Hope this appeases you, you little gremlins lol

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"Hey, I'm really sorry that I can't come with you."

"Hey, don't worry about it! I know the jetlag and the sudden change of weather would make anyone sick!"

"You're doing fine!"

"Yeah cause I slept on the plane according to the Florida time!"

"Actually, smart."

"You know I am."

"Shut up (y/n)."

The girls laugh over the phone as one of them heads out of the village to the bus stops to go to her very first amusement park.

"Ok, get better quick! Don't let me go to all three days by myself!"

"I will! I promise. Have fun (y/n)."

"You too!" (Y/n) snickers as she hears the sick groan from her friend over the phone before she cuts the call, waiting at the village bus stop that would take her directly to Animal Kingdom. As soon as the bus was here, she got on and sat in the back, music playing in her ear. It had been roughly three days already and she felt lonely. Sure she had new friends she made here but... even travelling to a new country for half a year still didn't fight off the loneliness she's been feeling for over a decade. She laid her head on the window and just watched the scenery go by her, wondering if she should come back home.

But she paid so much to be here, to experience this place. She promised her friend back home to have a backpacking trip after too. And then she had to visit family in Canada after... why did she make so many promises...?

She didn't know if she would enjoy going to the park today, feeling so tired and just overwhelmed with house chores she knew she had to do when she got back. And the final assessment she had to hand in for back home edits its due date. And the airline damaging her belongings when they threw her luggage, buying groceries just to not starve and to cook proper food even though she didn't know how to...

Why did I do this?

(Y/n) sighs and just pushes through like she always does, psyching herself up that she will enjoy the park today.

Maybe I'll come home early today...

The bus stopped at the employee stop and (y/n) got out with the other employees but she walked in the direction of the guest front entrance. It was so ridiculously hot, taking out her umbrella to hide from the blazing heat. Animal Kingdom was... underwhelming in a sense. Especially to someone who was terrified of going on rollercoasters so amusement parks in general were just a waste to her. If she went to a park, she would be the designated bag holder while all her friends went on rides. Yeah, not fun for her.

At least the tickets were free...

(y/n) didn't know what to do except walk around the park and maybe head over to some shows or go on the avatar rides. Maybe this way she could come home early and get things done instead. It was crowded since she got to the park during lunch and after doing some grocery shopping, needing to use her employee complimentary passes before they expired so that's why the begrudgingly forced outings. There really wasn't much to see, just taking a walk to enjoy the greenery of the place and occasionally enjoying an ice cream sandwich. And by occasionally, I meant one.

The jungle scenery turned into a dinosaur theme, then into parts of Asia, and then finally came Pandora. Oh, this part of the park truly took (y/n)'s breath away, her looking up in awe at how the park actually managed to get the Hallelujah Mountains floating in the air. She wanted to know and wanted to climb on them too but she knew she couldn't. She decided to go on the rides, lining up for the water ride and she was shocked at the long line there was. She sighs but shrugs, joining the queue anyway. She could waste 65 minutes. There really wasn't much else to do. So she waited and walked and kept herself busy on her phone while creeping towards the front of the line to enter the ride area where she had to line up again.

The long line was staggering and slow but (y/n) finally got to the front and got onto a boat, sitting down but realised the seat next to her on the left was empty.

Am I going alone?

She didn't mind it, relaxing to enjoy the slow water ride until one of the employees suddenly called out. "Anyone riding by themselves!?" they yelled out to the line and someone put their hand up.

"Yeah!"

(y/n) looked over and saw a boy, a really cute boy, walk over and take the seat next to her. She scooted away from him, clearing her throat and giving him space to sit before the boats slowly moved forward. She ignored this guy and was immediately mesmerised by the scenery and the design of the dark water ride, the water illuminated in glowing shades of blue of the fauna and flora of Pandora and of Eywa. Everything was glowing brightly, projections of Jake and Neytiri running across the forest or even an animatronic moving Mo'at singing to the song playing during the ride.

It almost felt like she was actually at Pandora-

"-you would enjoy it more if you didn't record everything." (y/n) blinks and frowns that her video was ruined when she turns to the boy next to her who spoke up. She didn't say anything and stopped recording to just hold her phone, slightly discouraged and upset now. She sat back and crossed her arms to express her annoyance at the guy. "I apologise, I shouldn't have said anything." he whispers but she sinks further into herself.

"Mhm..." she hums out, holding her arms. "I haven't been to these parks in my life before so obviously I would want to record everything..." she hisses sharply in a hushed tone. "I'm not gonna be able to come back here after..."

