Ride Of My Life

Completely fiction. Written for Sunsets and Silhouette Dreams contest... I actually kinda like how it came out. :]

    "Tyler! Hey, bro, wait up!" I turn around at the sound of running footsteps and my best friend David's voice. "Hey, we're going to that new amusement park they set up right by the edge of town. It's awesome. They got some of the craziest rides. You wanna go? We scored like five free tickets."
    Amusement park? I think. Amusement park rides. I shudder inwardly at the thought of getting on a ride that went more than a foot above the ground. Heights aren't my strong point. "I don't know," I say to David. "Heights..."
    "Oh, don't worry about it! I'm sure there are plenty of rides that don't go too high. And hey, it's not as if you'll be alone. I'm going, Ricky's going, and so are Jenna and Ashley."
    I roll my eyes. "So what am I supposed to be, a fifth wheel?" Ricky and Jenna are the senior class's golden couple... the pair that's been together for three years and are still going strong. Ashley and David, on the other hand, have been together for almost the same amount of time, but I and they are one grade lower. Ashley and Jenna cheerlead together, so the couples frequent on double dates.
    David stops walking and grabs my arm to stop me too. "You never used to mind being a 'wheel', Tyler. What's gotten into you lately? You never seem to want to hang out with us if Ricky and Jenna are there. Do you have something against one of them?"
    I don't exactly. The truth is, I've never had a girlfriend. It's not that I'm bad-looking; in fact, I've been told more than once that I'm rather attractive. I have light brown hair and blue eyes, lots of freckles and a good build. I don't work out obsessively, but after being picked on my whole life, I've made it a point to be sure that whenever someone wants to pick a fight with me, I'll be able to fight back. I've always been shy and awkward around girls, and it never felt right when I thought of asking one out. She could have been the most beautiful girl in the school, but when I think about kissing her... it just doesn't give me butterflies or make me feel like I know most guys do. My problem is that my "butterflies" come from someone else... Ricky, to be specific. Ricky's tall, he's tan and he's got a smile that could make anyone melt, boy or girl. His dark brown hair is usually gelled into some messy but organized hairstyle that I think only he could pull off. His muscles bulge through whatever shirt he's wearing and his dark brown eyes pierce right into my soul. Sometimes, I swear he can read my mind. I hate spending time with Ricky and Jenna because I hate seeing Ricky with someone else. My jeaousy flares and I'm sure they all must think I'm madly in love with Jenna. Don't get me wrong. Jenna's beautiful; jet black hair, ghost-white skin, very petite and quite short, with green eyes. But she's not who I see. No one realizes that it's Ricky that I want.
    Since I don't want David to be upset with me or get angry and tell Ricky and Jenna that I don't want to hang out with them, I agree. "Okay, I'm gonna head home to drop my stuff off. Who's driving?"
    "Ricky," David responds. "We'll be by your house in like fifteen minutes. Be ready, okay?" I nod. "See ya soon, bud."
    "See ya." I continue walking home, which is a block or two from my school. As soon as I walk in, I run up to my room to change. I throw my backpack on the floor near my desk, take off the khaki pants I had to wear to school that day and change into a pair of loose jeans. I throw a Metallica shirt over my head and grab my cell phone. At this point, I've still got five or so minutes before Ricky, Jenna, David and Ashley show up. I walk to the kitchen, drink some water and write my mother out a note. 'Mom, going to amusement park with David and some others. Have cell phone. Call me. Love, Tyler.' Just as I put a magnet on the note so my mother will see it hanging on the fridge, a horn sounds from outside the house. I check the window and see Ricky's truck. I walk outside and to my surprise, it's Jenna sitting behind the wheel. I raise my eyebrows and look at Ricky.
    "She blackmailed me. David and Ashley are riding in the bed if you wanna join them. I'd be back there too, but someone's gotta make sure she doesn't crash this beast."
    "Come on, Tyler! We're gonna drive off without you if you don't get up here." I walk to the back of the truck, grab the side of the bed, put my foot on the tire and hoist myself up and over. I find myself sitting right beside Ashley and David. They even look good next to each other. They look like they should be with each other. They both have blond hair, though David's is a bit more toward dirty blond, where Ashley's more peroxide blond. Ashley has blue eyes and David has hazel eyes. They're both very athletic and have the bodies to prove it. Ashley forehead rests right beneath David's chin when they stand next to each other. They're a good couple, and they're friends as well. Ashley has the personality where she gets along with just about anyone. She's the only one who knows I'm gay. She doesn't know I'm in love with Ricky, but I think that's only because she suspects I have feelings for David. No matter how many times I've tried to convince her that my feelings for David stop at brotherly love, she's a bit uneasy when she knows we're alone together. I think I ought to tell her. I pull my cell phone outta my pocket and text her my secret.
    Her eyes widen when she reads it and she looks at me with regret in her eyes. My phone vibrates a minute later, once she's finished clacking away on her keypad. "I'm so sorry! I never knew that! I feel bad for always assuming you had a thing for David. And I'm sorry, but Ricky is very straight."
