Chapter 26

Four days had passed since the day trip up to Pineswood and, I would have to say that the Michaels’ were looking up.

Now don’t get me wrong, one two hour visit to the correctional facility didn’t erase three years of ill feeling and abandonment that Cason had stored up. I think Cason realized that his father could never undo what he had foolishly done but, he could see that his father was truly sorry for his actions and just wanted to get to know his son, and wife, once again.

I personally didn’t know what had happened when Cason and I switched places with Diana and let her speak to her husband because we both decided to give them their privacy however, I was present when Malcolm promised to use his weekly phone call to talk to Cason and catch up whenever they could.

True to his word, when Cason and I were hanging out with Evan and Olivia on Saturday afternoon, Cason’s cell phone rang with an unknown number. It turned out to be his dad calling and Cason had moved away from the group for a couple minutes to talk with a bit of privacy.

I was happy for him, he was getting a second chance at the relationship between his father and he definitely deserved it.

Today, however, was New Year’s Eve Day. The 31st of December was here and when the clock struck midnight tonight we would leave the current year behind us and start anew.

Cason had told me about a fair that was going on today a little ways out of town. Actually, it was at the small strip of stores where he had taken me when he got me to skip school way back in September.

Apparently it was a yearly thing that the city planned for residence to have fun and enjoy the day. Cason had explained that during the day was the time when families usually went and participated in events that were mostly planned for younger children while the night was reserved for teenagers and the select parents that could find a babysitter for their kids. There was a dance, fair rides, game stands, competitions, and when the clock struck midnight, the whole sky would be illuminated with a firework show that was pretty spectacular.

It was only three o’clock in the afternoon at the moment but, it did take about a half an hour to drive out to the fairground so Cason was going to be picking me up any minute.

Finishing my makeup with a touch of blush, I looked in the mirror and smiled at my appearance. Sure, I wasn’t the most beautiful girl on this side of the Mediterranean but, I felt good in my skin and I was ready for a night of fun with my friends. I was wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt that was a little loose on my body but had been tucked into my jeans shorts that had a brown braided belt running through them. Also, I pulled my hair to the side in a French braid and tied a bright pink bandana around my head for a little bit of colour.

Just as I was exiting the bathroom I heard my phone vibrate and hurried over to my bedside table to pick it up, only to see that it was Cason.

Hey! Leaving now so you better be ready or I’ll drag you out of your house

Rolling my eyes at his typical teasing text, I texted him back a short a sarcastic reply.

Yea yea! Don’t get your man panties in a bunch! :P

Closing the conversation without waiting for a reply, I slid my phone into my back pocket and grabbed a couple of bills off of my desk before heading downstairs to say goodbye to my mom.

After entering the living room and seeing that she wasn’t there, I headed into the kitchen to see her grabbing a quick snack.

“Hey mom, Cason’s just heading over so I’m leaving soon and I just wanted to say goodbye.”

My mom smiled at me and nodded. “Have a good time sweetie.” Taking another bit of the half-eaten apple in her hand before she continued. “Do you know when you’ll be back?”

“Umm, probably not until around one since the fireworks only start at midnight and then it’ll take some time to drive back.” I guessed, shrugging my shoulders before biting my lip nervously. “That’s okay right?”

Laughing at my nervousness quickly, my mom simply nodded. “It’s New Year’s Eve Jessalyn, its fine if you want to stay out late with your friends. I’ve never given you a curfew and I trust you to be home when you say you will be.” she replied, her voice expelling the full confidence she had in me.

“Thanks mom.” I said. “So, what are your big plans for the night? Johnny Depp marathon? Fireworks at the beach? Heading out to an adult party?”

As my mom stared at me in amusement I just kept making my guesses more wild and crazy than the last one before she finally cut me off with a laugh. “I think I’m just going to be staying in tonight.” she stated, spinning the browning core of her apple on the table as she spoke. “I’ll probably just end up watching the New Year’s Eve special on television and watch the ball drop in Times Square.”

 “Cason told me that his mom was having a couple people over for a New Year’s Eve party, weren’t you invited?” I asked, thoroughly confused about why she would rather stay home on a night meant for celebration. I mean, wasn’t I supposed to be the anti-social one in this family?

“Yea…” she replied, “But I’m not sure if I’m up for a party tonight.”

Rolling my eyes at my mom, it felt like I was the parent for a second and I was convincing my child to go out and have fun. I guess this is how my mom and dad felt when they used to try and coax me into going out with people in our old neighbourhood.

“At least promise me you’ll think about going tonight.” I stated, deciding not to fight her on this.

"Sure.” my mom responded with an eye roll, obviously seeing how ridiculous this conversation was. What kind of seventeen year old tries to persuade her mother to go out and party on a holiday? None I knew that was for sure.

