Chapter Text
Coiny’s POV
“Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god-”
Coiny panicked as he walked home, his mind racing. He couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened, and how he just did nothing? Who just stands there when someone hugs them? Oh god Pin probably thought he was so weird now and just a loser chud.
“Wait…” He said aloud, starting to talk to himself, “Why did she hug me?”
Could it be…? No! No, that’s stupid. He couldn’t even imagine a beautiful, awesome girl like her liking him back. Unless…
Coiny sighed as he turned onto his street. “Only one way to find out…”
“...except there isn’t.” He continued, “I could test the waters, I could eventually confess, I could straight up kiss her…!”
He grimaced. “...Maybe not that last one.”
He sighed as he dug out his house key from his pocket and unlocked his door. When he got home, he saw his dad on the couch, watching some random sitcom on the TV. His dad looked at him.
“Took ya a while!” He noted, “What’d ya get?”
“Just some band tees,” Coiny replied, taking them out and holding them up.
“Cool.” His dad nodded as Coiny walked past towards his room. Unfortunately, that means he passed Penny’s room.
“Coiny why are you so late?” She said annoyingly, which made him stop outside her door.
“Cause I was at the mall, stupid.” He rolled his eyes.
“Oooo, with Pin???” She teased
“I- wh- N-no! Well- yeah, but our other friends were there. So what?” Coiny stuttered, being caught off guard.
Penny gasped. “Ooh, you like her, don’t you!”
“NO I DON’T!” Coiny yelled, knowing damn well that was a bold-faced lie.
“But you’re blushing!” Penny pointed out as Coiny walked to his room tiredly.
He quickly closed the door behind him, not even bothering to turn on any lights as he just walked forward and flopped on his bed. He wasn’t all that physically tired, well aside from his legs cause he was lowkey walking all day-
The point is, his head was completely clouded. He couldn’t stop thinking of Pin, and how weird it was how much he liked her, to the point where it might be an obsession? But like, he wasn’t really sure if this was just what normal crushes felt like. Was this even a normal crush? Was thinking about her so much that his head started pounding and he started to feel nauseous normal?
…
“...Actually,” He thought to himself, “That last part might be because I’m wearing 3 layers in 75 degree weather and haven’t drank actual water in 4 days…”
Coiny and Pin were at a bookstore. It was structured in a spiral, shelves full of different types of books and little knicknacks all leading towards the checkout in the center. The warm afternoon sun illuminated Pin’s face as she started showing Coiny some different small stuffed animals, though he couldn’t bring himself to even look at the plushies.
“And look at this one!” Pin laughed enthusiastically, lifting up one that was a hotdog-dog. “Get it? Cause it’s a hotdog!”
“Oh yeah, I get it!” He laughed along with her, feeling his chest grow warm seeing her giddy over the little things.
She grabbed his hand to drag him deeper into the spiral, probably looking at some type of book. He couldn’t deny, he felt his face grow warm, but it felt… almost natural. He just let himself be dragged along, simply enjoying having her hand intertwined with his.
“Oh look, the romantasy section!” Pin smiled, before turning to him, “...Do you know what romantasy is?”
He chuckled, “Wild guess, but I think it might be romance and fantasy.”
Pin laughed nervously, “Yeah, I guess it was pretty obvious, huh.”
“I mean,” Coiny continued, “It’s not like I read it or anything, though.”
“You can read!?” Pin joked, before looking and pulling one off the shelf, reading the back. “Kidding! But I’ve heard good things about this one.”
“Mm hm?” Coiny said, still not being able to take his eyes off her. Honestly, he was hardly even listening, but he just wanted to hear her talk.
“It seems really good to me,” Pin said, before turning to look at Coiny, catching him off guard, “But what if we read it together!”
“Ha- n-no thanks,” He explained nervously, “I-I don’t do romance…”
Pin just looked at him teasingly and squeezed his hand, which made butterflies fly through his entire body.
“...-I-in fiction, I meant.” He corrected
“I know!” She giggled innocently.
Coiny was already flustered and nervous to keep talking, but he still did because he’s so brave. “O-oh yeah? And how do you know?”
Just then, Pin’s free hand flew to Coiny’s face, pulling him closer and tilting his head up (bc hes short as fuhhh.) He was hoping she couldn’t feel the warmth radiating off his skin, or the way his heart was pounding a million miles per hour.
“This is how” Pin just grinned mischievously, as she leaned in and-
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP
Coiny quickly woke up to the sound of his alarm.
“...Ugh, dammit.” He sighed, “It was just a dream… WAIT A SECON-”
Next Wednesday, Coiny was eating lunch with Firey, Leafy, and Pin like usual. Though, for some reason, the dream from several days ago still floated in his mind. He tried to act casual around Pin, but it’s safe to say he was failing miserably. He was very obviously trying not to look at her, because when he did, his eyes would end up drifting to her lips, and he didn’t want her to notice, so he just avoided it in general.
