Summer Rush

Pt 3

The time was 3:26 when I glanced at my alarm clock.

"Oh my God!" I yelled, jumping out of bed. My hair was messy, eyes groggy, head cloudy as I stumbled to the door in my pajamas.

"Y/N!" Clara yelled as I opened the door. Behind her were Matt and Mia.

"It's 3:30! What were you doing?" Matt said, shocked.

"You're still in your pajamas?!" Mia crossed her arms.

"Sorry guys, I guess I just slept in," I said, puzzled, "Just come in and give me like twenty minutes."

++

They spent the entire car ride teasing me about how ridiculous I looked when I first answered the door. At one point, I started staring out the window, watching the trees and buildings pass by. Lost in thought for a moment. Soobin would be there today, right?

"Hey, Y/N!" Mia called to me, "What are you thinking about?"

"What?" I turned to look at her, startled, "Nothing."

"Oh come on! I can always tell when you have something on your mind, now spill it!"

"Well. . . it's just," I paused, "just this guy at work, nothing crazy, just butterflies."

"OH MY GOD!" Mia shouted, alerting Clara and Matt in the front. Matt turned around. Mia's eyes shot open, "Ah- nothing!" she tried to brush it off, "thought I saw a bug. . ."

Matt turned back to face the front. Mia glanced at me and smiled, her nose scrunching.

"Better point him out to me," she said with a whisper and nudged me with her elbow.

A few minutes later, Clara pulled into the parking lot, finding a spot to pull in where someone was just leaving. We walked up towards the entrance and purchased tickets. I got in for free and I let my friends use my discount. Exploring the stands and rides made them giddy with excitement. Mia argued with the ticket booth worker for a few minutes, insisting that her year-old tickets should still be valid. Nevertheless, we purchased wristbands for unlimited rides for the rest of the night. After about 20 minutes of trying out the different rides, our heads were dizzy. We decided to walk a few laps around the grounds to rest.

"Ooh!" Mia smirked, "I'm kind of in the mood for a caramel apple, how about you guys?" I shot her an annoyed look.

"Mia," Matt sighed and laughed, "we know you just want to talk to Y/N's coworker."

"So what if I do?" she started walking up to the truck in the distance.

"This should be good," Clara chuckled.

Mia strolled up to the counter and rung the bell. Beomgyu quietly rushed over. That stupid weiner hat.

"What would you like to order?" he said softly.

Mia's confidence suddenly crumbled. She was silent. She was staring. I walked up next to her.

"Hey Beomgyu," I smiled, "This is my friend, Mia!"

"Oh," he looked at Mia, "Hi."

Mia's face flushed red as she broke her gaze, "Hey," she said quietly.

"Can she get a caramel apple?" I put my arm around her.

"I like your hair," she blurted out.

Beomgyu looked up at her, "Thanks," he said genuinely, "Gonna go talk to your boyfriend, Y/N?"

"What?! We're not. . ." I brushed my hair behind my ears nervously.

"Turn around," Beomgyu said, dipping the apple into the smooth caramel. I glanced a look in his direction. Eyes. Those sparkly eyes. They darted away, "You should probably at least go talk to him, he asked me about you earlier," Beomgyu handed Mia the apple, their hands touched for a brief moment.

"Thank you," Mia said, fumbling for her wallet.

"Don't worry about it," Beomgyu smiled, "Free of charge. Flattering will get you everywhere in my book," Mia smiled back at him.

As Mia struggled to bite the enormous apple, we wandered over to MOA cones. Soobin tried to hide his excited expression.

"Hey," I greeted him. Since it was a little before dinner, no one was waiting in line.

"Hi," he smiled, "Can I get you anything?" he leaned his elbows on the counter.

"Yeah," Mia said with her mouth full. She chewed a bit, swallowed, then said, "why don't you come out of there and hang out with us?"

"Oh!" Soobin said, surprised, "I would, but-"

"He can go!" Huening Kai appeared, smiling mischievously.

"Are you sure? You can handle-"

"Yes!" he urged, "I can handle it. "We're surprisingly slow, anyways."

"Okay!" Soobin smiled at me, "let me change out of these clothes first."

A few minutes later, Soobin came out of the side of the truck wearing black converse, simple jean shorts, and a gray t-shirt.

"Nice," Mia nudged me. I punched her in the arm.

We went to the Tilt-A-Whirl first, after Soobin bought himself a wristband. As we waited, there was an intense awkward silence. The ride operator began checking our wristbands, counting off in groups of three. Shoot.

"Miss," the operator said as I stepped up. My three friends were already walking away, toward one of the vehicles, "Miss," he said again, "Maximum of three per vehicle."

"Oh!" I saw my friends seat themselves, "I-"

"We're together," Soobin crept forwards, standing next to me.