NOECC

chapter five -part four- disney land

For the next hour, Emma, Amanda and Aaron wandered around Main Street. They then got back on the train and headed back to Toon Town. Once they got to Toon Town Station, Nick and AJ were already waiting. AJ was frowning and had one hand over his eye and was mumbling something, while Nick looked the same except his hand was on his forehead. They stepped off the train and Amanda asked them, "Oh lord, what happened now?"

"He started it," whined Nick.

"That tells me absolutely nothing," said Amanda.

"I did not," argued AJ.

"Will one of you brats tell me what happened?" asked Amanda, getting frustrated.

"He....Aaron!! You're alive!" said Nick, going up to his brother and hugging him like he hasn't seen him in ages.

"Brian and Howie are fine too. We found them while we were down Main Street," said Emma.

"That's good, any sign of Kev, though?" asked Nick.

"...Can't...breath..." mumbled Aaron.

"Oh sorry," said Nick, loosening his grip and letting his brother breath.

"No, we haven't seen Kev and what the hell did you two do?!" asked Amanda.

"…He hit me," pouted Nick.

"…You threw the damn ball at me first!!" argued AJ.

"Did not," whined Nick.

"Did too, you damn brat!!" said AJ, about to jump his friend.

"…They're older than me, right?" asked Aaron.

Amanda sighed and said, "Yeah… they're older than us too." Nick and AJ were about to create a scene when Amanda stepped in between them and then said, "Alright, ALRIGHT, stop!!"

Nick and AJ both pouted and said simultaneously, "But he started it."

"Just SHUT UP…ugh, where are we going next?" asked Amanda.

"…How about Fantasy Land?" asked Nick.

Amanda sighed and said, "That's fine with me and DO NOT pull on my arm this time, AJ."

"…I won't," said AJ.

"Come on, come on let's go!!" said Aaron, grabbing onto Amanda's arm and dragging her toward Fantasy Land.

"…Aaron will do it for me," said AJ with a smirk as the other 3 followed them to Fantasy Land.

"So what ride are we going on?" asked Amanda.

"Let's let Aaron pick," said Emma.

Aaron smiled and lead them to a ride that made Amanda freeze. She looked up at the ride and she said, "…You are not taking me on that ride." Aaron had stopped in front of "It's a Small World". She wouldn't be able to survive another make-out ride without being able to say a smartass comment.

"Oh come on, we're never too old to go on this ride," said Emma, showing a slight smirk that Amanda didn't notice.

"I'm not going," said Amanda, trying to back away.

"Come on," said Emma, getting into the line. Nick and AJ both grabbed onto one of Amanda's arms each and dragged her to the line.

"Let go of me, you brats!" said Amanda, trying to escape, but they just kept dragging her to the line. "Aaron, save me!" she said still trying to get away from Nick and AJ. Aaron just smiled and pushed her toward the ride, making her lose her balance. She let out a little scream and then her jaw dropped. She looked back at Aaron who was smiling innocently. "You little brat…" The other three laughed and before Amanda had a chance to recover, AJ and Nick basically threw Amanda into the backseat and AJ quickly sat down beside her and held her down. "You dorks!! What part of I don't want to go on this ride did you not understand?!" said Amanda, still trying to get off.

AJ smirked and said, "Hey Nick, do you hear something?"

Nick returned the smirk and said, "Nope… don't think I did, what about you, Emma?"

"Hmmm, I heard something but I think it was just the wind," said Emma, "what about you, Aaron?"

"Nuh uh," said Aaron, smiling innocently.

Amanda glared at them looking disgusted. "You evil little brats…" she said. They just smiled and got on the ride. Emma and Nick got on in the front and Aaron got into the back with AJ and Amanda. Amanda crossed her arms and mumbled obscenities to herself. AJ looked over at her and couldn't help but laugh.

Amanda replied to the laugh by hitting AJ on the arm. She then went back to crossing her arms and mumbling to herself. "Ow!!" said AJ. He pouted and massaged his arm.

Amanda just rolled her eyes and went back to her obscenities. Nick put his arm around Emma and she rested her head on his shoulder. The ride started and Amanda sighed. They got closer and closer into the ride she started to hear the song she dreaded. She heard the song getting louder and louder and covered her head with her jacket and held it tightly over her head. That helped a little, but she could still hear the song. AJ stared at the white lump sitting next to him and then looked over at Emma and Nick.

"AJ, get that thing off of her head," said Emma.