He sighed, remembering the decision he’d made earlier. The memory played in his head like a reminder holding him accountable. Coiny stood in front of the mirror. He splashed water in his face, and wiped it off, looking at his reflection again. He couldn’t stand his reflection. He knew that he was technically conventionally attractive, though he knew that didn’t matter. Or maybe he was telling himself that because he didn’t believe it. Except, it’s moreso that he didn’t really act like how he thought he should based on the way he looked.
Whatever- that’s not what he was remembering. Coiny remembered how he took a few breaths, looked in the mirror, and started talking to himself like the weirdo he is.
“Okay. You’ve got this.” He said to himself, “You have to make a move. Don’t be a pussy, Coiny.”
“No, but seriously,” Leafy randomly suggested as they were yapping, snapping Coiny out of his thoughts, “we should totally have a sleepover!”
“You wouldn’t, like, give us makeovers, right…?” Firey nervously signaled at him and Coiny
“Well, no promises.” Pin laughed mischievously.
“Oh no, don’t rope me into this!” Coiny joked
“But seriously,” Firey inquired, “Who’s house would it be at?”
“Probably not mine,” Pin said, “I’ve never had a sleepover, so-”
“You’ve NEVER had a sleepover!?” Leafy interrupted, shocked.
“No, I was obviously lying. I’ve had a million.” Pin rolled her eyes sarcastically
“It probably wouldn’t be at my house, tho.” Coiny added
“Why not? It’s pretty close to here?” Firey inquired
“Because my house is already way too chaotic as it is.” He pointed out. “Plus, your house is literally on the same block as mine. Why not go to yours?”
“Oh, right.” Firey pointed out. “I guess we could go there.”
“Well, it was her idea,” Pin pointed at Leafy, “why not just go to her house.”
“Um, excuse me…” Leafy said, slightly offended, before considering. “...Actually, I don’t see why not.”
“So… your house?” Coiny asked her
“Uhh sure, I’ll ask my parents!” Leafy smiled
“If it's at Leafy’s house, I might actually be able to go.” Pin pointed out
“Why?” Firey asked
“Our parents know eachother.” Pin explained
“Yeah!” Leafy sprung towards her, resting her arm on Pin’s shoulders like that awkward side-hug thing, “Cause we’re, like, best friends!”
Pin just rolled her eyes. “Debatable.”
That earned a scoff from Leafy, and Coiny couldn’t help laugh to himself. And then, of course, beat himself up for being a simp.
“Oh wait- that reminds me,” Firey chimed in, “There’s gonna be a fair in the next town over- It’s only, like, an hour walk from here!”
“Woah, really?” Coiny said, astounded, “When though?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s this weekend,” Firey explained, “It’s at that big park next to the other high school. They do it every year on the last weekend of February.”
“Ugh,” Pin shuddered, pushing Leafy off her, “Hopefully I don’t see anyone from my elementary school.”
“But, we’re all going, right?” Leafy prompted
“Uh, obviously!” Coiny chimed, wrapping his arm around Pin, doing the awkward side hug thing too. Though, he hoped that she didn’t mind as much because he’s not Leafy. “It’s all or nothing!”
Pin just froze, her expression going blank. She then rolled her eyes and lightly pushed him, but not enough to even try to get him off, which caught Coiny off guard. “I didn’t say I was going!”
“Like I said,” He reiterated, trying to stay calm, “We all go, or nobody does! No one left behind!”
“...Oookay.” Pin sighed exasperated, but not moving away, which just made Coiny panic more.
“Wait, if it’s all weekend,” Leafy asked, “which day should we go?”
“Uhh,” Firey suggested, “If we go on Friday, I guess we could, like, walk there from school or something?”
“Sonion that’s like a hour and a half walk-” Coiny said, before getting interrupted
“Did you actually just say ‘sonion’” Pin teased
“So what if I did?” Coiny stood his ground.
“Oh, wait,” Firey suggested, “Do you guys think I could bring some other friends?
Coiny and Pin looked at eachother. Coiny knew that if it wasn’t just him, Pin, Firey, and Leafy, then it would be harder to get Firey and Leafy alone together.
“Yeah, sure!” Leafy said
“Totally!” Pin added, seeming convincing enough.
“Don’t see why not!” Coiny lied. “In that case, can I invite some friends too.”
“Sure, I don’t care.” Firey shrugged.
They kept yapping for a while, mostly about deltarune crack theories, like how it takes place in Michigan in 2008. Coiny was an adamant believer that Woody from Toy Story will be the next secret boss in Deltarune Chapter 5.
In the middle of the conversation- well, more towards the end- Coiny’s pulse jumped as he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. He looked up and Pin was already standing, her bag slinged over one shoulder.
“Okay guys, we’re gonna go to class now- byeee!” Pin half-heartedly departed as she practically dragged Coiny away, to which he franctically grabbed his backpack and waved goodbye to Firey and Leafy. After they turned the corner, Coiny stopped.
