A rollercoaster ride throws Kate in for a loop...
There weren't a lot of things Kate Austen was scared of.
She could only assume being an Army brat during most of her childhood was the reason for that. Her dad, Major Sergeant Sam Austen, had exposed her to the wilderness and its dangers, and shown her how to handle herself in various scenarios.
An adventurous kid, she'd always followed boys around, wanting to be part of a more active group that reminded her more of what it felt like to hang out with her dad, especially after her parents got divorced and she moved back to Ames with her mother. Most girls her age only played with dolls and stayed indoors, and that just wasn't Kate.
That's how she'd met Tom, her best friend, in 2nd grade. He was a shy kid and a little bit nerdy. The other boys deemed him too weird to let him play with them and he didn't want to be bullied more by joining the group of girls playing together. Kate had been the only one willing to play in the monkey bars with him and he was impressed at how good she was at it.
They'd been best friends ever since and, even when he got a girlfriend, that didn't change anything. Kate hadn't really hung onto the promises they'd made to each other at the age of ten, but she couldn't say it hadn't stung a little bit that their friendship hadn't evolved into a love story like in some of the books she'd read.
Still, she'd been supportive, only wishing to see him happy. And his girlfriend, Rachel, was actually nice. Together, they often invited her to tag along, if they knew they were doing something she'd enjoy, and Rachel had become someone she could consider a friend too.
When they'd asked her along to an amusement park, she'd quickly taken the opportunity to get away for a while, even if she wasn't all that interested. She'd been to one or two before, mainly with her dad when she spent summers with him in Washington state, and hadn't found them to be all that fun. But this year she'd been forced to stay with her mother and step-father, Wayne, since her dad was in Serbia, fighting in the war.
It brought her comfort that by the end of summer, she'd be off to college, free of Wayne, free of his violence. She would no longer be forced to witness his treatment of her mother or her submission to it.
She hadn't regretted saying yes to them until Rachel suggested a rollercoaster ride.
Seeing it towering over her, with the carts rolling through the loops and the echoing screams ringing in her ears made her palms sweat.
She wished she could be as excited about it as the trio behind them. For the twenty minutes they stood in line, they'd talked excitedly about the ride, eager to experience the thrill of being upside down at 110 miles per hour.
Her stomach kept churning and her heart was beating so hard in her chest that it'd gotten increasingly difficult to hear the screams. She didn't even notice that the line was moving until Tom and Rachel pulled her towards a cart.
She froze in her spot and watched as they took a seat right at the front. They kept calling for her, but she couldn't move. Her heart was in her throat, she wanted to vomit and she wasn't even on the ride yet.
The ride operator didn't seem to notice how tense she was, instead guiding her to the empty seat next to a tall boy who chatted excitedly with a couple of younger teenagers behind him. She took her seat without complaint, immediately grabbing the bar as the woman lowered it onto her lap and clenching it tightly.
When the ride started to move, her first thought was that that was it, she was going to die. For some unfathomable reason, she'd thought the ride would at least start off slowly before it picked up speed, but it zoomed away from the platform and she did her best to quiet down the voice in her head that kept telling her she wouldn't come out of that ride alive.
"It helps if you scream," she heard the boy next to her yell, leaning into her a little bit to make sure she could hear him through the whooshing of the wind.
She tried to follow his advice, but couldn't find her voice. She couldn't bring herself to release the breath stuck in her throat. They were too high up, they were headed for a drop, a drop that would then turn upwards at an impossible angle and send them flying through the first loop.
On instinct, she slid her hand towards his on the bar, before he could throw it up in the air like everyone around them seemed to be ready to do. She didn't know if he chose to release the bar or if he was just spooked by a stranger touching him, but the instant he let go, she grabbed it and held it tightly, squeezing it as hard as she squeezed her eyes shut the second she realized they were going to descend.
He screamed excitedly next to her as she continued to crush his hand in hers, feeling her palm start to sweat but too worried about the ride to even consider feeling embarrassed.
"You're okay, it's almost over." He gave her hand a couple of gentle, reassuring squeezes in return.
She wanted to scoff at him, call him a liar. But his words brought her comfort and they were true. Although it'd felt like an eternity, it didn't take long for the cart to ease to a stop at the platform again.
The people on the ride started to get up, walking towards the exit. She saw Tom helping a rambling Rachel out of their seats, both smiling brightly as they waved at her to join them, but she couldn't move. Her legs felt like jello, her mouth like sand, and her hand was still tightly wrapped around the boy's.
Kate had little time to process her embarrassment before he spoke again. "You okay?" She nodded, unable to speak.
She was surprised when he didn't let go of her hand and, instead, helped her out of their seats, freeing the ride for the next passengers and dodging the stern look from the ride operator.
"I see you're a fan of the buddy system."
She couldn't help but giggle nervously. Gratitude washed over her when she realized he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. In her experience, it wasn't often that men were nice or kind without ulterior motives, but this guy seemed sweet. There was something about him that screamed safety and it felt unusual to her.
"I'm so sorry," she finally uttered. Her mouth still felt sandy and dry, but she finally felt able to swallow again. "I don't know what got into me, I was just–"
"Hey, it's okay, we all get scared sometimes."
Suddenly, she realized she still had a tight grip on his hand and quickly released it, nearly shoving it away. "Thank you, uh, for helping me."
"No, problem," he reassured her, a small, charming smile playing on his lips. "I'm Jack."
It was nice to put a name to the face. She thought he looked like a Jack, his crew cut and polo gave him a prep school look she believed was very appropriate for someone with such a classic, serious name.
"Hey, Kate, come on, we gotta go!", she turned in Rachel's direction as she heard her call out to her, waving at her to come over their way, already on the other side of the stanchions.
"I'm sorry, I have to go, but thanks again." She scrambled away, blushing. Rachel was giving her an odd look and Tom looked impatient.
She hardly reached them and Tom was already rambling about how he really needed to use the bathroom before they got into another long line. It wasn't until they'd gotten across all the stanchions that she realized she hadn't told him her name.
Turning around and going back crossed her mind, but Rachel had already looped her arm through hers and was obliviously dragging her towards the next ride to save their spot while Tom emptied his bladder. All she could do was turn her head and look back.
He was standing at the ride's exit with the same two teens that had sat behind them, looking around, leaning to talk to the girl, a petite blonde who looked no older than fourteen. She, too, seemed to be scanning the park.
When her eyes met his, she couldn't fight the smile that blossomed on her lips. He didn't either, smiling even bigger than she'd seen just moments ago as he gave her a small wave, which she returned.
She pointed in the direction they were going, hoping that he could see the ride from where he stood and that he would follow so they could meet again.