Summer school was only 4 days a week, and on Thursdays it ended a few hours shortly.
Sophie was glad that it was mainly a work day and she didn't have to sit anywhere near Sawyer. But when she approached her lunch table, she saw that he was sitting with them again.
Once a squad, always a squad.
"Hey let's go out tonight." Pepper suggested.
"Where?" Troy asked, popping a grape into his mouth.
"Oohh! There's this new amusement park that just opened!" Bella squealed.
"How far away is it? I don't wanna get kidnapped." Newt commented. Bella frowned at him. "Uh it's just 30 minutes away from here."
"I'm down." Sawyer said, the black orbs of his green eyes flashing to Sophie.


Bella picked up Sophie around 5:30 PM after changing from cheer camp. Sophie wore a pair of black yogas, a violet tank top, and threw on a white cardigan just in case it would get cold.
Sophie gasped as they arrived at the amusement park.
"You sure this just opened?"
She could see the top of the big rides from behind the entrance wall. Bella nodded. They met up with the rest of the gang at the tickets line.
"Where do y'all wanna go first?" Pepper asked. Newt grabbed her arm and pointed,"Doomsdayl!"
"Noooo!" Sophie immediately wailed. She had a slight problem
with heights, and Doomsday was the tallest ride in the whole entire park.
"Why not?" Sawyer cocked one eyebrow up. "Oh that's righht! You're afraid of heights." Sophie huffed, crossing her arms. "Am not. The ride's too boring."

"If you say so, Angel."

Sophie rolled her eyes and turned away. Bella stared at her with a questionable look, and Sophie gave her a face that said: don't ask.

They all went on big rides, and a few hours later they started to feel a bit queasy.

"Where to next?" Troy asked them.

"Arcade." Sophie said.

"Good call."

Sophie, Bella, Pepper, and Troy walked up to an air hockey table as Newt ran to the restroom and Sawyer mumbled something about getting a smoothie and walked away. Two on two, they played a pretty few intense games until Sophie was tapped on the shoulder. A waiter stood by her side, holding a drink.

"I didn't order anything." Sophie told him.

"This is from that guy over there." The waiter quickly pointed, handed the drink to her, and scurried away. Sophie saw to where he had pointed and her lips formed into a thin line.

"Guys, I'll be right back."

"Okay, hurry!" Pepper told her.

She walked towards a video game, where a certain tall boy was playing. His dark, curly hair was tucked underneath his black baseball cap, and his maroon t-shirt fit snug around his athletic waist. She could see his muscles working in his bicep as he played his video game.

"For you." she simply said, thrusting the drink towards Sawyer. Sawyer paused his game to look at the drink, and then her.

"Pac-man? Doodle jump?" Sophie sarcastically guessed what game he was playing. The game looked like neither; there were volcanoes blowing up in the background.

"Air hockey. Think you can give me a few pointers?" He smirked, leaning his elbow against the video game. Sophie almost immediately flushed- so he had been watching her play then.

"What did you put in this drink?" She got straight to the point. When he didn't answer, she pressed, "What did you spike the coke with? Sleeping pills?"

Sawyer's mouth slightly parted open. "Do you not trust me, Delarosa?"

"No." she snapped. Sawyer's eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Come ride Doomsday with me." He drawled. She didn't know if he said it to mock her, or if it was a genuine request.

"No." she said again. Sawyer got off of his chair to take a step closer to Sophie.

"Let's make a deal. If you ride Doomsday and don't scream, then I'll help you convince Mrs. Coates to change our seating arrangement in bio."

"And if I don't scream?"

Sawyer's sharp, emerald eyes skimmed her body. "I don't think we have to worry."

Sophie's eyebrows furrowed together; was he saying that there was no way that she couldn't scream?

Before she knew what she was doing, she punched his arm. Sawyer chuckled. "Carefull, people will think we're flirting."

What the hell does that even mean? Sophie wondered. For the third time, she took a step backwards and said, "No."