“Okay- what the heck was that for!?” He interrogated
“What ‘friends’!?” Pin puzzled
“...Are you asking who I was gonna invite-”
“Uh, YEAH.” Pin laughed slightly. “Seriously though, who? Cause you’re going to have to find at least one other person now.”
“Oh, right, uh…” Coiny thought, before snapping his fingers. “Ooh! How about Needle?”
“Is that the only person you could think of?” Pin teased
“Oh yeah, like you could think of anyone else.” Coiny teased back.
“I could think of lots of other people!”
“People who actually like you?”
Pin scoffed. “Well excuse you! A lot more people like me than they used to!”
“Okay, that’s fair.” Coiny laughed. He then realized that Pin hadn’t let go of his wrist from when she dragged him away. In fact, he was now once again suddenly hyper-aware of how warm her hands were, and how firmly they still held his wrist. And he took that as an opportunity.
“Gee, Pin,” Coiny teased, “If you wanted to hold my hand, you could’ve at least done it right.”
Pin froze, before immediately retracting her hand. “H-Ha! You wish!”
“Oh yeah,” he joked, “what if I do wish?”
Pin opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the bell, signaling that lunch was over and it was time to go bye bye.
“Oh, darn.” Coiny said with fake disappointment, having too much fun messing with Pin. He turned around and started to walk away. “Guess that’s my queue to go, see ya.”
“Stop trying to be nonchalant, you idiot!!!” Pin called after him, “We have the same class!”
“Guess some things we’ll just never know…” Coiny shrugged as he walked away, somehow managing to suppress his laughter.
“...WHAT???”
The next couple of days flew by quickly, as school days so often do. And then, Friday came. After the bell rang, Pin and Coiny walked out of class together and waited outside of school. They were talking about hell knows what at this point, just whatever comes to mind. They waited for a bit, but then Needle came out (of the school).
“Hi Needy!” Pin greeted
“DON’T-” Needle started, sharply exhaling before she slapped her. “Hi, Pin.”
“Glad you’re recovering! Therapy’s been doing wonders for you, huh?” Coiny smiled
“Well, it’s more anger management than therapy, but it sure has!” Needle explained cheerfully
“Nice to hear it!” He encouraged
“Right now, we’re waiting on Firey and Leafy, and probably someone else.” Pin said
“Oh, sweet.” Needle gave a thumbs up, and Pin and Coiny kept yapping about whatever they were talking about before.
A few minutes later, Coiny noticed Firey and Leafy walking towards them, with someone else. Oh, wait, it was Gelatin.
“Look- there they are!” Pin pointed and yelled, so apparently she noticed too.
Pin started quickly walking towards them, which left Coiny no choice but to hastily follow, and Needle followed too. Coiny was starting to feel a bit guilty, hoping that Needle didn’t feel awkward or like she was 3rd wheeling.
“Hey Pin! Hi Coiny!” Leafy yelled at them from a bit far away, waving at them, before grabbing Firey by the hand and practically dragging him with her as she ran towards them.
“Ugh, hey Leafy.” Pin joked, clearly not as annoyed as she pretended to be.
“Hey guys!” Gelatin said. Coiny didn’t know Gelatin all that well, but he knew that Firey and Gelatin had been good friends for a while. “It’s a good thing I’m here, or else Needle would be stuck third wheeling!”
“Oh, yayyyyy…” Needle said sarcastically
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Pin crossed her arms defensively. Coiny started to wonder if Gelatin was just being annoying, or if he’d actually been told about the dating thing.
“I mean, you two are dating…” Leafy pointed out, to which Coiny mentally pacepalmed. He hoped it wouldn’t have been brought up, yet for reasons he wasn’t ready to admit, some part of him was glad.
Gelatin gasped. “...Pin and Needle are dating!?”
Coiny looked befuddled. “What no-”
“No you Idiot, me and Coiny are!” Pin put her hand on Coiny’s shoulder, which made his eyes go wide and his heart beat faster, which he internally beat himself up for. Pin turned to Needle, “No offence by the way.”
“None taken.” Needle shrugged
And with that they took off on (another) after-school sidequest. This time, the walk was a bit farther, but they didn’t mind. They were all just kind of excited to go to the fair, because, lets be honest, what’s funner than being a teen with money at a small local fair with friends? Well, a lot, but you get it.
Coiny couldn’t help but steal glances at Pin, but immediately look away when he realized.
He thought it weird, being like… this all of the sudden. “I’ve never been romantic or cliché,” He thought, “So why am I being so corny. Why am I acting like the main character in a Disknee Channel movie?”
“What about you, Coiny?” Firey asked him, which took him out of his mini spiral.
“Wh- huh??” Coiny asked, feeling kind of embarrassed that he just drifted off like that.
“He asked what you wanna do at the fair?” Needle clarified.
“Oh, right- uhh… I’m prolly gonna get food. Last year they had these really good chilli cheese fries.”
