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 Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 4:38 pm
Well… at least the ferris wheel carriage was enclosed so it wasn’t as though they could throw him out once they got to the top. Would they do that? Maybe. He probably deserved it.
Riker mumbled something to Dawn in response. Probably noncommittal agreement at her comment. Or a grunt. Or something about how he was going to be sick. He wasn’t even sure what he said. He doubted he could be heard over the noise of the people and games and rides, anyway.
He wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about whatever was happening later. He knew Dawn was just playing along. He wasn’t exactly actual boyfriend material. Unlike Elliot, apparently.
Riker bristled a little when Elliot kissed his boyfriend. Not because Atticus was a boy! Or at least not at that moment. There wasn’t anyone around that he felt could recognize him, so he didn’t particularly care one way or the other.
But he did get flustered because… should he be kissing Dawn, too? No, he couldn’t do that. She absolutely wouldn’t be okay with that.
He grunted again when Elliot commented on his house exploding. Something about a gas leak, he thought. But that was only because Elliot was showing the whole team that Riker even knew about it.
Picking a spot on the ferris wheel was relatively easy. The only spot left was next to Julian, which meant Dawn was sitting next to him, and Riker took the seat closest to the door. That way when it stopped, he could jump out and make a run for it if he had to.Atticus was perfectly happy to sit next to Elliot, who sat next to Maisie. He offered a cheerful smile to Énna and Julian, before turning his attention to the pictures that Elliot was showing them.
He also nodded to Maisie to let her know that she was right about it being Michael who wanted to build a clubhouse for them. He wanted to tell them that Michael had also said they were welcome to go to Sessrumnir to hang out at the hot springs whenever they wanted, too… but he was being careful with Dawn and Riker.
Of course, he wished there was a way to make things more comfortable for Énna and Julian, who both looked like they would rather be doing something else. Or maybe it was just the company they currently kept. It wouldn’t stop Atticus from inviting them to hang out, of course. As long as they forgave them for tolerating someone who had bullied them.
“The people in the neighborhood really like decorating for holidays. It’s a lot of fun. Elliot’s dads definitely go all out for Halloween.”
It didn’t take too long for the ferris wheel to start moving a little at a time. They were still loading people on and off, so it would take a little while longer before they reached the top.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 5:57 pm
“Wait, your house exploded?”
Maisie could not disguise her morbid curiosity over the matter. It wasn't every day that a house exploded! She’d seen videos online of stuff like that happening, but it wasn’t as if she knew anyone it had happened to. There were usually pretty obvious reasons for it, right? Like a gas leak. Or drugs.
“Your dads weren’t cooking meth or something, were they?” Maisie joked as she took a look at the pictures.
She doubted it. Elliot didn’t seem like the type of kid who’d been raised by guys who cooked meth. Not that she knew anything about that sort of thing. Maybe completely ordinary people were into it. Her dad would tell her not to judge a book by its cover, or whatever weird sayings and idioms old people liked to use to admonish the youth.- “That sounds scary,” Dawn said, taking a peak at the pictures as well. She held back a grimace over Maisie’s joke. Dawn’s thoughts certainly hadn’t gone in that direction. A gas leak seemed much more likely. “I’m glad you’re okay. Were any of you home at the time?”
She was still a bit concerned about Riker’s silence and the tension in him that hadn’t yet eased away, but if he wasn’t going to talk she wouldn’t continue to pry while they were around his friends. Still, she kept her fingers laced with his and kept giving him the occasional reassuring squeeze.- Énna couldn’t decide which would’ve been worse: sitting on the same side of the carriage as Riker, or sitting across from him. Since they ended up sitting on the same side, he deemed it worse, but either probably would’ve felt the same.
At least with Julian and that Dawn girl between them, Énna could pretend there was a satisfying degree of separation. He stared out the window, or looked across at Maisie, Atticus, and Elliot, refusing to so much as glance in Riker’s direction.
He leaned in to look at Elliot’s pictures, too, curious and horrified all at once. Énna swallowed thickly, uncertain what to say. Elliot and Atticus seemed cheerful in the aftermath, so even if it must have been horrible at the time, Énna assumed everything turned out well enough. Now they lived near one another in a nice neighborhood. They could see one another whenever they wanted, walk to and from school together and have easy sleepovers.
