The group had made it to the boardwalk where everyone made their way straight to the amusement park. Kentin, Alexy, and Markona had run off towards the roller coasters. Leigh and Rosalya had headed off towards the 'river of love' and Lysander had gone off with Iris somewhere. Kim and Armin were sitting at the table next to Nathaniel and Castiel. The four of them were trying to decide how many game booths to hit. Kim had taken custody of one of Markona's cameras since their groups had split up and Markona wanted pics of their time here.
"We should hold a competition." Armin said with a grin. "The four of us will go to the same booths and mark who wins and loses at each booth. The one with the most points wins. The loser has to do one thing for the winner. No questions asked, no restrictions."
Kim seemed to be considering this. "I like it. You got a deal."
Castiel smirked and nodded. "I'm in. Could be fun."
"Why not. We are on vacation after all." Nathaniel said with a sigh. He was certain he was going to regret this by the end of it.
The quartet hit most all the game booths. They seemed to be tying it up pretty well. None of them winning ahead of the others. They'd gained quite a few prizes that would likely be handed off to Markona to donate somewhere. The final game of choice was a shooting game. Try to shoot the prize off the shelves. Armin and Kim had both failed, if only barely. Nathaniel and Castiel were up and both had their guns aimed.
"Go!" the booth owner shouted and they both shot off one of the smaller prizes.
They shot again, both hitting a small prize again. Final shot and Castiel missed his target. Nathaniel shot down one of the bigger prizes and won the competition.
"Who knew you'd be the winner?" Armin said with a light laugh as they headed off towards the food court to meet with the group.
"Based on our chart, Castiel lost in the end. Barely though." Kim said as she held up the chart she'd been keeping track of.
Castiel rolled his eyes then looked to Nathaniel. "A deal's a deal. So what should I do?"
Nathaniel gave a nervous laugh. "I'll tell you later. I'd have to figure out something for you to do first."
"You could make him do something embarrassing." Armin suggested.
"Or dangerous." Kim added in.
"You two trying to kill me?" Castiel asked as he saw the food court up ahead.
"I'll figure something out." Nathaniel told them and shoved his hands into his pockets. An innocent grin upon his face. At least, innocent to those who didn't know him well enough to see the impish gleam in his eyes.
"I'm starting to regret going along with you guys on that competition." Castiel said, partially joking.
They reached the food court and saw that most everyone had already beat them there. Food and drinks had already been ordered by some of them.
"You all seem happy about something." Alexy said with smile.
"Nath won our competition and now Cas has to do one thing for him. We're entertained." Armin answered.
"Nath hasn't come up with anything though." Kim answered as she sat down by Iris.
"Well I can't come up with something if you keep putting me on the spot." Nathaniel answered them.
Night fell and the boardwalk lit up with an almost romantic feel to the lights. They all headed in their separate directions again for their bits of fun. In the process, Nathaniel and Castiel ended up left together. Nathaniel still hadn't given Castiel his 'order' yet. He looked to his friend and gave a weak smile.
"I know it might give off the wrong impression but...wanna go on the ferris wheel?" Nathaniel asked him.
"You ask that realizing what people will think of you?" Castiel asked him, unsure of what Nathaniel was even thinking.
"Yeah...but it's the only place I can think of that I can talk to you in private without heading back to the house." Nathaniel answered as he tried to stay a bit collected.
Castiel just shook his head and sighed. "Alright, but make sure you have a story otherwise the others will get the wrong idea."
Nathaniel just nodded as they headed off towards the ferris wheel. The two of them walked in silence. Both unsure what to say. Nathaniel wanting to talk to Castiel privately as best he could. Castiel wanting to know what was going through Nathaniel's head. The ferris wheel line was surprisingly small for how huge the thing was.
After following the line in silence, they finally made it to the front. The guy running the ride looked over at them and raised a brow. "Together or separate?"
"Together." Nathaniel answered and grabbed Castiel's wrist, trying to make sure he didn't bail out on him.
