Cody woke up early Saturday morning, as was the usual for him. He was always the first one up in his house, though it wasn't like he had much competition. Cody's baby brother slept all day and all night and his little brother Toby, who was thirteen, also slept all afternoon on the weekends. The only member of their family left was his father, who worked the graveyard shift at security officer job, so that he could take care of baby Joey during the day, while Cody and Toby were at school. After Cody and Toby got home from school they took care of the baby while their father would sleep till eight PM which is when Cody would wake him up so he could go to work. He would work till he got home at seven in the morning then go back to sleep till it was time for Cody and Toby to go to school or in the special case of weekends, till they had something else they needed to do. Sadly, Cody's mother had died of a heart problem only a couple weeks after Joey was born, leaving their whole family in turmoil. It had been a problem for her for years, so it was more or less prepared for, but it still hurt nonetheless. That had been nearly eight months ago now, and finally they seemed to have adjusted, though it was still a sensitive subject for a lot of reasons. Cody had grown up a lot in these last few months, gaining a lot more independence and responsibility than he would like to have. But nevertheless, that was how it was and he wouldn't be able to do anything to change it, no matter how much he wanted to.

Cody made his way out of his bedroom and went down the hall towards the kitchen to make breakfast for the family. It was seven thirty, so no one would be up for hours so really it was just breakfast for himself and food for his family later. He quietly checked on his baby brother on his way down the hall, but he was still sleeping, so he continued on his way. Once in the kitchen, he decided to make bacon and eggs, the staple of the Anderson family, and got the necessary ingredients. Twenty minutes later he had enough food to feed three people, though at the current moment he only needed enough for one. He took his serving and placed the rest in the refrigerator. His brother and dad knew the drill and would be able to eat later. He took his food into his room and sat it down at his work table (where he took on miscellaneous tech related projects), making a place for it around all the gears and gadgets that made the place feel like home.

He powered up his laptop and went to . Scrolling through the various TV shows he was watching, none of them felt right at the moment. Breaking Bad? It's too early for all that right now. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? No. Even though he promised Zeke he would watch it, he just couldn't bring himself to start the thing. Scrubs? Yeah, that one sounded good right now. Nothing better than a good comedy in the morning.

About halfway through an episode of Zack Braff shenanigans he pulled out his phone to see the time. Though he could have checked on his laptop, it was just a force of habit. It revealed that it was eight o'clock precisely, and also showed Cody that he had three new messages from two different people. The first one was from Noah which simply read, "Gwen, Trent, Owen, Izzy, Harold, and I going to the fair. You in?"

Cody responded in the affirmative and moved on to his next to messages which were from the same person- Bridgette. Great, that was just what he needed. For the past couple of days, since Bridgette gave him her number on Wednesday, she had texted Cody a few times. Initially, Cody was pleased by this, but after a while he started to get worried that Bridgette had the wrong idea about their friendship. He didn't want to give Geoff any misgivings about him, and certainly didn't want Bridgette to think that he was into her. Despite this, Cody couldn't help himself from getting into long, convoluted conversations with the girl. She was unlike any girl he had ever met and most remarkably, she liked talking to Cody. This alone was enough to get Cody to talk to any girl, but Bridgette's conversations were so much interesting than what he was used to. So far they had talked about surfing, history homework, the benefits of getting hit in the head by a dodgeball, a list of some of their favorite things, Cody's baby brother Joey, and their career goals. Clearly, Cody could talk about pretty much anything with this girl and it would undoubtedly turn into a fascinating conversation. Geoff was a lucky guy.

Cody, still having yet to check what those messages form Bridgette said, got a new message from Noah which told him that he was coming by to pick him up at eight thirty. Having roughly thirty minutes till the designated time, Cody paused the episode he was only half watching and left to go take a shower. He was ready with five minutes to spare so he went into his younger brother's room and punched him awake, telling him that he was in charge of Joey. Toby grumbled and turned over, but he seemed to understand what Cody told him. Satisfied, Cody grabbed his phone and waited outside for Noah. Once outside, he turned on his phone again while sitting on a rock in his front yard. The first thing to pop up was the messages from Bridgette, but before he got a chance to read it Noah's car appeared in front of his house.

He came when he said he would with Harold already in the back seat, so together the trio drove off to the fairgrounds where the fair was located. The fairgrounds were an interesting part of town. It wasn't a bad area of town per say, but it definitely wasn't in the optimum place for a pale, short, geeky, white kid from the suburbs, but as long as Cody was with his friends he would probably be alright. On the ride over, the three occupants of Noah's car got into a heated argument over what was the best gaming console. In fact, it was such a hotly debated topic, it lasted the whole car ride over, into and through the parking lot, and to the ticket office where they were forced to table the discussion to purchase their tickets (though Harold tried to settle it by asking the admissions attendant before Cody and Noah stopped him from further holding up the line).

Immediately after entering the park they found Gwen and Trent sitting on a nearby bench. They approached the couple, who greeted them coolly. This was the norm for Trent though because Cody didn't think he had ever had an awkward moment in his life. He was the embodiment of coolness. There really was no other way to describe it. Cody had known Trent for a long time, but for a long time he had never spoke to the guy. But since he and Gwen had gotten together Cody and Trent had become good friends. It was actually Cody who helped Trent know that Gwen liked him, though Gwen didn't know that till after the fact.