A loud horn blasting from the driveway alerted me that Cason was here and it was time for me to go.

“Looks like your rides here.” my mom stated, chuckling at the obvious as Cason blasted his horn once again. “Have fun tonight and remember to eat a salty pretzel for me.”

“Bye mom.” I said with amusement, smiling from her previous comment as I leant across the table and pecked her cheek affectionately. “I love you.”

“Love you too Jessalyn, now get out of here.” she replied, waving her hands towards the front of the house.

Putting my hands up in a mock surrender position, I turned around and exited the kitchen. “I’m going, I’m going.”

Reaching the entryway I quickly slip a pair of black flats on as I hear Cason’s horn beep for the third time in the last minute. Shaking my head in amusement, I grab my keys from the rack and walk out the door to see Cason slouched in the driver’s seat of his mom’s car.

“You know,” I stated as I walked around to the passenger door and slipped into my seat. “You could always just honk once like a normal person.”

Glancing at me as he turned the car into reverse, I saw the small smirk evident on his face. “Where would the fun in that be?” he asked with a teasing intent as he pulled out of my driveway and made his way down the street.

“So, do you know where Olivia lives?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as I waited for a response.

Usually whenever we would all get together and hang out I would hitch a ride with Cason and Evan would gladly pick Olivia up however, since Evan had headed to the fair earlier today with his parents and Fizzy, Olivia was stuck without a ride. Cason happily told Olivia that he had no problem driving her out to the fair but, he really didn’t have a choice because Evan more than likely would’ve chewed Cason’s head off if he refused to drive his girlfriend the one time that he couldn’t.

In response to my question, Cason shook his head as we turned onto one of the main roads in this small town. “Nope so, it would be appreciated if you could hurry up and tell me where to go before I miss the turn off.”

“Just turn right on Treak Road and then it’s the third left.” I stated, fiddling with the radio before I found the station that we usually listened to. “It’s the sixth house on the right; number 249.”

Cason nodded, comprehending the instructions as he followed them to a tee and we pulled into Olivia’s driveway less than five minutes later.

Unlike me, after Cason honked the horn once, Olivia came scurrying out of her house in about ten seconds as she threw a cute satchel over her shoulder.

“Why would you look at that?” Cason asked sarcastically, turning to me with a satisfied smirk resting on his face as Olivia made her was down the driveway. “Somebody actually knows how to be ready when her ride pulls into the driveway.”

“Oh shut up.” I finished muttering just as Olivia pulled opened one of the back doors and slid in before pulling it close.

“Hey,” Olivia said in a chipper tone as she clipped her seatbelt into place, “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Not a problem.” Cason replied as he backed out and headed in the direction that the fairground was located.

“So, how long exactly is this place from town?” Olivia pondered as she turned her gaze to her window to look at the shops and trees as we zipped pass.

“About a half an hour.”

At my reply, I could see Olivia send me a confused look. “How would you know that?” she asked, “You’ve only lived here since the summer, this is the first fair that’s been in town since then.”

What she was saying made absolute sense and in that moment I realized that even though I’d told her about how Cason had basically blackmailed me into skipping school with him that day a couple of months ago, I might have left out where he had taken me hostage.

“I took her out there to the aquarium that day you and Evan were canoodling on the school field trip.” Cason replied nonchalantly, glancing in his rear-view mirror as he spoke. “At the time she was probably counting down the minutes until she could get away from me.” he continued teasingly.

Olivia nodded in acceptance with a smile on her face while I was shocked and hit Cason in the arm lightly.

“Don’t hit the driver!” Cason exclaimed, although his voice held no real seriousness.

“Oh please,” I replied, crossing my arms as I managed not withhold an eye roll. “You can drive perfectly fine and maybe next time you’ll keep your comments to yourself.”

“Oh, so does the princess admit that she enjoyed being in the car with the hottest boy at Crestview High?” he questioned teasingly.

“I admit to nothing.”

Cason glanced in amusement at my stubborn self, arms crossed and avoiding his gaze as I felt a little bit of heat attack my cheeks. “Sure you don’t.” he replied through a grin but, letting the subject drop as I failed to reply.

Nudging up the radio slightly, the rest of the ride was filled with awful singing, funny conversations and a quick game of I Spy.

After a thirty minute drive from town Cason pulled behind a line of cars that were parked on the side of the road a whole street away from where I remembered the aquarium being.

“Why aren’t you parking in the parking lot up the street?” I asked as Cason pulled the key out of the ignition and hopped out of the car.

Following suit of both Cason and Olivia, who had jumped out of the car without a second thought when the car pulled to a stop, I let the seatbelt unhitch before opening the car door.

