"So that's the story of how I mistook grapefruits for oranges!" Jo finished. She looked around at her audience, but was met with people rubbing their temples or having their head in their hands. The loudspeaker crackled to life as a voice proclaimed, "Alright folks, we have arrived at your destination. Please watch your head as you exit the shuttle and have a wonderful day!" Ethan Harris instantly jumped up from his seat. "Oh thank God," he exclaimed. The rest of the riders came to life as they got ready to get off the bus. Ella locked her phone and placed it into her her bag. "Finally, let's go," she told her boyfriend. Jo, herself, cheered as she followed her friends off the bus.
The hustle and bustle of the crowd was the perfect background for Kate to think, because damn. Seeing Jordan again was...horrible, to say the least. But it's ok, no big deal. It's not like she was going to have to spend the whole day with him or anything. She'd be fine! Or at least, she was until she bumped into Jordan right as he was walking towards the aisle. Kate ricocheted back slightly and placed a hand onto his chest to steady herself. Blue met brown once more and neither of the two could breathe. Neither of them had been this close since London. And they haven't even touched since months before then.
The rest of the passengers loudly shuffled their way to the front. Jordan muttered a quick apology and followed the line out. "Ugh, that took forever! Let's go," Nicole said as she put her earbuds away. She took a step forward, expecting Kate to do the same, but found no movement whatsoever. "Kate?" she called out, "Kate!" Kate stood motionless. "He's really here," she thought aloud.
Nicole sighed. She knew that seeing the Banks was going to be difficult, (which included their girlfriends; once of which made the entire cabin endure listening to her rattle on about her confusion with produce) but this was nothing they couldn't handle! She placed her hands onto Kate's shoulders. "Ok, Kate, I know this is really weird for you," Nicole empathized, guiding Kate out, "but you have to get. Off. The. Bus!" And with one more shove, out came Kate from the double doors. Nicole exhaled, flinging her hair out of her face. She turned towards the driver with a menacing look. "You have FAILED me, sir. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!" Nicole scoffed. She whipped back around, head held high, and marched off the bus.
Jo looked like a child on their first time to an amusement park. She marveled at the roller coasters peering over any other structure, the smell of greasy fair food in the air, and the amused screams of paying patrons. She could've shed a tear right then and there, but she had just cried herself out watching the Notebook last night so that would have to wait.
Jo turned to face the group, smiling as wide as she could. "Ok so where are we off to first? I was thinking the Mummy ride, but-" Before Jo could fully explain her itinerary, someone interrupted before things got really out of hand. "Whoa whoa whoa," Ethan Harris said waving his arms, "What do you mean, 'we'?" He put extra emphasis on the word to make it known to all of them that to remain separate would be best.
But Jo wasn't exactly the best at picking up hints. "We're all hanging out together, right? It'd be fun!" Her face looked so innocently happy that nobody could tell her 'no' in fear the blonde child might combust into tears. So instead, everyone started to mumble excuses to get out of the sticky situation. Nicole looked over at her best friend whose forehead resembled a Shiba Inu's. She knew that look too well- Kate was either about to explode with word vomit or pass out; neither was very appealing.
Nicole needed a distraction to get away from the group. Quick. So Nicole stood her ground and announced loud and proud, "Kate and I have to go pee." The murmuring stopped as they all turned to look at the two girls. Kate squeezed her eyes shut while Nicole was completely unphased. Ethan Harris was the only one that started to smile, while the rest of the group's faces ranged from annoyance to confusion. After an awkward pause that felt like an eternity, Nicole realized it was still her turn to speak.
"Let's go, pee buddy," she said after she grabbed Kate's arm. Kate was dragged around the corner where Nicole began unveiling her genius plan. "Ok breathe. Look, we're just gonna go back out, tell them that we have to go back to the hotel because we 'forgot something' and get away from them. Then it's just the two of us and this entire park to ourselves. I will be constantly on the lookout for the twins so that you can completely enjoy this day to its fullest and not have to deal with any close encounters. We gucci?"
Kate stood there amazed. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around. Granted, I was started to reconsider it when you announced our urinary functions, but consider my faith restored!" Kate grinned.
"I thought it was because you wouldn't be able to edit the videos yourself, but ok," Nicole said under her breath. "Let's go."
They made their way back to the group and Kate walked with a newfound confidence. Everything Nicole had said was pretty much foolproof and daring enough that it just might work. But when they returned, the twins and their girlfriends had vanished. "Uh. Not to sound unhappy, but where did they go?" Nicole asked, puzzled.
