bewrightback | Overflow Post [Cerealia]

[She risked a glance his way. Through her peripheral vision.]

It was...Athena who suggested it to me. She seemed really excited at the thought.

[Phoenix also seems to be relying on his peripherals on the moment.]

A-Athena? Really? Are... are you sure she wasn't just excited to take it by herself? [Please don't tell me this is her way of meddling...]

I...asked her about that.

[Because of course she did.]

She said she...had no one to go with.

[Although they did later come up with a friend whose company she might have enjoyed on a more platonic level of love...Iris wasn't all that surprised, given those questions she had asked over the network a little time back.]

Oh... I see. [He frowns. That definitely brings the mood down.] Poor Athena... but she's strong. She'll bounce back and find someone to enjoy that ride with. I know it.

I hope so.

She deserves to be happy again.

She really does. ...A lot of people deserve that.

[With a warm smile, he glances towards her, and he goes on a little nervously.]

Did you... want to try that ride?

[She smiled shyly, giving the most subtle of nods. It would have been indiscernible to anyone who wasn't looking at her right then.]

I am...curious.

[He was looking right at her, even as he felt a little embarrassed. I thought you stopped having butterflies in your stomach at a certain age.]

...I'm curious, too. Let's check it out then, Iris.

[He studies the map for a moment, trying to memorize the path there, and then he tugs at her hand to lead her onwards.]

[She allowed him to lead her along. Quickening her step to compensate for the height difference so she would keep up with him. No longer caring that she was walking around wearing his jacket. No longer caring that there were plenty of others that would be able to see them. Holding hands.]

[She was headings towards the Tunnel of Love with her Feenie, and even though her cheeks burned as if she'd been spending all day out under a bright sun...she was too happy to mind.]

[He chuckles slightly as he notices her scurrying to catch up, and he does try to slow his pace a little at least.

Iris had said that she didn't feel strange about his age, so... that set most of his insecurities at ease. They could just be.

Eventually, they finally saw that tunnel and looked up towards it with a shy smile.]

[She wasn't even thinking of their ages right then.]

[All she was thinking of was how...cute the ride appeared to be. There was a small dip in the road filled with water. Just long enough to accommodate several boats. All in a line, as if they were being pulled along some underwater track. And the tunnel up ahead...it was dark, but she could just barely make out faint glowing lights in the distance. Only a handful of individuals seemed interested in the ride at the moment, pairing off as they got into each of the available boats two at a time. There was no line.]

I...wasn't expecting to be able to get on so quickly.

I wonder why there aren't many people here?

[It did look very cute and innocent. Which, naturally, worried Phoenix.]

Me neither. Maybe it's just because others prefer some of the more intense rides?

[In this place, it's hard to tell if the lack of a crowd is a good thing or a warning flag.]

Or, perhaps...not many others had someone to go with.

[Like Athena.]

[A boat opened up at the end of the dock as two individuals got out--one looking significantly happier than the other--and Iris shyly glanced up at Phoenix.]

I suppose that means it's our turn now. Shall we?

Right... [I guess this place is lacking in power couples.

His own face burns a little as he glances down towards her.]

Of course, Iris. We might as well! [And he tugs at her hand to step towards the boat, about to step right into it.]

[She waited until he was safely in the boat before following. Using her free hand not holding his jacket closed over her form to steady herself against its sides. It rocked a little, but--just as she suspected--the track below kept them steady.]

I wonder how we--

[Go, she had been about to say, when the boat suddenly lurched forward. Enough to knock her into a seated position besides Phoenix.]

[Too late to turn back now; they were already entering the Tunnel's entrance.]

[He watched carefully as he made her way in, ready to support her if need be... but that time wound up coming right when he thought they were safe.]

Whoa! [He exclaims as the sudden lurch occurs, and he places a hand on Iris's shoulder to help brace her.] Are you alright?

[It doesn't look like that hurt, but it's best to make sure... especially now that the ride's starting.]

I'm alright. It just...startled me. That's all.

[She did her best to offer a reassuring smile. Just in time for everything around them to go dark.]

[Very dark.]

[So dark that, within a minute's time, she could no longer see her hand in front of her face. Nor the faint shimmer of the surface of the water, though she could still hear it flowing along either side of the boat as they were slowly pulled along.]

Is this...supposed to happen?

[Now that is some darkness. Phoenix blinks, trying his best to see anything beyond the pitch blackness.]

I... I have no clue. I've never really been in one before. But... I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be able to see something.

[Phoenix's grip on her shoulder grows firmer, protectively, as a fearful imagination runs wild about what could be in store for them.]

[Iris nodded her agreement. Even though there was no way Phoenix would be able to see the gesture.]

[For the moment, they could only wait. A tense, sightless silence. Her head darted around. Left and right, front and back. Curious and apprehensive all at once. At one point, with her heart pounding in anticipation, she felt her fingers brush ever so slightly against Phoenix's hand--]

[Just as an image to her immediate right flashed: a giant, holographic image of a terrifying mask. The image lasted for less than a second, but it was enough to cause Iris to scream, immediately turning to Phoenix so she could bury her head in his shoulder.]

[Laughter echoed in the distance as they continued along the path, growing fainter and fainter in the dark....]

[It was such an eerie and foreboding silence... Phoenix was tempted to break it with conversation, but he did not want to let his guard down. They could even hear each other's breaths clearly in the silence, and Phoenix worried for the apprehension in Iris's. The tickle of her fingers against his hand were a light relief. Phoenix felt himself starting to settle and was about to hold her hand when-]

UUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!

[-Sorry Iris but your scream has some competition there.]

[Still, as it all dies down and he feels Iris on his shoulder, he tries to calm his breathing, and he wraps an arm around her opposite shoulder to hold her close. With his other hand, he clasped the first hand of Iris's that he could find, and he held here there in the darkness.]

It's okay. It's okay, Iris. Whatever that was, it's all over now.

[Somehow, she had her doubts.]

[Still...with Phoenix's arm around her now...his words trying to offer as much comfort as possible in the moment...she risked peeking an eye open. Then the other. And saw only darkness. A welcome relief.]

[Her cheeks burned from embarrassment in hindsight. Just an image. They'd never been in any real harm. For her to scream in such a manner...]

[...for him to scream in such a manner, though...]

I...I'm alright, Feenie.

It just startled me, is a--

[Of course, the moment she let her guard down, three more holographic masks appeared, rushing straight towards them, only to fizzle out at the last second.]

[Iris' face returned to Phoenix's shoulder, body pressed against his arm in an instinctive attempt to hide behind him.]

[Phoenix might be comforting her for his own sake as much as hers... and trying to hope that his shout wasn't too embarrassing. But it was over now, right-

Wrong.]

HUUUAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!

[With that shout, he's sure to hold Iris close to him as he calms down from that shock.]

S-sorry. That was... It was just... it's okay, Iris. [He squeezes her had.] It's not real, s-so... no need to... fear.

[They had maybe twenty seconds of recovery time, before...]

[At least, this time, the masks that appeared were a little more...subtle. Appearing and Disappearing depending upon the angle one looked up at, they seemed to just...loom. Hovering over the two as their boat creaked on by.]

I don't understand. What kind of ride is this?

[Where was the Love?]

I... I don't know. [He protectively keeps one arm slung over her shoulders while trying to keep holding her hand. At least this time his heart wasn't trying to jump out of him anymore.]

I'm sorry. I should have thought that the ride would have something weird and scary.

...But it's not hurting us. None of this is real. [He tries to glance down towards her.] The only real things here are... it's us, Iris.

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