Pikachu Got Me A Boyfriend
-x-X-x-
It all started with that stupid little pamphlet he found at our local convince store. The state fair was back in town. The state fair was something I never looked forward to. Why would I want to go waste my time at some dust bowl filled with obnoxious teenagers, puke, and rides held together by gum and a bit of luck? What's so fun about that? But evidently to Axel, it sounded like a blast.
"Roxy, look! The fair's tomorrow!" As he awed over that stupid blue and white piece of paper, I rolled my eyes and grabbed our bag of ramen and 6 pack of Rootbeer. I pushed past the glass doors of the run down store and headed for our matching run down car. Yeah, we didn't have a lot of money, so what? Axel and I were best friends. We lived together and helped each other out with money. I was working part-time at a gas station while Axel waited for his "big break." Evidently the band that he and his friends Demyx, Saix, and Marluxia formed was going places. Organization XIII, that's what they called themselves. Not much of a name, but I supported him nonetheless.
"Come on, Rox! It'll be fun!" Axel sat beside me in the driver's seat and read over probably every word on that damn paper. Setting our lunch on the floor by my feet, I glared at Axel. "I don't want to go to some stupid fair. We don't have the money to go any way. Admission is like 10 bucks a person, then there's tickets, food, parking… Neither of us can afford it Axe." But he just gave me that look. You know that really determined look, the one you can see so clearly in their eyes? Yeah, that's the look he gave me. He never said a word about it after that.
That is, until Demyx and his boyfriend Zexion showed up out of the blue. Axel and I were just sitting on the couch, eating our ramen and drinking our room temperature Rootbeer when that distinct knocking sounded throughout our tiny little home. It was Demyx, no doubt about it. Every time that idiot knocked, he just had to do that little jingle-knock. You know what I mean? That code-knock? *Knock knock knock-knock knock. Knock knock*
And of course Demyx had to hear about Axel's lifelong dream (that Axel had just found out about less than an hour ago) of going to the state fair. And of course, Demyx being the gullible, filthy rich idiot he was, handed Axel $200 and said (and I quote) "Here, go have fun. You need more?" Needless to say, the ginger's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
So that's how we ended up here, at the entrance to the fair. That's how I ended up with this stupid smiley face stamp on my hand. "So Roxy, what do you wanna do first? Wanna go ride some rides? Or do you wanna eat? Or we could play games. Or look at the animals." He was grinning like an idiot. But I guess if he was having fun, I wasn't gonna ruin it for him. I sighed and looked around. "I guess we could play some games." Before I knew it, I was being dragged by my hand toward the colorful tents, the sound of carnies' voices growing louder and louder through the speakers. I was thrown into a seat beside Axel and handed a water gun. I aimed for the yellow and red target with the steady stream of water, watching the teddy bear climb higher and higher out of the corner of my eye. When the bell sounded I almost fell out of my seat, why the hell's it gotta be so damn loud? I looked to my left to see Axel standing with his hands high in the air. "Which one do you want Roxy?" I looked from my best friend to the assortment of plushies. "Uhm… that one." I said as I pointed to the big Pikachu. When I was handed that oversized Pokemon, I think that was when my attitude started to change. I smiled back at Axel, who in turn only smiled wider.
Axel decided he wanted to ride some rides, so we stopped by the ticket booth and bought a sheet of 50 tickets. Somehow, we ended up in line for "The Scrambler." We hopped into the metal car labeled number 8, pulled the bar over our laps, and locked the pin into place. I was nervous, I'll admit that. I never went on rides as a kid. The only rides I'd ever been on were the carousel and that stupid caterpillar one. And I think Axel noticed because he slipped his arm behind me and told me it would be fun. Pull yourself together Roxas, this is something people pay to do. It's gotta be fun, right? I took a deep breath and tried to look like I wasn't going to blow chunks. "I'm fine," I muttered. But his arm didn't move. But oh man, the ride did. It wasn't bad at first, just slowly swinging around inside the fence that enclosed the ride.
But I spoke too soon. Before I could brag to Axel how this was no big deal, our car began whipping by the others, coming so close to the fence and the people that stood behind it. Axel was on the outside, saying random things to the strangers we passed. He was laughing the entire time. This was fun for him? He turned to see me pale as a ghost. "Roxas, you alright?" I swallowed hard and nodded. But I wasn't alright. We were going to die here. Our car was going to slam into another car, or those people lined up along the fence. Dear god we were going to die. I was almost too distracted to feel Axel's arm snake out from behind me and instead slither down and hold my hand. Almost. His thumb rubbed mine comfortingly as he stared down at me. He didn't say anything, and he wasn't laughing anymore. He just stared. Before I knew it, the ride was over, and the man running the ride unlocked our lap bar to release us. We hopped out and exited the pen. But Axel didn't let go of my hand.
We rode more rides, "The Gravitron", "The Skydiver", "The Thunderbolt", "The Tornado"… You name it, we went on it. It was getting late and there was just one ride we hadn't gone on. "Let's go on the Farris Wheel!" And once again, I was being dragged by my hand. Now I know the Farris Wheel is nothing. It goes slow, it doesn't flip upside down, what could be wrong? I'll tell you what. It goes at an agonizingly slow speed to climb about 100ft in the air. That's what.
We took a seat in the blue gondola. But Axel didn't sit across from me like a normal person. No, he took a seat beside me. And that freaked me out a little because our car tipped back a little with our weight. But Axel just held my hand again. "What's up with you today?" It came out colder than I intended, but I needed to know.
"What do you mean?" He asked the question, but I could tell he knew the answer. He knew what I was talking about, he was just avoiding the question, as well as my eyes. What the hell?
"I mean why are you so… clingy today? How come you're willing to do whatever I want? And how come you keep holding my hand and-" But before I could finish, Axel pressed his lips to mine. He squeezed my hand a little tighter and placed his free hand on the back of my neck, pulling me just a little closer. Somehow, I found myself kissing him back. Why? I couldn't tell you at that particular moment. He pulled away and stared down at our interlocking hands. What just happened?
"Err sorry…" He licked his lips and smiled down at his feet awkwardly. Why did I feel the urge to kiss him again? I kinda had the urge to punch him too, but I chose the former. I kissed him for all I was worth. Why? Well that was something I was slowly starting to realize. Maybe I started having feelings for Axel. Or maybe, I always had. I don't know. But what I do know, is that I have feelings for him at this moment. So I acted. I kissed him like that one kiss was what I was born for. Sure it's sappy, but how can you not be like that when you realize you've found the one. How do I know Axel's the one? It's simple. I just know. Something about him is different from everyone else I've been with. Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut and hope for the best. And that's exactly what I'm doing.
"Hey Axe…" I said a little breathlessly as I pulled away just enough to speak. "Yeah?" He was just as breathless as me. "I'm glad I came today." He smiled and wrapped his arm around me.
I know you were probably hoping for some fairytale "I love you" confession and a happy ending. Well, sorry, that's not how things work in real life. Sure Axel and I are a happy couple who eventually tell each other we love each other, but that took some time. But this wasn't a happy ending, it was just the beginning.