When we wake the next morning–Wren hurriedly sneaking back across the hall into the spare room–we wander sleepily down the stairs and into the kitchen where Harold and Eileen are.

"Good morning," I say.

"Hello," she greets us and Harold smiles over the newspaper in his hands.

My stomach growls with hunger. Eileen is preparing breakfast. There's a warm feeling inside the kitchen, and not just from the sunshine floating in through the window. It's relaxed and happy.

"I have a surprise for you," Harold smiles at me. "Close your eyes."

I do as I'm told.

"Hold out your hands."

Something paper-weight is placed into my hands. I blink down at it, seeing two passes to Movie World.

"I thought you kids might enjoy a day of fun," he says.

My heart warms, and I blink back moisture gathering in my eyes. I had briefly filled them in about Wren's mother and sister's situation last night while Wren had been in the shower. I could tell how sad they felt for him.

"Oh my God," I whisper, swivelling my eyes to Wren and holding the tickets up. "Harold, this is too much..."

"Nonsense," he says dismissively. "Once you're ready, I'll drop you off at the park and you can call when you're ready to be picked up."

I launch myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He startles in surprise, before chuckling and hugging me back.

"We appreciate the effort you've made since moving out," he says gently. "We're so proud of you, Addison."

I hug him again, unable to stop the tears from falling this time. Eileen pats my shoulder, before moving back around in the kitchen.

"Thank you," I say to them. "Thank you so much."

"Have you ever been before?" Wren asks me after we've dished out breakfast and are seated at the kitchen island.

"No, have you?"

"Once for a school excursion," he answers. "It's really fun."

"I'm so excited," I grin. "I've always wanted to go."

We hurry to get ready, and Harold drops us off. Movie World is a theme park with a variety of different rides, shows, and exhibits. So many kids used to gush about it, but I'd never had a chance to go. It had seemed at the time that I was the only one who hadn't gone.

"I can't believe your parents got us these," Wren shakes his head, incredulous. "I looked it up, these tickets are worth $100 each! That's a huge amount to me."

"Me too," I agree. "Very kind of them." I lean my head onto his shoulder. "They must really like you."

He squeezes my arm. "I hope so."

The sun is hot and unrelenting as we wait in line, making me wish I'd brought a hat, not that I think I actually own one. I curl my hand over my eyes, shielding my face, feeling beads of sweat dot my forehead.

We hand over our tickets and put our things in one of the lockers. We study the park map for a few moments, trying to figure out a plan. He folds the map into the back pocket of his shorts before he takes my hand.

We wander through the park, making a beeline for one of the rollercoasters. The line is massive and I wonder whether it's worth it for a moment, before I realise that the line is moving quickly, as eighteen people can go on the ride at one time. The closer we get to the gate, the more antsy Wren gets beside me.

I side-eye him, feeling his palm growing increasingly sweaty against mine.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"Have I ever told you I'm afraid of heights?"

My eyebrows shoot up. "No..."

"Well. I am." He swallows, a sheer layer of sweat forming over his skin. "Is it hot here?" He tugs at the collar of his shirt.

"Oh my God, you're freaking out."

He snaps his eyes to me. "No, I'm not."

"You totally are!" My eyes widen when I see sweat soak through his shirt. "Are you okay? Do you want us to turn around?"

His eyes dart back to the long line behind us. We would have to weave back through everyone.

"They'll think I'm a pussy," he mutters. "No. I'm fine. It's all good."

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling. "Wow, Wren. I had no idea."

"It's nothing."

"You're petrified!"

"I might be sick," he admits, looking a little pale as we step up to the gate. "Oh shit. Why did I agree to this?" He wipes his hands over his face. "Fuck. Let's turn around."

"Hey," I say softly, touching his arm. "I'm right here. There's nothing to be afraid of."

The cocky, confident boy I'm used is gone. He's ghostly white as he peers at the rollercoaster. People's screams fill the air as the rollercoaster twists and winds over the track, making loud, metallic clangs.

There is a whoosh of air that fans out face as the rollercoaster comes to a screeching halt at the gate. The group before us climb out of the seats and a moment later, the gates in front of us open.

Wren's legs look like they've turned to jelly as we settle in our seats. We clip ourselves in and he starts tugging at it.

"Is this secure?" he demands to the girl who is checking everyone is where they're supposed to be.