"They said they were going to meet up with some friends and took off," Danny answered.
Kate immediately sprung up as Nicole slumped down. "Well fuck! I planned this all out for nothing!" she exclaimed frustrated. Kate visibly relaxed as a small smile appeared on her face. "Aw, what a shame," Kate empathized.
Ethan Harris looked at the disappointed coordinator as if she was speaking ancient Anglo-Saxon. "You're joking, right?" he commented. How could she be upset about being away from Miss Bubbles? That girl made him feel annoyed and intimidated all at the same time; something he didn't think was possible.
With the pressure off of her shoulders, Kate was free to experience the park with the full amount of excitement it deserved. Granted it was no Disney World, but you make do with what you've got. "Come on, we've got a whole park to see!" Kate said as she latched onto Nicole's arm and started walking. Ethan turned to Danny with a baffled look. Nicole was just kidding right? Danny just smirked and shook his head before he took off to catch up to the girls. Ethan sighed, accepting that his question would just remain unanswered, and followed suit.
Kate wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but she was loving every minute of it. There were carnival-themed foods every 15 steps that filled the air with nostalgia. Funnel cakes drenched in powdered sugar, frozen bananas that immediately start to thaw with the humidity, fat burgers and fries, and more. Her appetite was on cloud 9 right now and her stomach would be paying for it later.
All the while, Nicole was on full security mode, checking her surroundings every few steps. She could sense that Kate was in a trance from the new surroundings so she couldn't unlatch the death grip on her arm to get a 360 scope. Just because the twins' group left, it didn't mean that they wouldn't be out of sight for the rest of the day and she was not about to be caught off-guard this time. She didn't even mind how tight Kate was squeezing her; it just meant she was doing a damn good job of keeping the twins out of sight and out of mind.
The guys took this time to get a firsthand look at how these two polar opposites worked together. Danny fully understood why Nicole kept studying her surroundings; he wouldn't want the twins and their girls ruining his day either. Ethan's was focused on Nicole too.
"Psh, let's be honest here," Harry commented with a wave of his hand. "When was Nicole not on Ethan's mind. Am I right, ladies?" The girls encircling him laughed at the remark. Nobody knew exactly when it happened, but while John was telling the story, Harry had taken a seat smack dab in the center of the crowd. He had blended in so seamlessly that barely anyone noticed he was out of place. "Honestly, he seems pretty obsessed with her," a girl remarked. Harry scoffed. "Girl, you don't know the half of it. One time he spent a full 45 minutes just talking about how she can only eat things one at a time, like she has to finish all the fries before moving on to the burger," Harry informed sassily.
The crowd mumbled their comments amongst themselves. Harry leaned into a trio of girls who were discussing it. "Weird, I agree," he whispered before loudly proclaiming, "But you know, no judgement! I've seen worse." Harry placed covered half of his mouth with his hand. "You didn't hear this from me, but Julian can't chew before taking a sip of something. I think it might be a salivary problem," he spilled through the corner of his mouth. Giggles were heard once more. "So do Ethan and Nicole end up together cause it'd suck if they don't," a guy asked.
"Obviously, why else would he talk about her?" a girl interrupted.
"But how? Because it seems to me that the girl isn't the least bit interested," another fellow chimed in.
Eyes returned to Harry for the answer. He sat cross-legged with his hand to his chin as he mulled over the question himself. "Good point," he nodded, "Yeah, how did they end up together? They seem like polar opposites to me." Harry looked to John. John instantly felt the eyes of the entire room on him, knocking him backwards. "Why are you asking me? You were there!" John exclaimed. Harry frozen, allowing the phrase to sink in, before chuckling to himself. "Oh yeah, that's right!"
Harry hopped back into the front. He stood tall and proud. "Why don't you take a seat there, mate, I'll take it from here," Harry said as he patted John's shoulder. Because he was a little pleased to be relieved from storytelling duty, John overlooked Harry's condescension. John sat down in a chair and laid back, ready for the full force of Harry's narration. "So how did they end up together, you ask? Well, I must say, it wasn't easy. Ethan had a loooot of bumps along the way…"
If studying this girl was a sport, he'd have the olympical gold medal. Honestly, if it was anything else, his attention span was like a goldfish in a bowl, but when it came to Nicole he was Sherlock mothereffin' Holmes. Nicole was final examinations and Ethan was going to pass with flying colors. Ethan was concentrating so hard-
("Just get on with it!" a deep voice yelled. Harry whipped around to face the rude interruption to see who was the culprit. He locked eyes with John who just smiled and waved. Harry shook his head before clearing his throat and continuing on.)
