Just kids Chapter 25: Shy away, a hetalia - axis powers fanfic

So, sorry this is rather late. I wish I could say it was an exciting chapter, but not really, just some comedy and a kiss scene.

...

Nobu opted out of the first ride.

He'd ignored the chicken noises Peter made with some level of dignity, throwing Kuzey a smug, knowing smile as Peter dragged him towards the ride he'd called 'Stealth'.

Kuzey could see the tracks towering over him quite clearly, and he nearly wet himself.

"It's a bit high," he commented weakly. There was only only one hill: a horribly steep one that was almost vertical. As he stared, a ride car crammed with screaming people shot out of the starting bay, and was up and over the hill in seconds. The noise alone made his knees feel like jelly.

"Yeah, isn't it awesome?"

Kuzey glanced back at his Baba, who just grinned and waved. He wanted to call to him, let him know that he was terrified, but no words came out. Besides, he refused to let Peter know he was scared. He'd never hear the end of it!

Peter dragged him towards the ride and they queued up, Kuzey suddenly feeling cramped in the tight line and smothered by Peter's pungent body spray. The queue moved painfully slow, but not slow enough for his liking, and every so often the screams of those on the roller coaster would rip past him. Maybe if he feigned a stomach ache, he could back out with his dignity in tact. Then he looked back at the crowd of people queueing behind them and decided against it; they would laugh at him anyway. They'd see through his lie even if Peter was too dense to.

Peter sensed his unease, and took Kuzey's hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Don't worry," he soothed, "I'll be right there beside you."

Kuzey snatched his hand away; "that's not comforting in the slightest. And don't touch me."

Peter shrugged and didn't try to take his hand again. The two remained silent as the queue slowly pushed forward, and all too soon for Kuzey's liking they were at the front. They deposited their coats and bags in the cloakroom and climbed into their seats. Kuzey was dismayed to find himself at the front of not only the queue but now the bleeding roller coaster too! Peter had insisted they'd queued that extra bit longer to go in the first row, and Kuzey had agreed at the time purely to put off actually riding the thing, but now he was strapped tightly into his seat, staring at the long, high stretch of track before him, he realised just how terribly thought out his plan was. He couldn't take his eyes of that huge hill, and the longer he stared at it, the more convinced he was that…

"Hang on," he glanced over at Peter, "does that thing turn on it's side?"

"Oh yes," Peter grinned, "right at the top there."

Kuzey leaned forward to exclaim that Peter was absolutely barmy, and that was the moment the roller coaster shot forward and his entire head smashed into the back of the seat. The duo were hurtled upwards, thrown on their side and plummeted down near-vertically, and all the while Kuzey didn't stop screaming. He could vaguely hear Peter cheering next to him, but it didn't register. All he knew was the feeling of certainty that he was going to die and his shrill voice ringing in his ears. The ground hurtled towards him, and he was certain he'd go crashing though the floor, but the ride levelled at the last minute.

Then it was all over.

The roller coaster circled round and came to a halt, but Kuzey didn't think he could stand up again. His neck throbbed and his legs were like a pair of noodles; he'd probably climb out of the seat and fall flat on his face. And Peter laughing at him was the last thing he needed.

But Peter was laughing at him anyway.

"Your face! You look like you're gonna be sick!"

Kuzey turned his sore head towards his friend as the comments slowly filtered in. Peter had his hand outstretched, and Kuzey had no choice but to accept as he pulled his safety belt off and stood up, leaning heavily on Peter.

"Woah, you alright there?"

"Uh," Kuzey rubbed his neck with his free hand, "I… think so."

Peter led him to the cloakroom to collect their possessions, looking at Kuzey with concern.

"Do you want me to phone an ambulance?"

"No!" Kuzey snapped, standing up straight and putting on his jacket. "I've just never been on a ride before."

"Seriously?" Peter asked as they descended the steps and scanned the crowd outside for Nobuyuki.

"Yes. I said so!"

Peter winced. "Sorry, I forgot. I'd have picked an easier ride for your first time if I'd known."

