Chapter 14, Bumper Cars!

After a while, the nausea feeling had finally subsided. Sora had gone and bought some ice cream. One being a vibrant strawberry flavour and the other being the classic chocolate. After Ayame took the chocolate one, leaving Sora with the strawberry flavour, which he absolutely loved. 

"Mmm, tastes good as always," Ayame said with visible delight, "Thanks, Sora-kun!" Sora smiled seeing her enjoying herself.

Ayame after licking it for some time, finally took a big bite. Then, it happened. Her smile contorted into an adorable scowl. She clutched her head, a sound escaping her lips, which almost sounded like a moan.

Sora tried to control himself, but soon burst out laughing, "Brain freeze, huh?" He teased, a genuine lightness in his voice, which surprised both of them. Sora couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so freely, without a hint of fabrication. Ayame's nature was truly healing him.

Ayame managed a weak glare through her beautiful crimson eyes, "Hmph! Don't laugh at me!" She said while trying to pout, but soon it turned into a gentle smile.

Suddenly, a similar jolt ran through Sora, and he frowned. Clutching his forehead with a groan escaping his lips, almost mimicking Ayame's earlier predicament.

Now it was Ayame's turn to laugh, a soothing melody in his ears, "Karma bites like an absolute bitch, ey?" her tone was teasing, but Sora could sense a hint of worry. Which was later confirmed, when she started caressing his back, sending a spark of warmth through him.

Despite the annoying brain freeze, Sora couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach. Maybe it was because of the playful banter, finding moments like this in his life, moments of genuine carefree giggles, would be akin to finding a needle in the Sahara desert, a near-impossible feat.

(A/N: I tried to think of a creative metaphor to signify the rarity of moments like these in his life, but eh, I am not creative enough for this, went with the classic "Needle in a haystack," slightly changing it XD)

Yet here he was, amidst the vibrant mishmash of the theme park, experiencing something that almost felt like a dream. The feeling was almost overwhelming but in a pleasant way. Sora continued watching Ayame as she giggled.

—

"Shall we resume?" Filled with energy, Ayame asked. Both of them had finished eating their ice cream.

"Yeah, what ride could we try next?"

"Hmmm, perhaps something more interactive? Like…. The bumper cars?" Ayame replied with mischief.

Sora's eyes flickered with unease for a moment, which Ayame failed to notice. Bumpers cars… Confined space… Sora didn't know why but he always had a fear of confined places, the claustrophobic feeling sent chills down his spine. The idea of bumper cars suddenly felt…. Suffocating.

But not wanting to ruin the previous atmosphere, he forced a smile, "Sounds like a plan, let's go!"

Sora and Ayame got up, "Ready to take me down in bumper cars~?" Ayame said, her voice filled with amusement, "Mhm, but let's not hit each other too much," Sora replied with an awkward smile.

"Ehh! But that's the whole point!"

"Well… that's true, I guess."

Soon enough, they had reached the bumper car area. Paying for the tickets for 2 cars, each of them got into one.

As Sora had previously thought, this confined bumper car was making him feel uncomfortable, but he decided to ignore the feeling, again.

The bumper cars soon got activated and everyone started bashing into each other, the metallic screeching noise annoying to the ears.

But everyone was having fun. The excited screams of everyone echoed in the area. While Sora was trying to keep his distance from everyone, suddenly, someone had rammed into him. It was none other than his beloved girlfriend.

"Where are you going, Sora-kun?" Ayame questioned, "Come on! Let's have some fun!" Sora nodded and tried ramming into Ayame.

The recoil had also sent his car back, sending tremors through his body. But truthfully, the feeling wasn't bad. He slowly started getting more comfortable and stopped trying to distance himself from others. 

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A/N: How is the novel progressing? And how are the character developments?

Also if possible, please do leave a review! Even if it's a one-star review, I appreciate any type of feedback, thanks for reading!