    I look at her. "I know," I say out loud. "It doesn't bother me. I was never going to give it a shot anyway."
    "Give what a shot?" David asks.
    "Nothing," Ashley and I respond at the same time, which reduces us to a giggles.
    We're in the middle of a discussion about a movie we watched on TV the night before when Ricky yells out the back window that we've arrived. The three of us jump out of the bed and walk around to meet Ricky and Jenna. I flinch a little when I watch Jenna wrap her arms around her boyfriend possessively. Ashley grabs David's hand and links her other arm through mine. "Who's got the tickets?" Ricky asks.
    "I do," says David. He reaches into his back pocket, takes out his wallet and removes five tickets. "Here's for you two, these are my and Ashley's, and here Tyler. This one's yours."
    I take the ticket and finally look up at the amusement park in front of me. I practically feel as if my breath gets knocked out of me. There isn't a single ride in there, that isn't for little kids, that doesn't go about a hundred feet off the ground. "I don't think I can do this, you guys."
    "David, you couldn't have asked someone with a little bit more of a stomach?" Ricky asks mockingly. He walks over to me and puts an arm around my neck. "Listen, dude, the only way you'll ever get over your fear of heights is to just face your fear head on. The more you run from it, the more your fear will increase."
    "Wow, that was deep, Ricky," Ashley says, still holding my arm. "What book did you read it out of?" Ricky wasn't known for his smarts.
    "I didn't read it out of no book," he says defensively. "I heard it in a movie."
    The tension breaks as everyone laughs and we all walk toward the amusement park. We hand the woman working our tickets, which she rips in half and gives us each half back. We all have to get a wristband to prove we had tickets and then we're free to rock out. "So which ride are we going on first?" I ask.
    "Well, buddy, I think we should go on that one," Ricky says, pointing to the ride right in front of us.
    I look at it, then I look up a little to see the top. Then I look up a bit more... then a bit more. I'm practically staring straight up before I see the very top of the ride. The line is short, and people are loading on. My stomach drops to the very pit of my intenstines and I can't even bring myself to say no; I'm that scared. Ashley drags me along and by the time we get to the front of the line, there are only five seats left. Four in the very front and one toward the middle. I broke away from everyone else and took the middle seat. Ricky and Jenna sat at the very front, while David and Ashley sat behind them. They all flashed me a thumbs up before pulling down the bar in front of them and turning around. I look to the side of me to see who I'm doing this with. It's a boy, about my age, who looks just as frightened as I am. "Not a fan of heights?" I ask.
    He looks at me and shakes his head. "No, I came here with my friends, and they're all about going on every ride, not realizing that I am terrified of heights."
    I laugh. "I know that feeling. Only my friends are those a******s that want to go on every ride but they do know that I'm afraid of heights."
    The boy let a smile spread across his face. I'm struck dumb. If Ricky's smile could make me melt, this smile could morph me back to a person. "What's your name?" I ask him.
    "Kevin," he replies. "You?"
    "Tyler." I extend my hand and when he touches mine, I feel sparks. Not as in static electricity, but as in the feeling you get when you look at someone and know there are feelings there.
    Oh this is bad, I think to myself. I take out my cell phone, since they seem to be having technical difficulties starting the ride up, and text Ashley. "Ashley! Help! The boy sitting next to me is making feel... well... I don't know! The way you feel with David, I'm guessing! How do I find out if he's, y'know... that way?"
    I recieve a response within seconds. "Ask him. Good luck!" I shut my phone irritatedly. I can't just ask him. That's rude! He'll think I'm an obnoxious jerk! I sigh and look back at Kevin, just to find that he's looking at me too.
    "Can I ask a question?" he asks. "It's kinda personal."
    "Umm... I'm not sure. You can ask, but I can't promise I'll answer."
    "Okay, please don't take offense to this if I'm wrong. It's just a curiosity. Um... are you gay?"
    I flinch. Am I that obvious? I wonder. I turn red and nod without meeting his eyes.
    "Oh, that's such a relief," Kevin says. My head whips around to meet his eyes, questions burning in my brain. He turns a bit pink and laughs. "I am too. I just wasn't sure if you were or not. And I was going to ask for your number."
    A grin spreads across my face, reaching my eyes. "Got a cell phone?"
    He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone. We exchange them, enter our numbers and give them back. "Do you live nearby?" he asks.
    "I live about fifteen minutes away, the next town over. We came here today for this. You?"
    "I live right in town. That's good that you're close by. Maybe we could, y'know, hang out sometime." Kevin's blushing deeply as he says this.
    "I'd like that."
    "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we've got the ride working. If you could lower the safety bar until it clicks, if you haven't already. An attendent will come by and check all the bars. The ride will start in about 30 seconds."
    Kevin and I pull the bar down across our laps and face each other. "You ready for this?" I ask.
    "Not at all!" he responds laughing. "But I'm glad I went on the ride. Totally worth it."
    "Completely," I reply. I hold my hand out as the ride starts, and Kevin holds it tightly. "Here we go!" I shout and the ride begins.