AJ reached over to take her jacket off of her head and then heard through the jacket, "Touch me, AJ, and you die." AJ paused and looked over at Emma, his face asking her what to do now. Nick then turned around and managed to get the jacket off of her head and was greeted by a wide-eyed Amanda. AJ then held the jacket down so she couldn't cover her head with it again. "OMG! You are so dea…" said Amanda, about to reach over the front seat to Nick's collar, but she was interrupted by Emma.

"Amanda…" she said, giving her a look of caution.

Amanda then remembered the bet and slowly let go of Nick's shoulder and sat back down, once again crossing her arms and mumbling obscenities to herself. Emma smiled proudly and then she and Nick decided to get close with one another again. AJ just found this funny while Aaron made a face and Amanda looked down at the water contemplating on jumping off the ride again. AJ saw this and grabbed onto her as she leaned over the boat.

"Amanda, what are you doing?" asked Aaron.

"Going for a swim," said Amanda, literally trying to jump off the boat.

"…But you can't swim,' said Aaron, with a rather confused look on his face.

AJ thought that was funny and started laughing. Amanda sat in silence for a second and then said, "…Shut up, Aaron." She then hit AJ on the arm again. AJ just pouted and mumbled to himself while Nick and Emma weren't phased at all. Once the ride was finally done, Amanda pushed her way past AJ and Aaron and got off the ride. She ran off and then they heard a slight scream. They decided not to ask and got off the ride a little scared. They then went looking for her. After about five minutes, they found her sitting on a bench nearby mumbling to herself. AJ brought her up to her feet and she just walked off silently.

"…Maybe we really upset her," said AJ.

"Should we talk to her?" asked Nick.

"I'm not getting hit again," said AJ.

Emma rolled her eyes and said, "She's fine…she'll get over it." Aaron ignored the adults and went to find Amanda.

"She better not kill my little brother…" said Nick.

"Dude, she won't kill your little brother. I guess I'll go look for them," said AJ, going after Aaron.

Meanwhile, Aaron found Amanda sitting off by herself. She had her head looking down and her hair covering her face so he couldn't tell if she was crying or not. He slowly went up to her and asked, "…Amanda?"

Amanda jumped slightly and quickly looked up wiping her eyes. "Yeah?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" asked Aaron.

"Nothing, I'm just tired," said Amanda.

"Were you crying?" asked Aaron.

"No, I was just yawning," said Amanda.

"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded. "Were Nick and AJ being mean to you?"

"No, they weren't being mean to me, don't worry about it," said Amanda.

"I can beat them up for you if they're being mean to you," said Aaron.

This made Amanda laugh slightly. "Aaron, you're about ½ the size of your brother and AJ," said Amanda.

"Yeah, but Nick's a dork and AJ's a twig. I think I could take them," said Aaron, confidently.

Amanda laughed again and said, "I'll tell you what, the next time I need their butts kicked, I'll come to you, okay?" Aaron nodded and came up to her and hugged her. This sort of took her by surprise but she smiled and hugged back.

AJ then found them and slowly approached them. "…Hey," he said cautiously.

Amanda looked up and said, "Hey." She let go of Aaron who sat down next to her.

"Are you okay?" asked AJ.

Amanda nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded. "Then we should get back. Nick and Emma are worried." He offered his hand and right when Amanda was about to take it, Aaron took it, smiled, and stood up. They both laughed and AJ tried again with his other hand. Amanda smiled and took his hand. They then headed back to where Emma and Nick were. Aaron finally noticed Nick's shirt and said, "Nick, what are you wearing that for…?"

Nick blushed and said, "Emma bought it for me."

"…Why?" asked Aaron.

"Because it's cute," said Emma.

"…If you say so," said Aaron. Nick turned bright red.

AJ and Amanda found this rather funny and Amanda said, "Aw, Aaron. Leave your poor confused brother alone.

"But he's wearing a Pooh shirt, and he's 19," said Aaron.

"Just leave him alone, it's adorable," said Emma, sticking her tongue out.

They finally headed down to Sleeping Beauty's castle because they had about one hour to meet the other guys. They passed by and saw the Snow White ride and AJ stopped. "Hey, let's go on that," said AJ.

"That ride is a little disturbing," said Emma.

"Sure, why not? The line's not that long and we have just about enough time," said Amanda.

They dragged Emma into the line and once then finally got up to the ride, Emma said, "Let's get in the back, Nicky."

"But…" said Nick.

"Just… please?" asked Emma. Nick nodded and got in the back along with Emma.