When Elliot asked if any of them were looking to move, Énna began, “I don’t think Dad and I—”
Could ever afford a neighborhood like that, he didn’t say, cutting himself off instead. He knew Maisie was rich; she didn’t exactly make a secret of it. Atticus’s parents were rich, too, since his dad was Mr. Gallo. Then there was Riker. Énna didn’t want to say anything to give him more ammunition to use.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 6:35 pm
Julian looked uncomfortable with the pictures, but Elliot just laughed at Maisie’s questions. He continued to hold his phone out and scrolled through a few more pictures to show off.
“Yeah, we were home. My dad’s got a scar, he can show you if you ever come over. Do you really think Michael would let us live next door if they were cooking meth? Please, I think the last thing they were cooking was tacos. It happened at night, while we were sleeping. Atticus and I just barely made it out. My dads got stuck under some of it.”
He told the story with such ease that he could almost even believe it was that and not a Negaverse agent and his giant youma that tore down their house.
Julian didn’t look any bit more comforted by the end of it.
“You’re all really okay?” he asked, eyes darting from the screen up to Elliot. And Atticus had been there too?
“Yep. Things really could have been worse. But everyone’s okay. I mean, I wake up when I hear a creak in the house. But my parents do, too. We have a better security system now, thanks to Michael. There are probably sensors for everything. It was a cute little house, I don’t think I even have pictures of it from before.” He hummed, and finally put away his phone before smiling at Énna. He’d heard part of what he said, and either he was filling in the blanks or maybe it didn’t matter.. “Even if no one’s looking to move, I hope you’ll come over and visit sometime. For more than just the clubhouse. If not for Halloween decorations than for Christmas decorations. Or just dinner sometime. My parents are cool.”
Even if they were both teachers at Azure; Énna might have already known of them. Julian and Riker knew them, though that wasn't from school.
He wanted to hang out more, maybe when things weren’t so busy. It was hard to talk when the fair was so loud, even if things were a bit calmer here in the car. Atticus was doing really well, but he thought Julian and Énna might have enjoyed somewhere a bit less bustling.
Riker, though; he was still the odd one out. He was acting a bit flustered about everything but Elliot really hadn’t known him to get so wound up about being around people. He didn’t ask if he was okay, that would have been weird. And, he really didn’t think Riker would do anything but lash out if someone tried to bring attention to it.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 8:12 pm
“What?” squeaked Atticus in shock and mild horror at Maisie’s joke that… didn’t entirely sound like a joke. “Oh, no, they would never,” he insisted, even if Elliot laughed. He didn’t want Maisie to think like that about Elliot’s dads!
“You should meet them sometime. I mean, I’m sure you will,” he insisted, although it felt a little rude to say that around Dawn and Riker who… well, he wouldn’t want to invite Riker if he was just going to be mean. He was acting strangely subdued right now, but there was no telling what he would do. And Atticus was already concerned about Énna and Julian feeling uncomfortable.
He leaned closer to Elliot. The others being there was a nice distraction from how busy the fair was. If they didn’t think about how awkward it was to have Riker around, he wouldn’t have minded staying out for a lot longer. The others were chatting and enjoying themselves, while Riker stared hard out of the metal cage that took them higher and higher. He wasn’t necessarily interested in the view, but he was trying not to draw too much attention to himself.
Well… no, that wasn’t it as much as he was trying to weigh the potential outcomes.
What if he announced that he was Reims? They didn’t seem to mind him then, but would that change anything about how they felt about him now? Probably not. Julian and Énna wanted nothing to do with him, at best. At worse… well, it probably wouldn’t be anything he didn’t deserve.
“So, uh,” he said into the void that was in front of him, not looking at anyone for the moment, but holding tightly to Dawn’s hand anyway.
“I know I’ve been… a jerk… but… I’m sorry.”
His ears burned. Maybe they were too busy trying to have their own conversation that they could just ignore him, or pretend they hadn’t heard him. He knew it wasn’t much but… he already felt like trash about it.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 8:24 pm
The expression that fell across Maisie’s face was nothing short of incredulous. She was seconds away from saying something to the effect of yeah, Michael would let you live next door if they were cooking meth, either because he’s got a bleeding heart or because he’s using, but Riker’s sudden stuttering apology cut through whatever judgment she might make of her oldest cousin.
Maisie huffed out a breath hard enough to rustle some of her hair. She gave Riker one of the why are you like this? looks she often employed when he was around.
