Chapter 30: Why Fight When You Can Negotiate?

Nora had thought over and over and over what the right thing to do was. She thought about how she wasn't ready, but at the same time her heart might get so stubborn that, without a bit of pushing, it might not get out of its rut to begin with. And the best push was to see him to get the ball rolling.

She'd prayed for openness, for what to do, and it seemed like God wanted her to give a second chance, but to be wary since matters of the heart were as dizzying as the tea cups at the Mad Tea Party. 

And it'd led her here, in line to visit Captain Jack Sparrow. She hadn't texted him. She hadn't called. He wasn't prepared to see her at all, just so she could see the look on his face when he realized he was in very deep waters, infested with sharks.

Not exactly the Jesus kind of thoughts she wanted to start thinking, but she hoped she was still making progress. 

Fortunately, a large party was blocking her from sight until it was their turn. As much as she wanted Levi to squirm, she also wanted to make sure these guests had the best interactions with Jack Sparrow that they could, which would probably only happen if Jack Sparrow wasn't super distracted by the girl he'd been lying to.

Maybe he was like Jack Sparrow after all.

She saw his demeanor change slightly after he noticed her, the way his eyes kept shifting to her before he forced himself to stop and high five the little boy he was interacting with, using his already awkward feelings to make the interaction even more awkward as he tried to instead shake the boy's hand, who wasn't having it. 

After a few pictures, they left. Cross armed, Nora approached with the most angelic smile.

Also not Jesus-like, but hey, she was warming up.

"Aye, come to see old Jackie after all this time?" he said with that wonderful accent of his that she'd swooned for and dreamed about.

If he weren't in costume she guessed he'd probably ask if she was going to slap him. Instead, he smiled as if she was a regular guest and he wasn't shaking in his boots.

"I've come to invoke parlay," she stated.

His eyes flashed with caution. "I'm listening."

She lowered her voice. "Hollywood Studios. Tonight. At the corner of Hollywood and Sunset."

He murmured, "I'll tell my crew we'll make land. They're sure to enjoy the evening, I hope."

Nora smiled. It was an unnerving smile that she could tell chilled him to the bone.

Good. He needed to remember what happens to pirates that mess with a woman's heart.



Nora drove straight over to Hollywood Studios. It was pretty late in the day and that had been Levi's last meet and greet, which meant he would probably be over in an hour. Which gave her an hour of figuring out what to do with herself. 

Since it was so late in the day, the streetmosphere performers were wrapping up, so she stayed to watch some of them interact with guests. It made it feel more like what Hollywood had been, or what everyone dreamed of, at least. A bunch of young hopefuls waiting to make it big in the business, lighting up the hall of fame. She'd always wanted to want that, as silly as it was. An easy dream. Well, easy as in to the point. Not just everyone got an amazing acting gig. It was still crazy to her that Levi had not only wanted to act for Disney, but gotten in. 

Even after knowing the truth, it had been so weird to see him in his element, interacting with guests, saying the perfect Jack Sparrow things and making the Jack Sparrow faces and strutting around like he'd just walked off the Black Pearl. The Levi she had known was more like a turtle, so quick to withdraw into his shell, not at all one to use hand gestures or even change his facial expression very much. It was hard to consolidate them together into something that made sense.

She walked back to Galaxy's Edge after dawdling, brushing her hand across the gorgeous rock work, careful not to step on any of the new droids children had just made that were rolling around. She even flashed her ID to the Storm Troopers as they passed and gave Kylo Ren a toothy smile, which he pointed at as if to say, "Watch yourself." 

She really did need to watch herself. She got herself into too much trouble with characters. Just watch her fall for Kylo Ren next.

Nora peeked back over her shoulder at Kylo, watching his black form break through the crowd. Heck, if he didn't have the mask she probably would have.

She really needed to stop with the face character drama.

She had texted Maddie her plan, which Maddie had kind of disapproved of, but didn't really fight her about so long as, if everything did work out, Levi started coming to group things. She remembered Levi saying at one point he'd grown up Christian, but had gotten out of the habit of going to church since usually he had Sunday shifts. Like her, he seemed pretty lukewarm, and she hoped this would help them both. Levi needed friends other than her and she needed people other than him. If he was up for it, it would be great for him. But first, she needed to enact the first part of her plan.

After a bit of roaming, a talk with Rey about the importance of stealth, and a hug from Chewbacca, Nora planted herself at their meeting spot, tapping her foot in nervousness.  

