Bethany woke to her phone ringing. She groped at her nightstand before finding her phone.
"What? What?" She mumbled.
"Bumblebee!"
"Sebster?" He laughed and she rubbed her eyes.
"Hi!" He said something else, but it was muffled and slurred and she couldn't understand.
"What? Are you drunk?"
"M'be a lil bit." He laughed again. "Miss you!" Bethany yawned and looked at the clock. 3:22 am.
"H-"
"Larisa called it off. Said- said I 'sn't invested 'more an' she thought we should break up. I di'n't mean to hurt her." The next part was muffled and slurred again and she yawned.
"'Nd she said she 'sn't blame me. I di'n't want to break up. I don'-" he grunted and then there was a crash.
"Seb-" she yawned again, "Sebster? Are you okay?" He laughed.
"Fell over. M' knee hurts."
"Where are you?"
"Dunno."
"Are you at home? At a bar? In the middle of the street?"
"Home. 'M in-" the rest was slurred together.
"Sebster I think you should get some sleep."
"No. Can't. 'M not tired." He said something else but she didn't catch it, then he started singing. "I just seen a face. I can' forget the time and place where we just met. She's jus' the girl for me and I wan' all the world to see we met." He hummed out of tune and Bethany giggled, "fallin' yes 'm fallin. And she keeps callin' me back again." Half way through the song he got muffled then she could hear him snoring softly.
"Night, Sebster." She said quietly. She ended the call, yawned and laid awake for another two hours before finally going back to sleep.

———

bennyharris

❤️liked by sebastiandanzig, ashleypurdyinc and 309 others
bennyharris IT KILLS ME EVERYTIME 😂😂😂^^^ ON ANOTHER NOTE PLEASE GO CHECK OUT MY UKULELE COVER OF DYING IN A HOT TUB

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user3 user4 this is the girl I was telling you about
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remingtonleith I don't think I've ever loved anything as much as I love your cover of diaht 😂😂
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bennyharris THE INTERWEBS sebastiandanzig FIND MORE WORDS krisisaverted HOW DARE YOU remingtonleith
remingtonleith HOW DARE YOU bennyharris
bennyharris 🖕🖕 remingtonleith

———

Bethany's phone rang, bringing her out of her thoughts. She answered without looking at caller ID. She placed the phone between her shoulder and ear and continued to work on her drawing of Andy.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Bumblebee."
"Oh. Hi, Sebster." She dropped her pencil and grabbed her phone. "How are you?"
"I've been better. I just wanted to apologize for last night."
"Do you even remember last night?" He sighed.
"Not entirely. I know I called you and talked about Larisa. Did I sing? Did I actually do that?"
"Yes. You're drunken version of I've Just Seen A Face is my new favorite thing." She giggled.
"Huh. I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine, really." There was a brief pause before she asked, "Got any amazing plans for today?"
"Remington and Emerson were talking about going to the carnival with Monica and Shy and said I should go too, so I might do that. You?"
"Nothing. I'll probably practice for a bit, but otherwise I'm not doing anything."
"Do you want to come to the carnival with us?"
"Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't." She smiled.
"Sure. What time?"
"That . . . is an excellent question. I don't know. I'll get back to you on that." There was a knock on Bethany's door.
"Come in." She said. Andy poked his head in.
"Lunch is ready."
"I'll be right there."
"I'll text you when I know what time we're going. See ya, Bumblebee."
"Okay. Bye." She ended the call and moved her sketchbook off her lap.
"Who was that?" Andy asked as they walked downstairs.
"Sebster." Half way down the stairs her phone buzzed as she received a text.

Sebster - We're meeting at six so I'll pick you up a little before that
Bumblebee - sounds like a plan

———

I'm leaving! If either of you care to know." Bethany called up the stairs.
"Take your house key in case we aren't here when you get back!" Andy called back.
"Got it!" She grabbed her keys and put them by her purse then she stepped in front of the mirror in the living room to apply some lipstick.
"See ya!" The door slammed as she left.
"Hey." He said as she got into the passenger side of the car.
"Hey."
"You look nice."
"Oh! Thank you. So do you. Well, I mean, as nice as you can look with your hair like that." She giggled.
"I've changed my mind. Get out." He said with smile.
"You invited me and now your throwing me out on the side of the road? I'm hurt." She placed her hand over heart and pouted. Her phone vibrated.

