sorry i made things weird [ameron]

Aran was in the Solas mansion, in the room that her and Amerie had designated and set up as the training room. Another staffer had ordered some fancy equipment for it, which Aran didn't think they needed at first, but after a while even she had to admit it was nice and useful. In fact she was currently beating the shit out of a sturdy punching bag, taking out all her frustrations in the world on it.

Against her better judgment, she did the dumbest thing ever and told Amerie how she felt, even though she knew Amerie didn't feel the same way. Amerie responded in an unsurprising way, and had been acting weird and awkward around Aran ever since. Which was exactly what Aran didn't want. Now in addition to having a crush on Amerie, Aran had managed to fuck up their friendship too. Great. Just great.

She hit the punching bag again and again until her arms got sore, and then just kept on going. If there was one single thing she missed about fighting, it was that punching things was a great way to vent.

Amerie had seen better days. This last week had been stressful and confusing for her, starting with the day at the beach when Aran had confessed her crush. She'd spent the next few days by herself, feeling very alone with her confused emotions. Usually if she was conflicted about something she would go to Aran, but when the issue she was conflicted about was Aran, Amerie realized she didn't really have anyone to talk to. Her only other option was Luka, who obviously actually wasn't an option in this situation.

Things were further complicated when she'd agreed to go on a date with Luka to get her mind off Aran and had walked in on him without a shirt on. His back was decorated with scars he had been awarded over the years, gifts from a father who demanded perfection. She'd spent the next few days obsessing over this new revelation--her boyfriend was the victim of abuse. Abuse that continued to this day, because for reasons Amerie still didn't understand, Luka still returned to visit his parents' home in Dahlin.

In her worry, Amerie had mostly forgotten about her confusion over Aran. In fact, it wasn't until yesterday night that Amerie realized she hadn't exactly been spending as much time with Aran as usual. She'd laid in bed for hours wondering what Aran thought about the distance that had grown between them over the week. Did she think it was solely because of what had happened at the beach? Amerie wanted to tell Aran about Luka, but she knew that Luka didn't want anyone else to know.

She spent the night feeling sick with something she couldn't quite put a name to, before finally deciding that she would take Aran to the fair the next day. It was something they had discussed but had never done, and Amerie decided it was as good a way as any to try to sort out their friendship.

Amerie swung open the door to the training room, figuring, correctly, that this is where Aran would be. She watched Aran pounding at a punching bag from across the room for a few seconds before finally calling her name. "Hey, Aran?" She hoped silently that Aran wasn't mad at her for her avoidance during the last few days.

Aran had gotten so in the zone that she didn't even hear Amerie come into the training room until she called her name. She paused, actually surprised that Amerie had sought her out. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and dropped her arms back down to her sides before turning around. She didn't really know how to feel. She was happy that Amerie had finally come to see her, but pretty unhappy that it had taken a week. Then again, that was pretty much Aran's fault for making everything weird in the first place.

"Yeah?" she asked, deciding to settle on being happy to see Amerie. She couldn't be upset with her. She was also hoping that Amerie really did wanna hang out with her, and wasn't just here to ask like, a professional question. Or something like that.

Well, she didn't sound mad, at least. Amerie offered a small smile as she walked over to where Aran had been mercilessly beating the punching bag.

"Got any plans for this afternoon?" she asked, hoping that Aran didn't. She really felt like they needed some time together, and the more she thought about it, the more she'd started putting hope into the carnival. The carnival signified some of Amerie's happiest times, and she felt like if anything could fix the awkwardness that had grown between them, it would be going there. "I was thinking maybe we could go to that fair I mentioned the other day."

To be honest, Aran had completely forgotten that they had talked about going to the fair, what with that other big thing they had talked about that day. But for all the awkwardness Aran had caused by her confession, Amerie still wanted to go there with her. Aran actually smiled, thinking maybe she hadn't fucked things up as bad as she thought.

"I think I'd like that," she said with a nod.

Amerie's smile grew considerably. It was a big relief to know that Aran wasn't mad at her. "Good!" she said. "I was thinking we could go soon, if you weren't busy."

She looked at the punching bag that had finally stopped swinging. It hung motionless from a chain that was connected to the wall. How weird that something existed whose sole purpose was to be beat continually. Amerie had only punched the thing a few times herself--leaving with bloody knuckles each time. How was it that Aran could practice with it for hours and walk away unharmed?

"Sure," Aran said. She looked down at herself, dressed in a sports bra and men's workout shorts. "Just gotta throw some clothes on." So she did just that, throwing on a typical masculine outfit that often made other clio have to do a double-take to determine her gender. Following that, her and Amerie were ready to head out.

Even though the fair was sorta closeby, Amerie got them a hot air balloon, which Aran had never been on before. It was actually really cool, looking down over the edge and seeing the landscape float by underneath them. They didn't talk much, but it wasn't the awkward sort of silence that they had been suffering the last few days, but more just comfortable enough that they didn't feel the need to make any small talk.

After landing and walking for a while, Aran could start to see some of the taller rides in the distance. They were fucking huge! She'd never seen anything like it.