“What are you talking about?” she said. “You’re not being a jerk, you’re just being weird. Right now anyway. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that time you made fun of my name. And my hair.”- Dawn blinked out of her fascination with Elliot’s story and the pictures detailing the damage to glance toward Riker, too. He was tense beside her, out of place within the generally friendly, inviting atmosphere. If Maisie and Elliot hadn’t offered to let them join the group, Dawn wouldn’t have believed Riker was friends with them at all.
She looked between them, from Riker’s burning ears to Maisie’s rolling eyes, to the discomfort in Atticus, Julian, and Énna, to Elliot’s open and approachable demeanor in spite of the obvious undercurrent of tension. Maybe she was misunderstanding the situation. Maybe she was missing valuable information. It wasn’t like she and Riker had been able to hang out outside of situations created by their moms all that often before, if at all. She knew him as a helpful boy under pressure from a self-absorbed mother. She didn't know what he was like among friends.
“It’s okay,” she said, but faltered quickly. Maybe it wasn’t her place to offer acceptance or forgiveness.- Énna tensed, shoulders tight beneath his oversized sweater, fingers curling over his pant legs. He jerked his head to the side, staring hard out the window, focusing on some distant point on the fairgrounds spread out below them.
He didn’t know the specifics of what Riker meant to apologize for, or who specifically he was directing the apology toward. Énna wasn’t prepared to hear it and even less prepared to accept it.
Riker was a bully. Énna had known that since his first day at Azure. He wasn’t a stranger to bullies and he wasn’t afraid to fight back when he was able to, but Riker’s bullying had always felt especially cruel for reasons Énna couldn’t adequately explain. Maybe he was simply too sensitive.
Énna swallowed down a bundle of nerves wrapped in hurt and disgust. He took a breath and let it out on a hard gust against the window, peering at the others out of the corner of his eye as he awaited their reactions.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 10:50 pm
Julian didn’t think the apology was for him. He wasn’t entirely cramped in the small space they were sharing but between Dawn and Énna he didn’t exactly know what he was supposed to do. Blend into the seat, probably. He kept his hand on his lap and his shoulders folded inward to give the two next to him as much room as possible but he didn’t really have anywhere to look. Across from him, at the three sitting on the other side of the room? The ceiling? The floor? He couldn’t crane his neck to see out of either window without drawing more attention to himself, so a sudden panic washed over him.
He didn’t know what he was supposed to say.
He’d spent very little time with Riker, and the one instance that he could recall clearly, he’d just sort of zoned out for some of it. He didn’t think Riker had even really been interested in talking to him at the time.
Had it made him uncomfortable? Yes, but that wasn’t really unusual for Julian. He felt awkward and misplaced on a daily basis.
Riker and Julian were mostly strangers. And if Riker didn’t like him, well–that was okay. So, Julian sat quietly and tried to lean back in the seat and shrink a little more. Riker was probably talking to the three on the other side, or maybe Énna. He didn’t want to intrude on what might have been an important moment for them, so he did his best to not be there and ruin it.
He just wished the ceiling had art or something so it didn’t look so strange when he stared down a half-screwed bolt above them.
Elliot knew the apology wasn’t for him.
He’d known Riker for so long that his attitude was just one of his quirks. For a long time, he suspected there was more to it than whatever Riker let on, but Elliot had never thought he was bad. Of course, he’d never expected Riker to apologize, so there was a brief show of surprise on his face. He had a good view of Riker from here,
Riker could be a jerk, especially if you didn’t know him well enough to see the awkward way he went about doing it. Maisie was right, he was being weird. Elliot had a very long list of things he could have chosen to dwell on when it came to rude or mean things Riker had said to him, but if he were being honest, Elliot hadn’t actually been bothered by them. He was very secure, and very happy, and had very good self-esteem. Riker’s harassment always felt misplaced, anyway. He said the words but Elliot never felt the bite.
The need to apologize must have been weighing heavily on Riker for him to decide to do it now, but Elliot wasn’t even sure what had made him feel like he needed to do it now. He wasn’t trying to play Mr. Cool Guy in front of his girlfriend? He’d been nervous before but this was different.
Elliot tilted his head just slightly and his brow raised just a fraction. “...Is everything okay, Riker? Is something going on, or…?”
