"Hey Chris,how many times d'ya think ya can ride the Tower of Terror without puking?", Justin asked.
"Is that a challenge?" his friend returned.
"Great, I can feel the testosterone levels already reaching breaking point", Lauren remarked.
"You ever been here before Lauren?", Joey asked.
"No, never".
"Then may I offer my services as your personal official theme park tour guide?", Justin suggested.
"Ok..sure", Lauren replied laughing.
"Chris, are you up for the challenge?" Justin asked of his friend again.
"Bring it on Curly", Chris replied. Chris had brightened up much more today and his close friend was glad to see the old Chris slowly reappearing.
"Hey Amber, why dontcha join us? Two thrill-seeking guys running wild in a theme park and I can tell I'm gonna need some help", Lauren offered.
"Sure, ok", Amber agreed.
"Meet you guys here in 2 hours...at 11pm sharp, ok?" JC - the ever organised one - called.
As they reached the parks infamous ride, Amber stared up at the colossal structure and heard the screams of those already on the ride.
"Not scared are ya?", Chris asked from behind her, noticing the frightened look on her face.
"Me? Scared? No...", she replied defiantly.
"C'mon!", called Justin. As the attendant strapped her into her seat next to Chris, her knuckles whitened as she gripped the bar tightly. Chris noticed this and reached across to lightly place his hand reassuringly on hers.
"Ya sure you're ok?" he asked again as he looked into her widened eyes.
"Ummm..." as she hesitated it was too late and the rollercoaster began. After 6 minutes of twists and turns Amber's throat hurt so much from the constant screaming.
"Amber..you can open your eyes now, it's over". Her iridescent green eyes opened to stare into Chris' deep brown eyes and he laughed.
"You ok? C'mon, we'll go try something a little tamer", Chris smiled as he helped her off the ride, her legs were shaking with fear.
"Wow, that was so awesome..it was...Amber, you ok?" Justin broke off mid-sentence.
"You look pretty pale huh, you alright?" Lauren asked in a concerned tone.
"I think I'm gonna take Amber on something a little quieter. You thrill seekers have fun" Chris said.
"Ok, we'll meet you later!" Justin called after them.
Amber stared across at the dodgem cars."Now that I could handle", she said.
"Ok, but before we go over there let me just inform you who you're going up against..I am the dodgem car king", Chris teased.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, really"
"We'll see about that", Amber challenged.
"Where do ya wanna go next?" Justin asked as he watched Chris and Amber walk off toward the dodgems.
"Lead the way, you're the tour guide", Laurend replied.
"Well, how about we try something a little quieter?"
"Sounds good to me", Lauren smiled, her stomach still settling from the Tower of Terror ride.
"Right this way then ma'am", Justin smiled as he cautiously reached for her hand. Lauren took his hand and they headed off across the park.
"Ok, ok! I take it back! You are one mean dodgem car driver!" teased Chris.
"And don't you forget it", Amber teased back as she and Chris walked away from the dodgems arcade. JC, Joey and Lance, leaving the Tower of Terror saw the pair walking away laughing together.
"Is that Chris? Is he actually smiling?" Lance asked, puzzled.
"He's laughing even", JC added.
"Amber looks pretty happy too" Joey noticed. JC smiled to himself. It was good to see his old friend and cousin finally smiling again. 'And it looks like they're getting on pretty well too' JC thought to himself with a smile.
"Oh, can we go on the ferris wheel, please Chris?" Amber pleaded.
"Oh, ummm..sure" Chris hesitated as he looked up at the rotating seats, hundreds of feet above him. Amber grabbed his hand and led him towards the ride.
"Well, this is a lot tamer" Lauren remarked.
"I'll say..but it's nice" Justin agreed "to be here with you", he added shyly.
"You're too sweet Justin Timberlake".
"Is that a good thing?" Justin looked slightly concerned. He'd been called a lot of things by girls before, but he hadn't come across "sweet" before.
"Yeah, very good" Lauren reassured him. Justin leaned forward slowly and placed a soft kiss on Lauren's lips. As she returned his kiss and ran her fingers through his soft curls he reached blindly forward for her warm hand and their fingers intertwined as the ferris wheel began it's downward descent.
"Wow, the view is so beautiful from up here. Chris, look at how beautiful the city looks....Chris?"
"Uh-huh", Chris replied weakly, gripping tightly to the crossbar.
"Chris Kirkpatrick, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were scared.Are you afraid of heights?"
"Uh-huh" Chris admitted.
"You're not afraid of the Tower of Terror, but you're afraid of the ferris wheel?"
"Umm..yeah, pathetic huh?"
"No, it's kinda cute" she replied. Chris stared at her for a moment and Amber realised what she'd just said.
"Uh, look, it's JC, Joey and Lance" Amber broke the uncomfortable silence.
"Well, well, they must be getting on well for Chris to be sitting hundreds of feet up in the air on a ferris wheel", Joey commented from the ground below.