Sawyer shrugged and stood up, making his way around her. Suddenly, she felt her back electrified as he lined his chest up against her.

"I dare you." he whispered in her ear, his hot breath sending shivers up her spine.

And before she knew it, he was gone.


Troy, Bella, Pepper, and Sophie tried to play a few more rounds of air hockey, but Sophie couldn't keep her mind off of Sawyer. There was something…. off about him. Whenever she saw him, the word danger spoke out to her. But she couldn't help but feel a scary attraction towards him. Was that what she looked in a potential mate? Scary attractions?

"Soph, get your head in the game!" Troy yelled at her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry!"

Pepper narrowed her eyes at her. "You sure you okay?" Sophie nodded, breathing heavily.

"I need… something." She said, her eyes flashing around the room.

"Yeah, you need to calm down." Bella told her.

"No… I need something cold. I need a drink. I'll be back." Sophie quickly left her friends alone and walked out of the arcade and into the herd of people outside. She spotted a vending machine and briskly started walking towards it, when she ran into someone.

"Sorry!" She blurted out- and her heart stopped. Sawyer was holding Sophie by her wrists. "Can't get enough of me, Delarosa?"

Sophie shot him a sarcastic smile. "You wish."

Sawyer's lips curved slightly upward. "You following me Angel?"

"That would be the last thing I would ever do."
He brushed a few strands of hair off of her face. "Love the hair. Love it when it's out of control. It's like seeing the crazy side of you."

Sophie resisted the urge to punch him in the face and smoothed her hair furiously.

"Bye." she said, turning her heel around to go in the opposite direction, but Sawyer grabbed her elbow. "Ride Doomsday with me." He asked again.

Sophie craned her neck to peer up at the tall ride.

"Two people per seat." Sawyer grinned at her.

"No way."

"Remember our deal?"

Sophie sighed. How could she resist a deal like that? One ride with him, and Sawyer would leave her alone. Still, Sophie argued with him. "I already tried talking to Coates. She won't budge."

"I can be more persuasive than you."

Sophie scoffed at him, taking that as a personal insult.

"I don't scream. Not for carnival rides." And not for you, she thought as she walked with Sawyer to stand in line for the ride.

"Do you not trust just me? Or is it all guys?"

Before Sophie could answer him, he cut her off saying, "Nevermind. You trust no one. Look at the amount of guys you reject daily."

Sophie huffed, thinking that if she didn't talk to the problem, the problem would stop. Unfortunately, Sawyer kept bugging her. "Do you even trust one guy out there? I mean you don't even trust your own brothers."

Sophie tried to look impassive. "I trust Newt."

"Congratulations."

They were at the front of the line. The worker let them through, and they sat down on the ride.

"What's your problem?" she snapped at him.

"You." Sawyer simply answered. Suddenly, the ride lurched forward, and Sophie held on to the bar in front her. The ride ripped through the air, and she could see that her knuckles were turning white. The ride took a sharp left, and Sophie slid into Sawyer unintentionally. Then the carts started to slowly go up, gaining potential for a huge drop. Sophie swallowed, looking at Sawyer for consolation- and immediately regretted it when she saw him grinning at her.

"Scared, Angel?" His eyebrows quirked up in question. Sophie didn't answer. Her organs suddenly floated inside her as the the carts of the ride sped down a steep hill. Looking down on her lap, she almost screamed. Where the hell was her seat belt? She turned to yell at Sawyer, but she slammed into him again so hard that it hurt. She closed her eyes, trying to become less frightened, and all of a sudden, she fell out of her cart and hung onto the rails of the ride with her fingers. Her grip loosened and she was approaching the ground faster than a lighting bolt. As she tumbled down, she opened her mouth to scream.

And then the ride stopped. Sophie opened her eyes and saw that she was holding Sawyer, eyeing the tattoos her nails made when she gripped him hard.

"Now that's what I call a scream." he said. Sophie's torso heated up in flames when she realized that he was holding her by the waist.

"The ride- I- fell off… I…" she gulped.

