A Pirate's Life for Me

Chapter 7: You Need to Find Yourself a Girl, Mate

For a few weeks, school became something Nora rushed through so she could go spend all her time at Disney, grateful for once to have a friend to enjoy it with. Not that she had to be at the parks with someone—she was pretty content by herself. But still, for once it was nice to have someone to experience it all with that understood why she loved it so much.

Not to mention Levi was easy to be around. While most everyone else always seemed to have an agenda, Levi didn't. He'd have maybe one or two things he wanted to do, but if the line was too long or if Nora wasn't super interested, he usually dropped it. It was very rare he was adamant about wanting to do certain things and, when he was, it was normally because he knew something Nora didn't. Like that they were filming for marketing that day and they could maybe be in the background, or they were having soft openings for a new attraction, or he wanted to point out some sort of random tidbit that he didn't think she knew.

"Did you know that the two sides of Epcot, Future World East and Future World West, are designed specifically to reflect their themes? East is based off technology, so the corners of walkways are sharp and planters are all angular, while the West side focuses on nature, so there are a lot more water features and everything is smooth, giving off a more peaceful vibe."

Or, "The Tower of Terror actually pulls the elevator down, which was technology that didn't exist before it was made because, well, since when does anyone want an elevator to fall?"

Or, "Joe Rohde was the Imagineer behind the development behind the Animal Kingdom. He wanted to make sure the park looked like someplace you could visit in real life, where even a wall could tell a story."

She normally knew, but she normally acted like she didn't because she liked the way his lip quirked to the side when he thought he'd impressed her. It wasn't immature or bigheaded, but sweet and cute in the quiet way Levi always was, prideful of being a Disney nerd.

Which was why she liked him so much.

A giant groan stretched its way towards her ears. She looked up from her cinnamon roll to find Gaston making a muscle pose.

Great. "You do not take a hint."

"Hello to you too, gorgeous." Gaston sat, yes sat, at her table, eyebrows waggling. "You're the one in my tavern, little lady. You come in here at least once a week to pine."

Nora leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "You, sir, are not a cinnamon roll, which means I am not here for you."

"I know you were thinking of me before I sat down. You had a dreamy little smile."

She wanted to sink underneath the table. "I was thinking of my cinnamon roll."

Gaston put a fist under his chin, attempting thoughtfulness. "Mhmm. Sure." He leaned over to the table next to them, talking behind his hand to the elderly woman seated there. "She's playing hard to get."

"Do we have to have this conversation every time we meet?"

"Only until you admit that you're in love with me."

"Fine." Nora leaned forward, batting her eyes. "I'm hopelessly in love with you."

He paused for a second. "That was actually very believable." He hit the table with a fist. "It must be true."

Nora sighed. "Keep dreaming, Gaston."

She picked up her trash, heading out before he could stop her to go find a much quieter place. Still, talking to Gaston usually did make her day. It was nice to know that there was at least one girl out there who wasn't going to salivate over him. She'd hate being a face character after seeing what Gaston and Captain Jack went through.