Carnivals Heal Heartbreak

The day when I realized I would probably never see Fabian again.. It was the most dreadful day of my life. How could I ever be happy again, when I knew I would never again lay eyes on the guy of my dreams?

Eventually, after a long few weeks of crying and wondering how I could go on, I got over it. I needed to move on with my life. And a few friends and one guy later, my life was completely changed.


"Nina, come on! You need to get up and do something!" Janel, my best friend in America said, pulling at my arm to get me off of my bed. Her green eyes sparkled and her red hair cascaded over her shoulders.

"I don't want to." I grumbled, tears streaming down my face as I put my pillow over my head.

"I understand that you really liked this guy, but that doesn't mean you won't find another!"

I shot up from the bed. "That's the thing, Janel. I don't want another guy. I just want to be happy again."

Janel gave me a sad smile. "I know. Please, just come with me to the carnival that's in town. It'll only be here for so long, you know."

"Fine." I sighed as Janel squealed. "But that doesn't mean I'll enjoy it."

"You say that now, but wait until we get there. You'll be so happy."

"Who all's coming?"

"Camille, Chad, Jennifer, Danielle, Maia, and..." Janel's smile faded, and I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say next. "Brady."

I groaned. "Never mind. I'm not going."

Brady was my ex boyfriend. Not only was he a complete jerk that broke my heart, but he was dating Danielle now, the definition of perfection. Although I was friends with Danielle, I couldn't help but be jealous of her perfect blonde hair and blue eyes. Her figure was completely stunning, as well.

"Please, Nina? We can stay away from Danielle and Brady, if that's what it takes to get you out of your bed."

"I guess." I got back into my bed. "But I'm not going anywhere near that guy.


The next day, I got dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a flow-y top with flowers on it. I was not looking forward to today. Not if Brady was going to be a part of it.

But Janel was right: Sitting around wasn't the answer. I needed to get up and help myself get over Fabian.

Someone honked the horn of their car outside. Janel and the others must have been there. She was picking everyone up in her mom's car, which could up to seven people. Luckily, Danielle and Brady were driving separately.

When I plopped down in the front seat next to Janel, I could see the others from her mirror.

I turned and looked at all the familiar faces, even though it felt like I hadn't laid eyes on them in years.

Camille, who had wavy brunette hair and brow eyes, sat on the end next to her boyfriend, Chad, who was slightly chubby with black hair and blue eyes, because she was claustrophobic. Her braces, which she'd had on for at least three years, had pink bands around them this time. Jennifer, who had jet-black and a purple-ish eye color, sat in the far back next to her best friend of all time, Maia, whose light brown hair was pin-straight that day. Her brown eyes gleamed from behind her wire-rimmed glasses. We were certainly a rag-tag group of friends. They waved. I waved back.

"Long time no see, huh?" Maia said, giving a slightly upset smile.

"Yeah." I replied. "I missed you guys."

"We missed you, too." Camille quickly piped up, not wanting to be the one that didn't get a word in.

"It's true." Chad and Janel both pointed out at the same time.

"Jinx!" Janel shouted, triumphant.

Jennifer was the only one who didn't say anything. I wondered if she was still having problems with depression and cutting.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Well, let's get this party started!" Janel started the car and gave me a look that said, You'd better cheer up. Don't ruin this for all of us.


When we got to the carnival, Danielle and Brady were waiting for us by the gate. My stomach churned. Why?

We ran up to them, although I lingered behind the rest. Danielle gave a flashy pretty-girl smile. Brady flipped his blonde hair Bieber style.

Although I tried to avoid her gaze, Danielle quickly noticed me at the back of the crowd. Her mouth widened as she let out a loud gasp.

"Nina!" She ran over to me and gave me a tight hug.

"Hey." I replied, hugging back.

"It's so great to see you again!" Danielle squealed. "This is going to be so great! I thought I was never going to see you again!"

I winced. I would rather never see Danielle again than never see Fabian again.

Brady's brown eyes seemed to dim. "What is she doing here?" He questioned. "I thought you said she wasn't coming."

Brady had a disappointed scowl on his face. It wasn't like I was happy to see him, either, but at least I wasn't rude about it.

Danielle made a disgusted face and walked next to him, whispering something in his ear.

"It's nice to see you, too." I muttered.

"She wasn't going to. She changed her mind." Janel snapped.

We walked inside and Danielle moved next to me. "I'm sorry about him." She twisted her face so you could tell she was angry at him. "I totally get it if you don't want to go anywhere with him, and I'm cool with it. We can just hang out another time."

"Thanks." I whispered.

Danielle, Brady, Camille, and Chad all went one way, while Janel, Jennifer, Maia, and I all went the other.

Danielle smiled and Camille waved. I waved back.

"Meet us back here at eleven!" Janel shouted.