It wasn't long before she spotted Levi walking at the pace of a funeral march near her, a backpack slung on his shoulder, his expression grim because he hadn't spotted her yet.

Gosh, he really was cute. Warm brown hair and eyes, a decent Florida tan, and a sincere open face.

Open her butt. He's been lying for weeks, she thought dubiously. And since when did I care if he was cute?

He spotted her and came to a stop a few feet away, shifting his weight. "Hi." 

Her walls came up, mostly because she'd been stupid enough to think of his cuteness. "Hi."

Levi shrugged his shoulders, more of a cringe than anything. "Parlay?"

"We'll see." She held up her phone, which had the My Disney Experience app pulled up. "I got us Fast Passes for Toy Story Mania. Beat me and I'll consider it."

His fingers drummed the strap of his bag. "So we're not at parlay yet?"

"I'll consider it," she called out, already walking towards Toy Story Land. 

He followed her, keeping a step behind. "Nora?"

She didn't turn. "Yep?"

"Never mind."

Nora slowed a bit, letting him walk next to her. He still didn't say anything. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn't sure what to say either. She had a plan, but that didn't mean she'd follow through, and, really, tonight was about trying to get over things. About trying to do what needed to be done to start fresh.

To see if he deserved it.

They passed Mr. Potato Head, who was busy taking off his ear, careening through the maze of the line. Her tension eased a little bit, grateful for the air conditioning and the distraction of the game.

"Are we going to try to help each other or is this just a slaughter?" he asked.

When it came to Toy Story Mania, the carnival games you played would give you more points if you worked with your teammate to destroy certain plates or balloons, unlocking higher scoring levels. If she didn't work with him, neither of them would get a very good score. But if she did work with him, she felt that on the nonexistent board he would have earned some sort of point or favor with her. So she said, "Slaughter."

"You won't beat your personal best."

"Nope. But neither will you." She took her pair of 3D glasses and tipped an invisible hat to him before continuing down the queue.

Typically, they were neck and neck with Toy Story Mania. Usually Levi would get a higher score, but that was only because Nora liked to focus on accuracy. His was maybe thirty percent while hers was about sixty. However, when called for, Nora could beat his pirate butt. 

So after the first round when they switched to the next set of screens and Nora was over a thousand points ahead of him, she heard him swear under his breath, which was something she hadn't ever heard him do, especially in a Disney park.

After the next two rounds, she started slowing down, openly complaining about the pain in her arm from pulling the string to fire hundreds of times, which did have that normal, steady burn, but nothing that really would have caused her to actually stop trying. He was able to pull off a victory by a few thousand points, much to his obvious relief as he plummeted back in his chair, not even bothering to remove his glasses as he massaged his forearm.

They walked out after throwing their glasses in the bin, Levi letting out an exhale. "What now?"

"The parlay has begun. You buy me dinner."

"How long does the parlay last?" 

"As long as the one who was lied to by a no good, swashbuckling pirate says."

They came out of the exit. He pulled her to the side. His eyes met hers, cautious. Apologetic. Her heart twisted. 

Her demand came out soft. "I'd like Woody's Lunchbox, please."

His gaze intensified. "Anything."

It was weird, to feel as if someone had air in their heart, but that was what it was like. It squished down, deflated, trying to beat again before sucking in a breath, pounding hard to catch up—just from the simple word. Not anything on the menu. He meant it. Anything. Anything at all. Any demand. Any desire. He'd do whatever he needed to make it right.

She almost gave up on her plan. Almost. But it felt even more dire now to prove that he really meant it. Otherwise, what if he was just lying? He'd been lying, after all. She knew he could say sweet, beautiful things and not mean them. She needed to make sure he wasn't acting.

So Nora turned left, telling him she'd snag a table in the shade (which was quite a feat, since there weren't many) while he stood in line, knowing he already knew what she wanted.
She was really fooling herself, she thought, feeling his eyes on her back. Maybe she'd been the one acting all along.

She had totchos, the most delicious tater tot and chili combination ever introduced to mankind, which Levi smartly got as well. He normally favored the brisket grilled cheese, but she guessed that he was trying his best to please her. 

Since when did she know every preference Levi made? Since when did she seem to know everything about him? It'd only been a few months of knowing him and they were already somehow synced up perfectly. It didn't seem fair.

They split a chocolate hazelnut box tart, which was basically Disney's version of a Poptart. Everything was eaten in silence, probably because Levi was terrified of her, further showing that he was not at all like Jack Sparrow.

He had been right about the whole thing. Actors weren't exactly their character. 