"Ah fuck," Kuzey rubbed his neck again, "that really hurt."

"I probably should've warned you about that. You have to brace yourself."

"Well I'm not going on that thing again," replied Kuzey, "so it doesn't matter." He saw Sadik waving at them, whilst next to him, Nobu grinned in a slightly sinister manner as he ate a hot churro bought from a nearby stand. The smug little shit, Kuzey thought. Why did he invite Nobu again?

"Did you get one for me?" Peter asked, staring at the churro whilst Nobu shook his head.

"How was the ride?" Sadik asked, and Kuzey swayed slightly.

"Ugh," he mumbled, "I don't think I'll be going on another."

"Oh, not your thing, huh?"

"But you've not even gone on Saw yet!" exclaimed Peter, "that one folds in as it goes down! Or what about Nemesis? Or Colossus? Or Swarm?"

Kuzey glared at him, "I'll go on them if Nobu will."

"Fine," Nobu shrugged, "how about a challenge? The person to opt out of the most rides has to buy the other two a sandwich." He grinned at Kuzey, "I'd like an egg salad one, thanks."

"Oh you're on," Peter grinned whilst Kuzey smiled, starting to walk away.

"We'll see," he called back.

…

"Oh come on," Logan whined, "at least try a piece. I worked ages on that cake and it turned out alright!"

Oscar glared at his brother, pushing his plate away like a child. "I'm full," he mumbled. He was well aware of Hunapo and Charlie's curious eyes on him from across the table, and Logan's glare.

"How the hell can you be full?" Logan frowned, "you only had a few slices of pizza and some crisps!"

"I just have a lotta stuff going on right now," Oscar shrugged, trying to ignore his trembling, "I don't have much of an appetite."

"If he doesn't want to eat then leave him alone," Hunapo piped up, taking a slice of cake for themselves, "he doesn't have to eat everything now."

"Yeah, I might get peckish later;" Oscar threw Hunapo a grateful smile and the birthday tea continued in relative peace. Charlie babbled on about all the things he was going to draw whilst Hunapo listened politely, but Oscar was still tense. He could feel Logan next to him, glancing over every now and again, whether in concern or aggravation, he couldn't tell. He just focused on his plate in front of him, picking at the sliver of birthday cake lying in the middle.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, making sure to shield the screen from Logan as he glanced at the name.

Michael.

It was an incoming call.

He glanced around the table, and Logan tilted his head slightly.

"Who is it?" he asked casually.

"Oh no one," Oscar shrugged, "school friend."

"Want to pop outside and answer it? No one will mind."

Oscar shook his head, pressing the ignore button on his phone. "It's not important."

It was pretty important indeed, but now really wasn't the time. He needed to prepare what he would say, and make sure he was emotionally ready for such a conversation. Not to mention he was still scared.

He wondered how long he could keep avoiding Michael for, and just how much worse he was making things.

…

It turned out that the trio were pretty determined to hang onto their dignity, and the few pounds it would cost them to pay for the sandwiches if they lost despite the fact that they'd nearly completely drained Sadik's wallet as well as their own ones on sweets, donuts and shooting games. Nevertheless, the competition was strong between them, and no one had opted out of a roller coaster since Stealth, which was why Nobu insisted on one more ride before they went home, as he was still losing by one ride.

"Oh come on! Just let me do this one," he pleaded, inching his way over to Tidal Wave, a ride Kuzey was certain he would hate.

"Nuh, uh," Kuzey growled, "if you get on that then we're all going, so you won't win!"

"Ah, just let him," Peter reasoned with a shrug, "I need to talk to you about something anyway. And I doubt you'd like getting wet."

Kuzey nodded as he watched the cart on Tidal Wave descend the hill with a splash that explained the ride's name. The viewing bridge at the bottom of the hill was hit with a colossal wave, soaking everyone standing there.

"I'm like a cat in that sense," he added. There was no way he'd allow himself to get covered in cold water in the middle of November.