"Owen and Izzy here yet?" Noah asked breaking Cody's train of thought.

"Nah, haven't seen them yet." Trent said smiling.

"Well if we're going to be sitting here waiting would you mind settling an argument for us?" Harold started. Cody and Noah groaned, knowing where this discussion was headed, but nevertheless Harold asked the question, "What is the best gaming system? The Super Nintendo, the Gamecube, or the PS4?"

Gwen waved off the question, claiming she knew nothing about gaming. Cody knew this wasn't entirely true because he was one of the few people to know that Gwen actually had a Gameboy Color under her pillow from when she was little. He decided not to say anything about it though, because then he might miss out on the real juicy secrets. Plus, she obviously didn't want it to be said for some reason, though Cody couldn't possibly imagine why. The Gameboy Color was awesome! Nevertheless, Cody wasn't one for throwing his friends under the bus.

Trent on the other hand seemed to seriously contemplate the question. Finally he decided on his answer, "I gotta say none of the above. I choose the original Nintendo. Just like music, the older the music the better. But if I have to choose between those three… I think the PS4. You can't play Guitar Hero on the SNES or Gamecube."

Noah and Cody groaned again, accepting their defeat, while Harold, who had won the argument, couldn't take his victory.

Instead he felt the need to argue with Trent to prove that the Nintendo was far less superior, "What?! The Playstation 4 has far superior graphics and the quality of games are much better developed. Guitar Hero can't be your only reason for picking the PS4!"

"Dude it's not all about that though, it's about seeing where games get their roots from. The nostalgia."

Harold continued to argue with Trent until finally Trent said, "Fine Harold you've convinced me. I now firmly believe that the Gamecube is better than the PS4."

"What?! Gosh! That's not what I meant!"

"Sorry Harold, my mind is decided all thanks to you." Trent continued to antagonize.

Suddenly, Gwen felt like chiming in, "Harold, thank you. Your superior logic has convinced me as well."

Even Noah, who was originally advocating for the Super Nintendo switched sides just to annoy Harold, "Dude even I'm switching sides on this one. Viva la Gamecube."

Cody, feeling triumphant, though it was only a pseudo-victory, raised his hands up in celebration, "Thank you Sir Harold for proving my point. Never argue with the Codemeister!"

Gwen groaned. She always hated that nickname that Cody had given himself, "Nevermind, I'm switching again to team Noah and whatever his console was."

Everyone laughed, and within a couple minutes, Owen and Izzy had each arrived, though at separate times. It was well known by everyone at school that the two were a couple, but they didn't want anyone to treat them like they were, so whenever they came places, they would drive separate cars. They were so extreme in acting like they weren't a couple that sometimes Cody wasn't sure if he'd ever know when, or if, they broke up.

Owen had arrived first, so when Izzy appeared he greeted her with a curtsey. Not a wave like a normal person, or even a bow like a man would do from whatever chivalrous period of history he was attempting to act out, a woman's curtsey. Owen smiled at her and said, "Why Izzy! You look stunning. Did you just get here?"

"Why yes I did Owen. How nice of you to ask."

Noah snorted, "The art of subtlety is lost on you two. This façade is worse than when Cody tried to be a 'lady's man'."

Everyone laughed, even Cody. Those days in Cody's life were long gone and though he was embarrassed by his behavior back then, he did not regret it at all. After a few minutes of discussion the group of seven decided that they would hit up the scariest attraction in the park- The Fright Walk. There wasn't much to the place other than the fact it was a misty hall of mirrors with the occasional pop-up figure trying to scare you, coupled with a scary ambiance soundtrack playing in the background.

Only three could go in at a time so they decided that the first group would consist of Harold, Cody, and Noah, followed by Gwen and Trent and finally Owen and Izzy. Cody and his pals began their trek through The Fright Walk with relative ease. It was all going rather smoothly till the first surprise popped up ten feet in when a gargoyle lit up its eyes and outstretched its arms. Cody jumped but was not too terrified of the thing. The same could not be said for Harold who promptly pushed Cody to the ground and screamed a girlish scream. Since they were only ten feet away from the entrance, Cody was certain his friends on the outside had heard that, he just hoped they recognized it was Harold, not him, who had uttered such a noise. When he listened, he swore he could hear laughter, but he couldn't be certain. The rest of the maze was actually quite scary, though he could never appreciate the special effects to their fullest because Harold kept pushing his back or jabbing his spleen every two seconds. By the time they emerged the other side Cody felt he had gotten his money's worth. Gwen and Trent emerged next, one chuckling and the other looking totally unamused.

Gwen sat down on a bench next to where Cody was standing, put her elbows on her knees, held up her head with her hands, and scowled. Finally she said, "What a rip…"

Trent continued chuckling, "Aw c'mon Gwen. It was decent."