"Wimps," said Amanda, smirking and getting in the front with AJ. Aaron, this time, got in the back with Emma and Nick. "…Aaron, don't tell me you're scared too," said Amanda. Aaron didn't answer but just shook his head. Amanda just smiled. She then looked at AJ sitting next to her. "You're not scared, right?"

"Me? Of course not… why would I be scared?" asked AJ, hoping Amanda wouldn't notice the tiny uncertainty in his voice.

"…Of course not," said Amanda. The ride started and Amanda wasn't phased at all and enjoyed the ride. The other four, although they enjoyed the ride, were a little jumpy. They were doing an okay job of hiding it until the evil queen turned into the old witch. They all jumped slightly, including Amanda. Aaron grabbed onto Emma tightly, Emma grabbed onto Nick tightly, Nick looked for something to grab onto, he then realized he was on the end, and just jumped. Amanda looked back, saw this, and laughed.

The ride stopped and the three in the back kind of rushed out of the ride and the other two soon followed. Once they stepped out, AJ stretched and yawned. He then opened his eyes to find a slightly confused looking face staring at him, except it wasn't Nick or Aaron. It belonged to a life-size Dopey.

"…Dopey!!" he exclaimed with a child's glee. He raised his arms and pranced towards him for a hug. Dopey welcomed him with open arms. The other four started cracking up when the two started jumping up and down. Amanda took a picture of them and they gladly posed for her.

"Oh dear, you found your twin, and look, you both have the same big, dorky ears," said Amanda.

AJ and Dopey both gasped like they were truly insulted. They both crossed their arms and AJ pouted. "Well, they're cute, so…" said AJ, sticking out his tongue. They all started to laugh again.

Once they stopped jumping, Dopey caught a glance of Nick's shirt and just stared at it for a second.

Nick saw this and asked timidly, "…What?" Dopey pointed to his shirt and started laughing at him. Nick's jaw dropped and he turned bright red. AJ and Aaron started cracking up. The two girls couldn't help but crack a smile as well.

After about five minutes later, Amanda looked at her watch and said, "We better get going. The guys should be waiting."

AJ made the saddest looking face and whined, "But Amanda~~~~~~~~~~~!! I don't want to leave Dopey!!"

Amanda just stared at him and said, "There you go turning into Nick again."

"I did not!!" said AJ at the same time Nick said "He did not!!"

Emma smiled and said, "You can come visit him again the next time we come, okay?"

AJ pouted and reluctantly said, "Okay…" He and Dopey hugged again and once they were able to pry him away, they walked to the entrance of Sleeping Beauty's castle. Sure enough, Brian, Howie and Kevin --with a jacket way too small for him on-- were waiting there.

"…OMG, Kevy you're alive," said Amanda, as they approached them.

"Barely," said Kevin with a sigh.

AJ opened his mouth to say something, considering he found Kevin looking rather funny, but Nick quickly covered his mouth. "We found h… Nick, what's up with your shirt?" asked Brian, giving him a rather weird look.

Nick blushed a little and said, "Emma got it for me." Howie didn't hesitate and started laughing. It didn't take long for Brian to start cackling either, making Nick turn the brightest red possible.

"Alright, you guys, enough. The boy's been embarrassed enough," said Amanda. They all looked over at her quite shocked, especially Nick. "…Okay, just three more laughs." Brian was creative enough to produce exactly three laughs and Nick glared at him. Amanda rolled her eyes and said, "Thank you, Brian."

"Aw, be nice to my baby," said Emma, kissing him on the cheek, making him smile.

Amanda shuddered and then asked, "What's up with you wearing Bri's jacket, Kevy?"

"I don't… have much of a shirt left under here," said Kevin, unzipping the jacket and revealing the remains of his shirt hanging off of him like a rag.

Amanda and Emma stood there staring at Kevin almost shirtless. AJ and Nick laughed at first, then they noticed the girls' reactions.

"Dude, Kevin, cover up," said AJ.

"Yeah, you don't want to attract anymore attention to yourself," Nick said, backing up AJ.

"We better get you something else to wear, Kevin. At least something that fits you," said Howie.

Kevin nodded and said, "I'll be back in a bit." He then started wandering off toward Main St.

"…I'm not leaving him alone again," said Brian, following him. About 20 minute later, they all met up again and they got something to eat. While they were eating, Amanda handed Brian, Howie, Kevin, and Aaron their keychains and they gave her the same puzzling look that Nick and AJ had given her earlier.

"...I'm a gopher?" asked Howie.

"Well..." said Amanda.

"...And I'm a rabbit...?" asked Brian.

"Yes," said Amanda, not hesitating at all.

"Well let me just go find a carrot then..." said Brian.