The guy running the ride just chuckled and nodded. He opened the doorway to the ferris wheel carriage. "Have fun on your date boys."
Before they even got a chance to reply, the guy had already shut the door on them.
Both of them sat down on either side as the ride began. Castiel just looked over out the window. He wasn't sure what was going on but Nathaniel seemed to be seriously debating on something.
"Nath?" Castiel called out to him.
Nathaniel looked over at him before crossing to the other side of the carriage as steadily as possible. He sat down beside Castiel and took his hand now.
Castiel searched Nathaniel's eyes a moment, trying to read him.
"You want to know what my 'order' will be right?" Nathaniel asked quietly as he looked away. There was a faint red tint to his cheeks.
"Yeah. I would like to know." Castiel answered him.
Nathaniel lightly squeezed Castiel's hand in his. "I want you to answer a couple questions for me then."
Castiel watched Nathaniel closely. He wanted so badly to just hold him close and calm him. Ever since last night, Nathaniel just seemed a bit on edge around him. He didn't like it. "Okay. What do you want to know?"
Nathaniel gulped and gave Castiel's hand another light squeeze. "Why did you choose me?"
Castiel just sighed and leaned back. "You act like I had a choice in the matter."
"What do you mean?" Nathaniel asked in surprise.
"I did everything to not fall for you. I dated a couple girls to try and see if that would change things...but I couldn't ever get you out of my head." Castiel answered him, "Hell, anytime I saw you get close to someone I could feel myself get jealous. I thought I was just being stupid and reading the situation wrong. Then it just got...I couldn't stop myself from wanting you even more. It just kept happening."
Nathaniel's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected that kind of answer. "So you just fell for me?"
Castiel looked over at him. "Weren't you listening? That's exactly what I was saying. I fell for you. Everything about you. You both drive me insane yet intrigue me more."
Nathaniel glanced over at him and could see the embarrassment on Castiel's face. He couldn't help but smirk a bit at that. He lifted his free hand to Castiel's cheek. "I have one more thing to ask you."
"And what's that?" Castiel asked him, feeling a bit anxious at this point.
Nathaniel leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Stay with me tomorrow night. I want you to show me exactly how you feel."
Castiel gulped when he heard that. "You realize what you're asking right?"
"I realize. I want to know more on this love you say you have for me." Nathaniel told him. He then sat back a bit.
"You know what could happen and yet you still-" Castiel started but Nathaniel placed his fingers over his lips.
"I told you already, I understand what I'm getting into." Nathaniel told him sternly, "Besides, the deal of the competition says 'no questions asked' and 'no restrictions' with what I can have you do."
Castiel smirked and pulled Nathaniel's fingers off his lips. "Fine. Just know I won't hold back then."
"I'm counting on that." Nathaniel said and then, without a second thought, kissed Castiel's cheek lightly.
Castiel's eyes widened a moment. He smiled and kissed Nathaniel's lips. He made sure to hold back for now. He kept the kiss light and tender. He wanted Nathaniel to come to him. He wanted to win his heart. He didn't want to push him too much. What he didn't expect was that Nathaniel actually kissed him back. He could feel Nathaniel clutching to his shirt. His heart raced with this new turn of events. He slowly broke the kiss and smirked.
"Careful Nath. I won't be able to hold back if you keep that up." Castiel whispered in an almost flirtatious manner.
Nathaniel let go of him and looked away, fingers lightly over his lips. He hadn't meant to react that way at all. It was almost instinctual.
The ride soon ended and Castiel let go of Nathaniel's hand. He got off the ride and waited for Nathaniel who just barely managed to collect himself in time. The two of them headed back towards the food stands again.
"You want something to drink?" Castiel asked as he looked to Nathaniel.
"S-sure." Nathaniel murmured, still unsure why he kissed Castiel back.
Castiel could see the confused panic on Nathaniel's face now that they were off the ride. He shook his head and just put a hand on Nathaniel's shoulder. "If it's got you that mixed up then I'll stay away for a while. I may not act like it, but I actually do give a damn about you."
