Right Here, Right Now
Chapter One
Universal Studios had to be one of the worst places in the world. Fat old people stopping every five seconds, screaming children, and worst of all, the Florida heat. I had barely been outside for half of the day, and I already wanted to go back to our room. Not like I had any chance of that happening.
"Let's go to Honeyduke's!." screamed Madison, as we got off the Dueling Dragons ride for the third time that day.
"Maddy, maybe we should go ride something-" Before I could finish my suggestion, she screamed with glee and ran off toward the store. I sighed and jogged after her.
"Maddy, please." I cried as I opened the door. A quick look around, and she was... no where. Even though the store was packed with sweaty bodies, I should've been able to see her mane of dark hair at least, but there was absolutely no trace of her. Great. I was stuck chasing after a 21 year old girl in a 125 acre resort. I pushed past a few tourists to reach the other side of the shop, and peeked behind a large shelf to find Maddy, her arms wrapped around a tall, skinny stranger.
"Madeline Marie Evans! What are you doing?" I screeched, trying to avoid the eyes of the stranger and his friends. A quick glance told me that they were pretty damn attractive, but Maddy had probably scared them off.
"Is she yours?" the man said with a laugh as he pried her arms off.
"Unfortunately." I muttered under my breath. I looked over at Maddy, who didn't look the least bit put-off by his slight aversion to... well, having complete strangers half-attacking him.
"Sophie, do you know who this is?! Do you!?" she squealed, poking his flat stomach a few times for emphasis. "This is Mike fucking Fuentes. And that's Vic, and Jaime, and Tony, and... and... They're Pierce the fucking Veil!" She gave another squeal of glee and hugged the tallest one- Mike- again.
The names meant next to nothing to me at the time, and the band name was only vaguely familiar. I figured it had to be a band- a very Mexican one at that- that she adored, and the further away I got her, the better it would be for them. She tended to freak out when she met someone that she adored. It wasn't necessarily bad, but she had a tendency to ignore others' personal bubbles.
"Maddy, please stop. It's already 1 and we have the whole rest of the park to get through, and I doubt that guy wants a girl-shaped tumor attached to him all day." I said, attempting to detach her again. She stayed latched on to his arm and showed no signs of letting go.
"Actually," said Mike as he gently pulled her arms off, "I wouldn't mind riding a few rides together, if you wanted."
That earned another high-pitched scream from Maddy- and got more than a few stares from the store's other patrons- who grabbed Mike's hand and pulled him outside. Two of Mike's friends quickly followed, while the third- Tony, I thought to myself, but it might have been Vic- waited behind to hold the door.
"Your friend's a little... eccentric?" he said, giving a little grin.
I laughed softly; that didn't even begin to explain it.
The next few hours flew by, what with the rides and the company from Mike and his friends. Jaime- who I discovered was the person that held the door for me- stuck close to me the entire time, making the whole experience considerably less awkward with his jokes and somewhat crude body language. The rest of the guys were great- Mike even put up with Maddy being latched onto him like a second skin. He seemed to even enjoy it a little. Taking a vacation in Florida had actually started turning out better than I thought.
Right up until we ventured over to Dr. Doom's Fear Fall.
I had never really had a problem with heights, but something about its towers and the up-and-down motion made me sick just looking at it. As we got closer to the front of the line, my stomach started to turn somersaults. I had to get off that ride, and quickly, before it was too late to turn back.
"Maddy, I don't think I can ride this." I hissed in her ear.
Always one to step right into action and save my ass, she loudly announced, "Soph's got to go to the little girl's room, so we'll be right back!"
"I can take her." Jamie quickly offered. "I don't really wanna ride anyway."
"N-no, that's okay." I mumbled. I didn't want to make anyone else miss the ride because I was too chicken, and I was starting to like Jaime a little more than the other guys. Leaving me alone to make crappy small talk with him was the best way to scare him away.
"I insist." he said with a smile.
I was about to protest, but as soon as my mouth opened, Maddy practically shoved her fist into my mouth, nearly choking me and making my eyes water. I pushed her hand away and swiped at my eyes, suddenly hoping that I could just melt through the floor and disappear. People all around were staring, the weight of their stares making me feel suffocated. Maddy, sensing my distress, grabbed Jaime's hand, wrapped it around my wrist, and shoved me towards the exit. I felt a hand on my waist- bigger, this had to be Jaime- pushing me gently along until we were back out of the line.
"Thank you for coming with me." I said as we headed away from the ride. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you miss the ride."