"Great, and this means you can buy your own sandwiches, cause I don't know what's more overpriced, the cafes here or the motorway stations," Sadik added.

"It's always money with you, Baba," Kuzey sighed.

"That's because I don't have much," Sadik shot back, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going on the Tidal Wave."

Nobu pulled a face as he followed Sadik whilst Kuzey rolled his eyes, waving to his friend as he walked towards the queue. Sadik hadn't gone on many rides, but when he did it was always with childish excitement.

"Shall we wait on the bridge then?" asked Peter, and Kuzey turned his glare on him.

"And get soaked?" He raised an eyebrow.

Peter shrugged. "We'll get out of the way in time! I just want to watch out for them."

Kuzey agreed and they walked slowly towards the bridge, a wooden viewing platform that was almost deserted now, what with the drizzle in the air and the fact that it was nearly closing time. Peter thought it was perfectly empty.

"So," he began, slowly and cautiously, "how come you invited me?"

"Well to tell you the truth," Kuzey leaned closer, "I asked Charlie first, but she does her own thing on birthdays, cause it's the same day and all."

Peter nodded with a knowing smile.

"So her brother must've clocked that I like her and went and mentioned to my Baba that we were friends and how much I loved hanging out with you."

"Aw," Peter commented, leaning on the railing.

"Yeah, bullshit like that," Kuzey added, and Peter pouted. "And Baba was there and said I should ask you so," he shrugged, "here we are."

"Indeed," Peter looked at him for a long moment before glancing at the ride and gently pulling at Kuzey's jacket sleeve. "We might need to get out of the way."

Kuzey nodded and they walked back a few metres as the cart came plummeting down and sending a spray of water everywhere, managing to rain on the duo even from where they were standing.

"So was spending the day with me as bad as you thought it would be?" Peter asked as they walked back to the railing.

"No," Kuzey admitted with a grimace, "you're alright really."

"That's very sweet of you," Peter blushed and leaned against the bridge, staring at his shoes whilst Kuzey looked on in confusion.

"Well it was hardly poetry, what I just said," he rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't mind some poetry thrown my way though."

"I'm not gonna do that," said Kuzey flatly.

"Not even a bit of Willy Shake?"

Kuzey didn't speak for a long moment. "What the hell did you just say?"

"Willy Shake! You know? Shakespeare!"

"You just referred to William Shakespeare as 'Willy Shake'?" Kuzey looked incredulous.

"Yeah?"

"You're so freaking weird."

"I know you are but what am I?" Peter replied with a laugh.

"No, childish, I meant childish."

"In a fun way?" offered Peter.

"No."

Peter looked at his shoes. "Do you- ya know- find me annoying?"

"Not as much as I used to," Kuzey admitted.

"That's something," Peter smiled and leaned closer.

"Can I help you?" Kuzey asked.

"I don't know," Peter let the silence hang between them before taking a step forward; they were nose-to-nose now. "I guess you can."

Then he kissed Kuzey.

It wasn't much of a kiss; their lips barely grazed each other before Kuzey pulled away with a cry, glancing round to check if anyone saw but the place was deserted. When he turned back to Peter, he found the boy frozen, staring at him in horror with parted lips. Pure fear seemed to radiate from him. Terror was bubbling through Kuzey's own body, at what just happened, at what would happen next, and especially at the jolt of electricity that ran through him the moment Peter's lips touched his own.

Then, before Kuzey could respond, a huge wave washed over them.

…

Oscar's phone buzzed several times as he watched his family eat before spending the rest of the afternoon sitting in front of the telly with Logan whilst Charlie drew at the coffee table, seemingly content to spend his birthday doing so. Hunapo left shortly after tea, much to Logan's disappointment, and he hadn't said much in the past few hours, just laying on the sofa staring vacantly at the telly.

His phone buzzed again and Oscar knew he couldn't ignore it any longer. He got up, not paying attention to the others as he wandered into the hall and pulled his phone out.

Eight texts, all from Michael.

Oscar gulped and began to read, sitting on the stairs and trying to calm his shaking legs as he did so.