At least I wouldn't have to spend the whole day with Brady.


"That was so fun!" Maia cried giddily, holding onto Jennifer, who was actually smiling for once.

"I have to admit, Janel, you were right. It was a great idea to come here." I said appreciatively.

"You're welcome." She blew a kiss and we all laughed, even Jennifer. We started walking towards the Ferris wheel.

Jennifer whispered something to Maia, and I turned.

While I wasn't looking, I accidentally stepped in some pop that was spilled from a cup someone had dropped. I slipped on ice that had been inside, falling backwards. I felt myself start to fall to the ground.

Halfway there, I felt an arm on my back, wrapping around so that the hand was slightly touching my hip. I looked up and saw a guy with light brown hair, caring brown eyes, and a perfect smile.

"Hey, there." He said, helping me to my feet.

"Hi." I replied, taking his hand.

"Now that was the look." Janel whispered to Maia.

"I'm Christian."

"Nina."

All Christian did was smile, probably not knowing what to say.

"Thanks. For saving me from a concussion." I laughed.

"No problem." We just stood and stared at each other for a while. I giggled nervously. "I guess I'll see you around." Christian waved and I turned back to my friends, who all have on excited grins.

"Someone's got a new crush." Maia cooed. Jennifer nodded.

"Shut up." I laughed.

And then we walked right up to the next ride.


At exactly eleven o'clock, we met with the two couples, who were each holding hands.

"Someone's happy." Danielle said, dropping Brady's hand and walking over to me. "Spill."

I opened my mouth to reject, but Jennifer answered instead.

"She found a new guy." I wasn't sure if she was happy for me or completely neutral about it.

"Oh, that's great!" Danielle grabbed my hands and Brady glared. "You'll have to tell me all about him!"

I smiled. "Sure."

"Anyone up for Sweet Frogs?" Janel piped up, and everyone either nodded or cheered.

We got into our cars and drove into the night.


"Isn't this great, Nina?" Janel cried, spooning the frozen yogurt into her mouth.

"Yeah. Thanks for making me come." I replied, punching her playfully in the arm. She smiled.

"Guys!" Camille came over and hugged us. "Chad and I are going to go to Disney together!"

"That's great!" Janel squeezed tight.

I looked up just as someone walked throught the door. I squinted. The figure had brown eyes and hair, and a huge smile.

No way.

I did a double check, and Janel noticed, too.

Christian.

"Go." Janel whispered, smiling.

I got up to throw my container away in the garbage can near Christian. He noticed me right away, tapping my shoulder. I whipped around, a large grin across my face.

"Fancy seeing you here." Christian said.

"Why? Were you following me?" I joked.

"No, just making sure you didn't slip on anything else." He laughed. Heat rose to my cheeks, but I still giggled.

"Um..." I started uncertainly. "You should call me sometime." I scribbled my number onto a small piece of paper and handed it to Christian, who seemed to be blushing.

"Sure." He took the paper eagerly, his smile getting broader. "You know, that carnival is still going to be in town tomorrow. if you wouldn't mind going with me."

"That'd be great." I replied a little too quickly. "Just tell me when."

Christian smiled and waved, heading towards his friends. I waved back.

This was going to be amazing.


The next morning, I woke up to a text from Christian.

I can pick you up if you want, He said.

Thanks, I replied, smiling to myself.

Not much longer later, the doorbell rang. I hopped up eagerly and checked myself in the mirror. Was he even interested, or was I just imagining things? I tried to push all the thoughts out of my mind as I opened the door and Christian's smiling face greeted me.

"Hey." I whispered.

"Hi." Christian replied and took my hand.

Ok, maybe I wasn't imagining things.


After a few rides, we walked hand in hand next to the Ferris wheel.

"Why don't we go on it?" Christian asked. "It is where we met."

I smiled. "Sure."

When the long wait in line was over, we had gotten into a light blue cart. The wheel went around a few times, then abruptly stopped while we were at the top.

"Crap." I whispered, looking down.

"Looks like we'll be stuck here for a while." Christian replied.

I looked down again, a sick feeling sinking inside me. "I'm afraid of heights." I shivered. "What if we fall? What if they can't fix it? Are we going to be stuck up here?"

"Hey, hey. Calm down." Christian turned my face towards his. "It's ok. You're going to be fine." He hesitantly leaned in, tilting his face, and then kissed me. I kissed back, half scared, half relieved.

"What was that for?" I asked when he pulled away.

"You're amazing." He grabbed my hand as the wheel started again. "See? You're fine."

"Thank you." I kissed Christian's cheek. "For an amazing night."


Christian and I met every day, and we're still together now. Things may have had a rocky start, but now they're perfect.

Fabian and I may not have had a happy ending, but Christian and I definitely had a happily ever after.