Sawyer said nothing, his sea green eyes devouring her brown ones.

What the hell just happened? Sophie wondered as she got off of the ride.

"Looks like we're stuck next to each other for the next four weeks." Sawyer shrugged at her.

"I thought.. I was gonna die." her words barely left her mouth as she was too stunned to note the tone of victory in Sawyer's words.

"I think that was kinda the point of the ride."

Sophie turned around to look up at the ride again. Doomsday.

"And it also looks like I'm taking you home."

"What?" Sophie whirled around to look at Sawyer. He held up his phone.

"Troy just texted. They all took Bella's car and went home."

"How? Why? We weren't even gone for that long."

"We were gone for an hour."

Sophie swallowed and checked the time on her phone and saw that he was right. She made a mental note to herself to make sure to yell at her friends for leaving her with Sawyer all by herself. But it wasn't their fault-they still thought Sawyer was still the same old Sawyer.

Or, she always had the wrong impression of Sawyer the whole time.

Either way, she felt uneasy about the idea of him dropping her home.

"Fine. Where's your car?"


"You ride this thing? Looks like a glossy black death trap." Sophie kicked at Sawyer's motorcycle.

"Stop kicking this, it's my precious."

"Do you like.. want me to die?" she countered him. First the rollercoaster, now this?

"Do you really think I'm not safe?" Sawyer questioned her. She could see the meaning behind his green eyes: I've known you for three years, and now you want to act like I'm a serial killer?

Sophie sighed, figuring it was better to just get on the thing instead of wasting more time arguing.

She made a mental note that whenever she need to attack Sawyer to get revenge on something, she would attack his motorcycle, or his 'precious'. Sophie let out a haughty laugh and climbed onto the motorcycle, barely holding on to his maroon shirt with her fingers.

"You're tense. Relax." he told her, but Sophie couldn't stop her muscles from contracting. And by the time they entered the main road, Sophie was squeezing him tight. Her thighs clenched around him, and he slightly turned his head towards her to ask, "Scared, Delarosa?"

"What the fuck? Keep your eyes on the road!" Sophie screamed in his ear. Smirking, Sawyer turned to the front again.

When they reached her house and Sophie got off of the motorcycle, she started to say, "Thanks for the ride. See you Monday." But the words died on her lips when Sawyer turned the ignition off and got off of the motorcycle himself. Sophie swallowed, shifting her feet. Was he really gonna walk her to the front door?

Sophie patted her pockets to search for her house key as they made their way to the front door.

"Missing something?" Sawyer cocked an eyebrow at her. Sophie narrowed her eyes as they stopped in front of the door and held her hand out.

"Give them back."

"I didn't take them."

"I know you have them."

"You dropped them on the floor at the arcade." He told her, reaching to his own pocket to take them out. He pointed the house keys towards the doorknob and looked at Sophie for permission. "Go ahead. No one is home." she told him with a certain fascination, and suddenly a cold sensation took over her back as he thrust the key into the doorknob. Shit. Big mistake. Shouldn't have told him that, She realized.

"No one?" he asked her as the door cracked open. Sophie didn't answer his question as she slipped through the door. She turned around to close the door after saying a quick good bye, but Sawyer had already filled in through the space, keeping the door wide open.

"It's getting late." Sawyer said, his green eyes unreadable. Then he stepped in.

"I-what are you doing in my house!" she exclaimed. Sawyer had been in her house before, but they were alone and it was making her heart race- whether if it was because she was scared or excited, she didn't know. With Sawyer, you didn't know anything.

"You must be hungry." Sawyer said as if she didn't speak at all, scanning around the house. Then he made his way to the kitchen as Sophie scurried behind him.

"No-yes-I mean I-"

"I'll make tacos."

"T-tacos?" Sophie choked. Sawyer's emerald eyes traveled back to Sophie's, full of amusement.

"Yes. Tacos. Beans. Tomatoes. Lettuce. Cheese."

"I know what tacos are." Sophie snapped.

