I don’t know why I agreed to this. Aimee is notorious for dating the wrong guys, all through college she’s been bouncing between boys like a badly thrown bowling ball. Of course, it was probably me doing the throwing since I fucking suck at bowling. One of the main reasons I opted for a theme park as today’s location, but also because roller coasters are super fun and I could really use some adrenaline pumping through my veins today.

My body bounces with the road bumps as the coach pulls into the car park. Looking out the window I notice the skies haven’t cleared up much, still cloudy and still cold. Not sure what I was expecting for mid-October, but a little bit of sun would have been nice.

As we come to a stop my fellow passengers begin to quickly gather their things and rush to the front of the bus. “Come on, hurry up Timothy. We need to queue for the monorail!” a portly woman exclaims, yanking her unsuspecting child by the hood of his coat and off the coach.

Poor Timothy, he never stood a chance.

Admittedly, I forgot about the monorail too. You see, Alton Towers is one of the largest theme parks in Britain and you either have to put up with walking a thousand miles to get between areas, or hop onto the skyline that connects the park together. The car park itself is a huge expansive field of grass or gravel - depending on how lucky you are.

As I hop off the bus I pick up the pace slightly, both excited to meet whoever Aimee has set me up with and because I don’t want to be queuing until lunch for the monorail. You need to catch it just to get to the park entrance and pay, so the quicker I get this done the better.

I go through the motions, glancing between my text messages and moving one step at a time until I finally make it to the other side. The monorail doors open and once again, I have to navigate the stampede of families that threaten to end my short existence on this planet if I dared stand in the way.

Aimee 9:35: Are u there yet? He said he’ll meet u inside by the gift shop.

Dylan 9:36: Nearly, yeah. Just queuing up to pay for my ticket, is he already inside?

Aimee 9:38: Yep! U two are gonna look adorable together, u excited?

Dylan 9:39: More anxious than anything else…

Aimee 9:40: It will be fine! Ur first date with a boy is something to be excited about! Turn that frown upside down!

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

I stuff my phone back into my pocket as I reach the front of the line. Fumbling for a second I pull out my printed ticket and let the lady scan it, before pushing it back into my pocket and accepting a small slip of paper with a barcode printed onto it. “Just head over to the turnstiles and scan the barcode, they’ll automatically open for you.”

We both turn in that direction, to see the same portly woman from earlier struggling to scan the barcode. “Miss, the paper needs to be face down!” the kiosk lady yells over, but to no avail.

“Timothy!” the impatient woman hollers, her young child standing patiently beside her as she continues to struggle. I don’t get why some people have children, especially if all they're going to do is yell at them for everything, including stuff that has nothing to do with them.

“Here, like this,” I say, showing her my barcode and how to scan it. She copies me, and then huffs in response as she grabs little Timothy by the hood again and power walks away into the crowd. “You’re welcome,” I mumble under my breath, rolling my eyes before scanning the area for the gift shop.

Walking around the corner, the entrance opens up and I’m met with a magical view of rolling green fields and pale grey skies. This place really is huge… I can just about see one of the rides poking out from the tree tops in the distance. The gift shop calls out to me from the left, bubbles drifting on the wind as a child runs playfully to get the biggest sized bubble possible.

The windows are stocked full with branded merch, all from different areas within the park. There’s a whole range of hoodies dedicated to the new ride, Wickerman - a wooden coaster that looks to be based on some satanic cult. Yeaaaah, I think I’m gonna hard pass on that one.

I walk over to the shop and keep an eye out for a dark red shirt. That’s what Aimee told me he’d be wearing, other than that, I don’t have a clue what my date looks like. I don’t know his name, hair colour, eye colour… I don’t know anything about him. Other than that Aimee promised he was cute. Not that she was the saint and patron of who was cute or not, I hardly trust her opinion on the matter.

Suddenly, my eyes catch a glimpse of a boy wearing a red shirt exiting the store. He has his back to me and slowly walks over to the small duck pond, pulling out his phone likely checking his messages. That’s definitely him though, he looks to be waiting for someone. Ok, Dylan. Take a deep breath and just walk over there, introduce yourself, and try not to blow this.

I force my body forward, knowing that if I didn’t start moving out of my comfort zone I’d never be able to fully accept who I am. As I step closer, he hears my shoes slide against the ground and slowly turns in my direction.

Silence~

We stare at each other, shock and confusion bouncing in the space between us. Surely this is some sort of joke, Aimee has to be hiding in the bushes somewhere ready to take a picture. What the fuck is this?

“Dylan, what are you doing here?” the boy asks, his face twisting in both annoyance and bewilderment. He’s clearly just as confused as I am… so Aimee can’t have known. Could she?

“H-hi Simon,” I reply, not sure what else to say.

"Dreams aren't meant to be forgotten. Dreams are important for progress, change and happiness. Our dreams can be reality."