But before Ethan could finally connect the dots on Nicole's odd behavior, Kate stopped in front of a line. She cocked her head to the side as she read the sign that read "Studio Tours". She wondered if it was like the Star Tours ride at Disneyland. But then again, the line would probably be a little longer than that, right? So what was this? "Oh good, we found it! The only ride I go on at Universal," Nicole said before a conniving smile appeared on her face, "And then I can go back to the hotel room and sleep this hangover off…"
Kate mustered up the fakest laugh she could to tell Nicole she wasn't having it today. No moping around, no ditching her to go back "home", no half days because someone doesn't know how to say 'no' to alcohol. They were going to have a fun day, damn it. Nicole felt Kate squeeze her arm tighter. But before she could complain, she was yanked into line.
They managed to get on a shuttle after a few minutes of waiting. Somehow, the duos got mixed up with Danny pairing up with Kate and Ethan with Nicole. When they got to their seats, Danny, being the gentleman that he is, let Kate slide into the seat first. Now, our man, Ethan tried the same thing, but Nicole refused. She preferred the end of the seat. This did bruise Ethan's hopes a little, but he had a lot more where that came from. If he was going to get Nicole to see him as relationship material, he was going to need to try hard and try often.
Thankfully, he wasn't in this alone. Ethan pulled out his phone and secretly shot Danny a text. "This isn't going so well," Ethan texted. Danny's phone dinged in his lap as Ethan's name flashed on screen. He sighed inwardly. "Well pull yourself together," he typed back. If Ethan really wanted to make progress with Nicole, he was going to have to man up and do it himself. Danny had other things to worry about.
With their current seating arrangements, Danny could finally strike up a conversation with Kate. He hadn't spoken to her since earlier that morning and with the whole Banks situation, he was sure she was thrown for another loop. At least now she was trapped in this tram next to him for the next 20 minutes, where they could talk about anything and everything. It was perfect, perfect, perfect!
("Did you just go into a Yzma voice?" John asked. Harry sighed at another interrupted. "Yes, it adds to the character. Now, can I continue?" John grinned and motioned for Harry to go on.)
The tram started on it's way through the lot. The tour guide began rattling off the introduction, but Kate was too busy staring out the side to notice. The universe had a twisted sense of humor. These things happen but she can't luck out and win the lottery. Seriously, what were the odds that they'd be on the exact same tram at the exact same time? "You seem excited," Danny observed. Kate came out of her inner loathing to address the kind boy beside her. "Oh yeah, totes," she managed to say unsarcastically, "You too! You film buffs would love this sort of thing."
"Yeah, it's interesting to see behind the scenes," Danny continued.
"Good," Kate replied before staring out the window again.
Danny looked out to see if an attraction was coming up, but the tour had just started and nothing really came up yet. She must've been thinking about the Banks again. "You alright there?" Danny asked. Kate whipped around. "Huh? Oh yeah! I'm great! It's all great!" she exuberantly answered.
"Uh huh...And seeing Jordan again hasn't gotten you acting all weird," Danny said.
"Whaat? Noo!" Kate looked down at her lap and mumbled, "Maybe, just a little."
Danny smiled. At least she was admitting it now. Isn't that one of the first steps to recovery or something? "Relax," he assured her, "It's all going to be ok." Kate scoffed. What did he know? The universe was a lot more malicious than any of them previously thought. If it wanted to continuously bring Jordan back into her life and cause her physical and emotional trauma just for fun, then it would. "What if we take your mind off of it?" Danny offered. Kate's eyes lit up at the proposal. "Please!" she exclaimed.
An average looking home sat ahead of them. It was yellow with a green tiled roof. Beyond that was an ominous wooden building that seemed to loom over the entire set. Decrepit grey stairs built into the small hill led the pathway from the elongated house to the imminent building. "Alright, do you know Psycho?" Danny asked and waited for Kate's nod, "Well that's the house they used for the main character."
"That's Norman Bate's house?!" Kate exclaimed, nearly leaning out the vehicle, "No way! That was such a great movie! That character was amazing!"
