Tara paled at the mention of the rollercoaster and slowed in her pace. Willow turned to her and frowned.
"What's wrong? Is the rollercoaster? Are you scared? We don't have to go on if you're scared, it was just an idea. There's loads of other stuff we can do here."
"I've just never been on one before," Tara admitted shyly before looking up at her girlfriend, "Will you hold my hand?"
"Of course," Willow replied with a warm smile, "I'll never stop."
Tara smiled widely.
"Well then, lead the way."
Willow squealed excitedly and walked them to the entrance of the rollercoaster, which luckily didn't have much of a line as it was still early in the evening. The smaller girl stepped into the cart first and Tara followed, before the steel bar was lowered and clicked securely into place. The brunette held onto the bar tightly with one hand as the other held onto her soft toy and smiled as she felt Willow put one hand over hers, then scooted closer so their hips were touching.
"It's less scary if you close your eyes," Willow said as the ride started and they pushed forwards.
"Thanks," Tara replied, though she was determined to keep them open and have the full experience of the ride.
Tara held her breath as the cart started slowly inching upwards on the track until they were stationary on top of the first arch. She glanced down and gulped when she saw the extent of the drop but didn't have much time to process her fear as the cart suddenly plunged downwards, the speed making the air rush up into both their faces.
Willow started laughing in a mixture of nervousness and exhilaration as they sped up and down the loops of the rollercoaster, glancing to the side and seeing that Tara was doing the same. They locked eyes for a moment which made them both laugh even harder until the cart pulled up where it had started, the ride over.
"Wow," Tara said as she stepped out of the cart and back onto the ground, taking Willow's hand to help her out too, "That was..."
"Thrilling," Willow giggled, biting her lip excitedly, "You liked it then?"
Tara nodded vigorously.
"It was great. The only other time I've ever felt that exhilarated is..."
She trailed off shyly, but Willow bumped her hip playfully and prompted for more.
"What?"
Tara blushed but turned to meet the redhead's gaze.
"Whenever I kiss you."
Willow blushed as well but got a big smile on her face.
"If I knew I was just like a rollercoaster, I'd have charged admission," she quipped before frowning, "I really didn't mean for that to sound like I wanted to be a hooker."
Tara giggled and Willow surprised her by planting a warm kiss on her lips, then pulled back and started walking them towards the food concession stand.
"You hungry, baby? I could really go for some fried chicken..."
They both ordered some fried chicken and sat on a space of grass as they ate it before spending the next couple of hours enjoying the rest of the carnival before the sun started to set and they began to head back to their bus stop, knowing they had to check in back at the school before nightfall.
They arrived back in their room with smiles on their faces and Tara placed her heart soft toy against her pillow before reaching under her bed and pulling out a square shaped object that had purple tissue wrapped around it as Willow turned on the radio on her nightstand, soft music filling the room.
"I wasn't sure whether to give this to you tomorrow, but since we're celebrating today, I figured..."
Willow spun around at the sound of her girlfriend's voice and she looked surprised as she saw the gift being held out towards her.
"Tara, you didn't have to get me anything," she said softly, taking the offering and smiling, "It's squishy."
She excitedly ripped the purple paper away to reveal a plain black throw cushion.
"Aw, thanks, baby," Willow said happily, running her fingers along the soft material, "Now I have something to cuddle when I'm going to sleep."
"Uh, Willow..." Tara replied shyly and nervously, "Um, turn it around."
Willow looked confused but turned the cushion around in her hands, her eyes widening when she saw the design of that side; the black material acted as a border but there was a large white square of material that encompassed most of the cushion. What the redhead was blown away by was the design inside the white square; an exact replica of The Periodic Table of The Elements, each individual element in its own square, the different sections colour coded.
"Tara, where did you get this?" Willow asked excitedly, "It's awesome!"
"I made it."
Willow's head shot up, her eyes going wider than before.
"You made this?" she asked in disbelief, "Like actually made this? Like 'needle and thread' made this?"
"Well the plain black and white stuff I was able to use the sewing machine for. But the other stuff, yea. Do you like it? I know you like science and I asked the guys online and they thought it was a good idea. You don't have to keep it if you don't like it."
"Tara, it's amazing," Willow replied in awe, "How did you do this?"
"Oh, um..." Tara started to explain with a smile, "Well the large bits I did during Home Ec, which was easy since you wouldn't have noticed me doing anything different than in a regular class. And then for the rest I just brought the thread and needles and stuff from the Home Ec room and I've been waking up early while you were still sleeping to work on it. Then I just had to stuff it."
Willow felt at a loss for words as she looked between Tara and her gift, both at how her girlfriend had managed to think of something to give her that she truly loved and at the sheer effort and dedication she'd gone to in order to produce it for. Her fingers traced over the individual lettering and she couldn't help a small laugh.
"Hydrogen, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Uranium. Yep, they're all here. I can't believe you did this for me."
"Well, it is your 18th birthday," Tara replied shyly, "And I'm your girlfriend. I think that warrants gift-giving."
Willow held her pillow to her chest for a second before placing it on her bed and opening the drawer of her nightstand, taking out a flat rectangular-shaped object, wrapped in shiny blue paper that had the words 'Happy Birthday' written all over it. She turned back around and handed it to her girlfriend.
"I was gonna give it to you yesterday, but...like you said, we're celebrating today. Happy Birthday."
Tara shakily held a hand out and accepted the gift. The only birthday presents she'd ever received were horse riding sessions with her mother, and only then because her mother had known someone who owned a ranch and so was able to take the horses out for free, so her father had never found out, but she hadn't gotten anything since her mother had died.
