the eye a lot.

“Can I ask you something? It’s kind of personal, I guess though. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“No, no. Go on,” I urged her.

“Okay… Are you… Are you dating Pat?” Her head nodded towards where Pat was recently taking a group photo with some younger girls.

“Uh… Well…” Shit. Thanks to not thinking anything through too well, I was stuck with having to answer Anna’s question.

But huzzah! Just perfect timing as usual, Pat stepped in next to me. “Hi!”

“Hi,” Anna muttered nervously.

“Anna here was just asking if you and I were going out,” I casually tried to inform Pat, widening my eyes a little to hint to him that I was trapped.

“Oh. Oh.” His eyes widened a little, too. “Well… Yes. Yes, we are.”

Anna’s head snapped up as she studied us just as Pat’s arm wound around my waist again. It seemed as if Anna’s eyes weren’t the only pair that were suddenly glued to us in fascination, envy, or hostility, and mostly towards me, of course.

“Wow,” I whispered. “Things are going to be different now, huh?”

“Yep,” Pat whispered back. “Sorry, Cara. I didn’t really mean to. I got sort of excited.”

“It’s okay,” I assured him with a small smile.

“We have to go now, guys. Come see us later!”

And with Pat’s goodbye to the fans, we departed from them.

I, for one, wasn’t sure how I exactly felt about knowing that millions of fans will soon know that Pat Kirch and I were officially going out.

“Yes! Six Flags, bitch!”

“Isn’t like the fastest or tallest roller coaster thing there?” I asked.

“Yes! Kingda Ka!” Kennedy squealed.

“And it’s not just the fastest and it’s not just the tallest… It’s both,” John informed me, smirking when he saw my slightly scared reaction.

“And it’s not just the fastest and tallest at Six Flags, but it’s the fastest and tallest in the world, and you’re going on it,” Garrett told me.

“What? No! Tallest and fastest? No way!”

“Don’t be such a baby, Cara,” my brother taunted me.

“Shut up, Garrett,” I growled at him forebodingly.

“Play nicely, kids,” Trevor reminded us.

I hadn’t thought that the boys could ever do it, but they did. Moving at hyper speed, the boys all managed to get cleaned up straight after their show and ready for Six Flags in record time.

We were now wandering around the crowded park, all of our eyes glued to the amazing yet thrilling rides around us.

“Let’s go on that thing,” John said, pointing to a wooden roller coaster that included the steepest drop I had ever seen a ride have. The sign read ‘El Toro.’

“Yes! Let’s do it!” Kennedy said enthusiastically.

With that, we all pretty much sprinted towards the ride, no waiting in a line for us. That was the awesome thing about it. However, I did feel sort of bad for the people that were already waiting in the line for an hour.

Each cart of the wooden coaster held two riders. Therefore, Pat and I sat next to each other.

“Nervous?”

I let out an uneasy laugh. “A little. It’s mainly because I haven’t been on a roller coaster in… well, a while now,” I answered Pat.

“Will you get sick?”

I shook my head confidently. “Nah. I’ve never thrown up or anything. I’m not worried about that.”

Suddenly the ride started to jolt a few times forward, soon gaining a speed of around 70 miles per hour.

I quickly gripped the metal bar for safety, trying my best to hold on with my broken hand.

Just as my grip was more confident, the carts jolted forcefully to the left, going at top speed around the narrow bend, and then curving the carts to the side. We soon approached what I could clearly tell was a drop. Just as our cart was at the top and I could see just how deadly low the drop stooped, we plunged down.

A small scream emitted from my mouth as we hit the bottom and swung back up. However, the rest of the ride was pretty much the same, so I knew what to expect a little more.

“Whoa. That was great,” my brother commented when the ride was finished.

“Need help?” Pat asked as he offered his hand out to me.

I wasn’t exactly dizzy or disoriented and I knew that I didn’t really need his help, but I took his hand anyhow. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Pat said as he kissed the top of my hand and then let go.

I smiled as I blushed a little.

“What next?” Trevor asked the group.

“That,” Kennedy pointed to the tallest possible roller coaster ever. It was bright green and the part in the air was a thin deadly loop.

I could only guess that that was Kingda Ka.

“Kingda Ka,” Jared stated. “There’s no way in heck I’m doing that.”

“Same,” Pat stated.

“Uh, yeah. I’m gonna sit this one out, too,” I commented, trying to be sly.

“No! No way! You’re riding it,” Garrett ordered.

“Why?”

“Because you’re already a pansy,” he answered simply.

I scoffed and then muttered, “Whatever…”

We all walked a little towards the ride and what would probably be the last minute of my life. There the sign read, ‘Experience the thrill of a lifetime as you shoot 45 stories high at 128 mph on our world-record-breaking Kingda Ka — the tallest, fastest roller coaster on Earth.’

“128 miles per freaking hour! Hell no, Garrett! No freaking way!”

“Baby! Just do it,” he pushed.

“Come on, Cara. Me and John will do it, too,” Kennedy assured me.

“There you go then. If you die, you won’t be alone,” Garrett said with a fake smile.

“You’re an ass,” I muttered.

“Ha!” Jared laughed out loud.

“Okay! Let’s go!” Kennedy grabbed my hand and yanked me along to the awaiting danger ahead of us. “Ladies first,” he said, stepping aside to let me in the death trap.

“Gee, thanks,” I muttered sarcastically.

“No problem!” Kennedy replied enthusiastically as he scooted in the seat next to me.

Now the seats in Kingda Ka sat two people per row. Therefore, John sat in the pair behind us and he would have to sit next to a stranger. I decided to turn around and take a look at who his riding partner was.

The sight before me made my jaw slightly drop.

There, sitting next to John, sat a sun-kissed, brown-eyed, drooling blonde girl. Yes, drooling. Drooling over what? John. She was looking at him like he was freaking God himself sitting next to her and her skanky revealing clothing.

“Hey. I’m Kristen,” she greeted in a sickly high, flirtatious voice.

“John,” John stated in an uninterested tone. Due to him sitting right behind me, I couldn’t tell if he was looking at her or not.

Was I… Was I jealous of this girl?

“Maybe,” I muttered distantly.

“Huh?” Kennedy asked me.

“Nothing,” I said, flashing a smile.

“Ready, Cara?” John asked from the seat behind me.

“Uh,” my voice slightly cracked a little, “Yeah, I think so.” In the corner of my eye, I could just see this girl Kristen slightly glaring at me.

I heard him chuckle. “Don’t worry, okay? It’ll all be fine. I promise.”

And with John’s final words, the ride of a lifetime started.