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 10:47 am
He should have known better. Of course the ones he was trying to apologize to were ignoring him. He didn’t blame them, but he felt like an idiot for trying.
He was an idiot for thinking he could have friends in the first place. Just when he thought he might actually have some people he could rely on -- people who could rely on him -- he went and screwed things up.
Of course it would have been different had he known they’d be the ones --
It didn’t matter. Maybe he was better off never showing his face around them again. They didn’t need a Page around who just made things awkward. He was just so mad at himself because he liked them… He wanted to be friends with them. But he knew he didn’t deserve the time of day from them.
“Forget it,” he mumbled, not daring to look at any of them. Not wanting to see their expressions or the loathing or the disappointment. He should have known better than to try to make things right. Atticus just chewed anxiously on his lip and leaned against Elliot so he could rest their heads together, or at least his cheek on Elliot’s shoulder. He could see the tension in both Énna and Julian, and they were silent despite likely having heard Riker.
It wasn’t his place to say if it was okay or not. He wasn’t going to hold Riker’s teasing him against him, but he wasn’t going to tell his friends that they had to let a bully off that easily. Whatever the reason, Riker had been mean to them. And to Maisie too, it seemed.
“Have you had any maple cotton candy before? Dad said we should try some while we’re here. And some of those giant pickles,” Atticus tried to offer an opportunity to get back into a normal conversation. Something they could look forward to, and to give Riker and the others a chance to let their nerves settle.
The ride on the ferris wheel was more awkward than he’d hoped for, but there were always other opportunities.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 10:51 am
Maisie scoffed. “Why are you so weird?”
She wished Riker would just come out and say whatever it was he wanted to say. The mumbling and grumbling wasn't helping anything, but no one was really trying to get him to explain himself. Except maybe his girlfriend. If she was his girlfriend. Maisie still had a hard time believing it.
It was in Maisie’s nature to pry and harass, but Atticus was already trying to change the subject and Maisie didn’t know that she wanted to waste more time trying to drag anything out of Riker right now. They were supposed to be having fun, not glaring out windows or awkwardly staring at the ceiling or mumbling apologies only to immediately retract them.
She would have to do her harassing later.
With another roll of her eyes over the situation, Maisie sat back and answered Atticus while directing a frown toward Riker. “They had the maple cotton candy at the state fair back in NC. We need to check the line for hush puppies before we leave, too, to see if it’s any shorter than it was when we got here. Ugh, and I kinda want funnel cake. And a turkey leg. This place is going to make me ten pounds heavier.”- Dawn tightened her grip on Riker’s hand. She didn’t know who to feel worse for—Riker for clearly feeling out of place, or the others for having to compensate. If she knew more about the situation maybe she’d be able to offer help better. All she could do at the moment was let Riker know she was there for him any way she could.
Or try to force a confrontation and get the tension out in the open, but Dawn didn’t imagine that would go over very well.
While the others got to talking about food, Dawn leaned closer to whisper in Riker’s ear. “I can make up an excuse if you want to leave.”- He shouldn’t have come.
As much as he wanted Riker to shoulder all the blame, Énna knew he was only making things more awkward for everyone by being so tense and quiet. They all knew something was wrong but no one was talking about it. Maybe no one wanted to. Maybe they hoped it would go away if they ignored it.
They probably would’ve had more fun without him there. They could’ve ran into Riker and that Dawn girl and actually been friendly instead of stiff and uncomfortable. Énna had nothing to say, no suggestions to offer, and too much hurt and anger inside to do anything but keep the mood down. He wished he didn’t hate himself for it, wished he could be fine with being a little selfish. He wanted his peers to like him but he didn’t know how to remain likable in a situation that made him feel so poorly.
The ferris wheel was moving too slowly, he decided. The carriage felt too small, like the walls were closing in. If it’d only been the seven of them in there it probably would’ve been fine, but the added tension was too pervasive and too heavy. He felt stifled. Cornered. Maybe he shouldn’t have picked the seat by the window. But then being in the middle probably wouldn’t have been any better. He should’ve stayed below, should’ve wandered off and found a quiet corner somewhere where he could be glum in peace.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 11:53 am
Julian absolutely hoped that the tenseness would just go away. He didn’t know what to say. Riker’s apology was a good start–he just didn’t know who he was apologizing to.
