Who: Sybil and Tom. When: June 27. Where: Universal Studios. What: An early birthday present. Rating/Warning: Low / Somewhat fluffy. Status: Complete.
drive</i> in," she said. She smiled though, when he mentioned the tram and nodded. "That sounds fun."
“I’m teasing,” he told her, laughing. He led her up to the gate and stopped at the fountain outside. “Here, go stand in front of it, I’ll take your picture and send it to you.”
Sybil laughed and followed along, posing for the photo. "Do we need a map?" she asked him. She was perfectly content just wandering around and doing whatever looked interesting on the way. The place looked much too big to see everything. "You're my guide," she said. "I'll just follow you."
“Nah, adventure sounds pretty nice, actually. But if you see anything you like, tell me, and we’ll go,” he said, pretending to be stern.
The tram had given them an overview of the park, and Sybil ended up doing more leading than she thought. She would see an interesting ride and head toward it on a whim, and Tom would invariably follow her. As night fell, the park light up beautifully. Sybil had sent a message to her family and was in no rush to leave. She rarely stayed out late, and she was having such a good time.
It was a great time, actually. Tom was just glad that they could finally spend time with each other without feeling awkward. As the day wore on and the night came, he checked his watch. “Time flies, huh?” he said, grinning. “Do you want to stick around until the park closes, or do I need to get you home?”
Sybil smiled up at him and shrugged. "We can stay. I don't have to be up early. The party isn't until the afternoon." Her parents might not be too pleased, but they would keep the peace for the sake of Sybil's birthday. Maybe it wasn't right to take advantage of that, but Sybil was enjoying herself too much.
As long as Tom didn’t have to face the wrath of her parents, he was fine. That could get awkward pretty quickly. “All right, then, let’s stay. Though we don’t have much time left. Maybe after we can go find a place to grab a bite to eat.”
Sybil nodded. "I could use something that isn't covered in nacho cheese." Sybil couldn't live on park food alone. "Are there any last minute rides that are good after dark?"
“We could do Jurassic Park again,” Tom offered. It was, in his opinion, the best of rides. “Then we could get one of the souvenir photographs of us going down the drop at the end.”
"Ooh." Sybil nodded, her eyes wide. That ride had certainly made an impression. "That sounds fun." Dinosaurs coming out of the dark, now? Apparently Sybil enjoyed the adrenaline rush.
“Great, let’s go.” He grinned and took her by the hand, leading her through the diminishg crowd and back toward the ride.
She felt a little rush of excitement when he held her hand, and her first instinct was to chide herself for it. Anytime she started thinking date-like thoughts, she reminded herself they were just friends, and they were taking this slow. Still, maybe she should just allow herself to have fun, for once.
The line was much shorter now, and they were at the front almost immediately.
“Here, you get in the front seat, I’ll get in the one behind you,” Tom said. It would make a better picture, after all (and Sybil would get drenched, which was maybe a bad joke, but Tom was excited to get a laugh from it).
"That seems backwards," she teased, grinning at her 'chauffeur'. She took the front seat--it wasn't as though they were trying to duplicate their dreams. That would make for a boring amusement park ride. Her heart skipped with excitement as the ride started to move.
“Ha ha ha,” he laughed, teasing. He stayed relatively quiet most of the ride, until they got to the top of the drop and came to the nail-biting stop there. “Make sure you put your hands up,” Tom told her. “No clutching the bar.”
That was easier said than done. Sybil's hands had been on the safety bar for most of the rides. The drop was particularly scary, and there was a part of her that was certain if she didn't hold on, she would fly off. She did, though, raising her hands at the last minute and screaming.
Tom just laughed behind her, and when they exited the ride all soggy, he walked straight to the merchandise photo booth. “Keep an eye out for ours. I bet we look fetching.”
She hadn't been thinking this through. During the day, the water had been refreshing, and the sun had dried them quickly. Now that it was evening, being soaked was a little less comfortable. At least it was still warm, and she hadn't worn white. She followed him to the booth, looking through the screens. "I'm sure I look ridiculous." She laughed when she saw them. "Granny would faint."
“Christ, I couldn’t imagine,” Tom said. He laughed as he bought them both a copy. “Is she anything like she is in the dreams? If so, my sincerest apologies.”
Sybil laughed. "She's not quite as bad. There's...a strong resemblance, though." She smiled, shaking her head. "It's really not so bad." Her grandmother doted over her. She had some outdated opinions, but Sybil could usually look past those.
“Well, that’s good. Come on, then.” Tom nodded toward the exit and started over that way. “Let’s go find some food and see if something else fun doesn’t come our way.”