Free Web NovelChapter 33: Ch 32: The Hero And The Villain
The SUV cruised toward the water park. Only a simple U-turn separated them from the main entrance on the opposite side of the highway.
The windows, which had been rolled down at the start of their twenty-mile journey for the "summer vibes", were now sealed tight against the blazing summer heat.
The AC was blasting at full power, providing the absolute best breeze, at least at the spot Luke was seated.
He had his eyes closed and his head resting comfortably against the seat, basically hibernating.
Feeling the car begin to turn, he lazily cracked his eyes open, his head still resting back. He casually glanced over at Gwen, who was sitting just inches away.
Suddenly, Gwen’s posture went rigid. "Manny, stop the car!" she yelled.
SCREECH!
Manny stomped on the brakes just as a speeding, loudly honking delivery truck grazed past their front bumper.
The wind from the truck was so strong that it rocked the SUV. If Manny hadn’t pressed the brakes at that exact instant, they would have been part of the truck’s new paint job.
"Whoa! Holy cow!" Peter squeaked, clutching his seatbelt like a lifeline.
"My heart is literally beating in my teeth right now!" Brie gasped from the front passenger seat, holding onto the dashboard. "That was way too close!"
From the back row, Alex adjusted her sunglasses dryly. "What is that driver’s problem? Can he not read the giant signboards?"
"Seriously, that guy shouldn’t even have a license!" Betty added, shaking her head.
Luke let out a long breath as he turned to Gwen, "That was an incredibly close call. Thank goodness you noticed that truck coming, Gwen."
Manny slowly started to move the car, "Yes, Gwen, thank you for the warning. That was some unbelievable awareness you’ve got."
She offered them a slightly awkward smile, "Uhhh... yeah. We’re really, really lucky, huh?" she mumbled.
.
.
.
.
After the unlucky experience with the truck, the rest of the short drive was fortunately uneventful. Manny carefully parked the SUV, and the group piled out into the blazing sun of the water park parking lot.
After finally entering the park, they split up into the gender-separated changing rooms. The guys got ready quickly and were now waiting for the girls to come out, which, they all knew, could take anywhere from fifteen minutes to an entire ice age.
Manny was seated on a shaded bench, applying some cream all over his soft, chubby body. He then pulled out another, fancier-looking lotion from a small pouch.
Peter looked at Manny; he wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or not.
"What’s that?" he asked, initiating a conversation.
"Peter," Manny said, holding up the bottle. "This is a champ’s lotion. It locks in moisture before the chlorine can wage war on your epidermis. Want some?"
Peter shrugged and applied some, "It’s really cool on the skin."
Luke was lying on a lounger nearby, perfectly satisfied with the single coat of sunscreen he’d slapped on. He was just wearing dark green swimming shorts.
Manny looked over, squinting. "Luke, have you been working out more than usual these days? You look more built than before. Your triceps muscles are popping."
Luke grinned, throwing a casual tricep flex. "Of course. These pythons take effort." Or just Terror points, he thought smugly to himself.
Peter leaned in for a closer look, "Whoa, yeah! You could probably punch a hole through a wall."
Luke laughed. "Let’s test that theory later."
Just upgrading his quirk mastery gave so many benefits to his physique as well. Luke really liked this ability.
Ten minutes later, the girls finally emerged from their changing room like a parade of colorful butterflies. Bright bikinis, frilly edges, and summer energy everywhere.
But then his eyes locked on Gwen.
For a single, short second—which was all he could spare without officially becoming a creep—his eyes took in a mesmerizing sight. Gwen stood there, adjusting the strap of her white-and-pink swimsuit, completely unaware she was causing a small system crash in his head.
But he quickly controlled himself and then nodded internally as if approving something, ’Cute belly button she got there.’
Michelle adjusted her bright pink sunglasses and looked around at the sprawling park. "Okay, so where to first? This place is huge!"
Manny, ever prepared, reached into his waterproof sling bag and pulled out a large, laminated map.
"I’m glad you asked," he said proudly. "According to my planned itinerary, the park is split into two key zones. On the left, we have ’Aqua-Mageddon’—which is just a fancy name for the water rides. On the right, we have ’Terra-Fun-Terra’, which is basically the land rides and attractions. Since it’s exactly 11:00 AM, we have plenty of—"
"Fair enough, we’re hitting the water slides first!" Betty interrupted, snatching the word right out of his mouth. She grabbed Alex and Michelle by the wrists, already pulling them forward. freёwebnoѵel.com
"Let’s go then! We don’t wanna miss a single slide," Alex added. She really didn’t want to miss a single ride.