"Look! Look!" Amerie cried, pointing at the carnival in the distance. The ferris wheel and the tallest roller coasters were visible from the road they were walking on.

The little fair was built on a boardwalk along the beach, and had been around for 100 years. It. Was. Awesome.

"We're going to ride every ride, and eat every food," Amerie said with joy as they continued to walk. "I was never allowed to do it all, but today we are going to." She had complete faith that she and Aran could hit everything. Every single coaster--even the fast ones that Amerie was usually nervous to ride. They would play all the games and try all the food. Unlimited money meant unlimited fun.

"This is going to be amazing!"

"Look! Look!" Amerie cried, pointing at the carnival in the distance. The ferris wheel and the tallest roller coasters were visible from the road they were walking on.

The little fair was built on a boardwalk along the beach, and had been around for 100 years. It. Was. Awesome.

"We're going to ride every ride, and eat every food," Amerie said with joy as they continued to walk. "I was never allowed to do it all, but today we are going to." She had complete faith that she and Aran could hit everything. Every single coaster--even the fast ones that Amerie was usually nervous to ride. They would play all the games and try all the food. Unlimited money meant unlimited fun.

"This is going to be amazing!"

Even though Aran had never done anything like this as a kid, she couldn't help but feel like a kid again as they entered the fair. She hadn't been too excited about the fair when Amerie had first brought it up that one day, but now that they were here it was actually really, really cool. She was even excited about Amerie's plan to ride every ride and eat all the food, because it all actually looked like lots of fun.

"Can we go on that one first?" she asked, pointing to the tallest, fastest-looking rollercoaster she could see from where they were. The whole fair was huge, it was like its own little city.

"Yes!" Amerie said with a grin, not really paying attention to what Aran had suggested. They were going to do it all, today. She followed Aran through the crowds (stopping only to buy them both some cotton candy and lemonade) until they got to the giant coaster. Yikes.

"This is what you want to ride first?" Amerie asked, her voice small. Maybe the "ride every ride" thing was a bit ambitious.

"Yeah!" Aran replied, grinning with excitement. The closer they got to the coaster, the bigger and more impressive it looked. It was taller than a building, and looked faster than anything Aran had ever seen. Man, she really had missed out as a kid by the looks of things. But she was gonna make up for that now, thanks to Amerie.

They waited in line for a bit, and then finally it was their turn. Aran was so excited that she didn't even notice how nervous Amerie looked until they were climbing into the little cars together. Oops. "You ready?" she asked, putting her hand on Amerie's shoulder and giving her a playful shake. There was no reason to be nervous, right? They wouldn't make these rides if they weren't safe.

"I don't know," Amerie squeaked, watching as the worker came over and tested their seat belts. Her heart had started beating really quickly, though Amerie couldn't remember when.

"Ready?" a worker asked the train of clio who were strapped in. Everyone gave shouts of agreement, charging the air. "Oh, Gods. Oh, Gods," Amerie said over and over, feeling her stomach drop. What had she gotten herself into? What had she been thinking?

"I don't think I can do this," she said in a panic as the cart started to roll slowly ahead.

"Too late!" Aran told her, her excitement building as the carts started moving very slowly up the huge hill in front of them. The anticipation was like the thrill before a fight, except without the added dread of knowing she was gonna have to beat the shit out of someone. In other words, completely awesome.

When they crested the hill, Aran's stomach did a weird drop thing as they rushed down. She was laughing the entire time, half because it was a ton of fun, and half because Amerie was screaming her head off the whole ride.

As the ride came to a slow before eventually returning them back to the start, Aran was all pumped up and ready to ride more things. "You were right 'bout the fair," she told Amerie, "I like it so far."

Amerie ended the ride with wide eyes and a beating heart. Those had been the scariest few moments of her life. She stood off the ride with shaking legs.

But Aran was right--it had been fun. Just fun in a sort of "I really hope I don't die" type of way.

"I can't believe we did that!" she exclaimed as they exited the ramp. They had ridden the scariest looking ride first. Now Amerie was sure she could ride the others. "What should we go on next?" she asked with excitement.

Even though Amerie had seemed terrified on the ride, she bounced back as soon as they were back on the ground and looked excited to find another one. Awesome. Aran looked around, searching for the second biggest, fastest ride she could find. Instead, she saw one that was sort of like a rollercoaster except at the bottom of the big hill it dropped the riders into a pond with a huge splash and got them all wet. "What about that water one?" she asked, pointing at it.

"Yes!" Amerie said, grabbing Aran's hand to pull her along to go faster. This one she had ridden before, and it was one of her favorites. "I love this ride!" she exclaimed as they rushed up the long set of stairs that would lead them to the start of the ride.

"And it's so hot, it's gonna feel so good to be in that water!" What a great idea the fair had been!

And so they rode the water ride, and then another ride, and another. By the time they had just finished this spinny swing ride thing, Aran was feeling pretty hungry. She was ready to eat some awful fried stuff that Amerie had told her so much about. "Does that really say fried cheese?" she asked, pointing to a booth nearby. "I didn't even know that existed."