What Never Was

Chapter 3

The next day Veren and Megan had plans to go to Six Flags, the amusement park. What Veren didn’t know was that Nick was also going to be there with Marko and Holly. Veren picked Megan up from her parents and drove off to get to the park. Veren had a season pass which allowed him to bring one guest for free.

Megan had gone the weekend before with Nick but Veren didn’t go with them. He wanted nothing to do with seeing Nick or spending time with him. The two friends walked around the park and went on some rides. They were wondering out of the Justice League ride in the center of the park when they spotted three familiar people.

“For God’s sake . . . what is this Megan?” Veren demands.

Megan shrugged until she spotted Marko, Holly and Nick. Her heart began to beat fast because she was afraid Veren was going to lose it. The three spotted Veren and Megan and walked up to them. Holly gave Veren a hug and asked how long they had been there.

“About an hour. You all?”

“Same. Nick was wanting to ride the Mr. Freeze but neither me or Marko are cool with riding that thing.”

“Veren will ride it.” Megan suddenly states.

“The Hell I will, I don’t do backwards and falling at a 90 degree angle.” Veren says.

“Come on, I’ve never been on it and I need someone with me.” Nick pleads.

Before Veren can protest, Megan shoves him towards Nick and he grabs Veren by the wrist and drags him towards the ride entrance. He tries to pull away from Nick but the young soccer star was strong. He kept promising the ride would be ok and smooth even though he never rode it.

The line happened to be short which was odd for the Mr. Freeze. The two teens got to the ride and they went to the front. Veren protested and drug his feet. He hated riding the front of any coaster ride but especially not this one. Nick forces Veren into the coaster.

Veren takes a deep breath as he begins to panic. Nick notices the anxiety forming in Veren so he slides his hand on Veren’s and holds it. Veren was too scared to protest and when Nick interlocked his fingers with his, he gladly accepted it. The ride operator announced the ride was about to go and Veren was beyond scared. “It’s ok, relax. I got you and we’re in this together.” Nick says.

Veren blushes and before he could say anything the coaster takes off suddenly as it was a launch coaster. The ride soared through the sky and Veren turned his head onto Nick’s shoulder as the ride soared. Nick was scared as well but he was loving Veren being attached to him. He felt Veren tense and grip tighter in his hand.

The ride gets to the top and stalls for a moment. Veren opens his eyes long enough to see Nick’s emerald eyes. He was stunned at the light shining in his eyes. In that moment he forgot the bad things Nick had done. The coaster fell back down and Veren and Nick both screamed.

The ride ended quickly and the coaster was in the station again. They were released from their coaster restraints and got out. Veren was shaking from the ride so Nick had to support him. “Hey, you ok?” Nick asks.

Veren composes himself and pulls away from Nick. “I’m fine. Let's go and don’t you dare say anything about holding my hand!” Veren demands.

Nick sighs. The two walk out and meet their friends at the exit. Megan asked how the ride was and Veren said he was terrified the entire time. Nick didn’t say anything about the ride. Holly, Marko and Megan told them that they are going to hang out the rest of the day. Nick internally screamed in joy. Veren internally cursed himself.

The group walked around and rode different rides. Sometimes Nick and Veren sat together but most times they didn’t. Veren wanted nothing to do with him but Megan was trying to get Veren to see Nick for the good person he can be. The group stopped at one of the cafes and got some food before they went out into the park again.

They all talk about different things. Veren sticks to looking through his phone to avoid talking with Nick and Marko. Holly and Megan try to get him to talk and he joins them but refuses to be involved in conversation with Nick. The soccer star sighed but knew he had to keep trying.

The group went back out into the park. Veren wanted to ride the large ferris wheel known as Colossus in the park but needed to use the bathroom. No one else wanted to ride because they thought it was boring so while Veren was in the bathroom, the group decided Nick could ride with Veren.

Nick was happy with that but he knew Veren wouldn’t be. He came out of the bathroom and walked up to Nick and asked where everyone was. Nick replied everyone went ahead to the water park and that they should meet them there after the ride. Veren sighed and said for them to just go to Hurricane Harbor, the water park in Six Flags but Nick protested and said Veren should get the ride he wants.

“Going alone is just sad and going with you will just make me mad.” Veren says.

Nick grabs Veren by the hand and says tough. He drags Veren towards the ride entrance and they both get in one of the ride cars. Veren looks out the side and Nick just stares at Veren hoping he will turn around and look him in the eyes. As the Colossus goes up Veren turns around and looks at Nick. “What?”

“Please just let go of your anger towards me. I am genuine with my intentions and I want you to know I want us to be friends.”

“Drop it Nick.” Veren says. Nick closes the distance between them and corners Veren at the edge of the car. “What do you want from me Veren? I’ll give you anything. I’ll let you hit me . . . do whatever it is you need to let go of your anger.” Nick says.