🐼 - so much for taking your keys

"Shit!"
"What?"
"I left my keys at the house. Panda and Juls are going out to dinner with friends and might not be there when I get back."

Peanut - whoops
🐼 - the concern is overwhelming.
Peanut - maybe I'll get lucky and you'll be back before I am

———

The carnival was big and colorful. Live music played.
"There you are! We thought you ditched us! Hey B!" Remington said as he and Monica walked up to Bethany and Sebastian. Bethany wasn't paying attention she was gazing around at the rides and games.
"Where are Shy and Emerson?" Sebastian asked.
"Somewhere. I dunno, they ditched us as soon as they got here." Remington answered while giving Sebastian a knowing look.
"We're going to go play some games. What about you two?" Monica asked.
"I don't know. What do you think, Bumblebee?" Bethany shrugged.
"Doesn't matter to me."
"Helpful."
"I try." She said with a smile and shrug.
"We'll follow you." Sebastian said.
"Great!" Monica grabbed Remington's hand and pulled him in the direction of the games. Sebastian and Bethany followed them.
"If you were offered three wishes by a genie what would you wish for? And you can't wish for more wishes." Bethany asked Sebastian.
"Where do you come with these things?"
"It's a question everyone asks. Now stop stalling and answer."
"Alright let me think." Suddenly Bethany gasped.
"Let's play this one!" She pulled Sebastian over to the booth. It was called Hit or Miss. A line of little yellow ducks stood in the back of the booth and half a dozen water guns lay on the counter. Bethany started to hand the girl manning the booth some money, but Sebastian beat her to it. They each picked up a gun and the girl made the game come to life. Bethany hit two while Sebastian missed them all.
"Your aim is terrible." She said with snicker.
"Shut up."
"You can pick a prize from the middle shelf." The girl told Bethany. The options were a wide variety of colorful stuffed snakes or little ducks in varying colors. Bethany chose one of the ducks. She tucked it under her arm and they continued walking around. Remington and Monica had wandered off while they were playing.
"You never answered my question." Bethany said.
"Because you drug me over to the duck game."
"Whatever. C'mon. What would you wish for?"
"I really don't know. What about you?"
"It's a hard question. And you have to be careful how you word your wishes because genies are notoriously difficult."
"Do you want to go on any of the rides?" Bethany looked around.
"How 'bout the teacups?"
"You would choose the teacups."
"Excuse you?"
"You heard me." She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed before almost bowling over a little girl who was running ahead of her parents.
"Hey! I didn't think you would actually come. And you brought Ben." Emerson said as he and Shy approached them.
"Well I did come and I brought company because I assumed you would all go off and do your own thing."
"Am I only here to alleviate your boredom?" Bethany asked trying to keep a straight face and failing.
"Where are you guys headed?" Shy asked.
"The teacups."
"We were just there. Emerson almost threw up." Shy giggled and Emerson grimaced.
"It really wasn't funny." He muttered.
"I guess we'll see you later." Shy said giving them both smiles before dragging Emerson off. As they walked away Sebastian pulled his phone out. Bethany caught a glimpse of Emerson's name before the phone was out of her line of sight.
"What does Em want?"
"Nothing." He said and put his phone back in his pocket. Sebastian paid the man in charge of the ride enough money for both himself and Bethany, despite her protests.
"May I remind you that you don't have job and therefore you aren't making any money right now." He said as they sat down in the teacup.
"Shut up." He smiled as she rolled her eyes. After a few more people were on, the ride started. The ride was fun, but the spinning motion almost made Bethany throw up.
After the teacups they rode a few of the less-likely-to-kill-you rides before meeting up with others by the truck that sold elephant ears. (1)Remington and Monica had gotten an elephant ear and offered some to everyone else since it was so big. They talked and laughed and enjoyed themselves immensely. After their snack Emerson and Shy called it a night and left. Bethany and Sebastian wandered over to the stage to watch the band that was performing. They weren't bad, but they weren't amazing either.
"What should we do next?" Bethany asked.
"Ferris wheel?" He suggested.
"Those things are terrifying."
"I almost threw up on the teacups because you wanted to ride them." He pointed out.
"Now I have guilt." She said in a bad imitation of Rex from Toy Story's voice. "Alright let's go." She paid the man before Sebastian could. Once they were both seated and the bar was across their laps they rose just enough for people to get in the seat below them. Eventually they were at the very top. The seat rocked and Bethany grabbed Sebastian's arm. She was somewhere between amused and terrified.
"This is terrifying. We're so high. And unstable. Why did I agree to this?" She asked as the seat rocked again.
"Stop focusing on how scary it is and take in the view." He said. She nodded and looked away from the ground. The view was pretty breathtaking.
"I admit the view is nice, but I still hate this." The city stretched out to their left and to their right was the waterfront. The lights of the city reflected on the water and the setting sun was a beautiful combination of red and pink and purple.
"See. It's not so bad." He purposely rocked the cart just a little bit and Bethany shrieked and pressed her back against the seat, still gripping Sebastian's arm. He laughed.
"Don't do that! You fucker!" She punched him on the arm.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That was mean." Eventually the ride was over and they were back on the ground.
"I am never doing that again." Bethany said. "And in case you're wondering, yes it's your fault." Sebastian just laughed and threw his arm around her shoulders.
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, right." She giggled.
"Thank you for riding on the Ferris wheel with me." He said sincerely.
"Your welcome, you dick." She yawned.
"Tired?"
"I took my last Flurazepam the night before last and then somebody called at me 3:30 this morning and I never really went back to sleep." Though it was hard to tell in the weird light of the carnival Bethany could almost swear she saw him blush.
"Right. Sorry." She shrugged and yawned again. "Ready to call it a night?"
"If that's okay with you."
"It's fine." They were close to a mile away from where they parked. Bethany hadn't realized how much her feet hurt until she was trying to keep up with Sebastian. She should have worn better shoes for walking. Because her feet hurt she was walking slow and kind of funny.
"Are you okay?" He asked, turning to look at her.
"I should have worn different shoes. I'm getting blisters." She sighed, but then smiled up at him, "but it was worth it. This has been a lot of fun."
"Get on my back and I'll carry you to the car."
"You don't-"
"No arguing." She rolled her eyes and got on his back, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck.
"Should we let Ratface and Monica know we're leaving?"
"They'll figure it out eventually." She giggled and yawned before resting her head on his shoulder. Sebastian found it very hard not to think about how soft her skin felt and instead tried to focus on not falling. It didn't really work.
"Larisa doesn't deserve you." Bethany mumbled before yawning yet again.
"No, I didn't deserve her. Towards the end I wasn't a very good boyfriend." He sighed. "Despite what she might say, it was my fault our relationship ended. I never meant to hurt her."
"Break ups suck."
"Yes, they do."
"I believe time wounds all heals." Bethany said and giggled.
"What?"
"Haven't you ever listened to Instant Karma by John Lennon? It starts with someone asking him a question and he says 'I believe time wounds all heals'."
"Oh." He smiled, "You and the Beatles."
"The Beatles were amazing. It makes me sad that I was born like forty years too late. I'll never get to see the Beatles perform. Well, okay, I could see Paul or Ringo, but it wouldn't be quite the same. Did you know that a high school kid once told John that his teacher was making them analyze Beatles lyrics for deeper meanings so John wrote I Am The Walrus which is literally a bunch of gibberish."
"You learn new things everyday."

