He finally had them. He, Jack Overland Frost, after months of begging and multiple job-taking had FINALLY got ahold of tickets to the amusement park near Burgess. Needless to say, he was overjoyed and ecstatic at being able to witness what everybody at his school had said about the amusement park. He would get to taste the freshly popped popcorn, ride the 'Twister', and feel the exuding aura of adrenaline that everybody said was contagious. The only problem was, the cheapest package that he could buy was the two for one deal and even though he would have loved to take his beloved sister, she had the flu going on. So, that left him with quite the predicament. He had to choose somone to give the extra ticket to, but he wasn't the most popular person in the school and he didn't have any friends that hadn't already experienced the amusement park. He wanted to go to the park with someone who was new at it too, someone who could enjoy everything with him and not spoil any surprises.

"Hey, Danielle, what's up with that mop on your head? Mommy finally find a wig for you?" A snotty voice had said loudly, making him stop on his way to Algebra, his most hated class in the history of high school classes. He absolutely hated bullying, and he wouldn't tolerate seeing the poor girl who stood cowering in a corner. The school's bullies, Bertha and Kat, stood in front of her, calling her several names and commenting on her wardobe. His grip on his backpack tightnened and he stepped forward, pushing the two girls aside and holding his hand out to Danielle.

"Hey, cut it out. She doesn't like it." He snapped, glaring over his shoulder at the two girls.
"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?"
One of them replied in a haughty tone.

Jack gave them a menacing look, and started rolling up the sleeves of his frayed blue hoodie.

"Just so you know..." he said in a nonchalant voice, "I'm not afraid of hitting girls."
And gave the pair a toothy grin.
But his eyes told them he was anything but happy.

The two girls turned to each other, each seeing looks of panic on the other's faces.

There was a mutual and silent understanding.

And they ran.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. They fell for the bluff.

He turned and smiled reassuringly at Dani.

"It's fine. Come on, I'll take you to class." Jack told the strawberry blonde girl, taking hold of her hand and leading her out of the crowd that had gathered around the show. He never noticed the growing blush on the poor girls face, as he was too busy making his way through the crowded hallways. When they finally reached a semi-empty alcove in the school, Jack stopped and sat down, grinning up at Danielle. He casually leaned back, gesturing for her to take a seat beside him.

"You alright? That doesn't happen often, does it? I really hate it when people are mean to each other, it's just so uncalled for." Jack said, blowing his brown bangs out of the way of his eyes. He really should get a haircut sometime. . .

"I. . . I'm alright. Thanks for, um, stopping them. . . It doesn't happen most times, and if it does, it's not as bad as that time. . ." Danielle's quiet voice made him stop smiling. He looked at her seriously, before reaching into his bag and taking out his extra ticket.

"Here. I bought these a few days ago. I'm going there myself soon, so maybe you'd like to come along?" Jack said abruptly, placing the ticket in her hands. Danielle stared down at the small piece of paper, her face blooming in red once again.

"I. . . Nobody has ever invited me to go. . . I'd love to. . . When?" Danielle asked, looking at the handsome boy who sat beside her. It was kind of embarassing that after all those years of watching him joke around with his group of friends, that now of all times, he had to notice her while she was at her weakest point. And to top it off, he had given her a ticket to the amusement park out of what she seemed must be pity.

"June 23. Do you think you can make it?" Jack told her, standing up and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. She could probably never tell him, but the way his hair fell just slightly over his eyes made her insides feel all warm and fuzzy, like someone stuffed them with cotton balls. Giving him a mute nod, Jack grinned down at her, making the fuzzy feeling increase tenfold. After escorting her to Spanish class, Jack, who was taught to be a gentleman at all times, bowed down in front of her and kissed her hand softly, looking up at her as he did so. He gave her a teasing wink, waved and walked off, disappearing in the midst of all the crowded bodies, leaving her standing there completely shocked and with a face as red as a tomato.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Dani, honey, your date is here!" Her mother called from downstairs, making her face flush, and turn redder than she had been all morning. It was finally the day of the trip to the amusement park. Her first trip to the amusement park ever, and it was with a boy! Life couldn't get any sweeter, could it? Or else she'd get diabetes, and that wouldn't be good. . . She bounded down the stairs with an obvious skip in her step, stopping breathlessly as she looked over at Jack and literally froze. Was looking good a crime? Because if it was, she hoped that Jack wouldn't get arrested because of it. He was standing there, in her house, in jeans and a blue hoodie that fit with his brown hair fantastically. She bit her lip nervously, giving him a shy smile. Jack grinned at her, bowing in front of her again.

