Star Struck

by Jamie Campbell

Cole didn’t send just any car, he sent a limousine. That’s right, a limo. It seemed so extravagant for one person. I could easily have fit ten people in there with me.

  The driver, who reminded me of Uncle Fester with a little more hair, wouldn’t tell me any details about where we were going. He said I would find out in good time – whatever that meant. Hopefully he wasn’t the serial killer. I made Dallas promise to text me regularly so I could reply and she would know if I was tied up in a basement somewhere.

  I wondered if Cole always took a limo wherever he went. Did he drive? He was seventeen, old enough for a license. I made a mental note to ask him later on, maybe when there was a silent gap in the conversation and I needed something to say.

  We passed the ‘Welcome to Wesham’ sign and I started to pay more attention to the places we passed. I hadn’t been there very many times and never paid that much attention to the city before. I regretted that now when I didn’t have any idea where I was.

  Mr. Driver made a final turn and pulled into a parking lot. I almost died when I realized where we were. Wesham Wild Fun Park was a place I had always begged my dad to take me and he never did. The amusement park was on the to-do list of everyone in my school.

  The door opened and Mr. Driver helped me out like he was my personal butler. “Mr. Newton will be at the gate,” he said formally. I thanked him before hurrying toward the entrance.

  The first thing I noticed on my way was that the parking lot was completely empty. For a Saturday morning, the place was like a ghost town. The serial killer theory was starting to creep in again.

  Seeing Cole standing by the admissions counter put me a little more at ease. He was dressed in black shorts and an aquamarine blue polo shirt. His hair was the perfect combination of messy and styled to look that way. Just one glimpse of him and my breath was taken away for a minute.

  “You made it,” he said happily, opening his arms to give me a hug. He smelt just as yummy as he looked.

  “Thanks to your driver,” I replied. “Where is everyone? Is there something wrong with the park?”

  A grin spread across his face. “I’ve hired the place for the day.”

  “Hired, how?”

  “Like we have the whole place to ourselves for the day.”

  It took a moment for that to sink in. The entire amusement park was deserted because Cole made it that way. I couldn’t even begin to comprehend how much time and money that would take to organize.

  “So we can just go in and ride on whatever we want?” I asked, needing further clarification.

  Cole nodded, still grinning. “There’s no lines, no tickets, and no-one to bother us. It’s just you and me all day long. Have you been here before?” I shook my head, no, because I couldn’t actually speak for a moment. “Great, let’s get going then. I’m dying to check out the rides.”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the admissions booth, the lady inside gave me a polite smile as we went.

  It was weird seeing the place without anyone else there. Employees were still manning all the rides and shops, but it was eerily quiet. It was like being the only few humans alive after a zombie apocalypse.

  “I’ve always wanted to come here,” Cole started as we walked. “But I’ve always been working.”

  “Your schedule must be packed all the time.” Judging by his tweets and the amount of interviews he and the band did, I couldn’t imagine he had time for anything. Including a girlfriend, especially a girlfriend.

  “We all work hard, but it’s worth it. We have a lot of fun along the way too.”

  “Do you all get along really well?”

  “They’re my mates, we have the best times together. I don’t think Two Dimension would work if we didn’t get along like brothers.” I was happy to hear that. Acting like they loved each other for the cameras was one thing, anyone could do that, but to know they genuinely liked each other was nice. “Enough about me. Tell me, do you like rollercoasters, Miss Melrose Morgan?”

  “They terrify me,” I confessed.

  He stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to face me. “How can you not love rollercoasters?”

  “They’re scary. They go up and down and give me weird feelings in my stomach.”

  “How many have you been on?”

  “None.”

  “So how do you know if they give you weird feelings in your stomach?” He cocked his head to one side when he asked the question. It was adorable.

  “Because I can imagine, that’s how.”

  Cole laughed at me and my fear. Apparently he thought my phobia was hilarious. “I’m sorry, but you look so cute when you’re worried.”

  I gave him a gentle slap to his arm. “It’s not funny,” I said, but I couldn’t help myself from laughing either. There was something about Cole that put me at ease, I couldn’t stress for too long.

  He took my other hand so that both were safely ensconced in his own. I wouldn’t move them if someone offered me a million dollars. Cole looked right into my eyes, amusement still dancing in his green irises.

