Saying "I love you" For T (1/1)

“I really don’t have a good feeling about this.” “Why not?” she replied, squeezing his hand as she led them further down the line. “You did so well on all the other rides.”Vernon wasn’t necessarily afraid of roller coasters per say, however he never really went on them while in Korea. His life was always on someone else’s clockwork, following a set schedule that has so far accumulated too much monotony and even more stress. So when he finally, finally earned that well-deserved vacation to visit America, she thought he could use a real break and get that adrenaline going. “Because this is apparently the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world!” he replied incredulously, letting go of her hand to flail his around like a monkey. He was still reeling from the last one, and his fluffy, cinnamon roll hued hair was adorably mussed by the wind.“Second fastest, actually.”“And that makes me feel so much better.” They finally reached the queue, in view of the trains. The station floor was paneled with softwood, leading people to the electric blue and green cars. She had to push Vernon along so he’d stop staring at the people lining up, which would soon lead to their turn. “Look at her!” Vernon half-cried, looking panicked. There was a lady already strapped on, screaming hysterically to get her off the ride. It seemed like she was ready to tear up, as her friend laughed encouragingly and an employee patted her shoulder, assuring her that she’ll be fine. The lady continued to whimper, causing a scene all the way until their tram disappeared to the launch site. “Happens often.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Vernon, look.” she gestured to a pair of excited girls running to the front of the tram. They looked no older than eleven, and their bodies barely filled half the seat. “See, if little kids half your age can sit in the front row, you’ll have no problem.”“See, the difference between me and them.” he leaned against the middle railing, his brows furrowing together. Whether from confusion or slight embarrassment, she couldn’t tell. “They haven’t taken a basic physics class, they don’t know what they’re getting into.” She snapped her head up at him, appalled. “You do know the inertia wouldn’t let you fall off even with the seatbelts off, right? Did you even pass physics?”He scoffed, crossing his arms. “Of course I did!” he pouted, looking away from the pair, only to see a bunch of other young kids filling up the seats. Trying to divert his eyes, he looked up at the callbox, and noticed a sign attached to one of the windows. “What’s a rollback?” he asked her.“Oh, that’s in case the train doesn’t make it up the tower. If that happens we fall back down and have to re-launch.” “Wait, you mean it might not even make it to the top?” his jaw dropped. “And I have to go through that twice?” “Yes. Now keep moving.” she tugged on him once more, this time wedging them between the metal spaces of individual seating. They were next. Vernon was currently spacing in and out, his eyes flashing between the next train and the exiting train. The lime green roller coaster was monstrous in comparison to the rest of the rides at the park, towering over everyone in a super long upside-down ‘U’. He really shouldn’t be scared, rollercoasters were relatively safe, but the sheer enormity was giving him goosebumps. Tentatively, he followed her as the metal gates unlocked, and stepped into the seat. He didn’t even have to put on his own lap bar and restraints, as employees ran down the line and did it for him at lightning speed. He pushed at the shoulder restraints for good measure. “Babe,” he said, “will you at least hold my hand while we’re on?”“Can’t.”“Why?” his bright, copper eyes widened when the train started to roll forward.“Because you might dislocate your shoulder if you leave your arms out.” “Oh my god, oh my god. At this rate Seventeen will be down to twelve.” he felt his palms sweat under the lap bar he was clutching for dear life, and he turned to his girlfriend. She frowned, watching him shake slightly as they went to the launch site. So she chanced the couple seconds they had and reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly before putting it back to her side.  “You’re going to have fun, I swear.” she insisted and gave him the brightest, most hopeful smile she could muster although she could barely see him through the over-the-shoulder restraint. “You know, I would never let anything happen to you, right?”Through the little gap, she watched his expression melt and the lines in his forehead disappear. “Promise?” he asked, giving her a nervous smile. “Always, with my life!” she laughed, feeling a lot better knowing he was feeling more up for it. They looked at each other, each with a little more determination in their expressions as they were about to take off. The ride was silent, and the had an intimidating view of the ride from ground zero. Finally, the train exhaled and purred with a ‘ssh’, indicating they were about to launch.He called her name, and she looked over as best she could with a simple, “Yeah?”“I love you.” Before she could even process the words, there was a distinct ‘click’ and the train sent them at what felt like lightspeed. Her head was thrust back against the headrest, and her eyes began to blur the colors together as the wind phased with her body. It felt like her organs were pressed against her other organs which were forced against her ribcage. Distantly, she could hear Vernon screaming like a teenage girl at the top of his lungs as they crested into a downward spiral. Before she knew it they were upright again, returning back to the loading site in a long bunny hill. Finally, they made the slow path and waited in a line for the other trains in front to get off. “Wow, that was freaking awesome!” Vernon cheered from his seat, bouncing around like the adrenaline was injected into his bloodstream. “We should go again. But you wanted to go on El Toro, right? We could go there first if you want, the line would thin by then—”“Vernon!” she cried, pressing the lap bar as if it could magically get her out. He blinked at her struggling. “What?”“You can’t just say “I love you” for the first time in the middle of a ride!”He shrugged, “I thought it was the right time.”“Before going at a thousand miles per hour!?”“Now, who’s the one freaking out?” he said cheekily, reaching over to poke her cheek.“Dammit, when I get out I am going to—” and the shoulder bar suddenly released, and she quickly jumped out, her expression nearly point-blank annoyed. Only Hansol Vernon Chwe would confess in the middle of a high-speed coaster. There was a crowd going and people needed to be ushered out of the exit for the next batch of riders, so Vernon and her had no choice but to wait until they reached the exit, right next to the benches. She was stalking in front of him, and she turned around, arms crossed. Before she could open her mouth again, Vernon leaned forward and knocked the wind out of her for the second time in one day, giving her the longest public kiss ever. She felt herself go from zero to one-hundred and twenty-eight, as if the adrenaline pumped into Vernon was quickly spreading to her. She suddenly felt infused with energy, kissing him back just as actively. Pulling away and looking awfully smug, Vernon kept a good grip on her upper arms. “What were you going to do?” he teased, leaning in. Defeated and flushed, she huffed, looking away. “Fine, stop looking at me like that.” And before she could feed his rapidly blooming ego, she begrudgingly said the phrase she’s been thinking about for ages. “I love you too.” she grumbled, and shifted a fraction to kiss the tip of his nose.