Part 1 

The Amusement Park, the sights of the fun rides overwhelmed my vision. The place was busy, full of children that had just finished school and were brought here by their parents. There was laughter, there was noise and sounds of machines and rides doing their thing. 

An interesting and exhilarating place for children. 

Problem is, I'm not a child. 

"Aah, it's been a week since I've been here~" 

Chad put his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest as he stood beside us, looking at the amusement park as a whole from its entrance. 

A-A week? The hell do you come here for? Dates with girls you know?

I was wearing my typical casual pianist clothing, a white buttoned-up shirt and black trousers, and since this day was planned only to teach kids musical lessons at the school (and not planned to go to an amusement park), I was also wearing my leather jacket. In short, cool. 

Chad looked... Even cooler than me, his large yet not too excessive muscles made sure anyone around him knew that he was invited to the party, sticking out through his smooth simple black T-shirt and trousers.  

Charlotte wore the usual blouse and black skirt while Lucy had a simple hoodie and jeans. 

"-Well then, I'll be stealing Arthur for a while now, let's meet up in this same place in about twenty minutes." 

I felt a forceful shudder go from my shoulder, bolting down toward my feet.

The sudden cause of this shudder was Chad's hand firmly smacking my shoulder, pushing downward. 

He smiled, hinting that Charlotte and Lucy should hang out by themselves for a while so that Chad and I could chat. 

"Haah? Why can't I be with Arthur?" 

Charlotte stepped forward toward Chad, questioning him with a suspicious and assertive tone. 

"It's for just twenty minutes or so." 

Chad smiled as he turned around, putting his arms around my neck, walking away. 

"Hmph." 

I heard Charlotte huffing before she too walked in the opposite direction with Lucy. 

...

...

...

People were calling out to each other, masked by the sounds of singing, songs and children running about. The smell of the hot pavement, warmed by the bright sun along with fried food dominated the smell in this area. 

After we were out of sight from the two girls, Chad let go of me. 

"Two fairy flosses, please. The usual." 

We were at a booth right now, and Chad was buying some fairy floss. 

"You know Chad, you're not supposed to say "the usual" at places like this. I see you come here with girls all the time but a guy? Didn't know you swung both sides." 

The clerk, who seemed to be familiar with Chad listlessly made some fairy floss as he commented on Chad. 

"Hahaha, and you're not supposed to know my name. I'm just here with friends this time." 

"I wouldn't have to know your name if you didn't come here every week!" 

They both laughed and giggled as they did their make-believe quarrel. 

"Hi." 

Finding a moment, I said hey to the clerk as I checked the prices, pulling out my wallet to pay. 

Seeing this, Chad pushed down my hand. 

"Don't worry about it, I'll pay. Money should be tight for musicians right now."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't money be lacking for you too?" 

"Playing the Trombone is a hobby of mine, playing in the Orchestra is an extension of that. I actually have another full-time job, so don't worry."

Chad put some coins on the counter. 

"Full-time job plus an orchestral musician?" 

"Yeah, it's pretty fun playing two games at once."

"How do you even manage your time?" 

Being a sole musician who works at an orchestra is hard enough with all the practice and rehearsal times required with the orchestra, but balancing a full-time job as well? 

I struggled to maintain this jumpy feeling in my throat, begging to ask "is that even possible?" 

Well, I guess if you were very motivated, it would be possible. 

I guess it would explain how he would pay for all his dates. 

And Chad's right, working as a professional musician truly was dire and money was really tight. I started my musician's journey not long ago, and I struggled in the first few months, barely making ends meet.

I would have only about 6 meals a week, one meal a day and one day of nothing at all. People who hired me for miscellaneous performances would fail to pay, along with the fact that it was all casual work, so requests varied. 

My only saving grace was my status as a prodigal child pianist, which got me into the orchestra I'm working in even now. From there, I built up my foundations and gotten relatively stable. 

Paying the rent for my apartment was a pain, and almost still is. 

But if it means I'm not going back to that hell, then the suffering is worth it. 

...I'll never go back there, over my dead body and crushed soul. 

I'll never return to my old home, where they and the others live.

I escaped for a reason. 

"Shhh, don't worry about the small things. Take this." 

After hearing my question, Chad shook his head and went through his pockets again. Opening his wallet and counting some cash before handing it over to me. 

I stared without blinking. 

After processing the amount of cash he held out to me, my eyes became wide.

"T-T-Three hundred dollars?!" 

What kind of full-time work do you have that would have you give that much cash without a worry?! 

"Yeah, oh, and my job is a secret, so I can't tell you~." 

He put the cash in my pocket as he put up his index finger, pressing it against his lips. 