“Well, first of all, there doesn’t look to be any open spots from here.” Cason replied as he locked his car and waved his hands around to make a point. Actually taking the time to look I saw that he was right, this place was packed. “And second of all I don’t feel like getting sandwiched in and not being able to leave later tonight.”

“He’s right you know.” Olivia said, adding her two cents into the conversation as we headed towards the fair on foot. “This fair gets busier and busier every year and, since this is around the time that the little kids and families start vacating the place in exchange for the couples and teenagers, the parking and lines get out of control.”

Holding back a groan of annoyance, I nod in understanding and change the subject as we make our way towards the entertainment.

As we reach the entrance I saw that Olivia and Cason weren’t kidding when they said this event was city wide. The street was blocked off where an entrance gate was placed, the parking lot was packed with some cars going as far as parking on the grass, and I could see a variety of different booths, stalls and rides set up on the field next to the shops for everybody’s use. My eyes widened in excitement as I took the fair in; the scents cotton candy and popcorn in the distance mixed with the screams from the rides and laughter of kids, it was all so mesmerizing.

“You okay Jessa?”

Pulling myself out of my trance, I turned to face Cason who was standing there with his eyebrows raised while awaiting my response. “Uh, yeah sorry.” I replied sheepishly, twiddling my fingers as I picked at the bottom of my shorts. “I was just taking a look at the fair and I guess I spaced out.”

“Seems like it.” he replied before nodding to the growing line behind him. “Now come on, Olivia’s standing in line and if we don’t get there soon, somebody might complain about us cutting.”

“Well we wouldn’t want that.” I said with a smile, pushing him slightly as we went to look for Olivia. It turns out that the line had been moving quite fast and when we reached her a couple seconds later she had only about ten people in front of her.

A couple of minutes passed quickly and before I knew it we were ushered inside the gates by the volunteers with five dollars missing from each of our pockets and bright green bands secured on wrists.

“So,” I started to ask, turning to look at my friends as soon as we had taken just a couple steps into the fairground, “Where did Evan say he was meeting us?”

Cason shrugged in reply while Olivia quickly took a look at her cell phone that appeared to be buzzing. “He just texted me.” she said, her head ducking down as she skimmed over the message. “Apparently Fizzy wants to ride the carousel and they’re just waiting in line. We can just head over there now if you guy are ready.”

As we all came to a silent agreement, I followed Cason and Olivia as they made their way towards the carousel. On the short walk there I found out that the fair was set up the same way every year so as we circled rides and swerved behind food stands, Cason and Olivia knew where they were going as they led the way to where we would meet Evan.

Minutes later we stood in front of the carousel as it rotated slowly and the ceramic horses moved up and down even slower. As a kid I remembered going to a fair only once before I suddenly became nervous of crowds and new spaces and, my one distinct memory I had was of my dad and I riding the carousel over and over again as my mom watched with a camera in her hand and a smile on her face.

The reminiscing about my early childhood memories was cut short when the ride started to slow to a stop and Fizzy recognized me. “Jessa!” Fizzy exclaimed, waving her hands in the air as her mom held her safely on her pony. “Jessa look at me, I’m riding a pony!”

Smiling at her, I leant down on the small metal railing and smiled at her as she enjoyed her childhood.

“Ooh, look at that man ride that horse! What is this, an Old Spice commercial?” Cason catcalled teasingly as he saw Evan slouched on top of one of the horses that stayed in place while the ride came to a stop.

Evan’s eyes widened as he saw us in his current position before he ducked his head in embarrassment. Olivia and I chuckled as the three of us headed over to the exit of the ride to greet Evan.

Evan was one of the first riders to exit the gate and walked up to us with an ashamed expression on his face.

“So,” Olivia said, walking up to her boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his waist with an amused smile on her face. “Did you enjoy your pony ride?”

As Cason and I tried to conceal our laughter, Evan’s cheeks flushed at his girlfriend’s teasing. “Shut up.” he muttered embarrassedly but, none the less leant down to give his girlfriend a proper hello.

Their lips connected and Cason, being the great friend that he is, couldn’t wait to throw in a teasing comment. “Stop making out in public and go find a spot behind the bathrooms. I hear they sprang from new ones this year and you won’t be able to smell the stench leaking out of them.”

Evan, seemingly unimpressed by his friend, pulled away from Olivia as his arm sprang out and punched Cason right in the bicep before resting on Olivia’s shoulder.

“Dude! What was that for?” Cason asked as he clenched his arm in pain.

Evan smirked at him while replying. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Olivia cracked a smile at her boyfriend’s retort while I tried to smother my laughter as I watched Cason rub his arm while muttering profanities under his breath.