Maisie didn’t seem like she expected or wanted it, and Dawn was too friendly with him to have been the recipient. Elliot didn’t seem like he’d have held a grudge against Riker, and Atticus looked so cozy right now, and–
Riker wasn’t apologizing to Julian, they’d hardly interacted, and he wasn’t even so awful that Julian thought he deserved bringing their interactions back to light. So it must have been for Énna, who–
Julian turned to glimpse at him just a bit and found Énna looking absolutely uncomfortable. Julian might have guessed that he seemed like he was trying to disappear into the seat.
In the middle of the seat, he felt like he had tension radiating from both sides.
He didn’t know what to say, so he smoothed his palms over his knees and let the pressure build.
“All of that food sounds good, we should try as much as we can” Elliot mused, and while he sounded friendly enough there was an air of curiosity in the air. He appreciated Atticus’ efforts to keep things civil and to chase away any empty silences but something just didn’t make sense.
Once more he found himself watching Riker with confusion. It wasn’t like him to be so reserved, and an apology? To who? He tried to catch Riker’s gaze but instead caught Julian’s, and in that brief few seconds between the two of them, Julian sucked in a breath and sat up a little straighter.
And then, his stomach growled. Loudly. With such extreme enthusiasm that the words he’d almost mustered up the courage to say instantly withered and he had to put his hand over his stomach. “Sorry,” he blurted. “I had a sandwich before I left, I don’t know where that came from. All–all of that sounds good.” It went almost entirely without saying that Julian had not had maple cotton candy or giant pickles or turkey legs.
He wanted to say something to Riker. He wanted to tell him that everything was fine. He just–he didn’t know what to say. And it felt so weird with everyone there, listening. And the air felt so thin, it couldn’t be that they’d been so high up, or that the box was so small. He was getting into his head, he knew he was just making himself anxious.
Maybe he could steal him, for just a second. When they were stepping out. Just to make sure they were on the same page, just to make sure he didn’t leave here thinking…
Well, what? If the apology wasn’t for him, he was just going to embarrass himself. But if it was–why would it be?–he didn’t want Riker to think he was ignoring him.
Julian pressed his hand over his stomach again because this time he felt the rumble before his stomach could plead for any of that food they’d all been listing. He cleared his throat to try and drown it out but it was a poor effort, and he almost missed the bustling noise outside.
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2024 11:56 am
He was grateful for Dawn. She was a better friend than he could have asked for. He felt anxious and uncomfortable and that was probably exactly what he deserved. At the very least, he glanced over at her and offered her the smallest smile of appreciation.
Luckily… she didn’t need to make an excuse. The others would probably be glad if he left. No more weird kid making things awkward. Elliot was nice and obviously was trying to be polite by inviting him along, but Riker had been mean to him and his two friends. Maisie, he’d definitely been mean to before, although that didn’t seem to bother her too much.
Énna? Ah, well… he deserved an evening with friends who hadn’t made fun of him.
He just wished he could go back to them chasing after the Negaverse together and… maybe if Riker didn’t exist, things would be easier. Dawn had plenty of friends already, so it wasn’t as though she would be alone without him around.
Julian’s stomach making noise was concerning enough for even Riker to glance over at him. Was he not getting enough to eat? He found himself opening his mouth-- why, he wasn’t sure.
But the ferris wheel seemed to have finally made it to the bottom and came to a stop at their gate.
Once again, Riker shut his mouth and tugged on Dawn’s hand. They would just escape while they could. He could apologize to Elliot for running off later. He could blame it on really having to go to the bathroom or something. Either way, he fully expected the others to breath with relief once he was away. Atticus didn’t get a chance to say something to try and stop Riker and Dawn from quickly exiting the carriage as soon as it stopped, but… he would be lying if he wasn’t at least a little more at ease now that his friends didn’t have to worry about being around someone who had been a bully to them.
“We’ll definitely have to get food now,” he insisted, showing Julian and the others a smile as he held Elliot’s hand and shuffled his way towards the exit. “And we’ll go on some more rides after. Oh, and if it’s okay, I want to see the arts and crafts submissions!”
He felt bad for Riker, although worse for Dawn who was innocent in all of this. But he also wanted his friends to be able to be themselves. He doubted that would be possible now with how the tension was with Riker there, but maybe by the end of the night they could all sit back and laugh over some ice cream.
Maybe next year, once Riker figured out what was going on with himself, and if he made up for what he did to everyone, they could all have ice cream together.
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