  “Will you please go on a rollercoaster with me?” He asked. “I promise you’ll be safe.”

  Before I could come to my senses, I heard myself saying “Yes, I will.” Stupid, Melrose, stupid. I could practically hear my father asking me if Cole Newton jumped off a bridge, would I do it too? At that moment, probably. It couldn’t be worse than a rollercoaster.

  Cole whooped with joy before running toward the area signposted as Lollipop Lane. I had no choice except to chase after him.

  He was found at the entrance gate to the Rumblebum Rollercoaster. He had chosen a kid’s ride for our first rollercoaster experience. That was actually really sweet. He could have chosen the giant rides at the other end of the park to throw me into the deep end.

  “Ready?” He asked. I took a deep breath. If kids could go on the ride, surely it couldn’t be that bad. Right? I nodded and let him lead me in.

  An attendant greeted us happily and strapped us into the front seats. I considered screaming and running away. I only had a few second’s window in which to do it. I could make it.

  But then I couldn’t. The big LCD screen next to the ride counted down and I ran out of time. This was really happening, I was about to be thrown all over the place by a rollercoaster. I instantly regretted my decision.

  Thankfully, I didn’t have much time to think about it. When the buzzer sounded, we were thrust out into the twists and turns of the track. My legs and arms were thrown everywhere. I was forced to the right, then forced to the left. Repeated about ten times.

  I screamed as we started climbing higher. Going up meant we had to come down and I accurately predicted it wouldn’t be at a leisurely pace.

  We skidded straight down, the ground coming up to meet my face far quicker than was natural. At the last minute, the track twisted and all I could see was blue sky. I felt sick. When I said rollercoasters made my stomach feel funny, I seriously downplayed the effect. It felt like my stomach and all my vital organs were going to jump out of my mouth.

  And then it was over. The car came to a standstill exactly where we had begun. All the fear left my body, replaced by an amazing adrenaline rush.

  I got it now, what everyone always gushed about when recounting their terrifying experiences of an amusement park ride or skydiving or something equally as dangerous. I felt invincible, like I could do absolutely everything.

  “Well? What do you think?” Cole asked as he helped me down.

  I was giggling like a little kid. “That was so much fun.”

  “What did I tell you?”

  “That it would be fun.”

  “Are you ready for something a little bigger?” He held out his hand as an invitation. I knew if I took it, I would have to go on another rollercoaster. And it probably wouldn’t stop with two.

  Like Grandma said, regret the things you do and not those you don’t. Even if that means barfing up your entire breakfast.

  I put
my hand in his, I was in. “Let’s go.”

  Cole didn’t wait for me to change my mind. We left Lollipop Lane and continued on through the rides. By the fifth one, I was actually enjoying myself without having the dread beforehand.

  Rollercoasters were fun, who would have thought? I screamed with every twist and wanted to throw up with every turn. But right next to me the entire time was Cole. His beaming smile was enough to put any of my fears to rest.

  Lunchtime was a welcome lull in all the thrill rides. “Come with me,” Cole directed. I followed along like a puppy dog, butterflies in my stomach with anticipation. And hunger.

  “We’re not eating on a ride, are we?” I asked, hoping I was only joking.

  “You always have to know what’s going on, don’t you? I’m sensing you probably aren’t big on surprises.”

  “You’ve got that right.” Surprises were rarely good, I knew that from experience. Like when you came home from school and surprise, your mother left for good without you. Or surprise, someone dropped their earring in the frying oil and you have to stop everybody in the place eating their fries before someone chokes to death.

  Surprises sucked.

  “Well, you’re going to like this one,” Cole promised. He didn’t give me any more clues, just led me to the pond in the middle of the amusement park.

  A series of little row boats were lined up along the bank. Cole took the one nearest and nodded toward it. “Coming?”

  “You want me to get into that tiny little boat?” It looked like it would sink with the weight of two people. Apparently I had trust issues to go along with my surprise issues.

  “It’s not going to hurt, I promise.”

  I stepped past him, testing the boat with one foot. It didn’t immediately sink. “You make a lot of promises, you know that?”

  “And have I broken one yet?” He asked happily, waiting patiently until I was all the way onto the boat before getting in himself.

  “No,” I admitted. Something told me he took promises seriously, like it wasn’t just a throwaway line like it might be for some people.

