^^
Layne = VoicePlay

Geoff = Me

Tony = My friends

~•~

"So what did you want to do for your birthday, Geoff?" Eli asked the bass as the five of them sat around the dinner table.

Geoff shrugged as he cut his steak with a knife and had his eyes on his plate. "I dunno..." he began sheepishly, though with a small smile.

"C'mon, anything you wanna do? Anything at all?" Earl seconded Eli's question as he turned the attention even more Geoff's way.

"It's your birthday, you have to have something in mind that you wanna do." Tony added in as he lifted his cup to his lips.

"Well..." Geoff dragged on with a shy smile as he seemed to be taking a very prolonged time cutting his meat. "Okay, there's one thing."

"Don't be shy. It scares me. You're never shy." Tony said slowly and skeptically as he took in how Geoff was acting.

Eli kicked Tony's foot from under the table, silently telling him to shut up and let Geoff talk. Tony glanced around the table to find the culprit, soon discovering it was, indeed, Eli.

"I dunno, I kinda want to go to the Sparkshow Fair." he answered, "I've never been, and I kinda want to."

"That sounds like fun!" Layne chimed in with his award-winning optimistic attitude, "Mmmm, cotton candy." he fantasized.

"I second that." Earl added in, "I don't see why you'd be so shy about it, though."

"I just didn't know if you guys would be interested. I want to do something we all enjoy doing." Geoff smiled, looking up with his brown eyes.

"It's your day, man. Not our's. You get to shine." Eli smiled warmly and assuringly.

"I mean, who doesn't love fairs?" Earl asked reasonably. "I think it's a great choice, Geoff. We'll do it."

"Of course we will." Eli said surely and without a doubt in his mind.

"Mhm." Layne nodded and smiled as he munched on his food. After a few moments, the gang all turned their gazed to the black-haired man poking at his vegetables with his fork.

His green eyes peered upwards and he instinctively gave a defensive look. "Hey, yeah! I'm cool with going." he mentioned, giving the rest of the men satisfaction. "It's not like I could pull off the doppelgänger stunt again..."

Eli shook his head while the others laughed mildly.

"Nothing gets passed Layne, Tony. You shoulda known that. If those big, brown doe eyes down break you down, he'll sniff you out eventually." Earl mentioned as Tony stared down at his plate.

"So," Geoff said, turning the focus back on current matters, "how about Saturday then? We all have off, right?"

"Pretty sure." Eli nodded his head.

~•~

When Saturday came, they all got out of the their vehicle and stood for a few moments to admire the grand entrance, towering roller coasters, and rides in the distance.

Geoff couldn't stop smiling, and the only one who seemed the slightest bit terrified was Tony. "This is gonna be awesome!" Geoff exclaimed excitedly.

The five guys got their passes to the amusement park, then they just stood there in silence for a few moments, all staring up at their luminous surroundings. "Where to start..." Eli seemed wonder struck as he pondered the thought.

"Food last, that's for sure." Earl said surely before all the men murmured their agreement.

"How about we ask Geoff?" Layne mentioned as he turned the attention on the one who was having the birthday.

"Let's go on the rollercoaster." Geoff said excitedly as he jerked his thumb towards the tallest, and fastest rollercoaster in the park.

Eli peered up at it. "Well... You only live once.., right?" he asked in hopes that the one-percent risk of falling out of the cart was worth it.

"C'mon, guys." Layne said before heading over to the lineup. "It's no use just standing around wasting time."

Geoff was quick and eager to follow, the other three following behind him. Just as the five stood in line, Tony casually peered around until he caught the sight of a few girls.

The few girls had just gotten off a ride and were a bit dizzy, also wearing small clothes that made Tony's heart skip a beat. He barely even realized he was staring, then he blinked and snapped out of it when he saw Layne staring in the same direction.

Tony's brows contorted as he could've sworn Layne's eyes were glued to the same thing. Both confusion and defense both built up in him. "What're you looking at?" Tony asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Layne blinked before he fixed his voice on Tony once he spoke. Then, Layne smiled and pointed towards a man spinning cotton candy. Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head.

When their turn came around, Geoff and Eli were up for the next cart, then Layne and Tony, after Tony insisted he not go alone.

Earl was the only one who didn't have one of his friends as a companion on the ride, but when a long-legged, tanned beauty claimed the seat next to him, he was savouring the sweet taste of the gang's envy.

Before the ride began, Geoff turned his head to glance over his shoulder at his friends. He was smiling the smile that could the scare demons away. The smile that haunted minds. The smile that made people question how he was still single. "Try not to fall out, guys! I hear the ride down is the best part!"

Layne smiled optimistically as he and Tony both gripped the bar in front of them.

Tony drew in a deep breath to prepare himself. "White roses." he said to Layne with his face was front, speaking as if he had accepted the fact that he was was going to die.

Once Layne heard him, he responded with a confused glance his way. "Hm?" Layne asked the shorter man.

"I want white roses at my funeral." Tony said solemnly.

"Do you want me to hold you hand, Tony?" Layne asked as he offered one of his hands out to Tony. Tony gave him a look that could kill.

"What the hell, Layne? No. I'd rather fall out of this rollercoaster." he answered dully. "Way to ruin the moment, too."

"Is it your sweaty hands?" Layne asked simply as he turned his head back to face forwards.

"No, it really isn't. How would you even know that anyway?" Tony rolled his eyes. Layne just gave a light and  innocent shrug of his shoulders.