Her father had plenty of money, almost all of it coming from his own father who had been a rich oil baron, but he wasn't one for sharing, at least not with the women in his life. He and Donny never wanted for anything, but Tara's mother, and Tara after her mother had died, had had to keep the house going on a shoestring. Tara was shocked when she was told she was being sent to boarding school, purely because she would never have expected him to be willing to spend that amount on her.
Only because he caught me...Never would've spent a penny if he wasn't so disgusted. Well tough luck, Daddy, 'cause I have a beautiful girlfriend so your plan to de-gay me didn't work one bit.
Tara felt proud at her own thought, even though it was just a thought, it was still the closest she'd ever come to actually confronting or saying anything in challenge to her father. She pulled herself from her musings though when she saw Willow was looking at her expectantly, since she still hadn't opened her present.
"Sorry. Just admiring the wrapping."
She smiled a small smile, before carefully folding back the paper and pulling the object out, turning it her hands to reveal a silver frame with the words 'You and Me' swirled across the top. The actual photograph inside the frame was actually a bunch of different pictures of the two of them, ones they'd taken both with Willow's webcam and her actual camera, so the location varied between their room or different locations in the town. They'd all been cut out and placed so they fit perfectly together, their smiles beaming in each photo.
"Do you like it?" Willow asked nervously when Tara failed to say anything after a few minutes, "I should've gotten you jewellery. Every girl likes jewellery, but no, I had to try and be cute and creative. I'm sorry. We can go into town next weekend if you want and you can pick out a necklace or a bracelet or whatever you want. I can't remember if there's a jewellery store but I'm sure we can find somewhere..."
Tara tore her eyes away from her gift when she realised Willow was talking and frowned.
Why the hell is she talking about jewellery?
"Willow..." Tara said, cutting her girlfriend off, "What are you talking about?"
Willow gestured towards the picture frame.
"Your present. I said I'll buy you jewellery instead since you don't like it."
"Who said I didn't like it?"
Willow opened and closed her mouth a few times in confusion.
"I...I just thought..."
"I love it more than anything," Tara replied genuinely, and couldn't help but smile as she glanced down at the frame again, "We look really good together. I don't mean attractive, even though you're absolutely gorgeous, I just mean..."
"We're happy," Willow finished, peering over to look at her work as well, "We look good together because we're right together. Nothing and no one could ever change that."
Tara grinned and turned to place her gift on her night stand before spinning back around and walking towards Willow with purpose, taking a hold of her hips. She leant her head down and met the redhead's lips softly for a few moments before pulling away just an inch and speaking in a breathy tone.
"Rollercoaster."
Willow felt her heart burst and was about to respond when a familiar tone caught her ears and she squealed excitedly.
"I love this song!"
She ran over to the radio and turned the volume up, the louder beats of Kylie Minogue's Love At First Sight filling the room as Willow went back to Tara and took her hands.
"Dance with me?"
"I can't dance," Tara replied shyly.
"Either can I," Willow answered with a smile, "Come on, it's just me."
Tara looked nervous for another second before giving a small nod and Willow squealed again before spinning the brunette in place. Tara laughed and followed her girlfriend's lead, dancing exuberantly around the room as she listened to the song. She hadn't heard the particular tune before but quite liked the melody and couldn't help but feel how much she related to the words.
'Cause baby when I heard you
For the first time I knew
We were meant to be as one Was tired of running out of luck
Thinking 'bout giving up yeah
Didn't know what to do
Then there was you And everything went from wrong to right
And the stars came out and filled up the sky
The music you were playing really blew my mind
It was love at first sight
Unbeknownst to Tara, Willow was thinking the exact same thing; that the lyrics were describing her feelings perfectly. She smiled and spun her girlfriend again, giggling when Tara lost her footing and ended up pulling them both down onto the redhead's bed, alongside each other. They met in a soft kiss and the smaller girl reached over to turn the volume of the radio down again before pulling back and looking at the brunette shyly, running a hand down her arm.
"It was, you know."
Tara's brow crinkled in confusion.
"What?"
Willow took a deep breath but never let her eyes leave Tara's.
"Love at first sight."
Tara felt her breath hitch in her throat.
Did she just say that she loves me? She said love. She said she loves me. Willow Rosenberg loves me. Stop thinking about it, Tara and quickly tell her you love her back!
"For me too."
"Really?" Willow asked, her voice thick with emotion, "Really? Just, just so we're clear-"
"I love you, Willow," Tara cut her girlfriend off with a warm smile, "I love you. I've always loved you."
"Oh god, Tara, me too, I've always loved you too," Willow replied in a rush, "I love you with all my heart."
Willow quickly captured the brunette's lips again, trying to pass all her love through the kiss. Tara responded as eagerly, her mind going into overdrive.
She loves me. This wonderful, perfect girl loves me. She loves me, she thinks I'm beautiful...maybe I am. Maybe she makes me that way. She was spot on earlier, we are right together. So right. How am I gonna cope when I have to leave her? No, no, don't think about that. We still have months and months together until the school year is over. No more thinking; you're in a loving relationship and your girlfriend is kissing you. That's all that matters.
She let herself get lost in the kiss, the warm sensation building in the pit of her stomach and the soft feeling of lips on lips. It wasn't long before they brought their tongues into play and began softly stroking each other until they had to pull apart for air.
"I love you," Willow whispered breathlessly.
Tara closed her eyes for a moment, savouring hearing those words.
"I love you too."
Willow smiled and ran her hand down the brunette's arm again.
"I love my cushion, baby, but you saying those words...that's the best present I've ever gotten."