———

Andy and Juliet weren't back when they pulled up in front of the house. Bethany texted them and was told they'd be back in twenty minutes or so.
"They'll be back soon. I'll just wait on the steps so you can go." She unbuckled and started to get out.
"I'm not gonna let you sit on the steps by yourself. I'll wait with you."
"You don't have to."
"I want to."
"How very gentlemanly of you."
"I try."
"My patience." She giggled.
"Rude. I invited you out, I practically paid for that duck of yours and this is how you repay me." He shook his head and she laughed.

———

Andy and Juliet got back ten minutes later than they said they would and when they pulled into the driveway they took notice of Bethany and Sebastian sitting Sebastian's car. Bethany was laughing so hard she was crying. She wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand.
"Oh. Panda and Juliet are back." She grabbed her purse and made sure everything was still in it. "Thanks for tonight. It was fun."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you had a good time. I did too." They shared a smile before she opened her door and slid out.
"Night, Sebster."
"Night, Bumblebee." She followed Andy and Juliet into the house and kicked off her shoes before laying down on the couch with her arm over her face.
"Have fun?" Andy asked, looking down at her.
"So much! Meet Herbert!" She held up the duck and he rolled his eyes.
"We're going to bed. Night, Peanut."
"Good night, Panda!"

(1) - for those who don't know an elephant ear is a type of deep fried dough with sugar on it that you can get at fairs and carnivals and stuff. It's really good.