Natalia couldn't care less about making herself pretty for Ethan. She wasn't one of those shallow girls who made themselves look totally fake for a guy. If Ethan wanted to hang out with her, then he wanted to hang out with the girl he had seen for three days. So she put on her usual hoodie and pulled the hood up. This was just who she was, and it was who Ethan liked. Not some fake girl with a tight shirt and skirt and a pound of makeup that made her look like a raccoon. No. This was her.
Her doorbell rang and she raced down the stairs to answer it. Once there, she placed her hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
"Hey," Ethan smiled.
Natalia smiled back and placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
They started walking down to the fairgrounds.
"So, how was your day?" Ethan asked, breaking the silence.
"Fine. How was yours?"
"Fine." Ethan's phone buzzed and he took it out of his pocket. "Just a message from Sarah." He quickly responded back and shoved his phone back in his pocket.
They made casual conversation before they finally made it to the fairgrounds. There weren't many people, and they saw with delight that all the lines were short. When they approached the ticket booth, Natalia pulled out some money, but Ethan stopped her.
"No, no, my treat!" he smiled.
"It's not a date," she said quietly.
"No, but it's called being a nerdy gentleman."
Natalia smiled brightly and allowed Ethan to pay for her ticket that allowed them both unlimited food and rides.
Ethan's phone buzzed again and she assumed it was Sarah. She didn't mind though. It wasn't like she and Ethan were dating. He could talk to whoever he wanted. This was just two friends hanging out.
The two of them went immediately to this huge drop tower that they had to crane their necks all the way back to see to the top.
"You don't get sick on these things, do you?" Natalia asked. "Because if you hurl all over me, I'll never forgive you."
Ethan laughed. "No, I love these kinds of things."
Natalia smiled and the two of them waited in the line.
After coming off the ride, Natalia couldn't stop laughing. "What kind of a scream was that?" she laughed at Ethan.
"You're one to talk! Yours kept fading in and out!"
"Well, you were squeaking!"
The pair laughed and went to get some cotton candy.
They did a few more rides and got some popcorn, a funnel cake, and some Dippin' Dots.
"Ethan, let's play some of the games."
"I don't know. I've never been good at those."
"No one is. Everyone knows they rig these things so they're impossible to win. It's just fun to try."
"Fine."
Natalia smiled and pulled him over to the booth where they had to knock over a stack of bottles. She paid for one game that gave her three chances to knock down the bottles. She managed to successfully knock over three of the six, but couldn't knock down all of them.
"Alright, my turn," Ethan said. He paid for his game and on the first try, knocked down all six.
Natalia's mouth dropped. "I thought you said you weren't good at these."
Ethan gave a shy smile. "I'm not. I just imagined it like Level 72 of Galactitac last night and just went for it."
"I've gotta remember that technique!"
The man in the booth handed Ethan a small stuffed animal of a monkey.
"For you," Ethan said as he handed her his prize.
"Why thank you!"
The fair started packing up, so Ethan and Natalia decided to head home. Once on Natalia's porch, she said to him, "I had a really good time tonight."
"Yeah, me too."
"Thanks for inviting me."
"No prob."
Ethan's phone buzzed for the thousandth time that night.
Natalia let out a small chuckle. "Ethan," she said softly. He looked up at her. "Why don't you just tell her?"
"What?" he asked, confused.
"That girl, Sarah. You've been texting her all night and you have quite the reputation at school for having a huge crush on her."
"Uh…" Ethan stuttered as his cheeks turned a light shade of red. Did everyone really know that he liked Sarah? Did she know?
"Just tell her how you feel. Because honestly, I think she likes you too."
Ethan gave a lopsided smile. "Really?"
"Yeah, I can see it."
Was that true? Did Sarah Fox, the girl of his dreams, really like him back?