"Yes, sir."

"Can this go any tighter?" his voice has reached this high, weird level that I've never heard before.

"It's as tight as it can go, sir," she answers, double-checking.

"If I die, I'm suing you!" he snaps, tugging at the clip another time for good measure.

I startle, slightly mortified. "Ignore him, please. He's afraid of heights."

"Am not!" he huffs, and the girl rolls her eyes before moving on.

"You ready?" I ask, grinning. "Too late to back out now."

The gates close back up and Wren makes a high-pitch squeak sound. He screws his eyes shut and clings to the handles so tight that his knuckles are white.

The rollercoaster shoots forward and my head snaps back. An excited giggle leaves me as the wind plasters across my face, whipping my hair around me. My stomach jolts at each twist and turn. I feel the blood rush to my head when we flip upside down and my legs dangle. I let out a whoop when we surge downward, feeling like my stomach has been left behind back at the start.

When the ride finishes, I peer over to Wren, who is trembling, his skin an unhealthy white. His hair is sticking up at odd angles.

"It's over," I say.

"I can't move."

An unlady-like snort escapes me. I reach over, unlocking his fingers from the handles, and unclip the belt. I push the harness back up and touch his hand.

"We need to get off the ride now."

With shaky legs, he gets to his feet and I lead him down the exit path. We find a bench to sit down on and I truly think for a moment he is going to faint. I leave him sitting there and order us both lemonades. After sitting in the shade for a few minutes and getting some sugar back into him, the colour returns to his face and he starts to look half-normal again.

"So... Is that a no to going on any of the other rollercoasters?" I grin.

"Not a fucking chance," he mutters, draining the entire drink in almost two gulps.

We find a few rides–children's rides–that Wren is comfortable with that we go on. They're actually quite fun. Not as thrilling as the bigger rides are, but fun nonetheless. We break to have lunch for an hour, before we spend the afternoon watching different car shows and stunt driver exhibits, which I actually found to be really interesting.

While we wait for the next show, we get ice cream and sit by one of the water features.

"Feeling better?" I lightly tease.

"Yes," he frowns. "Never again."

I laugh softly, before licking my ice cream. "Your face. Priceless."

"I'm traumatised."

He pushes his dark hair back off his face and we're silent for a moment, finishing our ice creams, watching the water. I'm deep in thought when Wren wraps his hand around mine.

"Despite this morning... which we will never speak of again... I've had a really good day with you."

I smile. "Me too."

"You know, I want my kids to have all of this. They're not going through any of the shit we've had to."

Folding one leg over the other, I half-turn to him. "Kids are something you want?"

"Yeah, of course. Don't you?" he asks.

I shrug. "Sure, I guess. I haven't thought about it much."

My insides clench for a moment, as I try to calculate my last period. I sigh in relief when I realise it's due in the next two days. I'm not late.

"Not for a while," he continues. "But definitely someday."

I nod. "Yeah, me too. And I know what you mean. My kids will have the fucking world."

Wren smiles, then. "Our kids."

"Hmm?" I ask.

He grins wider. "Our kids will have the world."

Heats blossoms in my cheeks at the thought of having a future with Wren. I think of us having kids. Pale skin, dark hair, pretty blue eyes, rosy cheeks. I feel my heart swell. We could be a family.

"That's something to look forward to," I say to him.

He nods, tightening his hold of my hand. "Certainly is."

------------------

Hi everyone! I've been super smashed with work and other writing projects, so this story has been put on the back burner and I'm so bummed about it. I quickly wrote this up today just to post something as a thank you for your patience!

New with me: Childhood Sweethearts has been adapted into a video animation, the first two episodes are available on YouTube! Type in 'Childhood Sweethearts, episode one' to find it! Bad Liar has been launched on Lure! Lure is an app with stories told through text style, where you have the option to make choices in the story! The first three episodes are live on the app! To download, you type in 'Lure' in the app store! (Only available to iOS users at this stage!) And lastly, I have written and completed a short story on my profile called Wickedly Good, which is my first attempt at Fan Fiction! It's based on Draco Malfoy, from Harry Potter! I'd love for you to check out any of these and I hope you enjoy them! Don't forget you can also find Downright Delinquents (the original story which inspired this one!) on Chapters Interactive reading app! You can download Chapters also in your app or play store! Happy reading and have a great week!