“Jessa!” I heard Fizzy scream as I saw her running towards me. Bending down, she jumped right into my arms as she reached me and I picked her up with a smile on my face. “Did you see me on the horse?” she asked with a toothy grin.

“I sure did sweetie.”

“Did you see me Cason? I was on the horse and it was moving up and down!” she exclaimed, turning in my arms to look at Cason.

Cason nodded in reply as his hands dug down into his shorts pockets. “Yup, you looked so adorable on the ride.” he said with a playful smile, taking a few steps towards us and tickling her stomach lightly as he spoke, making her thrash in my arms as she giggled.

I smiled at Cason before my gaze fell on Mr. and Mrs. Thorn, who were now nearing us as they walked hand in hand. I crouched down once again to put Fizzy down on her own two feet before she ran up to her mom and wrapped her arms around her legs.

As Fizzy and her mom spoke quietly, Evan’s dad looked at us with a relaxed expression. “So, you’re all good here son?” he asked, addressing his son with an eyebrow raised.

Evan nodded with a smile as I saw him tighten his hold on Olivia slightly. “I’m good dad.”

His dad smirked at his son and shook his head in amusement. “Right.” he mumbled as his wife picked up their daughter beside him.

“We’re gonna take Fizzy home now and you be good tonight; no setting off fireworks early or stealing food from any of the vendors.” she said, looking sternly at Evan as though those things had happened before.

I looked at Evan in amusement as he rolled his eyes at his mom. “I won’t mom and I’ll see you either tonight or tomorrow morning,” he replied, “I should be home around one.”

After saying goodbye and telling us all to have fun tonight the Thorn’s headed down the path we had just come down as they headed towards the fair’s entrance.

“So,” Cason said, rubbing his hands together in excitement, “What’s first?”

After a couple of disagreements the boys grumbling that most of the rides here were for little kids with no thrill seeking intentions, Olivia and I had finally got the boys to agree with our suggestion. We were currently next in line to ride the scrambler, which was a ride where guests would sit two to a seat and the arms of the ride simply turned around the centre quickly while the seats also rotated. It wasn’t a complete beast of a ride but, it was perfect for the first ride of the night.

As the worker stopped the ride and let the previous riders off, he opened the gate for us and the four of us hurried to find a seat. Grabbing two seats that were across from each other, Cason and I squished into one while Evan and Olivia slipped into the other and pulled the safety bars down in front of us.

“Hello riders!” the worker announced on his microphone after he had checked all the safety bars to make sure they were secure. “Are you ready to get scrambled?” he asked in excitement as she pressed the little green button to start the ride.

Olivia and I, along with most of the other riders whistled or screamed in excitement while the boys were obviously two macho to admit their excitement as their expressions remained neutral as the seats slowly started to gain speed.

A couple seconds into the ride and we were already at full speed, spinning around in our seats and rotating around the centre of the ride just as quickly. I could hear laughter and hoots of hysteria around me as the ride kept spinning and, from the corner of my eye, I could see that Cason was enjoying this ride by the wide smile he had on his face and the way his hands were thrown into the air with joy.

Minutes later the ride started to slow before coming to a complete stop as the safety bars were unlatched.

“Thank you for riding the scrambler and have a great day here at the New Year’s fair.” the worker announced as we all scrambled out of seats and headed towards the exit gate.

“Well that was fun.” I said with joy as we walked through the fair a little looking for the next ride to hop on.

“Speak for yourself.” Olivia mumbled with a sour expression on her face. “I got stuck on the side of the seat where you get squished by the other person as you spun! Do you know how much I weigh compared to him?” she asked, using her thumb to point towards Evan. “It’s quite a difference, I’ll tell you that.”

“Oh come on babe, you know you enjoyed the feeling of me being pressed against you.” Evan replied, waggling his eyebrow at his girlfriend while throwing his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

As Cason and I fake gagged at the couple, Olivia simply threw Evan’s arm off her in annoyance and sent her elbow into his side. “Perv.” she muttered, crossing her arms across her chest as her lips turned upwards when she saw Evan clutching his side.

“Well,” Evan wheezed out, standing up straight as he tried to adjust to the pain in his side, “How about we go to the rock climbing wall next?” he suggested. “You’ll be able to go up all by yourself and there will be no chance of me squishing you again.”

Olivia looked at Cason and I, wondering if we were okay with going to the rock climbing wall and, when we didn’t object in any way, she smiled at nodded. “Sure!” she replied, seeming rather chipper. “Let’s go.” she continued, grabbing Evan’s hand as she pulled him towards the climbing wall.

“Are they gonna be like this for the rest of the night?” I asked Cason curiously as we followed a couple feet behind the couple.

