‘That’ Side Character Chapter 36: Ride with Kenma

Just then the ride stopped and the announcer started talking about loading the next lot of people onboard- which included you and Kuroo, so you quickly made an excuse about how you guys were next to go on the ride, then ignored Kuroo for a bit as you got onto the rollercoaster and let the attendants plug you in.

As you sat down, you had a really good think about Kuroo’s question.

“Do I like Kenma? I do like being around him all the time… and I don’t want him to be with anyone else…” you thought, continuing to ponder this as the ride started up.

You were so distracted by your thoughts that it was only when you were halfway down the rollercoaster, spinning madly in a circle, that you suddenly remembered where you were and started screaming with delight.

Kuroo had been yelling since the beginning of the drop and he got a fright when you all of a sudden joined in seeing as you had been silent up until this point.

The rest of the ride was fun, and once it ended, you hopped off and walked with Kuroo back to Kenma and the bags.

You had all but forgotten about what you had said to Kenma before you left to go on the ride so you forgot to be embarrassed when you were heading back to him. So instead of walking shyly back, you ran up to him and grabbed his hand, then pulled him up to standing.

“Come on just one ride with me,” you said as you started pulling him with you towards the rides.

Kuroo, being the good friend he was, yoinked Ken’s PSP from his hand as you both passed him and promised Kenma he would keep it safe- which WASN’T what Kenma was worried about at that point. It was the deathly screams of the people on rides that had him concerned the most. 

“Do I really have to do this?” Kenma asked, fighting you just a little as you dragged him down the main stretch, your eyes looking at the rides that flanked you either side, trying to find one that you thought would be good.

Spotting the perfect classic rollercoaster, you beelined for it. It was a relatively cruisy ride with one big drop at the end, but it didn’t seem too steep.

“Come on! This way,” you called back to him, looking back over your shoulder as you smiled brightly at him.

There was just something about how happy you were, coupled with the way the light caught the side of your face, and your hand holding his, that really took his breath away, and for a few seconds everything slowed down and he just marveled at his beautiful you were.

“She’s so pretty,” he thought, “I do really like her…”

You giggled excitedly as you lined up with him, talking about how you had been on this type of rollercoaster before and it wasn’t that bad, and how it was actually quite relaxing etc.. etc.. but while you were downplaying the scariness of the ride, in the background, all Kenma could hear were the terrified occupants of the coaster, screaming as they were hurled off the edge of the drop and thrown full tilt down the tracks for a good 30 meters before they were pulled up and shot along a straight part of the ride.

“I really don’t want to go on. But if Y/N wants to, then…” He scrunched his other hand into a fist and steeled himself, “I can do this.”

It was an agonizing 10-minute wait to get onto the ride then you and Kenma were strapped into the seats midway along the coaster train.

“Middle is good,” you said to him as you lifted your arms for the attendant to check the straps across your lap, “it’s front and back that’s the scariest so we’ll be fine here,” you added encouragingly.

He looked down as the attendant then fixed his straps and gave him the thumbs up.

“You’re all good to go, lad,” the man said with a smile.

Kenma nodded and looked back down.

“If I just close my eyes then I can’t have anything to see to be scared about,” he thought, jamming his eyes shut.

You looked across and saw he had his eyes closed already and felt sorry for him.

“Hey.” You reached across and held his hand. “Pretend we’re in Monster Hunter and we’re on the back of a… uh… giant snake… yeah, that’s it… a giant snake, and we’re on a mission.”

Just then the roller coaster started up and your attention was divided.

“Ok, we’re on the mission now! Here we go!”

Kenma channeled his best images of being on a giant snake and surprisingly, it helped! 

He kept his eyes closed, but he could feel the snake moving underneath him, he could feel it building speed and he imagined it was getting closer to the bank of a steep stream, ready to slide down into the water.

Through the anticipatory shrieks of those around him, he heard your voice clearly.

“Level 10 up ahead! We just need to defeat the final boss!”

Kenma gripped the hand rails and braced as the ‘snake’ slowed down and climbed up the side of the bank then readied itself for the drop and he tensed for it. 

As the ‘snake’ curved up and over the top of the bank, it sped up, and all of a sudden it was barreling down the other side but Kenma was ready for it.

You were screeching with delight while he just held on for dear life, his mind creating the images for him. He wasn’t ready to admit it but imagining that he was on a giant snake definitely helped him get through the ride and you know what… another thing that he didn’t want to admit… was that he kinda enjoyed it. 

The ride was over fairly quickly and although it wasn’t as harrowing as what he had first imagined it would be… he just wanted to get off.

You were quietly impressed that he hadn’t even made a sound during the whole ride. Ok, he had his eyes shut the whole time, but still- you had been expecting that he would have yelled out at some point.

“You handled that like a pro,” you praised him as you left the stands, “what did you think?”

“I don’t want to go on any more,” he stated, and you chuckled. 

“Ok. I won’t make you go on any more.”

<<< ‘That’ Side Character Chapter 35: Decisions, Decisions

‘That’ Side Character Chapter 37: Pensive >>>