In truth, Morishige Sakutaro would've rather been at home, finishing a project that was due come Monday. However, he didn't mind too much in this case – he wasn't much of a carnival-goer, but he knew Mayu Suzumoto, his dearest and closest friend, was. For her, he was willing to attend a rap concert surrounded by sweaty miscreants and horrible lyrics, so this wasn't so bad.

The only thing Morshige worried about, however, was the fact that she kept eyeing the elephantine Ferris wheel that seemed to loom over them wherever they went. She would easily be distracted by sights and games, but her mind always seemed to be set back on that intimidating ride. And Morishige did not like that.

However, luckily for him, it was nearing the end of their trip. On a Sunday night, Morishige wanted to be home before midnight, and it was nearing such time at around eleven-thirty. They would need to leave soon in order to meet his self-instructed curfew, and that meant no Ferris wheel for Mayu. Though he always wanted to give her everything she wanted, that was one thing he refused to do to please her.

However, right before he opened his mouth to announce the time, she tugged on his sleeve. "Let's go on the Ferris wheel, Shige-nii!" she said, and the blood drained from his face.

"It's almost time to go, Mayu," Morishige replied, his voice as calm and collected as he usually is, but his insides shuddered. "It's eleven-"

"Oh, we have time for one ride! It's not that slow. Come on!" Mayu chimed, dragging him by the arm to the unfortunately short line of people. He couldn't say no, not to Mayu. She was transferring schools next week – he wanted to make her as happy as she could be before their relationship drifts apart. He couldn't say no, but that didn't mean his heart didn't lurch any less.

Much to his luck, the Ferris wheel dropped off the last couple in the last car just for them. Only three others were in line ahead of them, and the wheel swallowed them whole in seconds. It lowered its next car, taunting the two to approach it and seek their fate. Morishige gulped before being dragged in by Mayu, his insides turning and burning. They sat across from each other, Mayu's face bright and her smile radiant. Her joy brought him some comfort…

Only some, however, until the car jerked and started to rise. He gripped onto his seat, his knuckles white. His teeth were clenched, pressing against each other with such force that his head began to ache. He tried his hardest to keep his eyes away from the window and towards Mayu and her sweet, perfect face…

But then his eyes glanced over at the window. They were already so high; the people – no, the buildings – looked like specks of dirt on the glass. He wanted to puke.

"Shige-nii?" he heard Mayu's voice, and his eyes flickered back to her. Her bright expression had vanished, leaving one filled with worry, a frown and furrowed brows. "Are you okay? You're sweating…"

He gulped once again. "I'm fine, Mayu, don't w-worry," he tried to say with his usual cool composure, but a fearful stutter escaped his lips. The last thing he wanted was for Mayu to worry about him… The last thing he wanted was for Mayu to regret doing this.

She tilted her head. "Are you…scared?" Her voice was quiet, tiny, like a little mouse. Morishige tried to relax his hands, but every glance he made outside made them grip to his seat harder. You're fine, he tried to console himself. You're fine, don't make Mayu worry…

All of a sudden, she stood up.

"M-Mayu!" he nearly screamed. "Sit back down, that's dangerous-!"

But she ignored him, strolling over to his side of the car and seating herself besides him. He was worried that their combined weight would cause the car to tilt dramatically, but it only slightly did so. Then, she grabbed one of his trembling hands and held it between hers, giving it a slight back with a beaming smile. Any blood that drained from his face had rushed back out of embarrassment.

"It's okay to be scared, Shige-nii!" she crooned, patting his hand. Her touch sent a sense of relief rushing through him, and it was much easier to keep his sights off of the window. "But you should've told me you were scared of heights before I dragged you on here."

"I-I'm not scared of heights…" Morishige lied, making Mayu pout at him. He felt cold sweat drip from his forehead as he said, "I-I didn't want to tell you no… You seemed so excited, and-"

"And that's no excuse to disregard your own feelings, Shige-nii!" she scolded, tapping his nose with her finger. "I'm only happy when Shige-nii's happy, alright? You can try your hardest and your hardest to make me happy, but at the end of the day, if Shige-nii's not happy, I won't be!"

Morishige blinked a few times, not exactly understanding what she meant. It didn't take him long to realize that she was just like him – his happiness was determined by hers, that's why he was so willing to do things he normally wouldn't. It was the same for Mayu? He wondered what things she did with him she didn't exactly care to do but only did so for the sake of him. Did that mean that Mayu felt the same as him…?

Before he could respond, Mayu pointed towards the window. "Look! The skylights and the city, isn't it beautiful?"

He turned his head to see a picturesque scene – the outlines of the city illuminated by the lights that flowed from the buildings. The sky was dark, and the stars danced above the city, almost as if they were enjoying their time out at night as well as some night-goers did. Their lights and the artificial lights from the city collided, creating a haze of cool colors. It was indeed beautiful – every ounce of fear that welled within him dissipated at the sight. Morishige almost wanted to take a picture of it on his phone, it was so pretty.

Almost. He has seen prettier.

He looked back at Mayu, whose eyes sparkled from the lights of the view. She was still gripping onto his hand with a radiant smile on her face.

Much prettier.