Cason smirked at me before nodding. “Don’t worry though,” he said, leaning down closer to me to whisper the rest. “We’ll ditch them at some point and go have some fun.”

Winking at me as he stood up straight, I grinned up at him quickly as we continued to follow the happy couple.

An hour and a half later we had been on a few more rides including a small rollercoaster near the entrance, the swings, the tornado, the avalanche and, as an added bonus, Olivia and I had managed to convince the guys to come on the teacups with us. They had looked so cute in their teacup, all squished and uncomfortable as Olivia and I paired off on the ride and let them share a cup.

We were headed towards the funhouse now but, as I checked my phone for the time I saw that it was nearing six ‘o’clock and we hadn’t eaten yet.

“Hey,” I said, getting everybody’s attention. “Do you think we should eat now and then go to the funhouse later? It’s already six.”

Cason shrugged as if not caring what we did next. “I could eat.” he replied before nodding towards Evan and Olivia. “What about you two?”

They looked at each other quickly, communicating silently before shrugging simultaneously. “Sure.”

“So, what’s good to eat at these things?” I asked as we altered our direction and started back towards the front of the fair where all the food stands were located.

“Well,” Cason started as he fell into step with me, “That diner we went to last time we came up here sells their food for half price during the fair so we could go there.”

“Or,” Evan interrupted, popping up on the other side of me with Olivia next to him. “We could just do what normal fairgoers do and wait in line at one of the food stands. They sell the best junk food here that you’ll feel like you’ve eaten a cow when you’ve only had one corn dog.”

I bit my lip as I thought of what I wanted to eat. “Do they have good burgers?” I asked timidly, looking back and forth between Cason and Evan.

Both of the boys nodded their heads in agreement but, Cason was the one to reply. “Yup, there’s this one stand that literally puts anything on a burger.”

Smiling at the thought of a good burger, I nodded in excitement as we reached the line of food stands. “So,” I asked, trying to read the names on all of the stands quickly as I reached in my pocket to get my money. “Which stand has those burgers?”

Cason shook his head and led me to an empty table that had a bit of garbage piled on the side. “Just sit down for a couple minutes and I’ll be back with your burger in a jiffy.” he explained, planting me down on one of the picnic benches.

“But I have my own…” I started, holding up the money in my hand in opposition before Cason cut me off.

Shaking his head, he stared down at my pointedly. “Sit and stay, I’ll be right back.”

Before I could get another word in, Cason turned around quickly and jogged to the end of one of the lines that led to a blue and red decorated stand, leaving me sitting there in shock.

I saw Evan shake his head in amusement as he looked between Cason and I quickly before he bent down to peck Olivia on the lips. “I’ll be right back babe.” he said with a smile, pecking her lips once again before walking away and joining Cason in line.

“So,” Olivia started as I turned to face her and saw a smirk growing on her face. “What’s going on between you and Cason?”

Shocked by her bluntness, I scrunched up my eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh come on Jessalyn!” she exclaimed with an overdramatic eye roll. “Anybody can see the tension between you two. It’s like you guys are just completely ignoring the fact that you’re perfect for each other.”

My eyes widened at her explanation and, stayed that way for a couple seconds before I burst into a fit of giggles. “Where… did you get... that from?” I asked through my laughter, trying hard not to choke on my words as I calmed down. “Cason and I are just friends.” I finished with finality as my laughter faded.

“Really?” Olivia asked me, her voice seemingly flat and full of disbelief.

I looked over Olivia’s shoulder to where Cason and Evan were standing patiently in line for our food and ended up catching Cason’s eye. Sending a soft smile towards him, he returned it with a grin before Evan brought him back into their previous conversation.

Looking back at Olivia, I nodded to her previous question. “Yea,” I responded confidently, “We’re just friends.”

Even though she looked like she didn’t believe me, Olivia simply shook her head and let the subject drop, instead asking me how I was enjoying my holidays.

A couple minutes into our conversation a platter with a huge burger rested in the middle was placed in front of me and my eyes widened at the size of it. “Are you serious?” I asked, looking at my burger in shock before turning to glance at Cason, who was sliding into the seat next to me.

He smirked at me and nodded, picking a fry up from his own platter and plopping in his mouth before replying. “Yup, now eat up.”

Gulping at the size of the burger in front of me, I picked it up with both my hands and stared at it. The tomato, bacon, pickles, lettuce and cheese looked normal but, the tortilla chips, garlic sprinkles and jam leaking out the side made me a little wary to take a bite. Seeing as the other didn’t have a problem digging into their strange food combinations, I swallowed my fear all at once and took a giant bite of the burger.

Surprisingly it didn’t taste like the inside of a garbage bin but, instead tasted delicious and was probably the best take-out burger I’d ever had the pleasure of eating. “Oh my god.” I muttered however, it may have come out like a moan when I thought about it again. “This is so good.”