  He settled on the bench across from me. Our knees were touching in the small vessel. No matter where I put my legs, I couldn’t avoid touching him. The slight grazing of our skin made my face blush red to match my dress.

  I tried to cover my rosy cheeks before he noticed. “So, Captain, where are we going and what does this have to do with getting something to eat?”

  “Just wait and see.” He grinned and gripped both the boat oars before starting to row the boat out into the middle of the lake.

  I looked around nervously, I was trapped. I liked being able to leave a place if I wanted to, but Cole had me cornered with no way out. There were my trust issues again.

  “This is a good spot,” Cole declared as he let the oars fall to the side. Thankfully they were the type that couldn’t slip into the water accidently, otherwise I might have started to really panic.

  He pulled a blue checkered cloth from a mound on the floor next to us to reveal a picnic basket. “Aww, you brought a picnic for lunch?” I asked.

  “I told you we’d get some food,” Cole said proudly. It was possibly the sweetest thing ever. And romantic too. I felt like someone out of an old movie, being wooed by her sweetheart.

  He pulled out two sandwiches and held one out for me. “It’s salad, I hope that’s okay. I was going to go ham and cheese but then I didn’t know if you liked ham… or cheese. So I thought if everything was on there, you could take out what you didn’t like. Or whatever, you don’t have to eat it. I can go back and-” I cut him off, he needed to take a breath.

  “It’s okay, I like salad.” He visibly relaxed. “I like ham and cheese too, for future reference.”

  “Noted.” He handed me a bottle of water to accompany my sandwich. “Can I confess something?”

  Cole could do whatever he wanted at that stage. I was desperately trying to control the butterflies in my stomach because he kept doing things that made them flutter all over again. I nodded, unable to find the words to reply while my stomach was doing back flips.

  “I’ve never met anyone like you. And I know that probably sounds like a line or something, but it’s not. It’s a statement of fact.” He looked down at his feet while talking, daring to peek out through his long eyelashes only at the end.

  I was pretty sure I looked as shocked as I felt. Nobody had ever said something like that to me before. For a few moments, all I could do was munch on my sandwich and hope I didn’t get lettuce stuck in my teeth.

  Cole’s gaze fell to the floor again as he focused on eating his own lunch. I didn’t know what to say to him. I really enjoyed spending time with him too, but I wasn’t sure if my feelings were real or if it was just because of who he was. I had been in love with Cole Newton for almost a year, but was that really him, or just his public persona? I wasn’t sure.

  “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way,” Cole started. “I just wanted you to know that I don’t do this kind of thing very often. I don’t normally feel this way about anyone. I sing about it all the time, but I’ve never really experienced it before.”

  I really wanted to ask him what exactly he was feeling and experiencing but I didn’t have the nerve to. Whatever was going on inside his head was his business, definitely not mine, the girl he had only known for a week.

  But I needed to say something. Cole had just hooked his heart onto his sleeve and I was only sitting there like a statue. Say something, Melrose!

  “I, uh, I’m having a good time too,” I said. Apparently that was the best I could come up with. Good one, Melrose, good one.

  Cole beamed, a bright smile that was almost too dazzling in the midday sun. Paired with the reflection on the still water, I needed sunglasses.

  “I’m glad you’re having a good time,” he replied. “I meet a lot of people and none have I wanted to please more than you.”

  A smile curled my lips, I couldn’t contain it. Perhaps I didn’t have to work out my own feelings right now, perhaps soon I would wake up from my dream and realize none of it was real after all.

  We finished our sandwiches in silence. There were a million questions I wanted to ask Cole but I didn’t want him to think he was being interviewed. If I believed what he said, there would be plenty of time to ask him later on.

  “Hey, check out the ducks,” Cole said, pointing to a family of birds just past the front of the boat. I had to swivel around to see them, making my leg more than brush his. I was almost sitting in his lap as we leaned around to watch the ducks.

  I could feel the heat radiating from him he was so close. It momentarily made me forget all about the ducks and the boat and the rollercoasters. All that existed was his gorgeous self, wrapping around me like a cuddly blanket.

  I was so distracted I didn’t notice the way our bodies moved and shifted the weight in the boat. Before I knew it, we were tipping over. The only place to go was into the cold water.