"Oh, I didn't know-"

(y/n) gasps loudly when the boat ride suddenly jerks forward harshly, panic washing over her when her phone jumped out from her grip. "Shit-!" her world flashed before her eyes but thankfully her phone didn't fall into the water, looking at the arm that caught her phone to belong to the rude guy sitting next to her. She realised she was tugged closer to him since the strap on her phone was still loosely connected to her wrist. "Shit, thank you!" she breathes out in relief as he passes her phone back to her, immediately putting it in her bag that sat on the floor of the boat.

"It was no problem." He shrugs, looking around in confusion when he realised the ride wasn't moving. "We're not going anywhere."

"Oh. Did it just break down with us on it?" (y/n) asks, not surprised since the ride had been going through maintenance all day.

"What do we do?"

"Wait. Stay in the boat at all times, that's what the crew said right? Plus I don't know how deep the water is." The girl answers back says as she looks over the boat and into the water below. It was too dark to see anything and she just settled back in her boat.

"So we just sit here... and do nothing?" the guy scowls, clearly irritated and very easily too.

"Unless you wanna risk getting your limbs cut off." The guy looks at (y/n) strangely. "There was a story someone told me about another water ride. A guy was dragging his finger sim the water as the ride went on and got his fingers cut off. The engineers had to use hotdogs as fingers to try and find where it happened."

"No way!"

"I don't know if it's real! Just a rumour I heard from someone." The girl chuckles softly. "They'll get it fixed soon." She shrugs.

The guests on the boats all just whispered to each other, leaving (y/n) and the guy to keep their mouths shut and not talk to each other after that short conversation. She was busy on her phone and he was doing something on his too but she was too busy searching for stuff to buy for her new place. Everything was slowly being furnished except for the bed next to hers she didn't touch since it was for her roommate that hasn't arrived yet.

There was a sudden lurch again and the boats started moving again, some of the guests cheering and it moved all the way back to the front of the platform. The boys didn't stop moving and (y/n) waited for the guy to get out before she scrambled out quickly but her foot got stuck on the railing and tripped. Arms quickly caught her and pulled her away safely on the platform, looking up in embarrassment that it was her riding partner who had saved her. Again.

"Thank you." She mutters softly and he simply nods, letting her go so the both of them could leave the cave without holding the rest of the line. The girl made sure she had everything she originally had with her, leaving out into the park where it had started raining. Fitting for Pandora and its water theme.

"So you really never went to anything Disney-related? Not the parks, resorts etcetera?" The guy next to (y/n) spoke up again as she rummaged her bag for her umbrella.

"Yes. All this is my first time. Visiting America, living here, going to the parks." She says before taking out her umbrella and opening up. "I'll take you out to the front and hopefully to a shop that sells umbrellas." She says, passing her umbrella to the guy who thanks her and holds it up for the both of them since he is taller than her. They walked out together, huddled close as it was pouring and she was amused at how unbothered everyone else was to simply walk in the humid and the rain.

"They really don't care about getting wet huh."

"They live here. They must be used to it." (Y/n) replies back, realising what the guy said. "You're not from here?"

"No, I moved here. I'm from New York. You?"

"Australia."

"You're a long way from home."

"It was a chance to leave and visit somewhere new. You?"

"To get away from family actually. Even if it's a short while. You must be missing yours though."

Was it bad to say no?

(Y/n) wasn't homesick or didn't miss home at all... she... everything felt normal to her. It's like she never left. She didn't even miss her friends. Lonely yes but... it was hard to explain.

"Not really no... maybe cause I've been so busy lately that I just don't think about them at all."

"Maybe you were ready to move away all along."

I did always want to just disappear without telling anyone...

(Y/n) shrugs and stops at a shop with the guy as he passes her umbrella back to her. "Good luck on getting on the rides without this." She muses and he rolls his eyes with a smile.

"I'll do just fine. Granted there's a few rides I want to try before I get back."

"I have only the one ride and I'm heading home. That other avatar ride."

"This early? It's only like noon!"

"I'm not a roller coaster girl. I'm terrified of them. I'm even trying to psych myself into going to the last avatar one right now. I heard it's not good for people who have a fear of heights or get motion sickness."

"So did you just walk around here?" The guy gasps when (y/n) nods. "You're missing out on other things too!"

"Really? I don't know if there is much to see here."

"How about this, I'll be your tour guide today. I promise no scary roller coasters."

"I don't know. I even know you."

"Right. Five Hargreeves." The guy puts his hand out to shake (y/n)'s hand and she takes it to shake his hand.

"Five? As in the number?"

"Yes, as in the number..." he sighs out, her chuckling knowing it probably wasn't the first time someone asked him that question regarding his name. "Strange name, I know."

"No! It's unique. Never heard of it before anywhere."

"Except Eleven from Stranger Things!" Both of them speak up, amused that they both have a common interest in the show.

"You have good taste." (Y/n) grins.