Levi cut the box tart in half, giving her the bigger piece. "So. Are we friends in parlay?"

Nora watched the other guests walking by, grateful for the cheery atmosphere despite her twisted up emotions. "We are people who could become friends if you continue to prove your honor and all that jazz."

"Is there anything I can do besides being blackmailed by you that would help my case?"

She took a bite, savoring the chocolate. "I'll think on it. But I did have one last test for today, before you get to safer waters."

His eye twitched at the pirate reference. "Which is?"

"Going on the Tower of Terror with me."

He dropped his box tart. "You know I've never been on it before."

"Yep."

"That I'm scared of heights."

"Yep."

"And that they force the elevator to drop faster than is physically possible by pulling it down."

"Yep."

He paused this time, leaning back in his chair, trying to find some rational excuse. "We just ate."

"I want to make sure you really are going to try to put yourself out there and do new things. That you are changing. And you did say anything."

He rubbed his forehead. "I know you've heard the saying about eating."

"Wait an hour before the tower. Yeah, yeah." She didn't care. "I'm going my own way until you're ready."

"Okay, fine, fine." He stood, taking her trash and giving her the rest of the box tart, which she ate promptly. She'd been on the Tower of Terror plenty of times with a full stomach and it didn't bother her. They'd been on rides like Smuggler's Run after eating giant meals and he'd been fine, so she doubted that in itself would really be all that bad.

Still, to be nice, Nora let them wait in the stand by line to let him digest some. It was about forty minutes long, in which she decided to talk to him, trying to help with the obvious tension as he kept staring up at the grand architecture, the smooth 1920's music clearly not doing anything to calm his nerves.

"How was your day?" she asked.

He flinched, but she couldn't tell if it was from the not very distant screams or her question. "It was fine. Same as usual. Nothing crazy happened."

"What's it like, Levi? Being him."

His eyes left the tower, startled. She guessed her expression was genuine, because he began answering, "It's..." He glanced around, and she wondered if anyone outside of his family and a few people he worked with even knew he was Jack Sparrow if he was that self-conscious and religious about following Disney rules to say anything to a friend. "It's just nice, getting to make peoples' day." He turned, clearing his throat. "Like yours."

That was one thing Jack wasn't good at that Levi was. Cute, flustered, statements of the heart that he actually meant. It wasn't something she was used to and she found her cheeks heating. 

So she changed the subject a bit. "But the kids are cute too, right?"

"Yeah." Another throat clear. "The kids are cute."

She swore everyone in line was listening to them, so she promptly stopped asking things and instead started telling him what she'd been up to before he'd arrived because she couldn't stand silence, especially not with everyone around them possibly being really interested in their drama.

Finally, they made it to the hotel lobby and into the sitting room where the preshow began playing. By this point, Levi was bouncing up and down a bit. 

She ran her fingers up his spine to her neck like a spider when the lights went dark, instantly hating her decision. She'd never touched his back before, or at least in any way that wasn't a hug. She didn't want to like it as much as she did and withdrew her hand, tightlipped and hating herself.

She also couldn't help but think of Oliver the second she did.

Nora basically threw herself into the boiler room as soon as the doors opened, pretending the last minute hadn't happened. "So, have you ever made it this far to a different dimension?"

He stopped moving, making them step to the side before they could choose which of the two elevator lines to go into. "I've been through the preshow a few times, since my brother tries to get me to come on it. I just chicken out after this."

She leaned against the rail. "So, what's it going to be?"

Levi took a deep breath. "Right lane."

Nora almost called off the whole thing. Almost. "You don't get panic or anxiety attacks, do you?"

"I'm trying to figure that out right now."

She bit her lip. "If you can't—"

"I'll be fine."

"I seriously don't want..." She stopped herself, trying to rephrase, but starting over. "I guess I'm being a jerk. I shouldn't be making you do this."

"You're not making me do this, I'm choosing to. Plus I kind of deserve it anyway for what I did."

"No, I'm making you. We wouldn't be in line if I hadn't forced you here. And yeah, you made a mistake, but I shouldn't make you make up for it with something that could hurt you."

"Nora, I promise I'm fine. I get on all the other rides, including ones that make it feel like we're falling, or flying from heights. You're not making me do anything."

She kind of was though. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

So she got in line with him, trying her very hardest not to comfort him and not to chicken out herself.

"I've actually always wanted to go on this ride, you know," Levi said, talking faster than he normally did. "The history is pretty fascinating and the way they engineered the ride structure. Did you know the bellhop uniforms cost over—"

"A thousand each?"

