Miss Me Not

"Ha, I knew you were an adrenaline junkie," Dean said, pulling me in for a quick hug.

I really tried not to tense. Seriously I did, but as soon as his arms encircled me, everything in me froze. He dropped his arms instantly.

"Shit, I'm sorry Mads," he said, looking contrite as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

"Because I'm some freak who totally turns into the ice queen any time I'm touched? It's not you, it's me. I shouldn't be allowed out in public," I said, stalking away in embarrassment.

Dean jogged up beside "Come on, freak, let's ride again," he teased in a soft voice. His eyes held mine, and the disgust I was so sure I would find wasn't there.

"We're like some after-school special, 'The Freak and the Jock,'" I finally said.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I'd get top billing, so it'd be 'The Jock and the Freak,'" he quipped.

Yeah, it had Hollywood written all over it. If not Hollywood, then definitely some teenie-bopper, feel-good novel. Of course, both would have to write in a happily ever after since that wasn't in my life script. Live. That's the best I could do.

"Relax, it's almost like holding hands, but better," Dean murmured in my ear.

"Friends, remember?" I pointed out.

"Friends do this all the time," he reassured me.

"Right, I'm calling bullshit on that one," I said, allowing myself to relax slightly.

Our second round on The Hulk was as exciting as the first. I wanted to go again, but Dean convinced me the other rides in the park were good too. He was almost right. A half-a-dozen rides later, I was still convinced The Hulk was the best, but I had to admit, the other rides were pretty cool too.

"What do you think?" Dean asked as we finally sat down to eat after riding the dragon roller coaster in Harry Potter World.

"It's amazing," I admitted, taking a big drink of my butterbeer. "I guess I can see the whole 'theme park junkie' thing now."

"I can't believe you've never been to one," he said, taking a bite of his chicken.

"It's just not Donna's kind of thing," I said, swallowing my bite of food.

"What else isn't her thing?" he asked innocently, taking another bite of food.

Sighing, I debated answering. I could see his ploy. He was slowly unraveling my life like it was layers of an onion. "Holidays, movies, dinners at home. Basically anything that isn't church-related."

"Holidays?" he asked.

"Yeah. She doesn't do holidays. Well, holidays with me anyway. Christmas and my birthday are envelopes of cash. Thanksgiving, she spends at the church in their soup kitchen, which is a worthy cause, so who am I to bitch. Easter is spent at the church, and I think one of the families from church, but I'm not really sure," I said, taking a bite of my seasoned potatoes. "I've never asked," I admitted once I swallowed my bite of food.

"Doesn't she ever insist you go with her?" he asked, no longer eating.

"Not for a very long time," I answered. "Look, Sport-o, don't get your jockstrap in a bunch. Trust me, it really doesn't bug me. If I never step another foot in a church, I'd die a happy person. It's not my thing," I said, shrugging my shoulders as if I really didn't care.

"Yeah, but, she's your mom. It's her duty or whatever to include you in holidays and everything else in between. Do you at least get to spend the holidays with your dad?" he asked hopefully.

I shook my head. Suddenly, my own appetite was fleeing. "I haven't heard from him since he moved out. Look, can we talk about something else?" I asked as my stomach twisted in knots.

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but the look on my face stopped him. "Sure," he said as he resumed eating.

Our conversation was stilted after that, and I was pissed at myself for sharing so much. My family screamed dysfunctional, but actually laying it out for someone made it so much worse.

We hit Seuss Landing after lunch and some of the fun from before resurfaced as we rode the whimsical rides, including the carousel, which had appalled Dean to learn that it was my first ride on one. He insisted we needed to ride it three times to make up for lost time.

Dean surprised me by buying me a set of Incredible Hulk dog tags before we headed to the next park.

"To remind you of the day," he said, sliding them over my head, letting his hand linger on my neck for a moment.