“Of course you’re thinking about food, bruh” Firey teased
“Oh, yeah, what’d you say then?” Coiny spat back
“That I’m gonna play a buncha games and get tons of prizes!” Firey said
“Those games are total scams!” Pin pointed out
“I’ve won some before!” Needle added
“Maybe that’s just a skill issue, Pin.” Gelatin joked
“Well if I have a skill issue, I can’t imagine Firey being any better.” She grinned.
After a little bit more walking, they finally made it to the fair. There were a bunch of kids playing in the playground right next to it, but other than that it was fairly empty for 4:30 pm. There were a few families and groups of adults, but for the most part it was fairly empty.
Coiny nudged Pin. “You don’t see anyone from your elementary school, right?”
Pin grinned. “Thankfully, not yet.”
“So, what do we wanna do first?” Leafy asked, having been oddly quieter than usual.
“Well, if we’re gonna do any extreme rides,” Gelatin suggested, “Might as well get them out of the way.”
“That sounds good to me!” Needle smiled
“Samesies!” Pin agreed
“Woah- wait,” Firey put his hands up defensively, “What ‘extreme rides’???”
Everyone just grinned and looked at eachother.
“Oh, sweet innocent Firey…” Gelatin sighed, putting his hand on Firey’s shoulder. He pointed to a ride that wasn’t operating at the moment. “That is an extreme ride. And WE are gonna go on it!”
“What does that one even do?” He questioned. Coiny could tell that Firey was trying not to let on how nervous he felt, so Coiny obviously took that as a fault to lean in to.
“That one?” Coiny grinned, “Pretty sure that’s the one that swings you back and forth until you’re upside-down.”
Firey froze. “And WE’RE going on that???”
“I mean,” Leafy stepped in, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to-”
“What? Of course I want to! I’m not scared!” Firey nervously laughed
“Then we should probably go now, right?” Coiny suggested. Did he feel slightly guilty for forcing his friend into doing something he very much didn’t want to do? Yeah, he couldn’t dismiss the tinge of heartache he felt seeing Firey looking genuinely scared. Not in a gay way though.
“Yeah, so we could just get it over with!” Pin agreed.
“Y-yeah, let’s just go.” Firey suggested as he already had started walking towards the attraction.
The group walked past some food trucks and a few rows of carnival games. Most of them seemed like a scam, but Coiny couldn’t help but start looking at them. “Maybe,” he thought, “I could win just a little prize for Pin.”
He knew it was corny, but he thought it’d be worth a shot. Plus, that would also mean just spending more time with Pin in general, which he wasn’t opposed to.
“That…” Firey signaled at the base of the ride when they got to the line, “...those are textbooks. This ride is literally being held up by textbooks.”
“You know, you can still call it quits.” Leafy offered. “I could stay off with you so you’re not alone.”
“No, you don’t have to,” Firey corrected, “I wouldn’t make you do that.”
Coiny nudged Pin with his elbow, trying not to laugh. He muttered not-so-subtly to her. “Get a load of these two.”
“AHEM KISS COUGHCOUGH” Pin fake coughed, to which Firey whipped his head around.
“Oh, shut up you two!!!” Firey yelled back at them, which just made Coiny burst out laughing. Pin started laughing too, which made his heart feel warm.
“Well, in that case,” Leafy practically slid over to Pin, “I’m gonna sit with my Best Friend, Pin!”
Pin gawked. “Can I veto this?”
“Well, If you’re sitting with Leafy, then I’ll sit with Coiny.” Needle explained.
“Sounds good to me!” Coiny gave a thumbs up. He was glad that Needle was here, because nowadays she hardly hung out with them as much as she did in middle school.
“I guess that leaves us!” Gelatin said to Firey.
“Haha, yeah…” Firey replied, less than amused.
After a few minutes, the group before them got loaded in, and then they did. They sat exactly as described, two to a row. Firey and Gelatin were in the front, with Coiny and Needle right behind them, and Pin and Leafy right behind them. Before they got their restraints on, Pin gasped.
“Wait, what do I do with my phone?” She asked, more confused than panicked. Oh, he hadn’t thought about that.
“Wait, I’m not sure either.” Needle said, definitely panicked.
“I dunno man, I might be able to put one of yours in my pocket?” Coiny suggested
“How would… oh, right, you have man pockets.” Needle remembered
“Ooh! Wait!” Leafy proposed, “I could probably fit your phones in my bag!”
Both Needle and Pin sighed in relief, and promptly handed their phones over to Leafy, who got up and put them in her bag, and sat back down before the ride attendant did the safety check.
Eventually, everyone was checked, and the cage around them was closed. Basically, they were just waiting for the ride to start.
“...AAAHHHHHHHH!!!” Firey started to scream as the ride had BARELY started to move.
As the ride’s movement’s stayed relatively small, Gelatin had joined Firey in the over-the-top screaming.
“AHHHHHHHHH”
“AHHHHHHHHHH!!”
“AAAHHHHH!!!!”
“Oh my minttt!” Coiny yelled, as the ride started rocking higher, “It’s not that bad, dumbass!!!”