Nathaniel nodded and shoved his shaking hands into his pockets. "I know. I just...don't understand all of this."
"Maybe some part of you gives a damn about me too." Castiel said nonchalantly as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah...that might be it." Nathaniel replied quietly, "But I don't want to give a half-hearted response. We may not be close...but you deserve better than a half-assed answer."
Castiel just snickered and led them to get drinks. "Maybe so but don't force yourself either. That's not going to help anyone."
Nathaniel followed him. "Yeah, but I meant what I said. That request still stands."
Castiel raised a brow at that. "You sure?"
"I'm sure. I'll take tomorrow to clear my head. If anything, you can just tell them I came down with something so they don't worry." Nathaniel told him quietly.
Castiel shook his head and gave a sigh. "If that's what you want then I'll go with it. Just know that I don't want to push you. If you begin to panic again...I'm backing down."
Nathaniel looked at him in surprise. He'd go that far...just for me? He really cares that much about what this has done to me?
Castiel stepped up in front of the drink stand and looked back to Nathaniel. "What did you want to drink? I'm buying."
"A water is fine." Nathaniel replied as calmly as possible.
Castiel nodded and looked to the woman running the stand. "One water and one coke."
The woman nodded and got them their drinks. Castiel paid her and handed over Nathaniel's drink. The two of them walked around the area to try and find the others after that. Silence fell between them as they continued walking.
Time passed and everyone had returned to the house for dinner and sleep. Markona had gathered the cameras she let everyone borrow and was working on putting them on her laptop so she could later print them out to add to her scrapbooks she had for them. Everyone knew she'd be in her room the rest of the night to fix up the pictures and make them look perfect.
"Damn..." Kentin murmured as he leaned back in his seat. "I wish she would let me at least be in there with her."
"You should know by now that she gets like this with a project." Alexy teased him.
"Yeah. Especially when you've known her longer than any of us." Kim told him.
Kentin just glared at them. "Yeah I know. It still drives me crazy. I barely get to see her as is and now she's hiding in her room." He let out a sigh, looking pretty well defeated.
"We still have the rest of the week. That's about four days. You'll just have to take her out somewhere for just the two of you." Iris told him with a smile.
They were all hanging out in the game room inside the beach house. Kentin was supposed to be helping the others with some of their studying for when they all headed back to their colleges. They had to get their last bit of work caught up before the vacation was over so they wouldn't have to cram it in at the last minute.
While those four were working on their homework, Armin and Lysander were chilling in a room with Leigh and Rosalya. The four of them were working on some possible activities for them to take part in the next day. Especially now with Nathaniel having claimed not feeling well and Castiel choosing to stay and help keep an eye on him
Up on the rooftop though, Castiel was trying to calm himself down after the events of the day. He couldn't believe what happened between him and Nathaniel back in the ferris wheel. Let alone that Nathaniel had even suggested them going on the ferris wheel.
Stay with me tomorrow night. I want you to show me exactly how you feel. Nathaniel's words kept running through his mind as he stared out at the night sky.
"That damn idiot." Castiel muttered, "Does he have any idea what he's putting me through here?"
Though for a moment the memory of Nathaniel's panicked and confused expression replayed across his mind. He felt a hint of guilt stab at him. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "Then again, this has to be hard on him too."
Castiel ran his fingers over the hickey that Nathaniel had given him earlier that day. Just feeling it reminded him of the almost sadistic look Nathaniel had in his eyes. That very look which had sent Castiel's own heart racing and made him want more. He shook his head again and let out another sigh.
"Dammit!" he hissed as he tried to calm himself again.
Stay with me tomorrow night. I want you to show me exactly how you feel. Nathaniel's words once again ran through his head and he couldn't take it anymore.
Castiel headed back towards his room and shut the door behind him. He just stripped down to his boxers and crashed, tired of trying to figure out what to do with this whole mess he'd gotten himself into.