"Yeah." He wiped his forehead. "Is it hot in here or is it just me?"

"It is the boiler room." But no, it wasn't really hot. Dang her softness. "Look, Levi. It's only about a minute of drops."

"Random drops that change every time so they can't be predicted—"

"And I promise it's safe."

"You realize I'm a CM, right? I know."

Nora took a deep breath. "You'll be fine." Curse her, curse her, curse her. "If it'll make you feel better you can hold my hand."

His eyes rounded to the size of Mickey donuts. The bellhop told them which numbers to stand on, explaining how to enter the elevator. The arrow above the elevator began slowly descending to their floor.

"I didn't think the first time I'd get to hold hands with you would be because I'm risking my life and sanity." 

She didn't point out that they'd held hands before when trying to stick together through crowds, or whenever she was trying to get him to hurry up. "You don't need to take it."

"I don't think I will." 

She turned from her number to raise an eyebrow at his grumpy expression. "Aye aye, captain."

"I'm not him," he snapped under his breath.

"The offer still stands," she said as they boarded.

He sat down roughly in their row, which was the closest to the front and had the best view, pulling the seatbelt across his waist, clearly looking for any other thing that would keep him sitting. "That's it?"

"That's it." Nora grabbed his bag, putting her leg through one of the straps and setting it between her feet so it wouldn't go flying. "I'll keep that for you so you don't have to worry about it." He didn't fight her on that one. "And if you want something else to hold onto, you have the bars to your side."

Levi looked down at them blankly. "We're going to die."

Other people on the elevator were nervous too. There were always a couple on every ride. "Levi, I promise we will make it back to our own dimension in one piece. You know that the main reason the ride isn't working is—"

"Something drops onto the track and they have to go find it. I know."

She heard someone above them mutter, "Track?" which probably made no sense to a newbie. Why yes, the elevator also moved forward. This was Disney. Sky's the limit.

The bellhop gave final safety checks, final instructions, and a final creepy look of doom before the doors shut. The elevator shook, going to the first floor of the show.

By the time their elevator ascended after all the pepper's ghost effects, Levi was shaking. Yes, she was definitely regretting making him do this now.

The elevator drifted forward. A lot of people were freaking out by this point. Usually, Nora enjoyed everyone's panic a lot. But with Levi next to her, she was more bothered and not really paying attention to the giant floating eyes and clocks and things as they passed by.


She leaned over and whispered, "It's going to happen at the end of moving forward after the white line. The elevator has to set into the new shaft."

He just shuddered, gripping the safety bars hard. 

Yet another Jack Sparrow moment, she thought. Jack normally got himself into things without exactly wanting to. And he put on a brave face whenever he couldn't run away. Levi was trying his very hardest at that.

When the light shined through as the elevator settled into place in the shaft, Nora grabbed his hand. It was too dark to see, but she knew for at least a split second his mind wasn't on death.

And then they fell.

They both screamed. The whole elevator screamed as they plummeted, then whipped back up to the top, Nora hovering in her seat from the quickness, the elevator suspended in its rickety shaking before descending again. 

He squeezed her hand like she was his fountain of youth, his path to immortality. And he didn't stop screaming except to inhale to scream again, not until the final drop was over, the creepy theme song played its last ominous notes, and the elevator pulled up to the exit, revealing a bellhop graciously bidding them to exit.

Her hand was wet with sweat by the time he pried his from her hand, as if his fingers didn't work anymore. 

They got off, exiting into the gloomy area where they could see their pictures. Nora tapped her MagicBand against theirs, in which Levi had probably never looked so horrified in his life. She was more concerned with remembering the first time she'd held his hand knowing what he'd done, knowing who he was, and showing that, despite everything, he liked her enough to face his fear.

Levi was too busy staring into space near a Cast Member entrance, looking ready to put his hand on the wall to keep himself standing. Or maybe trying to keep all his insides, well, inside him.

She walked over. "Are you okay?"

His eyes met hers in what she assumed was anger.

"You're not going to throw up, are you?"

"No."

She took a breath, stretching her hand absentmindedly along her pants, trying to work out the soreness. "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have made you do that. I've just been upset and wanted to make you pay somehow, which is kind of stupid, but it hurt that you didn't tell me the truth and it was pretty humiliating, and it was worse because I missed you and I don't feel you deserve that, but you really don't seem that bad a guy and—"

By this point, she'd realized his face was hovering very close to her own. He was breathless, eyes shifting to her lips, seemingly holding himself back.