Firey and Gelatin just started laughing, but then suddenly they were getting swung to about a 90 degree angle in both directions, and the two boys in front suddenly got very quiet. Meanwhile, Leafy behind them had started yelling “PIN IM SCARED PIN IM SCARED PIN IM SCARED PIN IM SCARED PIN IM SCARED-”
“OH MY GOSH.” Pin replied, doing something that Coiny obviously couldn’t see while being quickly swung around 225 degrees.
“OH MY GOSH, DUDE, DUDE BRO, OH MY GOSH BRO, BRO, BROTATO, OH MY GOSH-” Gelatin panicked, “OH MY GOSH DUDE HE PASSED OUT.”
“WHAT.” Coiny and Needle gasped, completely shocked. Though, Coiny had to try hard not to laugh, and he was sure that Needle was not fighting that same urge.
And then they were spun around 360 degrees, which made Coiny laugh more than yell or scream. Because, obviously having a splitting headache is part of the fun!
“SHE’S A PSYCHOPATH!!!” Leafy yelled, “I’M SITTING- NEXT TO- AHH- A PSYCHOPATH-”
“AT LEAST I’M A PRETTY- NOT PSYCHO-” Pin tried to reply, but they ended up staying upside down for a few seconds, which made her stop.
And after that, they spun around completely again. And then, they thought it might finally end- they got spun again.
“THIS IS- LIKE A TORTURE METHOD-” Needle yelled.
After only one more full revolution, the ride slowly came to a stop. When they came to a stop at the bottom, the headrests came up and the ride attendant unlocked their cage. Coiny waited his turn, and filed out with everyone else- well, almost everyone. Out of the corner of his eye, Coiny saw Gelatin having to shake Firey awake. After everyone collected their stuff, they regrouped outside the ride exit.
“I think that was pretty fun!” Needle declared joyfully (ok bro)
“Hgnn, Speak for yourself…” Firey said dizzily
“Oh my tree, Firey- are you okay?!” Leafy gasped
“Dude, he passed out” Coiny had to stop himself from laughing, because that would be a little too mean, even for him.
“Did you not hear my screaming about it?” Gelatin joked, though he seemed actually curious.
“Not over her freaking out over me being ‘psychotic’ or whatever…” Pin rolled her eyes
“I said you were psychopathic, not psychotic.” Leafy clarified, “And also- You just- weren’t screaming! Who get’s spun upside down with a straight face!?”
“Uhh, me?” Pin scoffed
“I dunno, Pin. That is kinda creepy…” Coiny joked
“We might need to keep an eye out for that one.” Needle playfully stage-whispered back
“Oh shut it! Both of you!” Pin accusingly pointed (heh) at them, to which the both of them started giggling
“But seriously, dude, you okay?” Gelatin patted Firey on the back so hard it made him wheeze.
“Well, now I’m not.” Firey laughed
“Wait, you passed out, right?” Leafy asked, getting way into Firey’s personal space
“Uhhh, yeah?” Firey awkwardly answered, avoiding eye contact for more than one reason
“Well, when I felt lightheaded as a kid, my parents would give me a sugary snack!” Leafy explained.
“...something tells me you just want snacks.” Needle chimed up from outside the conversation.
“Well, uh- so what if I do! I mean, that’s one of the reasons we’re here, right?”
“Can’t argue with that!” Gelatin shrugged
“See!? Let’s go!” Leafy chimed, grabbing Firey’s hand and running towards the sweets stand they had, to which Firey flustered and stumbled after her.
Gelatin and Needle started to follow them, but then Coiny got stuck by lighting (in terms of getting an idea)
He jumped in front of the group, putting his hands up defensively. “Wait, guys!” He proposed, “Have you seen how Firey and Leafy look at eachother? They’re clearly in love!”
Needle and Gelatin seemed as though they were telepathically communicating, the way they side-eyed eachother.
“Well, duh.” Needle said awkwardly, “So what?”
“...SO,” Coiny prompted, “We try to get them alone! It’s simple- they suggest a ride but- oh no! One of us, it really doesn’t matter who, is sick! And someone’s gonna stay with them. And someone else is eating. And then someone else doesn’t wanna go on! And boom- we’ve got Firey and Leafy alone on a ride!”
Everyone looked at him with mixed expressions, which Coiny chose to interpret as curiosity and not judgement.
“Coiny,” Pin facepalmed, “That’s one of your most absurd plans yet- and that’s saying something.”
But Needle and Gelatin just looked at eachother and sighed.
“Yeah,” Gelatin shrugged, “I guess bro.”
“But, let’s make it a little less complicated?” Needle suggested
“Yeah sure!” Coiny gave a thumbs up
Pin had just walked past him. “Let’s go, before the other two start getting suspicious that we’re plotting behind their backs- which we are.”
Coiny lagged a second, before following Pin, walking fast to try and catch up. “That’s the spirit!”