"I'm... not... Eeyore... I don't... talk... that slow... and... I'm... not... that... gloomy...," said Kevin, not really realizing how slow he just talked with the deepest voice possible.

Amanda started laughing and said, "No, of course not." After that, they headed back down to Sleeping Beauty's castle to watch the fireworks. Nick had his arm around Emma and Emma was holding Aaron who had fallen asleep in her arms. She rested her head against Nick's shoulder. Amanda sat a little bit away from AJ and just looked up at the fireworks. AJ sort of stared at her quietly. She didn't realize it but she had a slight smile on her face. AJ felt a little heat in his cheeks and looked away. Kevin had gotten a new shirt he just bought on Main Street to replace his torn one he had. It coincidentally had Eeyore on it. AJ saw this and started laughing. He nudged Amanda and pointed to Kev and his shirt. She started laughing which made Nick and Emma look over. Emma tried her best not to laugh, not wanting to wake Aaron up. Nick covered his mouth as well. Amanda went back to the fireworks and AJ scooted toward her a little. Brian and Howie were a bit exhausted from running from the girls that day so they just sat there quietly just watching the fireworks. Nick leaned over and kissed Emma on the lips softly. She closed her eyes and kissed back. AJ glanced over at them and then at Amanda. He did that back and forth a few times and then he leaned over slowly to kiss her on the cheek when she asked, "Did you have fun today?" AJ scrambled back to his original position and blushed a little.

He finally managed to say, "Yeah… how about you?"

Amanda sighed and nodded. "I guess," she said.

"You only guess?" asked AJ.

She sighed again and said, "Okay, I had fun."

AJ sighed to mimic Amanda and said, "Then at least sound like you did."

Amanda laughed and said, "Okay, I had fun."

AJ smiled and said, "That's better." They then went back to watching the fireworks.

"…Hey, it's past midnight huh?" asked Amanda.

"Huh? Yeah," said AJ.

Amanda felt like jumping up in joy, but instead, she casually went up to Nick, smacked him on the back of the head without warning, smiled and went back over to AJ and sat down. Nick looked absolutely confused and asked, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"You deserved it," said Amanda, simply.

"I didn't do anything!!" complained Nick.

"The hell you didn't," mumbled Amanda. AJ was absolutely confused again so he just decided to be silent. Emma was about to say something when she looked down at her watch and mumbled to herself.

Once the fireworks were done, they headed back to the cars and they decided they'd go straight home from there so they said all of their byes and then headed home. Emma decided that she'd stay at Nick's house for that night because it was already pretty late. Amanda sat up in front with AJ and Nick, Emma and Aaron sat in the back. Aaron was fast asleep leaning against Emma while Nick and Emma held hands. Emma and Nick were also dozing off. Amanda looked back and actually smiled when she saw this. AJ sort of glanced at her from the corner of his eye and saw that she could actually look innocent and blushed slightly. Before Amanda could notice anything, he went back to concentrating on the road silently. Once AJ pulled up to the Carter's, Nick picked up Aaron as gently as possible and carried him in. Emma thanked AJ and told him good night and followed. Then there was an eerie silence with AJ and Amanda. They just sat there quietly in the car.

"Amanda…" said AJ.

Amanda looked up a little startled and asked, "Yeah…?"

"We're here…" AJ said simply.

"Oh…yeah… um… see you later. Thanks for the ride. Good night," she said a little panicked as she rushed out of the car and into the house. AJ sat there for a second thinking and then he smacked himself on the forehead. He then sighed and went home. Amanda rushed into her room and shut the door and laid down on her bed staring up at her ceiling. She thought about all the things that happened that day and turned bright red again from embarrassment. She then covered her face with her blanket and tried to sleep.

After Nick put Aaron to bed, Nick knocked on Emma's room. "Come in," she said from inside.

Nick walked in and said, "Hey."

"Hey," replied Emma.

Nick smiled and asked, "Did you have fun today?"

She returned the smile, "Yes I did."

Nick laughed and said, "Besides torturing Amanda I mean."

"Yeah… that was just a bit amusing, but the rest of the day was nice too. I got to spend it with you," said Emma.

"That's good," said Nick, his smile widening, "well, I'll let you go to bed. I'm sure you're tired." He kissed her on the cheek and then headed out of the room. "Good night.

"Good night… and Nick," said Emma.

Nick turned around and asked, "Yeah?"

She smirked and said, "Thanks for helping me with the bet."

Nick returned the smirk and replied, "No problem."


{Chapter 6} {No One Else Comes Close Home}