"It's okay." he assured me, flashing dimples that threatened to make me melt again. "Like I said, I didn't really want to ride. Wanna go ahead and find that bathroom?"
I raised an eyebrow in question, until I remembered the lie I had told to get off the ride. I nodded and headed towards the nearest bathroom, leaving him sitting on a bench while I pretended to do my business. When I got back out, he patted the spot next to him until I sat.
"So what made you two wanna come here?" he asked as he slipped his sunglasses over his eyes and stared up at the sun.
"We won a contest." I explained. "Well, Maddy did anyway. For some reason, she picked me over all her other friends." Jaime gave me a questioning look, so I continued, "Maddy's friendly, a fucking social butterfly. Everyone loves her and she loves everyone. Me, though? I'm anti-social."
"Well, it's obvious that she's friendly." he said, making us both laugh. "But I think you could be too. I mean, you hung out with all of us today, didn't you?"
I shrugged and said, "It's mostly been just you, and you're easy to get along with."
That got me another dazzling smile, before he said "So are you. You just have to put yourself out there, let people really get to know you."
"I'll try that sometime." I said with a grin.
He looked up at the sky, face expressionless for a moment. When he looked back at me, there was a smile on his face. "Wanna get out of here?" he asked. "We can grab a map and go find something else to do."
That idea did not sound good to me at all.
"I-I can't. I really need to wait on Maddy." I protested. "I can't just leave her."
And well, I didn't really want to go off with a complete stranger.
"She'll be okay. Mike'll take care of her." he said, pulling out his phone. "I can call him and tell him, if you want."
Seeing no other way to avoid it- because really, why would either of them protest- I sighed and nodded, then pulled out my own phone to text Maddy.
Sophie: I'm going to ride some rides with Jaime. If I don't come home tonight, I'm probably dead.
Maddy: Or... ;3
I sighed and rolled my eyes; there was no way that I was going to be getting busy with Jaime tonight, more than likely any night. Joking or not, we both knew it wasn't going to happen.
"Well, I guess we should go." I said, noticing that Jaime was off of the phone with Mike. "Maddy was more than happy to be left alone with Mike. I just hope she doesn't start dry-humping him."
Jaime giggled- giggled, for fucks sake- and stood up.
"Who knows, he might be into that shit." he said. "But that's beside the point. Where to first?"
"Let's go to Honeyduke's!." screamed Madison, as we got off the Dueling Dragons ride for the third time that day.
"Maddy, maybe we should go ride something-" Before I could finish my suggestion, she screamed with glee and ran off toward the store. I sighed and jogged after her.
"Maddy, please." I cried as I opened the door. A quick look around, and she was... no where. Even though the store was packed with sweaty bodies, I should've been able to see her mane of dark hair at least, but there was absolutely no trace of her. Great. I was stuck chasing after a 21 year old girl in a 125 acre resort. I pushed past a few tourists to reach the other side of the shop, and peeked behind a large shelf to find Maddy, her arms wrapped around a tall, skinny stranger.
"Madeline Marie Evans! What are you doing?" I screeched, trying to avoid the eyes of the stranger and his friends. A quick glance told me that they were pretty damn attractive, but Maddy had probably scared them off.
"Is she yours?" the man said with a laugh as he pried her arms off.
"Unfortunately." I muttered under my breath. I looked over at Maddy, who didn't look the least bit put-off by his slight aversion to... well, having complete strangers half-attacking him.
"Sophie, do you know who this is?! Do you!?" she squealed, poking his flat stomach a few times for emphasis. "This is Mike fucking Fuentes. And that's Vic, and Jaime, and Tony, and... and... They're Pierce the fucking Veil!" She gave another squeal of glee and hugged the tallest one- Mike- again.
The names meant next to nothing to me at the time, and the band name was only vaguely familiar. I figured it had to be a band- a very Mexican one at that- that she adored, and the further away I got her, the better it would be for them. She tended to freak out when she met someone that she adored. It wasn't necessarily bad, but she had a tendency to ignore others' personal bubbles.
"Maddy, please stop. It's already 1 and we have the whole rest of the park to get through, and I doubt that guy wants a girl-shaped tumor attached to him all day." I said, attempting to detach her again. She stayed latched on to his arm and showed no signs of letting go.
"Actually," said Mike as he gently pulled her arms off, "I wouldn't mind riding a few rides together, if you wanted."