The group quickly caught up with Firey and Leafy, who were already at the central snack station. They were debating whether they should get kettle corn or cotton candy, when Gelatin piped up.
“Wow, look at you two, already arguing like an old married couple.” Gelatin joked, “But why not get both?”
Firey and Leafy looked at eachother. “Oh, right,” Firey sighed, “That might not be a bad idea.”
“I forgot that was an option.” Leafy said
Coiny stepped next to Pin, being literally shoulder to shoulder. He second-guessed himself for an instant, hoping that he wasn’t coming across as invasive or annoying, but he just continued, because it was Pin, after all, and they’d never been ones to shy away from physical touch (platonically, obviously.)
“What were you thinking of getting?” Coiny nudged her
“Nothing, what about you?” Pin nudged back with a smile.
“Wow, you’re not gonna get any food? That’s new.” He joked
“You’re one to talk” Pin scoffed in mock offense, “You didn’t even answer the question!”
“Oh. Right.” Coiny added, “I’m saving my money for games.”
“Of course you’d choose gambling over not-starving.”
“Well, when you put it like that it sounds bad!”
“It is- you know what, nevermind.” Pin rolled her eyes, to which Coiny grinned, taking it as a win.
Eventually, the group started moving. They walked past lots of games again, Coiny examining each one of them and trying to determine which ones he could potentially win. Eventually, they stopped in the middle of the ride area. Coiny spotted the ferris wheel, and exchanged a look with Pin while pointing his thumb at Firey and Leafy, telepathically insinuating that they should be forced on in.
Pin shook her head in response, but it was too late, as Coiny ran up to Firey and punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Hey Fire Friend-”
“The heck did you just call me?” Firey side-eyed Coiny
“Doesn’t matter. Anyways, you two should totally go on that Ferris Wheel!” Coiny “suggested,” pointing at the Ferris Wheel. Leafy and Firey exchanged reluctant looks
“Yeahh, no thanks…” Leafy grimaced, which Coiny didn’t expect. But he wasn’t going to let a minor setback stop him.
“What- why not?” Coiny insisted, “I mean, think of the view! Can’t you just imagine it, being able to see the sunset and at least a few blocks down…”
“I’m afraid of heights.” Firey bluntly stated.
“Ohh…” Coiny remembered, quickly recovering, “...which is why you’d have a friend with you! You know, like, moral support.”
“If you’re so eager for us to go on it,” Leafy pointed out, “why don’t you just ride the ferris wheel?”
“Oh shit.” Coiny thought, “That was NOT part of the plan.”
In a last ditch effort, Coiny fell to his knees and started coughing intensely. Although it was obviously fake, he just kept coughing loudly.
“Coiny, what the hell are you doing!?” Pin gasped, appalled by his spontaneity
“EHGHEGEHAGFAGHEAjust play alongEGHEUGEHEUAGEAGEJ” Coiny “smoothly” muttered in between blatantly fake coughs.
Everyone just kind of stared at him awkwardly, so he stopped and sat up. “Sorry, I have pretty bad allergies. I can’t go on.”
Firey stared in disbelief. “Coiny. Why would any of us believe you???”
Leafy put her hand on his shoulder. “You know, it could be fun. Like a do-over.”
Firey sighed. “Fine. We’ll go on the stupid ferris wheel.”
“Alright!!!” Coiny pumped his fists in the air. He stood up quickly, turning away from them. “Our work here is done guys.”
“Wait- it’s just gonna be us?!” Firey looked confused, but also slightly nervous, which Coiny took note of.
“Yep! Have fun you two~” Coiny teased as he locked arms with Pin and started walking away. Needle and Gelatin just followed, exasperated and talking amongst themselves. They got all the way to the game stalls before Pin finally said something.
“Coiny- what was that!?” Pin yelled, pulling her arm away from his. “Ow.” He thought, “but it’s a start.”
“What, not used to seeing a master matchmaker at play?” He gestured towards himself.
“If that was matchmaking, then the match made itself.” Pin argued, “That was-”
“Chaotic?” Coiny suggested, honestly thinking that was what she was going to say.
“...Crazy. You’re crazy.” Pin rolled her eyes, but Coiny could sense a hint of a smile trying to be suppressed.
“Crazy for you.” he fought the urge to say, instead crossing his arms. “Nah, I think I’m just crazier than you.” (iykyk)
“Ok, sure.” She huffed with a smile as they started walking. The sunset dusted the entire fairground in a soft orange glow. It was a stark contrast to the bright blue sky, with only a few fluffy white clouds that just caught the orange from the sunset. Coiny couldn’t help but stare at the beauty of the sky, even just for a minute.
Coiny then snapped back to reality oh there goes gravity and realised that they were at the carnival games. He stopped walking and turned to Pin. “Wait, I wanna try some games!”
Pin crossed her arms. “Aren’t they all scams?”
Coiny grinned. “Not all of them. Trust me, I watched Mark Rober’s video, I’m practically a pro!”