"Why thank you." Five chuckles, looking over at the rain that was slowing down. "How about that tour? We can go to that last Avatar ride together."

The girl was hesitant but felt somewhat relief that she wasn't going alone. "Alright..." she hesitates but nods. "Let's go."

The two walked off together, enjoying the peace together as they walked through the park to head over to the ride. They climbed up the long winding path through the trees and forest and caves, walking up ticketing designed steps that were surrounded by glowing wildlife. Five was encouraging (y/n) that this ride would be good, that she would be fine. It wasn't a scary ride he said, that it's a beautiful scenic one.

"You'll do good."

"I hope so... Oh! The names (y/n)."

"What?"

"I forgot to give you my name." Five chuckles softly with a nod.

"Nice to finally meet you (y/n)."

The two finally line up to go for the ride, being warned once more by the crew members for guests to leave if they have terrible motion sickness and are afraid of heights. "Five... I don't know..." (y/n) was inching to leave but he quickly held her bag to stop her.

"You can always close your eyes on the ride if it's too much to handle, but when you're good, open your eyes to at least see little bits of the scenes." he tells her, hoping that she wouldn't waste this opportunity to get out of her comfort zone for a little bit.

"Alright..." Both of them get called up, staying together in the group of seven other people before being immersed in the story of this group of people being chosen to be matched with an Avatar body to fly on an Ikran. "Shit, it's too late to leave..." (y/n) gets moved into the area with the bikes they had to ride for the rollercoaster after getting a pair of 4D glasses to wear, being told to put her stuff down in the cubby before hesitantly walking over to her vehicle.

"I'm right here (y/n)." Five says, settling into his machine next to her and she sighs out before doing the same, jumping from the contraption buckling on her back as she held the handles tightly for dear life. In no time did the lights turn off and she was immediately sucked into bright swirling lights, biting down on her tongue to not scream when she gets thrown out in the middle of the air while the Ikran swoops down. The bike moved with the visuals so it felt real. Too real. She couldn't do it and closed her eyes, her stomach dropping and making her feel sick with all the diving and swerving. She knew it wasn't real and screamed at her mind but it just was so well made that it did.

(y/n)'s breath hitches when she feels a hand hold her arm, looking over at Five as he tries to comfort her. He nods to the scene and she hesitantly looks over, eyes wide at how beautiful it was as she flew over the forest and the water. The flying was smooth now and she perked up with unimaginable happiness to be part of this world. It was an explainable feeling in her heart and she teared up, slowly moving along with the machine as the Ikran swooped through dark caves and over herds of animals. It was so beautiful and she felt sad that it had ended when she was bright back when the lights turned on, slowly moving out of the chair.

"I did it. I actually did it..." her eyes were still wide in shock, grabbing her stuff and Five followed after her as they both gave the glasses back to a crew member.

"You did. Albeit only the second half but that's better than nothing." he says as they climb down the flights of stairs for the exit.

"Now that the initial shock is over, I think I want to go again!"

"That's the spirit! How about an actual roller coaster now?"

"Don't push it Five." she snaps back as he chuckles to himself.

"Alright," he raises his hands in defeat, leading the way for his tour of Animal Kingdom. "How about some shows instead then?"

"That sounds good. Let's go Mr. Tour Guide."

The two went around the entire park together, exploring the different experiences and shows while also getting to know each other a little more. Five and (y/n) cracked jokes here and there as they walked together, just enjoying the scenery. (Y/n) glanced up every now and then to look at Five while he was ordering something to eat, flushing at how handsome he was. He had these bright green eyes that shone in the light, soft brown hair that went wild with the wind, and cute moles above his dimple whenever he smiled.

Too bad she was never gonna see him again.

The brunette walked back to her with his dole whip as she checked the time on her phone. "Is there anything else we missed?" She asks.

"Hmm, we technically went on everything this park had besides the roller coasters."

"Oh." She was disappointed but figured it was time to part ways, yawning into her hand. "It's getting late and I was thinking of heading home to clean up the apartment."

"Oh, ok." The happiness in the boy seemed to deflate but he covered it back up before the girl in front of him could see. He didn't know anyone the minute he got to Florida so it was refreshing to somewhat make a friend as cheesy as that was. Too bad it was short-lived. "Yeah no, that's ok. I was thinking of staying for a while longer and go on a few more rides."

"Have fun with those." (Y/n) muses. "It was really nice meeting you Five. Thank you so much for the tour and going on some of the rides with me. I really appreciate it."

"Of course! It was fun being your Mr. Tour guide." Five chuckles, bowing playfully.

"I should go before my bus gets here. Have fun Five!" (Y/n) runs off as she waves goodbye, Five waving as well as the two of them turn away to walk off.