Thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed/added this story so far! It truly makes me smile. =)
Sorry about the delay on this chapter, I hope it's up to scratch.
We were up early the next morning, not wanting to waste any more of our stay. Esme and Carlisle had woken us around 7:30 with the proposition of a day out. We agreed sleepily yet eagerly and the two of them departed the room so that they could make some sandwiches to take with us.
Edward and I dressed quickly and were soon joining the others in the kitchen, ready to go.
"Where're we going?" I asked excitedly as Edward chuckled at my enthusiasm.
"Well, we have two options," Carlisle said as he put the last of the food into a back pack and slung it onto his back. "We could either go to the new theme park that opened or the zoo that opened last year."
I could tell that both Carlisle and Edward liked the idea of the theme park more than the zoo but, as always, they were too gentlemanly to even consider trying to sway mine and Esme's decisions. Judging by the look on Esme's face, she was thinking along the same lines as me.
"I'm fine with whatever Bella wants to do," she told me, apologising with her eyes for making me be the one with the final decision. I sighed, thinking before I answered. Of course I would like to go to the zoo and see all the cute animals, heck I'd only been to a zoo about three times in my entire life! Once on a school trip as a child, once with Jake and Leah before I met Edward and the Cullen's and once when I had been living alone. That time I had gone with Josh and a group of the others and, yes, it had been fun, but I got the distinct feeling the whole day that the girls were enjoying the day a tad more than the boys.
"What about the theme park?" I suggested finally. After all, didn't most theme parks have a tiny animal bit anyway?
"Are you sure?" Edward asked, trying to make sure I didn't feel pressured into doing anything. I had, after all, mentioned once that theme parks weren't really my cup of tea….
Not that I had a massive history of visiting theme parks; Victoria and James didn't exactly do days out. Well, not with me, anyway. All the more reason to go, I told myself as I nodded.
I looked at the excitement in his eyes and smiled genuinely; if he wanted this then whatever it takes. So what if I have to go on a few rides?
"Absolutely," I assured him, grinning like a doof before I reached up on my tip toes and kissed him softly.
His grin spread and I could see Carlisle and Esme grinning out of the corner of my eye. Whether they were grinning at the thought of the theme park, or simply because they had been watching our exchange.
We set off almost immediately, everyone (and I admit, me included) was so excited. I found the buzz infectious.
"Thanks," Esme said to me after we had parked at the theme park and the two males had gone to find the pay and display machine.
"For?" I asked, confused.
"For making him so happy," she said fondly, hugging me tightly.
I grinned back, "no problem," I told her honestly, giggling slightly.
She smiled back before adding, "oh, and for choosing."
I grinned at her before Edward and Carlisle returned to see the pair of us grinning at each other like idiots. They exchanged a look before Carlisle shrugged and placed the sticker on the inside of the car window and Edward wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.
I relaxed into his chest as Esme and Carlisle took out the bags containing the food and blankets, camera etc.
He kissed my neck lightly, causing me to shiver. I felt him grin into my neck and I hit him playfully.
"Thank you," he said after a while,
I giggled, "It must be national 'thank Bella' day" I told him giddily.
He simply chuckled, obviously aware of how excited I seemed to be despite my previous hesitation to come here.
"It must be because you're so wonderful," he chuckled as I blushed.
He spun me around and kissed me lightly before taking my hand and beginning to walk, signalling to me that Carlisle and Esme were ready to go.
"Edward?" I asked once we were in the queue to buy tickets to get in. He looked over in my direction and raised an eyebrow, as if to say 'yes?'. "What were you thanking me for?" I asked
He laughed softly, "For letting us come here. I know you're not one for theme parks but I still appreciate that you came here because you didn't want to disappoint me." He grinned crookedly, taking my breath away.
As soon as I regained myself, I grinned back like a doof before we found ourselves at the front of the queue.
Edward ordered the tickets, despite objections from Esme and Carlisle, who insisted that this was their treat. Unsurprisingly, they didn't win the argument. I just kept quite about my ticket; I had been with Edward long enough to know that arguing about him spending money on me would me nowhere.
First, we headed towards 'Air', one of the best rides there, according to Carlisle. The queue was huge, but it was to be expected I supposed. There were families everywhere and large group of teenagers, obviously out with their friends, on every corner. We chattered as we queued in the line, moving slowly through the large zigzagged path that had been fenced off as the queuing area. It wasn't until I saw the ride that I became nervous. Edward felt me tense as I watched the carriages whizzing past, full of screaming people. It looked as though it was going impossibly fast and the passengers were suspended to that they were almost lying on their stomachs. Every now and then, the ride did a corkscrew and stayed in that position for a distance, effectively lying people on their backs.