That earned another high-pitched scream from Maddy- and got more than a few stares from the store's other patrons- who grabbed Mike's hand and pulled him outside. Two of Mike's friends quickly followed, while the third- Tony, I thought to myself, but it might have been Vic- waited behind to hold the door.
"Your friend's a little... eccentric?" he said, giving a little grin.
I laughed softly; that didn't even begin to explain it.
The next few hours flew by, what with the rides and the company from Mike and his friends. Jaime- who I discovered was the person that held the door for me- stuck close to me the entire time, making the whole experience considerably less awkward with his jokes and somewhat crude body language. The rest of the guys were great- Mike even put up with Maddy being latched onto him like a second skin. He seemed to even enjoy it a little. Taking a vacation in Florida had actually started turning out better than I thought.
Right up until we ventured over to Dr. Doom's Fear Fall.
I had never really had a problem with heights, but something about its towers and the up-and-down motion made me sick just looking at it. As we got closer to the front of the line, my stomach started to turn somersaults. I had to get off that ride, and quickly, before it was too late to turn back.
"Maddy, I don't think I can ride this." I hissed in her ear.
Always one to step right into action and save my ass, she loudly announced, "Soph's got to go to the little girl's room, so we'll be right back!"
"I can take her." Jamie quickly offered. "I don't really wanna ride anyway."
"N-no, that's okay." I mumbled. I didn't want to make anyone else miss the ride because I was too chicken, and I was starting to like Jaime a little more than the other guys. Leaving me alone to make crappy small talk with him was the best way to scare him away.
"I insist." he said with a smile.
I was about to protest, but as soon as my mouth opened, Maddy practically shoved her fist into my mouth, nearly choking me and making my eyes water. I pushed her hand away and swiped at my eyes, suddenly hoping that I could just melt through the floor and disappear. People all around were staring, the weight of their stares making me feel suffocated. Maddy, sensing my distress, grabbed Jaime's hand, wrapped it around my wrist, and shoved me towards the exit. I felt a hand on my waist- bigger, this had to be Jaime- pushing me gently along until we were back out of the line.
"Thank you for coming with me." I said as we headed away from the ride. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you miss the ride."
"It's okay." he assured me, flashing dimples that threatened to make me melt again. "Like I said, I didn't really want to ride. Wanna go ahead and find that bathroom?"
I raised an eyebrow in question, until I remembered the lie I had told to get off the ride. I nodded and headed towards the nearest bathroom, leaving him sitting on a bench while I pretended to do my business. When I got back out, he patted the spot next to him until I sat.
"So what made you two wanna come here?" he asked as he slipped his sunglasses over his eyes and stared up at the sun.
"We won a contest." I explained. "Well, Maddy did anyway. For some reason, she picked me over all her other friends." Jaime gave me a questioning look, so I continued, "Maddy's friendly, a fucking social butterfly. Everyone loves her and she loves everyone. Me, though? I'm anti-social."
"Well, it's obvious that she's friendly." he said, making us both laugh. "But I think you could be too. I mean, you hung out with all of us today, didn't you?"
I shrugged and said, "It's mostly been just you, and you're easy to get along with."
That got me another dazzling smile, before he said "So are you. You just have to put yourself out there, let people really get to know you."
"I'll try that sometime." I said with a grin.
He looked up at the sky, face expressionless for a moment. When he looked back at me, there was a smile on his face. "Wanna get out of here?" he asked. "We can grab a map and go find something else to do."
That idea did not sound good to me at all.
"I-I can't. I really need to wait on Maddy." I protested. "I can't just leave her."
And well, I didn't really want to go off with a complete stranger.
"She'll be okay. Mike'll take care of her." he said, pulling out his phone. "I can call him and tell him, if you want."
Seeing no other way to avoid it- because really, why would either of them protest- I sighed and nodded, then pulled out my own phone to text Maddy.
Sophie: I'm going to ride some rides with Jaime. If I don't come home tonight, I'm probably dead.
Maddy: Or... ;3
I sighed and rolled my eyes; there was no way that I was going to be getting busy with Jaime tonight, more than likely any night. Joking or not, we both knew it wasn't going to happen.
"Well, I guess we should go." I said, noticing that Jaime was off of the phone with Mike. "Maddy was more than happy to be left alone with Mike. I just hope she doesn't start dry-humping him."
Jaime giggled- giggled, for fucks sake- and stood up.
"Who knows, he might be into that shit." he said. "But that's beside the point. Where to first?"
Notes
First chapter! Let me know what you guys think, and let me know if you'd like a sequel!Sophie's Outfit
Maddy's Outfit
7/19/13