Manny didn’t mind much getting cut off like that. By now, it had practically become one of the most common occurrences in his life. He folded his map quietly.
Then Brie took his hand, and they followed after Betty’s lead. Brie didn’t say it out loud, but as much as she liked his poetry, she really didn’t want to hear his 1000-word explanation of some water and land rides.
The group started their day full of energy.
They rushed to the water slides and raced down giant twisting tubes like "The Kraken’s Coil" and "The Riptide Rush."
Everyone laughed, screamed, and had a great time, though a few people accidentally swallowed more pool water than they wanted.
But things took an interesting turn when they reached the giant wave pool. As the artificial waves began to roll in, Betty and Michelle suddenly turned into damsels in distress. Every single time a mild wave so much as wobbled them, they would squeal and loudly scream Luke’s name.
"You girls are so fragile," Luke stood there in the chest-deep water, highly amused. ’I mean, Manny literally got flipped completely upside down by a rogue wave, losing both his swimsuit and his underwear in the process. And Peter almost drowned twice, inhaling half the pool. Yet, those two brave men never once called for help. They suffered in heroic, silent agony...’
’Well, in Peter’s case, he couldn’t quite literally call out for help, even if he wanted to. Poor guy swore not to step foot in the wave pool the third time.’
And, jokes aside, Luke actually thoroughly enjoyed the sudden wave of female attention in the wave pool.
Unfortunately, his glorious popular phase was very short-lived. Alex swam over, giving them a look of pure judgment. "Can you two please stop?" she scolded, rolling her eyes. "It’s honestly kinda gross."
Alex’s words didn’t hurt as much as those judgmental eyes of hers. Betty and Michelle dropped it without another word.
After the wave pool, they moved on to the tube rides. The two-person ones always paired Luke with Peter.
Every single time, Luke spun their tube like a crazy washing machine.
Peter would spin around dizzy as hell, laughing and screaming his head off. "This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!" he yelled between spins.
For the bigger group rides, Betty and Gwen joined them. For some reason, the hero and her arch-nemesis ended up on opposite ends of the tube.
They immediately turned it into a "who can spin this thing faster" competition.
"Gwen, you have to win against that evil monster! Spin it faster!" Betty yelled, laughing and screaming as they shot down the slide.
"I can’t, Betty! He’s too strong!" Gwen lied with a big grin.
"HAaha! Take that, my Plus-Ultra spinning technique!" Luke shouted, twisting the tube like a madman and clearly enjoying the silly skit.
But on an abrupt, sharp turn, the tube slipped wildly. Luke lost his grip and flew right out with a splash.
SPLASH!
The heroine won again. The villain never stood a chance.
"This was rigged! I want a rematch!!" Luke yelled from the shallow puddle at the end, soaked and dramatic.
Gwen burst out laughing. "In your dreams, Clow-LukE!" She froze mid-word, quickly correcting herself. ’Why did I almost call him Clowny Creep?’
The stupid nickname she used for Veritas.
Her heart gave a little nervous pound as she shook the weird thought away.
After almost four hours of non-stop rides, the group was officially exhausted to the bones.
They refilled their stomachs with burgers, fries, and ice cream at one of the food stalls, then dragged themselves to a shaded lounge area with comfortable grass shades.
Most of the gang collapsed like zombies—Peter was already half-asleep, Manny was sprawled like a Yamcha, and Alex looked ready to call it a day.
But two people still had plenty of stamina to spare.
Gwen leaned against the balcony railing, pretending to watch the crowds laughing and running between rides below. But her mind was somewhere else entirely. Her face looked worried.
Veritas.
She sighed deeply. She had been thinking about that creepy clown way too much lately. To the point she had almost called Luke by that stupid nickname earlier. ’Not good, Gwen. Really not good. Veritas can’t affect my daily life like this...’
Behind her, Luke walked into the lounge area carrying two large cups of cold coffee. One for himself, the other for the girl leaning forward on the balcony. He took a moment to thoroughly enjoy the view of Gwen’s behind in that cute white-and-pink swimsuit.
"Hey," Luke said casually, stepping up beside her and sliding one icy cup her way. "I wanted to ask a very sensitive question. If you don’t mind."
Luke leaned on the balcony next to her, taking a sip from his own cup. "It’s about what you almost called me earlier."
Gwen’s heart started to pound. Did he figure it out...?
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