“Told you.” Cason replied, nudging my side with a smile. Luckily I didn’t choke on my food as I swallowed the food in my mouth before taking another bite.

It took long enough but, after fifteen minutes of constant eating and very little chatter I had downed my whole platter, wiping every fry and burger piece off of the checkered plastic.

“Man that was good.” I said, leaning against the back rest of the bench and rubbing my stomach. “I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

“Oh no no no.” Evan said repetitively, disagreeing with me as he shook his head. “You can never have enough fair food – trust me, there are some things that you make room for.”

Cason and Olivia nodded in agreement, munching on the sparse food that they had remaining. “He’s right.” Cason stated, nodding to his best friend that was currently sucking his milkshake dry. “You’ll definitely need to try some of the desserts and things they have here; they’re amazing.”

“In the meantime,” Olivia said, breaking the seconds of silence that followed Cason’s statement, “Cason here can introduce you to all of this fair food because I was hoping to go check out the fair dance soon.” she finished, sending a cutesy look towards Evan in hopes that he wouldn’t reject her.

Evan rolled his eyes but, as the soft smile appeared on his face I knew that he would never say no to his girlfriend. “Come on, we’ll head over there now and maybe by the time we get there I’ll have worked up the nerve to actually embarrass myself by dancing.”

“You already embarrassed yourself by riding the carousel in plain daylight,” Cason interjected teasingly; “I don’t think dancing will make you any less of a man that you already proved you are.”

Evan threw a fake glare towards Cason as Olivia rolled her eyes as she stood up and pulled her boyfriend along with her. “We’ll see you guys later, just text us if you wanna meet up or something.” she said and, before either Cason or I could reply she was already hauling Evan towards where the dance was set up.

“That was easy.” Cason commented, making me look at him curiously as I wondered what he was talking about. “We didn’t even have to ditch them.”

Shaking my head in amusement, I stood up and stretched out my limbs. “So, do you wanna walk around for a bit?” I asked Cason, waiting for a response as I picked up the garbage on our table and took the view steps needed to reach the garbage.

“Sure,” Cason said, sticking his hands into his pockets as he stood up and nodded towards the food stands, “I’ll show you all the funky foods first and then we’ll head around the grounds.”

Falling into step beside him, I walked and listened as he pointed to a couple of food stands that had long line ups as well as a few with only one person waiting to be served. There were stands for funnel cakes, hot dogs, potatoes, nachos, chicken wings and all types of food that would’ve caught my attention if I wasn’t working off my dinner.

When Cason suddenly stopped mid-step in front of a stand, I turned to see what he was so mesmerized by. Coming face to face with a deep fried food stand with two customers in line, I turned back to Cason with an eyebrow raised. “This,” he started, his eyes not wavering from the stand, “Is the number one reason why I come to this fair every year.”

Glancing back and forth between the stand and Cason in disbelief, I replied, “So it’s that good?”

“Oh honey,” he said, shaking his head while grabbing a hold of my hand and pulling me towards the stand. “It’s better than good; the food here is good enough to sell you soul for.”

Impressed by his words, we stood in line for what seemed like a couple of seconds but, was probably more like a minute or two before the guy inside the stand was asking us what we wanted to eat.

I didn’t even have time to take a glance at the menu before Cason stepped up to order. “Deep fried chocolate covered strawberries please,” Cason said, sliding a five dollar bill into the man’s hand “Oh and, make it a large.”

The man behind the stand nodded, accepting the order and the money before turning around and making it while I turned to Cason with a look of pure disgust on my face. “Deep fried chocolate covered strawberries.” I repeated disgustedly, not believing her had just ordered us that.

“Stop with the face.” Cason instructed, poking my forehead as the disgust melted from my face. “This is the best thing on the menu and I guarantee after on bite you’ll be begging for more.”

I didn’t believe him at first but, once the vendor had handed us a large paper funnel container full to the brim with little deep fried pieces, I had to reconsider. Pulling one from the container and plopping it into my mouth, I almost moaned as the melted chocolate gushed onto my taste buds as I cracked the cookie battered outside and bit into it. The sweet taste of the chocolate mixed with the savoury taste of the strawberry and the crumbliness of the outside cookie shell made me want to expand my stomach to consume a whole boatload.

“See,” Cason said proudly, seeing the look of amazement on my face as he plopped another strawberry in his mouth and closed his eyes in appreciation. “These things are created by the food God’s.”

“Definitely.” I said in agreement as we started to walk around the fair. 