"You don't have to go on anything that you don't want to," Edward whispered into my ear, trying to reassure me. I smiled nervously at him.
My stomach was in knots as we got nearer and nearer and I really didn't like the look of one part in particular, where you're on your back and going head first and what seemed to be a very fast pace.
Esme was also looking reasonably nervous as she eyes the huge ride as we got into the boarding bay.
"Do you want to sit out?" Edward asked me, trying to keep all emotion from his voice or eyes.
I could tell that he desperately wanted a go on this ride but I knew he wouldn't dream of setting a foot on it without me. He would probably not want to leave me alone while they enjoyed themselves.
I saw Esme boarding nervously from the corner of my eye and grew determined; if she could do this for Carlisle then I could do this for Edward.
I grabbed Edward's hand determinedly and dragged him towards the carriage that Esme and Carlisle had boarded. The carriages were made up of four seats in a row, so there was room for Edward and I next to the others.
Edward looked at me nervously as I stepped into the seat and sat down, "Are you sure you want to?" he asked, "You don't have to, you know." He told me.
"I know," I told him, hoping my voice wouldn't give away my nerves, "I want to," I assured him, smiling.
He didn't look happy but boarded anyway, taking the seat next to me. He seemed to sense that my stubborn side was coming out and there was no shifting me now.
Esme, who was sat on my right, gave my hand a squeeze in reassurance and I smiled nervously at her. She obviously knew how I felt.
The attendant came around to check that we were all strapped in correctly before she returned to the control area and pressed a button. I tried to calm my nerves as the floor beneath us began to lower and our carriages began to tilt forward so that we were all on our stomachs. Edward took my hand and squeezed it lightly, obviously sensing my discomfort.
I closed my eyes as we began to move, first through a dark tunnel and then out in the daylight up a huge incline. I gulped; a huge incline meant only one thing – a huge drop. We stopped at the tip of the slope and I clamped my eyes shut, ready for the dropping sensation in my stomach that always took away my breath. All of a sudden, we were pelting, full speed down the slope and my stomach was in my mouth. I screamed as we went down and did a corkscrew once we reached the bottom.
We were constantly being thrown around and turned upside down as the ride went through several different corkscrews and turns but at some point, and I'm not sure which, I actually started to enjoy myself. I noticed how smooth the ride was and the sensation of flying through the air was created and I actually started to laugh and smile. I put my hands out in front of me and watched as the scenery whirled past me.
By the time we cranked back into the boarding bay, I wanted another go. In my opinion, it had ended too quickly. I hopped off and immediately lost my balance, only to be caught by a chuckling Edward.
"So we had fun, then?" he asked as we took our bags from the locker and I began to get used to being on the ground again.
I nodded enthusiastically, "I hated the beginning but once that was over, I actually found it quite enjoyable." I grinned.
He grinned back, crookedly "I heard," he teased, mockingly rubbing his ear as if to insinuate my screaming had caused him some damage. I laughed and hit him playfully before running up the stairs towards the exit.
Carlisle and Esme were in the souvenir shop, looking at all the pictures that were on the screens in front of us of the ride we had just been on. I scanned the screens, laughing at the picture of Carlisle and Esme. They both looked so youthful and fun. Not that they didn't already look youthful, but it was just the smiles plastered across their faces that made me think they looked so much younger than usual. If that was possible.
I carried on looking at the other pictures, laughing slightly at a picture of a terrified middle-aged man and his son grinning next to him.
"Edward, Bella," I heard Esme call from the other end of the screens, "come and look at this," she said, grinning.
We wandered over, eager to see what it was that had captured her attention.
Edward saw what she was talking about first and started laughing. I frowned, looking at the screens, trying to see what was so funny.
He laughed as he saw my distress and pointed my face in the right direction. I laughed myself as my eyes focused on a picture of Edward and I on the ride. We were both looking extremely windswept, with our hair everywhere but we looked like we were having a good laugh. We both had big, goofy grins plastered across our faces and I had my arms outstretched. It was obviously taken after I had gotten over the initial shock of the ride.
"It's so cute," Esme laughed.
Carlisle chuckled, "it certainly is rather amusing,"
Edward and I both laughed.
"I think that's a keeper," Esme grinned, winking at me.
"Definitely," Edward said before he strode up to the counter and ordered our picture.
I laughed as he returned to us, brandishing the goofy picture. I rolled my eyes as I took a better look at it.
We all had one final chuckle about it before Edward stowed in the backpack and we moved on to the next ride.