When the ride began to move, there was no containing Geoff excitement, and his huge smile only confirmed it. Eli was watching the crowds of people as the ride began go lift off ground.

Once they were already a few feet off the ground, both Geoff and Layne were peering off the end of the cart and watching the ground below them. Tony dared himself to peer over the end only to realize they were higher than he thought they were. Earl seemed to notice his friend's reaction from his seat, because a smirk grew on his lips and he asked over the sound of the rails beneath them, "Scared?"

Tony turned to face forwards once more, then said, "Can you guys seriously stop making fun of me? You all know I don't like heights. Besides, these things are safe, right?" he bit his lip after saying the last statement as if questioning himself inwardly.

"Yeah, I mean, I've been on a thousand rollercoasters before," Earl began nonchalantly, "So I know-" just then the cart shifted a bit and the tires creaked. "Uh oh..."

"What?" Tony nearly jumped out of his seat, his hands tightening around the bar. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Sounds like a loose wheel to me..." Layne said slowly and carefully.

"We're going slow now," Earl points out gravely, "but when we go down.."

"You guys are so cruel." Eli shook his head as he peered back to his three friends. Deciding to have some mercy on his friend, he said assuringly, "Tony, they're just messing with you. We're fine."

"Aw," Geoff said with a teasing disappointment as he, too, glanced back, "I was actually kinda enjoying that."

Earl was laughing at Tony's frustration and annoyance. "Me, too. Well, it was fun while it lasted."

"I hate you all." Tony muttered quietly as he turned his green eyes away.

Now, they were almost at the top and the two in the first cart were admiring the view, it being the highest in the entire park. It was like slow motion as they came over the end, the cart coming to a slow-down before the sprint. From where he was, Geoff could see a full loop and some crazy twists and turns.

Then the moment came. The cart was stolen by gravity and roared as it sped down the tracks, gaining speed with every second that passed. The wind smacking against their faces made it hard to breathe while the force pounded on their ear drums. It was like their senses were nearly numbed as the cool breeze collided with their warm skin.

Soon they were launched back up once more by a long half-turn, similar to a half-pike.

All the turns nearly made them crash into each other, throwing them side-to-side and making their hands instinctively clench tighter around he metal bars. They found that the force wasn't nearly enough to do any real damage, but definitely enough to take their heads for a real spin.

When it came time for the full loop, it felt like a blur that just whipped passed them. The speed, movements, and raw adrenaline had all their inners tingling fiercely with butterflies.

For Geoff, the ride came to an end too soon. It seemed, before he could even blink, the addictive sensation of adrenaline and racing blood was over and ready to vanish when the cart wheeled itself back to the start. In a sense, it got him thinking despite his whirling mind.

Geoff bit his bottom lip and he pondered the new thought that settled in his mind.

As the people began to stand and get themselves out of the machine, Layne was trying to blink back his dizziness while Tony sat frozen in his seat like a cat that was splashed by a bucket of ice water.

Geoff nearly stumbled as he stood up, being the height he was wasn't exactly helping his balance either. Eli helped him get out of the cart, steadying him and also using him as a support for himself as well.

Earl nudged Layne on the shoulder as he got out of his seat. "C'mon Layne, Tony, the ride's over."

Once all of them were off the ride, Layne and Tony were the last to haul their dizzy selves off of it.

"That was awesome!" Geoff said breathlessly as he held a hand to his head and wore a huge grin. "Let's go again!"

Layne had goosebumps running up his arms and he was pretty sure his jaw was cramped in place, but he couldn't deny the amazing feeling that he experienced on that ride. The dark-haired man just nodded his approval with a crooked grin.

"That... was... so cool.." Eli, too, was breathless and smiling widely, "Geoff, this was a great idea! Why haven't we done this before?"

"Just saying, I never would have done this if I wasn't for Geoff." Tony mentioned in a way that secretly meant something like, 'I'd do anything with you'. He ran his fingers through his wind-blown, messy hair. "... but okay, it was kinda fun. A little bit." he admitted shortly since he knew that's what they really wanted to hear.

"We'd be so boring without you, Geoff." Earl said as it came to him as a realization.

"He has a point." Eli pointed out as he saw the same viewpoint the other tenor was coming from. "You're kind of our crazy, spontaneous side."

"Aw, guys stop." Geoff said in flattery with a huge and shy smile, "I'm blushing. ... I mean, you can go on, I'm not stopping you..,"

"Don't push your luck." Tony shook his head.

~•~

When the day of rides and excitement was almost over, and the five were all in the car to drive back home, Geoff pondered that reoccurring thought in his mind that the rollercoaster reminded him of.

Geoff turned another year older, and when he thought about it, it went by too fast for his liking. Too fast not to take chances. Just like the rollercoaster.

Life had it's highs and lows, unexpected twists, turns, times you miss in the blink of an eye, but also the slow and steady. He couldn't stop life from passing him by, but he knew he'd rather have it no other way than with his friends. The people that he cared about.

The people that cared about him.

~•~

IMPORTANT MESSAGE:

Hey! This is long overdue, yes, I'm sorry! I'm lucky that I could manage to get this out before all the craziness in my life starts.

For the next couple of months, my updates will be slow because of a lot of schooling and my job, not to mention other commitments to instruments and such that I have.

I will try to update regularly, even if it means shorter chapters. If need be, I'll update Fruitcake twice a week.

I hope you all understand.

With much love,

ScarletMIX