We were currently in the vendor section of the fair so, we finished up looking at the different food stations before moving on to look at the game stands. As we kept walking we passed a dart’s stall, a ring toss station and station where you had to hook a duck on the end of your fishing pole to win a prize. When we passed the test you strength section where you had to swing a hammer with all your strength, Cason joked that he had been hitting the bell for the past two years without a problem.

Walking around for a couple more minutes we walked passed a group of guys that were, very aggressively, trying to win at the milk bottle toss. I, personally, had heard that these types of things were always rigged where one milk bottle was always impossible to hit so, when the group of guys left the station angrily and without a prize I wasn’t all that surprised.

What did surprise me however, was the fact that as Cason’s eyes followed the disappointed teenagers his gaze flicked between them and the stall before grabbing me and pulling me towards the stand.

“Oh come on Cason, really?” I asked as he placed me beside him at the front of the stall. “Nobody ever wins at these things, it’s a known fact.”

“Well,” he replied, “Prepare to be proven wrong.” he finished before asking the worker for one turn at the stall.

“Free to play, hard to win.” the worker announced in an overly cheery voice that he had probably been using all day. “Knock down all six milk bottles with two balls and you’ll win your little lady friend as prize.”

“I’m not his…” I said trying to explain that I wasn’t his little lady friend but, before I could finish my sentence Cason had already thrown the first ball at the stack of six milk bottles and knocked down three of them.

“See Jessa,” Cason said, turning to me with an overconfident smile on his face, “This ball goes right through the middle of the three bottles left and I win.”

“Whatever you say.” I replied, grabbing another deep friend strawberry from the container I was now obligated to hold and plopping it into my mouth.

As Cason tossed his second ball at the milk bottles it hit the bottom of the top bottle, which should have knocked down all three bottles. Instead, only the top bottle fell down completely while the other two stood standing after wobbling only slightly to the side.

“Sorry man,” the worker said, not looking sorry at all. “You only got four out of six bottles down.” he continued, stating the obvious as he bent down to pick up the milk bottles and balls.

Cason shook his head in disbelief before getting a determined look on his face. “Nah man, let me go again.”

Sighing, I stood to the side munching on the deep fried and fruity goodness as Cason tried time and time again to hit down all six milk bottles. As a good friend, I did cheer him on when he was close to knocking them down however, wasn’t really surprised when at least one of the bottles stood straight up at the end of every round

After a good twenty tries at this milk bottle game I was starting to get bored of him losing over and over again. “Cason, you don’t have anything to prove to anybody so why are you still trying?”

"You’re ladies right man, why don’t you try another stall since you aren’t having any luck here.” the worker interjected, looking at his pitifully as he failed yet another time to knock down all six bottles.

“No,” Cason said stubbornly, motioning for the worker to set up the stack again. “I’m going to get all these milk bottle down even if it kills me.”

Sighing, I leant back against the side of the stall and watched as he tossed his first ball with utter determination and, shockingly, it hit down five of the milk bottles in the stall.

Shocked at his first throw, I let out an embarrassing cheer.

When I looked to see Cason glancing at me with both shock and amusement, I smiled sheepishly and motioned from him to continue. “Go on, win your prize.”

Shaking his head in amusement, he turned and looked determinedly at the final milk bottle before tossing a ball at it. Surprisingly, his aim was slightly off on his throw and it whizzed right passed the bottle, only ticking the side of it. When the bottle started to spin however, from the speed of the ball and the nick combined, both Cason and I held our breaths as it continued to spin around and around until it finally fell off the stand – winning the game.

“Well,” the worker said breathlessly, “That’s a surprise but, a deal is a deal so just choose any prize you want.”

When my gaze fell on the prizes for the first time I saw a bunch of cute stuffed animals hanging on racks and a couple of funny masks for guys. I saw a scary mask that I thought for sure Cason would pick but, when he pointed to a pale purple elephant I was shocked.

As the worker unhooked the stuffed elephant and handed it to Cason, he smiled at us before getting to work on cleaning up the stall once again. 

I turned towards Cason, who was holding the elephant out towards me. “For you.” he said, lifting the side of his mouth up in a shy smile.

Flicking my gaze between the elephant and Cason, I hesitantly reached out and hugged the cute elephant to my chest as Cason stole the strawberries and dropped one into his mouth.

“Thanks.” I muttered shyly, smiling up at him over the head of the stuffed animal.

He smiled at me in acknowledgement before nodding towards the rest of the fair games that we had yet to check out. Following him with my new friend tucked under my arm, I saw as he pointed out a couple of games that we both could try.

As the night went on, we hopped on several rides together, took turns trying different competitions and games and, ate a couple of sweets as we searched the fair for the best places to spend our time. We had met up with Evan and Olivia a few times to go on some rides together but, other than that we were pretty much by ourselves as the sun set and the stars appeared alongside the moon.