Veren closes his eyes and puts his hands on Nick’s chest. He reopens his eyes and pushes Nick back. “I don’t want anything from you. I just want to finish this ride and get to Hurricane Harbor.”

The two sit down and look out the car to take in the view of the park. Veren was smiling at the sight. Nick was too but his sight was Veren’s smile. The ride ended and the two non friends walked together towards Hurricane Harbor. Nick stopped them one more time before they could leave and get there. He asked Veren once again what he could do to make it clear he cared about Veren as a friend. Veren simply told him to do whatever he wanted because he wouldn’t believe it no matter what.

They went into Hurricane Harbor. They found their friends and locked up their stuff so they could strip down into swimming shorts. Nick traced every part of Veren’s body with his eyes. He took notice of a tattoo on his abdomen.

“That’s pretty cool, when did you get that and what does it mean?” Nick asks pointing to the black swirl from his belly button that had asian formula script surrounding and branching from the swirls.

“Thanks. It’s from the anime Naruto, it’s called the Reaper Death Seal. I promised myself as a reward for losing all that weight that I would get this tattoo. Let’s just say I sealed my darkness behind it.” Veren says as he closes the locker.

“What darkness? Because of me?” Nick asks. Veren turns around. “Not everything is about you Nick. You’re but a small part of life, not even a chapter. Let's go swimming. Maybe I will hate you less by the end of the day.”

The two walk to their friends and go into the harbor. Veren relaxes a little and actually has fun with Nick. They spent the rest of the day in the park until the girls finally got tired in the early evening. The group left the park and gathered around Nick’s car. Everyone talked for a few minutes. Marko and Holly got into Nick’s car while Megan got into Veren’s. Nick stopped Veren and asked him if they could talk on the phone later.

Veren was surprised and asked why. Nick said he wanted to get to know him more. Veren said sure but wouldn’t hold his breath as he handed Nick his phone to put his number in. Nick smiled and told him to prepare to be wrong. Veren scoffed and typed away on his phone and got into his car.

Veren and Nick each left and dropped off their friends. The young soccer star drove home and showered before he would call Veren. He was excited about talking to Veren. He pulled out his phone and looked at his phone. There was one text from Veren. “Here’s my number soccer star, don’t disappoint me.” Nick smiled and hit the phone icon to call Veren.

The phone rang for a few seconds and at first Nick thought maybe he was going to be denied a call. The phone eventually clicks and there is an echoed hello.

“Veren? It’s Nick.”

“I know. Sorry for the delay in answer, I’m in the middle of a capital supremacy on Star Wars Battlefront 2. Talk to me while I play. I can respond.”

Nick was surprised at the level of calmness in Veren. “Yea, what planet are you on?”

“Kashyyyk. What are you up to?” Veren asks. Nick can hear laser gun fire through the phone.

“I was thinking of getting on to play Battlefront 2 as well.”

“Fun. Well what did you want to talk about? Is Marko listening in? Going to try and make me fall for you over the phone with your charm?”

“No. It’s just me Veren. I wish you would trust me.”

Nick hears some cursing at what he assumes is Veren dying. Nick grabs his PS4 controller and hits the PS button to turn the system on. He jumps back into his bed and rests his controller on his bare chest. “I just want to talk about you and me becoming friends. I want to know what I can do to get you to trust me.”

There is a sigh on the other end of the phone. “This again? Aside from the fact that I will NEVER trust you, the repeated questioning on how to prove your sincerity every minute of every day is annoying. You want to gain trust from a person you do it through actions. No amount of words can equal action. Try to prove that way. You did good today, I’ll give you that Nick but it will take time before I even consider what you say to be true.”

“Fine. I will do whatever it takes to prove that I want to be your friend.” Nick insists.

“Can I ask why? Even if sincere, why do you want to try so hard?”

“Well, why not?”

“I don’t know. I’m just saying, I wouldn’t even chase after a crush that hard, much less friendship with someone. Except for Nathaniel Buzolic but that is a different story.”

“Well, I think you are worth it. The chase that is.” Nick says. Veren chuckles. “Oh my, if you say so. I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you a shot soccer boy. If I have time after school or weekends then we can hangout and try being friends.”

Nick mouthed words of thanks to the heavens. “I appreciate it.” Nick says. He starts up the game and starts playing at the same time as Veren. They continue to talk for the next couple of hours while playing their game. The two even crossed paths on the game and happened to be in the same matches on occasion.

For Veren he was suspicious of Nick but decided he would play along. He didn’t trust for one moment that Nick was genuine but on the off chance he was, Veren decided to give him a shot. He was ready though if it was a prank. He wasn’t the same person he was two years ago.