We went on 'Corkscrew' next, which was much more my style. It was much tamer and I simply laughed my way through it.
After that we went onto 'Rita', the queen of speed. It was something that I would usually avoid but to be honest, I was feeling a little braver than usual after that Air ride. We then went on 'Ripsaw' and the pirate ship.
All the queuing had taken quite a chunk out of the day so we decided we would have our lunch as we were all rather hungry by this point. We settled down on a patch of grass in the gardens around a historic looking building in the heart of the park. We ate lazily and lounged around, laughing and joking. After we had finished our lunch we wandered around the grounds for a while before we wandered back towards the rides.
After that we went to the log flume and managed to get soaked. We then decided that since we were already wet, we may as well go onto the pirate ship ride. It consisted of a circuit of boats all going round in a circle, under bridges and next to a large fixed boat which people queuing could access. There were various holes throughout the circuit in which large water pistols in the shape of cannons protruded. On each boat, there six pistols, three on each side, and twelve seats, six on each side. Each pistol needed to be wound up while aimed in order to shoot it. The aim was to hit not only the other boats in the circuit, but the people queuing up who were shooting at you.
It definitely looked like fun.
As we queued, we got soaked. People were aiming at the crowds constantly, and we had to duck behind the fence while we weren't near a pistol. The whole ordeal was really quite amusing.
When we reached the front of the queue the attendant looked us up and down before counting the amount of people on the current boat.
"Two," he said to us.
"Actually, we're all together," Edward said politely, but obviously not politely enough for Mr grumpy.
Mr grumpy simply glared at him dangerously and in the end I said to Edward, "it's okay, it'll be more fun this way anyway." I smiled, winking.
He smiled back and nodded, before turning to board the boat with Carlisle but not before glaring at the rude attendant.
The attendant simply rolled his eyes and glared at Esme and I as we waited for the next boat.
We got on and took our seats, joined by another party. They all looked like teenagers, probably about 15-ish. I smiled politely at the girl that slid in next to us. She smiled back before turning to talk to her friend.
"Would you like to aim first?" Esme asked giddily, obviously very excited.
"Sure," I grinned, swapping places with her so that she could get a better grip on the handle. As we came out through the first bridge, we immediately got put into the firing line of the boat in front. I could hear the laughter of many, including Edward and Carlisle, as we were bombarded with endless amounts of water.
Esme was pulling the leaver enthusiastically and I was trying my best to aim at Carlisle and Edward as we neared them. I knew from the laughter that I wasn't doing too bad a job.
As we moved around the circuit, we alternated between firing at the boat ahead and the bridges. About half way around, I swapped places with Esme as her arm began to tire. I tried to pull the leaver as she had done and I must say I struggled. I heard Esme laughing as I battled with the crank and we were water-less a considerable amount of times.
As we went through the final bridge, we were all absolutely soaked, Esme and I laughed as we got out of the boat, dripping wet, and sliding everywhere. Edward and Carlisle were standing off to the side, clearly in view of the boat, talking and laughing to one another. They must've enjoyed it as much as we had.
However, my laughter was cut short when I heard the girls behind me as we were sloshing towards the exit.
"Oh, look at that bronze haired boy over there," she said to somebody behind her in a nasal voice,
"Very sexy," another voice commented before they both burst into laughter.
"Heather, look over there," the first voice said as we neared the gates, obviously trying to make a spectacle of Edward.
"Oh," a girl purred, presumably Heather, "I'd tap that!" she shrieked before they all erupted into laughter once again.
I fought internally with myself. On one hand, it would be extremely self satisfying to turn around and smack all three of those silly girls, and on the other, what threat did they pose? They were simply silly little girls messing around.
Esme gave me a sympathetic smile, letting me know she understood my dilemma.
I walked briskly towards Edward as soon as we were out of the crowd of people and he hugged me to himself. We were both sopping wet and dripping everywhere. I giggled at his hair as it stuck in even more peculiar directions that usual.
"That was fun," he grinned
I giggled, "Indeed." I then looked down at myself and made a quick assessment of our clothes, "I think you two won, thought" I said, laughing and apologising to Esme.
Esme simply shrugged it off with a laugh of her own. "Those things were easy to use," she assured me jokingly.
Carlisle joined in the laughter now, "you couldn't work the leaver?"
I blushed and nodded but laughed all the same. "I'm weak, what can I say?" I giggled, shrugging.
Edward laughed and laced his fingers in mine before kissing me chastely on the lips before leading us off towards the path to the next rides.