"Hello, there. Ready to go?" He asked, straightnening up and waiting as she slipped on the pair of flats that were as comfortable as slippers. Dani nodded, waving to her mom, who was making broad gestures that most likely said either "You definetely hit the jackpot!" or "Wow, he's handsome!" or even both. That only made her blush harder, and she had to struggle to make sure she didn't trip over her feet. Boy, that would've been really embarassing. . .

"I hope you don't mind. It's my mom's car, and we've had it for years." Jack explained, gesturing to the old beat up Chevrolet C10. Danielle smiled and shook her head.

"No, it's fine. It looks like it has a lot of character to it. . ." She commented, smiling to herself as Jack opened the door for her and helped her up. He walked to his own side behind the wheel and buckled himself up. Suddenly, he reached over her, pulling down the seatbelt over her, looking at her surprised expression, he gave her an amused but reassuring smile.

"The seatbelt needs to be put in a certain way, don't worry." He said, twisting said seatbelt at a weird angle and inserting it into the slot, hearing it give a faint 'click'. Danielle relaxed and looked out the window awkwardly as he started the car and pulled out of the driveway, driving down the street and heading out to the edge of the small town. The amusement park was only a half hour away, and they filled it with comments about tastes in music, since they kept changing the channel and arguing over which band was more influential in today's music.

"I still think One Direction is influenced a lot by the Beetles." Jack huffed, pulling into the parks parking lot. Danielle grinned and shook her head.

"No way. Backstreet Boys influenced them way more." She told him, unclicking her seatbelt and opening the door, walking out to meet him in front of the car. She pulled out her ticket and they both walked to the ticket stands where they were supposed to hand in their tickets to get a stamp to get inside. After doing so, they walked inside and stood in awe as the huge rides whizzed about and terrified screams and ones of joy as well. Danielle let out a soft, "Wow. . .", walking with the boy beside her as they made their way to the nearest line up for a ride. They waited in line, for some unknown ride, which probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world. They stepped up to the person hosting the ride, who checked to make sure Danielle was tall enough, which she was. It was a good thing that the ride had only rows of two seats, so they could sit next to each other and each other only. They pulled the bars over their heads and it locked into place before them. The ride jolted to a start, and Danielle bit her lip in excitement as the ride escalated up, up, up. She glanced to the side to see Jack, who was grinning in joy, as suddenly. . . The ride dropped down full speed, making Danielle scream in shock, while Jack burst out laughing in glee. The ride twirled around and around, making Danielle dizzy and make her insides roll around inside her. She gripped the metal bars so tight, her knuckles turned white. She screamed some more, her hair flying all over the place. She gasped for breath as the ride slowed to a stop. She lifted the bar up and got out on shaky legs. Jack laughed and stood beside her, grinning down at her before pausing.

"Hey, you alright there?" He asked, not questioning her as she gripped his arm tightly. He led them both out of the ride and to a nearby bench. They both sat down, with Danielle leaning into him, and Jack rubbing her arm soothingly.

"Jeez, I'm sorry. We won't go on that ride again, I promise." Jack told her, while Danielle simply gave a soft moan of pain.

"Do you want me to get you some water?" He asked, rubbing her arm still. Danielle shook her head, telling him to give her a few more minutes. They sat in silence, with his arm wrapped around her awkwardly now. After a few minutes had passed, Jack and Dani stood up. She blushed and looked up at him, bitting her bottom lip again.

"We can try to do a couple more. . . Calmer rides this time, if that's okay." She suggested hesitantly. Jack nodded, grinning down at her.

"Yeah, sure. As long as you're having fun, Dani." He said, the nickname leaving his lips without thinking about it. They both looked at each other quickly, before looking away just as quick. Jack's face had a small hint of a blush, while Dani's was full on tomato-red. After a few more rides, and a load of games, Danielle and Jack were walking along the park with their hands intertwined. They laughed as they spotted a kid running in fear of one of the mascots of the amusement park, sharing another quick look at each other before looking away once again in embarassment. When the sun was starting to set, Jack suggested that they try going on the large ferris wheel located in the middle of the park. Danielle nodded eagerly and they set off, going in line. They blushed as they noticed the other couples in line, although Jack's was much, much more subtle. When they finally got on the ride, the wheel slowly lifted them up until they were halfway up and stopped.

"I. . . had a lot of fun today. Thanks for inviting me along. Maybe we could do this again sometime?" Danielle said softly, looking down at her hands. Jack smiled and wrapped his arm around her.

"Yeah, maybe we could. . . hang out and stuff." He said, all casual as Danielle leaned into his side. He blushed and looked down at her strawberry blonde head and smiled, mentally telling himself that he really needed to thank Bertha and Kat later for this. He hugged her to his side, looking up as fireworks started to go off in the distance. This was the begining of a really great summer, he just knew it.