It was now a quarter to twelve and we had just ridden the one rollercoaster I had been trying to avoid all night and, it hadn’t gone very well as I know felt like I was about to be sick.

“That was horrible.” I groaned shakily, walking away from the ride with jelly legs as Cason had his arm wrapped around my waist to steady me.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, although I glared at him when I heard amusement seeping into his voice. Coughing quickly as his expression grew to a solemn one; he walked us towards a bench a couple of feet away. “Sit down and I’ll be right back.”

Obeying his instructions, I relaxed back onto the bench as my stomach started to settle and Cason jogged out of sight for a couple of minutes before returning with his hands behind his back.

“Where’d you go?” I asked, sitting up a little straighter as I looked at him suspiciously.

Without replying, he pulled his hands out from behind his back to reveal a freshly made cotton candy. The sticky and delicious pink fluff was calling out to me as I reached out and took it from his hands with a grateful smile.

“Thanks.”

Instead of replying with the traditional ‘you’re welcome’, he just shrugged his shoulders indifferently and offered me a soft smile. “I thought you’d want something sweet to settle your stomach while we rode the Ferris wheel.”

“The Ferris wheel?” I repeated questioningly, standing up as he led the way.

“Yea, I know I kind of forced you onto the rollercoaster so I thought a slow ride where you could see the whole park lit up would make you feel better.” he explained. “What do you say?”

“Definitely.” I said, smiling as I took a bite of my cotton candy and walked along with him until we reached the ride.

By the time we had reached the Ferris wheel and reached the front of the line ten minutes later my cotton candy was completely gone and I was actually excited to ride it as we were shuttled through the entrance gate.

As a girl and her mother stepped out of one of the lit of carriages, the worker instructed Cason and I to step in and we did, sitting across from each other on the benches so we were face to face.

A couple more people were issued on below us as our carriage lifted up into the sky, giving us a great view of all of the events going on below. This was probably the perfect time to ride the Ferris wheel as the music was playing softly while the fair lights shone bright and everyone was getting ready for midnight to hit with sparklers and glow sticks below.

The Ferris wheel suddenly started turning full circle as all the carts filled up and we rose high up into the sky before returning to the bottom and back up again.

“TEN! NINE! EIGHT!”

Scrunching up my eyebrows, I looked at Cason quickly asking him what was going on. “They’re counting down the seconds until midnight!” he said, raising his voice so I would hear him over the people below us.

“FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!”

Reaching the top of the Ferris wheel once again as midnight struck, the fireworks started to light up the sky. I didn’t expect the fireworks to burst up so suddenly so, naturally I jumped up in shock.

What I also didn’t expect was my frightened jump to rock our carriage so that I would fall right out of my seat and right into Cason, who reached his arms out to catch me.

Waiting until our carriage stopped rocking, I looked up at Cason and smiled softly. “Thanks.” I muttered embarrassedly as a blush painted its way onto my cheeks.

A few seconds had passed and Cason hadn’t let me go yet, instead opting to stay frozen in place. When I looked into his eyes I saw an unreadable emotion flash in them but, I didn’t even have a second to figure out what it meant because, before I could blink, Cason was moving his face closer to me and planting his lips on mine. 

My eyes closed automatically at the contact as I felt Cason’s lips moving softly and slowly on top of mine. I felt my cheeks heat up even more as my body felt like it was one giant firework that had just been sent into the sky as the finale.

Sparks were going off everywhere and, I wasn’t talking about the fireworks in the distance.

Before I really had a chance to respond or comprehend what was even happening, I felt Cason pull back and the ride come to a stop at the bottom. I was staring at Cason with wide eyes and he had an expression on his face as though he hadn’t believed what he had just done.

With the worker waiting for us to exit the cart and Cason staring at me strangely I did the only plausible thing that registered in my mind at the moment.

I jumped out of the carriage and ran.

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I know, I know! You guys hate me for how this ended but, AT LEAST YOU GUYS GOT THE KISS! I also think that this chapter beat my record for longest chapter ever… even longer than the Christmas chapter!

In other news, this book as reached 50,000 total votes and I couldn’t have been happier when I saw that! It’s totally amazing that you guys are so supportive with my writing and I’m glad that you guys feel every chapter deserves a click of the vote button

So, I was thinking that if you guys could raise the vote count of this story to 55,000-60,000 in support of this all-important chapter and my journey to the Watty Awards that I will try very hard with my busy schedule this weekend to upload by the end of the weekend! All it takes is a fast click on the vote button and maybe a quick trip back to vote on chapters you may have forgotten

Anyways, remember to comment below on what you think about that surprise ending and head to my profile page and fan me :)