"I don't..." But she took a tiny step closer. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Maybe it was all her emotions rolled into one.

Maybe she just liked him despite everything. And it didn't really matter to her in that moment if he deserved a kiss or not. She kissed him.

She kissed him because, even angry, Levi wouldn't just kiss her when he knew she wasn't sure how she felt. She kissed him because, as angry as she was, she liked him. She liked this boy who went on adventures with her, who was shy and quiet and happy, who let her be herself and live in a world of fantasy without any judgment. She liked the way he carried her stuff, that he let her pick where they ate, that would walk her to her car even when his was in the opposite direction, that thought of special things that she would enjoy doing just to make her smile. 

She liked the way his body trembled, from fear or urgency or whatever it was when he pulled her close, the way he kept the kiss slow, the way it was a bit awkward and endearing, just like he was.

It wasn't long before they pulled away, remembering they were in a very public place. 
Levi straightened, blinking quickly as another pile of guests exited the ride. Nora pushed a strand of her hair back as she surveyed the room. No one else had been in it, fortunately, which was a miracle.

Nora opened her mouth. Closed it. Levi sat down on one of benches against the wall, hands on his temples. 

She sat down next to him. "Was it that bad?"

"No. That was..." He flinched again. "Amazing."

"We should ride again if you thought it was that great."

"You know what I was talking about." Half a minute went by. "Was I...?"

She had taken to staring at her shoes as if they were the most interesting things in the world. "Yes."         

He let out a breath. "Okay."

And now everything was a bigger mess than it already was.
            
"I...I don't know how I feel about anything, Levi," she admitted. "I'm angry because I'm not angry at you, and then I'm angry because I probably shouldn't have done that, and I'm angry that..." 
            
"Oliver?" he guessed.
            
She put her head in her hands. "I don't know anything. I don't want you to think I like anyone, really. I'm really confused. And I was so stupid about liking you when you were Jack when I didn't even know you, even though I did know you. And I don't want to go around doing stupid things and leading anyone on or hurting people."
            
"Nora, that's not you at all." Is too, she wanted to say. "I know you just sort of tortured me with the Tower of Terror, but at the same time that's a really small price to pay for what I did to you. I don't want you feeling like you're the bad guy in this scenario. I'm the one who lied to you. You're being upfront to me about everything. And I shouldn't have tried..." He swallowed. "I'm sorry."
            
"I reciprocated," she muttered.

"Where does that leave us, then?"

"I think we all need to figure things out. And I don't want to take a break from seeing you again, but at the same time it might be better if we hung out in groups. Oliver included."

"Yeah." Levi sat back. "I actually am working on getting him more involved with that campus ministry you're in. I've been to Kayden's small group twice since this whole thing started and it's been nice getting to meet more people."

She peeked out from her hands. "Really?"

"Yeah. And Oliver needs it too and the other day he finally agreed to come. Hasn't yet, but I'm sure he will next week. Not that I'm going to force him or anything."

Nora didn't know how to process that news. It was exactly what she wanted, but at the same time it felt like they were going their separate ways. "I really want us all to go to their giant meetings they have on Friday nights. I think it would be good for us. I think we'd be able to hang out in groups and it would help us try to figure everything out and have some more stability."

"Me too."

Nora sat up, eying him cautiously. "You're serious about all this?"

"It's not for you, I promise. I feel a lot more..." his face contorted, "myself? I'm not really sure who I am, but I'm liking whoever it is more. Like I have more of a grip on life than I used to. That I can take initiative and not have to wait for other people to take it with me."

"That's great, Levi."

They both turned, leaning against the wall, staring at each other.

"I was pretty blind about how you felt, wasn't I?" she murmured. "Sorry."

"I'm honestly still not completely sure how I feel, either." Levi looked down. "Just another reason I shouldn't have..."

"How about we both try to give each other some grace about it. We'll figure everything out."

Levi nodded, probably very much in the same boat as she was emotionally—never ready to let go of a grudge against themselves.     

"But seriously, did you like the ride?"

Levi's face softened, somehow both exasperated and happy. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

Yet again, she wasn't sure if he meant the ride or their time together, but took it. She nudged him to get up and they walked around the park together, talking like old times, a little of their brokenness mended. 

Well, well, well, have the turn tables...

....

Savvy?

One more chapter left! Thanks for making it this far, guys. A fine crew, indeed.

Question of the Chapter: Which holiday would you rather celebrate at Disney and why?

-Flips