"-Go buy something good for your girlfriend, kay?" 

"H-Hey, I'm thankful but she's not my girlfriend, please take it back-" 

"No." 

He pushed my hand away as I took the money out of my pocket and offered it back to him. 

"Her name was Charlotte, right? Treat her nicely, respect her boundaries, don't be a pervert, be a gentleman, treat her like a close friend. Oh yeah, don't be a doormat, defend yourself too." 

He quickly changed the subject. 

"Um, yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I?" 

Nodding my head, I shrugged my shoulders. 

"If you don't abide by those fundamental rules, bad things will happen." 

He pierced me with his gaze, which made me straighten my back a bit, it felt quite intense. 

"Are you speaking from experience?" 

After replying, I saw Chad's shoulders quiver and jolt, his expression tightened as he put his hands behind his back, kicking the dust off the floor.

Ultimately, he looked down toward the floor beside him. 

"...No." 

Chad muttered in a low monotone voice, barely audible. 

He's definitely speaking from experience. 

Seeing a state of Chad giggling to himself nervously made me wonder what kind of traumatic experience he went through. 

I'll take his advice, I definitely will. 

"-Anyways, let's go take a ride on a roller coaster, we still have about ten minutes until we have to meet back with each other.

After a small awkward moment, Chad broke the ice and took the lead and began walking in the direction of the roller coaster. 

Part 2 

First things first, I've never been to an amusement park before. 

Maybe once, but after that, she didn't let me go, so instead of having fun when I was a kid, I was stuck in my room practising piano. 

With that said, my head hurts. 

"What, first time on a roller coaster? You look like you're gonna die." 

Chad carried me back to the meeting spot using the side of his shoulders. 

"-Y-Yeah... Awrgh..." 

I felt like I was gonna die. 

Fortunately, throughout the roller coaster, I managed to hold in my vomit, but that didn't stop me from feeling sick and dizzy. I also had mild motion sickness... So that amplified everything I was feeling. 

Looking forward, I saw two figures waiting at the waiting spot. 

"-understand musical behaviour and experience, including the processes through which music is perceived, created, responded to, and incorporated into everyday life. Modern music psychology is primarily empirical-" 

"Aaah, look, they're back! Hey!" 

Lucy and Charlotte were seemingly chatting with each other, but as soon as Charlotte caught a glimpse of me she cut Lucy off and rushed toward us. 

"Hi." 

Lucy put her hands in her pocket, greeting us with a monotone voice. 

"What did you do to him?" 

With her eyes, Charlotte analysed my condition. 

"I made him ride the roller coaster of death." 

Seeing as though I was able to stand on my own now, Chad let go and did a cool pose that wasn't so cool. 

Charlotte immediately went to my side and put her hand on my chest and her other hand on my back, essentially side hugging me, looking up. 

"Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine." 

Normally, I would gently push someone who was this close to me away

...But I kind of wanted her to hold me for a bit more. 

It felt nice and warm. 

Don't let go. 

"Oh, so you're fine? Okay." 

Charlotte stepped back, letting go of me.

Eh? 

Aah... Is it raining? Oh, that's just my heart? 

"What's with that disappointed look on your face? Did you want me to touch you a bit more?" 

Charlotte bent over slightly, pressing her hands on her hip, looking up at me with a playful grin on her face. 

"N-No, of course not, I'm not the type to-  Uwaaaaah! Aaaaaaaah! Why're you hugging me so suddenly?!"   

Before I could blink, I felt a binding warm pressure press up against my upper body and arms around my back.

Charlotte was hugging me, she hurled herself onto me, catching me off guard. 

I stammered back a step in surprise but maintained a firm foundation. 

I could feel her chest and body pressing against my upper body, transferring her heat over to me. She squeezed tightly, almost as if she was a professional hugger. Feeling her all over me sent melting signals throughout my body, my mind emptied as her flowery hug warmed the insides of me up. 

I could feel something in my heart reforming. 

"Cause I felt like you wanted it." 

Charlotte pressed her chin on my chest, looking upward with a smile. 

I could feel the serene warmth of her arms in my leather jacket, rubbing the wide muscles of my back.

"-The not-girlfriend is flirting with the not-boyfriend, let's get out of here." 

Chad hushed Lucy in the opposite direction, silently moving away from us. 

Lucy looked at us with a longing gaze before giving up and following Chad. 

After a few moments, Charlotte let go of me, blushing. 

It seems like not even she can handle the touch of another person without getting embarrassed. 

"You've never been to an amusement park, right?" 

I gently asked her as I admired her flushed face. 

"Y-Yeah." 

"Me too, come on, let's have some fun."