Pin just looked at him and laughed a little which made his heart flutter in weird ways.
“Alright, if you're such a pro,” she suggested, “why don’t you pick the first game.”
“Okay, bet!” He said with confidence, eyes scanning the stands of games around them. There was the lucky ducks game, which almost guaranteed a win. But, because of that, it wouldn’t be that impressive if he won. There was plinko, which there was no way of knowing if he could win or not. And then he saw it.
“How about that one?” He said, gesturing to the game with stacked bottles you have to knock down.
Pin blinked. “Have you ever seen Gravity Falls?”
Coiny looked at her, trying to wrap his head around why she’d bring that up. “Uhh, yeah, why?”
“No reason. Let’s go-” Pin turned towards Needle and Gelatin to find that they were already gone. Oh shoot, Coiny didn’t even notice them leave? That’s such fake friend behaviour. Pin started looking around. “...we lost Gelain and Needle.”
“Nope! They lost us!” Coiny grinned, choosing to take a positive spin. He started walking backwards towards the game, not being able to take his eyes off of Pin. “Now, c’mon!”
The sky was bright, but everything on the land was dark as the sun set. For the first time, Coiny didn’t feel guilty or reprimand himself while staring at Pin. Because now it was just them, and it really was just them.
They wouldn’t judge eachother. They would tease, sure, but that was lighthearted. And right then, seeing how she was trying so hard not to smile, and oddly peaceful the moment was, Coiny wouldn’t have it any other way.
They got to the stand, and Coiny looked at the sign.
“5 dollars for three frows,” he read aloud, before turning to Pin, “is that a scam?”
“It’s a scam if you lose.” She answered, leaning onto the counter of the game stall, and Coiny started nonchalantly internally panicking.
“oh my gosh Coiny stop looking, stop looking you’re staring oh my gosh you simp just play the game, just pay for the game and throw the balls- or beanbags? No i think they’re balls- heh, balls- NO! Off topic! Just stop staring like a degenerate who’s never felt the touch of a woman and play the game!”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out five 1 dollar bills, grinning. “I guess I’ll just win, then.”
Pin laughed, which would’ve been a massive blow to Coiny’s ego if he didn’t like hearing her laugh so much. “Unless…” She said, pulling out her own 5 dollars, “I beat you.”
“What!?” Coiny gasped, “This is a mutiny!”
“You thought you were the one in charge?” Pin raised an eyebrow, which unfortunately made Coiny’s heart flutter. He quickly looked away and laughed awkwardly, hoping Pin wouldn’t notice. “God, Coiny, stop being such a bottom…”
The game attendant handed each of them three baseballs after taking their money. She then explained the rules to them, leaving them on their own to play the game.
“Alright, whoever knocks down the most bottles wins?” Coiny suggested with a grin.
“That’ll be a breeze! My accuracy is on-point!” Pin smugly remarked, before picking up one of the baseballs and tossing it in her hand.
“More like en-pointe.” Coiny joked, remembering she was a dancer. He looked over at Pin to see her already looking at him.
“...you were listening?” Pin looked marveled, before shrugging back into her competitive nature. “Whatever- I can do both!”
Coiny laughed, turning back to the three baseballs on the counter. He picked up the first one, holding it near his ear to aim. He wound up, stepped forwards, and threw the ball.
He missed all of the bottles.
He stood there, but before he could respond, Pin started laughing, doubling over onto the counter. She was laughing so hard that it couldn’t possibly be a real laugh, which just made Coiny scoff. “Oh come on, it wasn’t even that funny!”
Pin sighed, standing up straight and wiping nonexistent tears from her eyes. “Okay, fine, let me show you how it’s done.
She picked up the ball, preparing to throw, and she launched it.
It missed by an inch.
“Uh- WHAT!?” Pin gawked. “T-that was practice, trust.”
Coiny laughed at the irony- and a real laugh. Pin just rolled her eyes, but was clearly suppressing a smile.
The two of them took turns throwing balls at the bottles. In the end, Coiny and Pin both had 0 bottles remaining.
Coiny was unsure of what to do now that could make the girl he was pining for swoon, but it honestly didn’t bother him that much. After all, they were friends before anything else.
“Aye, gg Pinnie!” Coiny offered a fistbump, which Pin accepted and they fistbumped.
“Yep, good game Coiny!” Pin smiled, turning back to the game stand. “I wonder what prizes we can get?”
Before Coiny could add an input, the volunteer who was probably getting paid 5 dollars per hour chimed in. “Well, if you knocked over one stack of bottles, you can get a small plushie, if you knocked over two you can get a medium one, and if you knocked over three stacks you can get a large plushie.”
Pin looked over at Coiny with a look that said she had an idea. Unfortunately, Coiny had no clue what her idea was, but he assumed it had something to do with the plushie prize. She likely caught on to the fact that he was mostly lost, and just turned to the game attendant.