And with that, Kate was pretty well distracted for the rest of the ride. Danny and her spoke about movies, characters, and sets. She was pretty interested in the behind-the-scenes of it all. Even when it came to movies she's never watched, Kate seemed absolutely fascinated with the production of it all. Kate was asking all the right questions and Danny had all the right answers. If only it was going on half as easily on the other side of the tram.
Nicole had overheard Danny's prompting from her seat. She had to give it to him; he was good at this. She wouldn't have expected that he did a lot of prepping beforehand if it wasn't for his speed at pointing things out before the tour guide could. Either this wasn't his first time on the ride or he did some research last night. It was sweet anyways. She was glad someone could distract Kate from thinking about Jordan Banks.
Nicole suddenly felt the eyes of her seat mate on her. And now to handle this guy. She sighed. "Are you going to start with the small talk too?" she asked. Ethan was taken aback. How did she know? Could she read minds too? It'd be better if he just played it off. "Psh, whaaaaat? What's small talk? I don't even know what that is!" Ethan exaggerated. Nicole rolled her eyes as a smile tugged at her lips. It was refreshing to see that not all guys were smooth talkers.
Ethan leaned in Nicole's direction. "Soooo," he held out as he got close enough, "Did you enjoy last night?" Nicole threw her hands up. "Great, This is just great. I'm stuck on a tram that's going 10 miles per hour next to the dorkiest guy I've ever held a convo with," she retorted. Ethan sunk down in his seat. Nicole could already hear Kate lecturing her in her head. "Nicole, he's just trying to be nice," Kate would say. Nicole mentally batted away the voice in her head. Man, was it annoying. Right, but annoying nonetheless.
"Yes, I did enjoy myself last night," Nicole confessed flatly. Ethan perked up like a friggin pop tart. He would've shot a fist in the air if he didn't think it would weird Nicole (and probably some other passengers) out. She had a fun time last night too! Good. They were definitely getting somewhere. "But don't think that's going to be a recurring theme, alright? I just needed someone to help me get a little drunk-" Nicole began.
"And I was the closest person, yeah yeah, I got it," Ethan finished. Nicole looked over to see a grin on Ethan's face. He wiggled his eyebrows at her her. "But you had fun, right?" he nudged her slightly. Nicole looked away and exhaled a sigh of contempt. "Well that's all that matters to me. So, glad I could be of assistance," Ethan replied. Nicole rolled her eyes. Great, another cocky British guy. Maybe it was all that tea they were drinking. She knew there was a good reason they tossed it all into the harbor.
Ethan didn't even care that his attitude was probably getting on Nicole's nerves. He was fully content knowing that she enjoyed spending the night with him. They had gone from being complete strangers (with her not wanting to have anything to do with him) to having their first full-on conversation. Hell, he got to see what she's like bat shit drunk. And all in the course of a couple of hours. The guy couldn't help but be smug for the rest of the ride. Wouldn't you be? All he wanted to do now was get that opportunity again and break down those walls that only came down partially last night. He had so many unanswered questions that were taking up every corner of his mind. He wanted to know as much as he could about her, and this was the time to do it, right?
Ethan was about to try and ask her another question to keep the conversation going, but all of Nicole's attention was out at the scenery around her. The Studio Tours in Orlando was much different than the one in Los Angeles, so she couldn't help but wonder at the unfamiliar sets. Looking at how movies and tv shows were made and the amount of production work went into a single scene fascinated her.
Nicole had this wide, sincere smile plastered all over her face. Ethan just couldn't let himself break that concentration. She seemed so happy. A smile grew on Ethan's face too. Maybe just sitting next to her would be enough. He could see the corner of her mouth curved upwards at every new set. Her eyes must've been all bright and filled with wonder too. Ethan leaned back in his seat, soaking up the joy radiating from Nicole. Yeah, this was enough.
("Boooo!" John cried out from the crowd. "I'm tired of hearing Ethan miss his opportunities. When are things gonna get better for him?" Surrounding members of the crowd began nodding and vocalizing their agreements. Harry simply glared at John to show his distaste for the interruption. After an exaggerated pause, he started, "Are you telling the story or am I?" He crossed his arms and began tapping his foot. John raised his arms as a surrender, turning the attention back to Harry."Now, before I was so rudely interrupted," Harry continued smiling devilishly, "the next ride is where things started to look better for the two of them.")
A/N: Part 2 of this chapter will be updated on Friday, 3/4.