As if on cue Owen came screaming out of the exit followed closely by Izzy who was skipping and yelling enthusiastically. Owen, who was panting, managed to spurt out, "That… was… terrifying…"

Izzy skipped up to the group and jumped onto Owen's back, which he probably did not appreciate given his current condition of physical exhaustion, though he didn't complain, "Big O ran into three mirrors on his way out!"

"The ghosts weren't my real enemy. I was," Owen stated trying to pass this off as sage wisdom.

Everyone burst out laughing, except Owen who had apparently been serious.

The group decided to roam the park looking for more booths, games, and rides and stopping at whatever suited their fancy. Some of the highlights included Noah throwing up at the Spin Wheel, Izzy trying to throw a coup on the pirate ship that flips people upside down, and Cody getting stuck at the top of the Spider's net (which is a giant vertical tower where each floor is made of thick elastic bands where contestants race to the top).

It was around noon when they decided to stop for pizza, Cody's favorite food. Noah, Owen, Harold, and Izzy went to order the food while Trent, Cody, and Gwen reserved a table big enough for all seven of them. After taking their seats Gwen and Trent started to talk about something and Cody drifted off into his own thoughts. They had spent nearly three hours here and it had been a blast. He shifted his gaze out to the giant spinning chair ride. They had yet to ride it, but he was sure they would get to it eventually. He watched the people spin around and around dangling from nothing but two chains. He tried to fix his eyes on just one person a keep track of them the whole way around. Soon enough he got dizzier than the people on the ride. Nonetheless, he tried again. He focused on a girl around his age who wore her blonde hair in a ponytail. She sported a blue sweatshirt and was holding hands with a guy in the next seat over. Cody was ashamed to admit that it took him a little longer than it should have to recognize that these two strangers were really Bridgette and Geoff (who actually was pretty much a stranger).

Cody excused himself from Trent and Gwen's company and went to go flag down the couple. Before he knew it he was jumping up and down, waving his arms trying to get their attention. After about a minute, Cody rethought what he was doing. He was trying to get the attention of his newest friend, whom he was trying to avoid getting too close to respect Geoff and Bridgette's relationship, while they were clearly on a date. He tried to scamper off and avoid detection before it was too late, but at the last moment, Bridgette noticed him. She smiled and waved happily to Cody. She tried telling Cody something with her hand, but since she just kept spinning in circles the message was lost on Cody, but he assumed it was probably something along the lines of 'wait down there for me'.

Cody, now that he had been seen, had no other choice but to oblige or risk being seen as unfriendly. The ride started slowing down and as soon as it had come to a complete halt Bridgette made a beeline for the gate, dragging Geoff, who was still holding her hand, along with her. The couple greeted him with a hug from Bridgette and a fist bump from Geoff.

"Cody why didn't you answer my text this morning?"

"Not answering texts bro?" Geoff scolded, "Tsk, tsk. Major no, no bro."

Cody found it odd that Geoff didn't seem to show any curiosity about why Bridgette was messaging him, much less advocate that he text Bridgette back. Geoff must really not consider him a threat at all.

Cody laughed uncomfortably, "Ya, well my friends and I came and—"

Geoff, still smiling, interrupted him, "Oh hey, I've been meaning to ask. How's the head?"

Cody was a little taken aback about how simply Geoff had interrupted him but quickly forgave the party animal when he saw that Geoff didn't even realize his rude error. Cody shrugged, "It's same as ever I guess."

"Cool. Guess it's a good thing you dodged the ball I threw or else it would have done some real damage."

Cody glanced to Bridgette to see if she seemed a little insulted by this remark. She seemed to a little hurt, but she was clearly not going to say anything. Cody that it was a little offensive so he tried to play off the remark coolly, giving Geoff a chance to redeem himself in both his and Bridgette's eyes, "I don't know man. Bridgette's throw knocked me out pretty well."

Geoff compromised, "Ya, well it's good that we didn't find out."

To that Cody agreed, although half-heartedly. Geoff was good natured enough but from the two minutes he had spent conversing with him, Cody could already tell that Geoff had a habit of not exactly saying things the right way. With this, Geoff decided he was going to go get a couple slices of pizza for Bridgette and himself, leaving Cody alone with Bridgette.

"So?" Bridgette asked, expecting an answer to something.

"So…" Cody continued not sure of what he was answering.

"Why didn't you respond to my message this morning?"

"Oh funny story about that. I saw your text when I woke up but I read Noah's first and he told me to be ready by a certain time and I just barely made it. I was just about to look at it when he pulled up, but I guess I forgot. What'd it say?"

"Well, I needed some advice…" Bridgette said wistfully, "But I guess it doesn't really matter now."

Cody wasn't quite sure how to respond to something so vague and ominous. Luckily he didn't have to. Geoff called from a good thirty feet away at Cody's table, "Bridge! Codemeister! Let's have some lunch!"

Cody could hear Noah groan, "Oh god! Did Cody get Geoff to start calling him that too!"

Cody and Bridgette looked at each other and began walking over to their table full of friends.


So yeah... this chapter turned out a lot shorter than I expected it to be. I'm sorry if it felt too short, but I can assure you the next chapter will be bigger.

Thank you for everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows this story, I truly appreciate it. Until next time, see you later.