As I walked pass the group of girls from the boat I was hyper aware of the attention they were paying us. I knew most of that was for Edward, and probably Carlisle, now that I thought about it. I glanced up at them before we rounded a corner. When they noticed my attention they all began to glare dangerously at me, I was taken aback for a moment but soon regained myself before I plastered a smile on my face and winked in their direction. Turning and laughing quietly as annoyed expressions took over all their features.
"Something funny?" Edward asked curiously as he heard my laughter.
I shrugged simply and grinned before squeezing his hand and leading him towards 'Enterprise' a humongous Ferris wheel with a difference. It seemed to tilt its carts once they were in the air and it spun at a high speed. It didn't just stay upright either; it was flat on the floor and went in several directions. To be honest, looked quite nauseating. But I was eager to go on as many rides as possible and judging by the time, this would be the last ride of the day.
The queue was relatively short as most people were going on the big rides as their last choices of the day. We didn't have to wait long before the gates were opened and we were allowed to get onto the ride.
The carriages held two and Edward got into the pod first, shortly followed by me. There were no seats; we simply sat on the 'floor' of the pod. Edward's heard nearly touched the top, regardless of the fact that he was sitting down. I leaned back against his chest as we waited for the rest of the passengers to get in.
He began kissing my neck softly as we waited, causing me to giggle. I was about to turn my head to the side to meet his lips before the ride began and the wheel began to tilt as we gained speed. I laughed as we got faster and faster and I felt my stomach flop as we went upside down.
I laughed again as I though why aren't we hitting our heads?!
Edward chuckled as he watched my amusement and sat back and enjoyed the ride.
Getting off, I stumbled out and nearly hit the floor. Edward saved me, once again, from hitting the floor and we simply laughed at each other as we walked dizzily towards the lockers we had put our bags in.
We saw Carlisle and Esme as we neared the lockers and they seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much as we were, stumbling around and laughing.
We wandered lazily towards the car as we left, Carlisle and Esme in front and Edward and I lagging behind.
"Today was amazing," I told him, swinging out entwined hands between us.
He grinned, "Yes, it was." He agreed, kissing my head lightly.
I giggled softly and we continued to walk towards the car. We piled in and the four of us talked non stop about the day the entire journey home. We got inside and all dumped our stuff. Esme disappeared to make drinks and I followed Carlisle and Edward into the living room and plonked myself onto one on the sofas. Edward chuckled and moved my legs temporarily so that he could sit down. He settles my legs in his lap and I smiled appreciatively as Carlisle handed me a blanket.
Esme brought the drinks through and we all talked some more about the day and possible other outings.
After a while, my eyes began to droop, the thrills of the day finally taking their toll on me.
I began to yawn and the others laughed.
"Bed time, I think." Esme chuckled,
Edward nodded and stood up, I didn't move, too tired and lay down, awning instead.
"Come on," Edward chuckled.
Carlisle and Esme bid us goodnight, obviously off to bed themselves, and left laughing.
Edward whipped the blanket off of me and I moaned slightly but still didn't move.
"Are you not joining me in bed tonight then, Miss Swan?" he asked playfully,
I moaned groggily, "I don't want to move," I admitted, giggling slightly.
That was obviously the wrong thing to say, though, something I realised when the sofa disappear beneath me and I snapped my eyes open to see Edward holding me and his face mere inches from mine.
I gasped as I realised just how close he was. He chuckled as he turned around and began to go up the stairs with me in his arms.
"I can walk…" I grumbled sleepily,
"Can you?" he asked sceptically, laughing softly when I yawned again.
I nodded groggily, earning yet another snigger.
"All the same," I heard him say as we neared the top of the stairs, "I prefer to carry you,"
I giggled as he placed a chaste kiss on my lips and broke away when I began to yawn.
He shook his head and laughed to himself as I began to drift off.
So, I'm thinking that this may be one of the last chapters? I'm not quite sure how much more I'm going to write but it's definitely nearing the end! I already have a plan for the ending (a popular request XD) but I just need to put it in at an appropriate place.
As far as the theme park goes? Well, how am I supposed to know which one they're at? SO, I made it up. Simple. =) I modelled it on a theme park near me, 'Alton Towers'. We went there on a school trip and it was great so I thought I'd send these guys there. With 'Air' I felt exactly the same as Bella, I was totally crapping myself as I watched everybody on it (I don't really like huge rides. Stupid, I know!) and was hating about the first 20 seconds of the ride as they cranked you up and kept you at the top for ages but after that bit I actually really enjoyed it! I wanted another go. Lol.
Sorry about the shortness. =)
REVIEW, review, review!
XD