“If we both knocked over one each, could we, like, combine that…?” She suggested
The game attendant looked at them both and checked to count the bottles. When she came back, she smiled. “I don’t see why not. Which prize would you want from the middle row?”
Coiny looked to Pin, gesturing for her to pick. She looked towards the display of stuffed animals, seemingly putting lots of thought into it. Coiny looked, and the choice was between a cat, a giraffe, and a pangolin.
“So, which one are ya thinking of getting?” Coiny asked, leaning onto the counter.
“Hmm,” Pin thought, “What do you think of the giraffe?”
Coiny smiled. “Uh, that we need the giraffe now?”
“I guess so!” Pin laughed. The attendant got it for them, and she picked it up. Something about how she picked it up so caringly, like it was a real thing, made his heart wrench. He really did love everything about her.
He snapped back to reality and looked around. “...should we try and find everyone else…?”
“Yeah, that might be a good idea…” Pin also looked around.
“Where should we check first?” Coiny asked
“Well,” Pin thought, “We should probably go towards the ferris wheel. If Firey and Leafy still on it, we’ll wait for them. And if they’re not, they’ll probably be around there somewhere.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Coiny smiled as he started walking, intentionally slowing down so Pin could match his pace. As they walked, he kept glancing at her. Gosh, if only he wasn’t so shy. To be fair he was only shy around Pin, and he hated it. If he could, he would’ve just grabbed her.
Eventually, they reunited with Firey and Leafy. Firey looked visibly offput, but Leafy was still smiling by his side. Coiny wondered about that, but he decided against asking, and apparently so did everyone else.
“Nice giraffe, Pin!” Leafy noted, to which Pin lifted it up higher and looked at it.
“Thanks,” She joked, “It’s me and Coiny’s child.”
Coiny choked, his face getting warmer. “WHAT.”
Pin laughed, looking at him strangely. “I mean, we used both of our points to get it?”
“Oh, yeah, obviously.” Coiny laughed nervously. He saw Firey smirking at him, and had the strongest urge to slap that smug grin off his face. But no… he musn’t fall back into old habits…
“Whats it’s name?” Leafy continued.
Pin side-eyed Coiny. “Oh, we haven’t thought about that.”
Eventually they found Needle, who was talking to some other friends, and Gelatin, who was playing on the playground of the park where this fair took place.
The rest of the afternoon flew by in a flash. It was a blur of laughter, chaos, and neon lights that lit up as the sun started to set. And, yes, Coiny got his chilli cheese fries.
[Ok so from this point on i’m writing this in english class during a lockdown, I’ve been here for almost 3 hours because of a bomb threat. Anygays]
It was now dark out, and all the light was artificial. The moon was still hidden by the trees of the surrounding neighbourhood. The six of them were joking around while on the playground of the park that Gelatin was at before. Pin, Needle, Leafy and Firey were sitting on the swings, Gelatin was spinning himself on one of the structures, and Coiny was tryna be nonchalant while sitting on one of the play structures. Eventually, they decided it was time to go home. Gelatin and Leafy carpooled home with Needle, which just left Firey, Coiny, and Pin to walk home.
So then they did, talking as they walked. [I’m so ledirous it’s been 3.5 hours]
“So,” Coiny asked Pin, “How far away do you live from here?”
Pin thought for a moment. “I think it’s a little bit closer than your house.”
“Oh okay.” He smiled.
“Wait, which way?” Firey puzzled as they crossed the street, “Cause mine’s closer too, but like, on the other side of his block.”
“Mine’s closer than that,” Pin explained cheerfully, “I live a few streets closer on the other side of the school”
“Wow, lucky!” Firey quipped back with a laugh. Coiny laughed too, as he felt warm inside. Not only because of his pathetic crush, but also because it was really nice. Hearing his two best friends, well more like best friend and a half, laughing while walking made him smile uncontrollably.
So they kept walking down the street, guided by the light from the moon and the streetlamps scattered every 50 feet. They kept talking as they walked, Coiny still feeling that fuzzy warmth inside, as they started to slow down at one of the crosswalks.
“Oh, this is my street.” Pin stopped, turning to cross, “Bye Firey, bye Coiny!”
“Bye Pin!” Firey waved as Pin started to cross the street. But Coiny stayed quiet. He was contemplating doing something, something that he’d been wanting to do all day. There was nothing stopping him.
Well, there was only one thing; himself.
Before Firey and him could keep walking, Coiny looked both ways, and ran across the street to catch up with Pin. Just before he caught up, Pin must’ve heard him, so she turned around. And just as she did, Coiny hugged her.
He felt her flinch. She stammered a bit, before hugging back. After a few seconds he let go.
“See ya monday, Pin!” He smiled as he waved, starting to run back across the street.
“U-uh, yeah, bye…!” Pin called back before she turned to leave.
Coiny caught back up with Firey, who had started walking as soon as Coiny started walking back.
“How come I dont get a hug goodbye?” Firey joked as they kept walking.
“Oh shut up.” Coiny rolled his eyes, fairly sure that he was blushing intensely.