"Great." Sawyer said before opening the fridge and pantry to get all the ingredients. Sophie had to try her hardest to keep her mouth from dropping. How could he do that? Just invite himself into her house and start making food? She felt sweat prickling her forehead and rushed to the bathroom to rinse her face, taking her own time before heading back.

Before she knew it, she asked him, "Rain-check? Feeling queasy." Sawyer looked up from chopping his vegetables and said, "I'm almost done." Sophie released a shaky sigh as she approached him to watch. The knife in his hand glinted and a surge of panic overcame her. As if reading her mind, Sawyer flipped the knife toward her. "You try. I'll teach you how to make tacos." The glint in his eye made Sophie realize something: it wasn't just that she didn't trust Sawyer, it was also the fact that she didn't trust herself when she was around him.

Before she knew it, she moved next to him. Sawyer slid the cutting board in front of her. He came around her, his front chest slightly touching her back, and placed two hands on the counter outside of her, like a box.

"First," he said, "choose your tomato." he breathed, his lips right near her ear. "Now pick up your knife."

"Does the chef always stand this close?" Sophie asked as she clenched the knife's handle. She wasn't sure if she liked this closeness, or feared it. Sawyer didn't answer and stepped back to evaluate her cutting skills. As they ate their tacos, Sawyer said, "Cooking isn't taught. It's inherent. You've got it, or you don't. Like chemistry. Do you think you're ready for chemistry?"

"I dunno, you tell me. Am I ready for chemistry?" Two dimples surfaced on either side of his mouth, and he grinned.

After dinner, Sawyer washed the dishes while Sophie dried them and put them away. She was unaware of how close they were standing next to each other until Sawyer reached to grab her dish towel. The slight touch of their arms immediately electrified the air and neither of them moved from their places.

And then Sophie took a step back.

"Scared?" Sawyer asked for the third time that night.

"No." she immediately replied.

"Liar."

"I'm not scared of you."

"Then?"

"Maybe I'm just of scared of…."

"Liking me?"

"Yes. No-I mean-"

Sophie slowly took a deep breath.

"Truth is, I definitely don't feel comfortable around you."

"But?"

Sophie concentrated on the side of his sharp jaw and said, "At the same time I feel some kind of scary attraction for you." Sawyer gave her a huge grin. "Uh, cocky much?" Sophie tried to playfully shove him backwards with her, arm, but he caught her wrist and the other one, drawing her close. Sophie's mouth opened in protest, and before she knew it, he had lifted her and placed her on the counter. Their heads were level now, and Sawyer's sea green eyes darkened. That's when she knew that this was the moment she fantasized about in the back of her head for the past few days.

Sophie reached for his hat and placed it next to her, his curly hair springing free. Stop, A voice at the back of her head was telling her, but she ignored it as she scooted forward on the counter so that her two legs were dangling on either side of him. Her white cardigan was slowly dragging off of her shoulder, revealing her bronze shoulders.

She took a breath as Sawyer moved even closer to her. This was very bad. In a good way. And also in a bad way.

"You should go," she barely whispered.

"Go here?" his lips rested on her shoulder. "Or here?" his mouth grazed up the side of her neck. And then he reached the side of her jaw, gently nipping at her sensitive skin. Sophie couldn't think logically. "My legs are falling asleep." she said, trying to come up with an excuse.

"I could fix that." Sawyer breathed, placing a warm hand on her thigh, making her insides clench. Suddenly, her phone in her pocket started to ring, and she jumped up.

"You need to leave. Right now." Sophie told him, jumping off of the counter.

"Hello?" she answered the call, following Sawyer to her front door.

"Hey Soph. I'll be home in twenty. Sorry it was a long night at work over here." Her dad spoke.

"It's fine." Sophie squeaked. I'm used to it anyways, she thought.

The call ended, and Sophie opened the door to let Sawyer out.

"You think you can call later?" he asked her once he was outside.

"We'll see." she told him before closing the door. She turned her back and slid down the floor, breathing heavily.

There was no way she was gonna call him after that almost-kiss.