Roller Coasters and Butterflies (Rini Through the Years)

4 (pov. Ricky)

"So what do you wanna ride next?" I asked Nini.

She squinted her eyes at the huge map she had in her hands. It took us a little longer to go on the rides because we had no idea of where we were going, and we weren't the best at reading maps.

"Well I wanted to ride the Buccaneer, but..." She sighed. "I have no idea where it is."

Our parents were somewhere in the park, probably talking and taking pictures of the area. They weren't with us because the four of them decided they didn't want to wait in lines for rides they weren't planning on riding. Our  parents trusted us to behave and it wasn't unusual for middle schoolers to walk around without an adult. That's how we ended up alone, alone trying to figure out a stupid map.

We had been on a total of eleven rides so far, and we both agreed that Superman Escape from Krypton was our favorite so far. My second favorite was Goliath. Nini didn't ride that one  because it was a wooden rollercoaster and she's heard some patchy things about those. I told her to shake off her nerves because the ride couldn't be as bad as she thought, but she still wouldn't budge. I told her she didn't have to go on it if she didn't want to. It kind of hurt though because it felt like she didn't think I would protect her, like even though I would be riding with her, she still didn't feel safe. Nini didn't like to take lots of risks though, and I respected that.

We finally arrived to the big pirate ship six minutes later. We were at the very front of the line, with a group of people in front of us getting on the ride.

"Ok so there's one more spot available on the ride." One of the staff members told us.

She had light purple hair, and lots of ear piercings, including some on her face. Also in her young twenties it seemed like. She acted like she didn't want to be there which intimidated Nini and I a little.

"Do one of you want to hop on, or would you rather wait to go with the next group?" She dully stated.

Nini quickly linked her arm with mine tightly. "We'd rather wait to ride together in the next group."

I gave a shy smile. "Yeah."

The staff lady shrugged and closed the tiny gate separating us from the ride area.

"No way am I going on a ride without you." Nini whispered to me, arms still linked.

She wasn't looking at me, but I still smiled down at her. What she said made me feel relieved and really good at the same time.

Once it was our turn, we were measured, and then we walked onto the Buccaneer.

The ride began by the boat rocking swiftly back and forth, making it feel like the boat was getting tossed around on the surf. We started swinging higher and higher into the air. I turned my head over to look at Nini and made a funny face at her.

"Dork." She said to me laughing.

Eventually, the boat was practically vertical in the air, I imagined we were in untamed waves. We would swing back and forth, and I could feel my stomach tighten with the momentum of the ride. It was definitely a feeling I only wanted to feel on rides and nothing else.

Our legs were wobbly once the ride ended. We decided to break for lunch because we both needed to sit down, and it was a little after 1pm. We both got chicken tenders and fries. Our parents made us pack water bottles.

"This is so good. Definitely worth the money." Said Nini as she bit into her chicken.

Our parents told us to make wise choices with what we bought for lunch and snacks because concession food prices were what my dad called, a rip off.

I chuckled and handed her a napkin.

"What is it?"

"You have ketchup all over your mouth."

Nini's eyes widened. "Oh my god Ricky why didn't you say anything? I probably looked like a preschooler to some people." She hastily wiped off the sauce.

"I don't know, I thought it was cute- I mean funny. I thought it was funny." I cleared my throat realizing how much of an idiot I was.

Nini was surprised by the words that came out of my mouth. "You weren't calling me cute or anything were you Bowen?"

I took a sip of my water and shook my head. "What? No." I actually was.

"Ok good because that kind of talk is too much for our friendship."

"Nini believe me, I didn't mean anything close to that."

Nini looked grossed out.

"Why do you look uncomfortable?"

"Because Ricky..." Actually she sounded upset. She pointed to the both of us. "I don't want this in that way."

"You don't want what?"

"Us becoming a thing."

"Oh." Was all I managed to say.

"I could never date you." She spat out. "We're best friends. If we became a thing our friendship would probably be ruined. You do know that lots of couples break up. Plus, dating is, I don't know...not really my thing. At least not right now anyway."

I was a little hurt. I wasn't trying to force the boyfriend/girlfriend idea onto her. I honestly don't know what I was trying to do. Nini's never really talked about dating, I knew she wasn't really into that sort of stuff. I'm not either, but sometimes I looked at her and thought to myself I really like her. Other times, I was happy to have her as a best friend and nothing more. I wasn't expecting anything other than that. I guess I was a little upset she would straight up say she would never date me, not that I actually cared, but still. I was a seventh grader and really shouldn't have been worrying about that stuff anyway.

"Yeah it's not really my thing either." I tried to look as certain as possible.

Nini kept her eyes on mine for a couple of seconds, and then relaxed. "Ok good. Let's move on from this topic."