For the first time in a long time, I woke up before Su-San. His arm was still slung loosely over my waist, his jaw resting on the crown of my head, his relaxed and rhythmic breathing moving a few strands of my hair each time he time exhaled. I smiled a bit to myself, happy to have the opportunity to revel in this little moment. As I've said before, Su-San is almost always the first up, making breakfast, cleaning, or even just waiting quietly for me to wake. Regardless, this was a rare little treat. I did my best not to move, knowing if I did, he would probably stir.

He was so warm, pressed so close to me that I felt the expanding and retracting of his chest as he drew breath, and, if I strained, I could pick out the quiet beating of his heart. I sighed happily, but quietly, letting the feeling of him ingrain itself into me, hoping it would give me the strength to get through the day. He smelled nice; clean, like Su-San. It felt safe. Even though I was in a pretty unfamiliar place, he was constant, and that was a comfort.

Even the night before, as I was dozing off, I realised that I couldn't fall asleep. Though I was pretty close to it, I hadn't been able to totally relax until he had gotten into bed with me. Perhaps I was growing a bit too attached for my own good, but even knowing this, I couldn't pull away. Besides, in my defense, he had the choice of cuddling last night. I was beyond moving, so he could have easily disregarded me, and slept on his side of the bed. But he, of his own free will, snuggled me, and held me, and said he loved me, and... Wait... What?

Was I remembering that correctly? Surely not... There was no way! Su-San wouldn't say something like that, at least not seriously... But he thought I was asleep, if I was guessing right... So why joke? Why say anything at all? Had I heard wrong? It had been quiet, and I might have just dreamed it. I mean, I was pretty out of it, and so close to sleep... But it seems so vivid in my mind, so real. And would I have even dared to dream something like that? I guess the only real answer to my question would have to come from Su-San himself... But did I dare ask?

"Fin? Ya 'wake?" He asked, startling me. "...Ja, yer 'wake." He confirmed, obviously having felt me jump.

"Ahaha, sorry, you scared me..." I admitted, turning over so I could face him.

"Hnn. Sorry." He said, though I could tell that he wasn't.

"Mhm." I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Ya don' believe me?" He asked, doing his best to look hurt.

"Not at all." I deadpanned, putting a lot of effort into not laughing at his failed expression.

"Hmm... Tha's too ba'... Ah'll have to convince ya..." He muttered, before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me tight against his chest. I gasped, his arms squeezing so tight I could hardly breathe.

"S-Su-San?" I stuttered, not being able to pull away as his arms were restricting mine. "Wha-?" I tried, but he rolled over, taking me with him, much to my surprise. "Huh? W-What are you... OHYAAA!" We went crashing to the floor, but he didn't stop, just kept rolling. "What are you doing? You're going to hit the wall! I don't understand!" I cried, confused beyond belief, wondering what on earth was happening. Was Su-San drunk? Had he somehow accidentally done some kind of drug? How else could this be explained? And we just kept on rolling, coming closer and closer to the wall. It was going to hurt, I could just tell.

"Su-San! Please, I..." He stopped, right before my head smacked into the wall, and released a breath I had subconsciously held. "W-What..."

"Don' ya trus' me?" He asked, mock innocence lacing his tone.

"I...I... Never do that again! Holy... What was that for?" I demanded, still restricted by his arms.

"Well, ya obviously don' trus' mah words, so Ah though' ya coul' use a trus' exercise." He explained, sitting up, then finally releasing me.

"A trust exercise? Of rolling on the floor? I think you watched the wrong friendship show... I thought you were supposed to fall backwards and have the other one catch you, or something..." I pointed out, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Hnn. Oh well." He shrugged, wrapping his arms around me and intertwining his fingers, successfully trapping me yet again. I chuckled at his simple dismissal, all of my concerns of the morning all but forgotten.

"Well, on the bright side, I'm definitely awake now." I offered.

"Ja. Mornin'."

"Morning. Right, why do we keep getting up so early? Why don't we sleep in till noon, like normal teenage boys?" I questioned, looking up at him quizically.

"Too much to do?" He guessed, shrugging when I gave him a look. "Ah tried."

"Hmm..." I hummed, tapping a finger to my lip. "I guess we're just not normal teenage boys, huh?"

"Tha' coul' be it." He agreed, scooting me off his lap so he could stand up, then offering me a hand. After pulling me to my feet, he ventured over to his suitcase to change, and I did the same.

Seeing as I had some time to myself while I changed, I tried to remember why I had been fretting before he woke up. His little rolling escapade had distracted me, and it's practically impossible for me to return to a train of thought after leaving it. I would have to wait until it came back of its own accord.

"Fin? Ya wan' to go ge' some breakfas'?" He asked, and I nodded. We walked down to the lobby of the inn, joining the stream of our classmates going in the same direction. I hadn't actually been down here before, so it was a bit exciting for me. Hei, what kind of life would I live if I didn't let little things excite me? We entered a big room, and I was immediately surrounded by innumerable smells. Pancakes, fruit, french toast, maple syrup, jellies and jams... I looked around hungrily, wondering what I wanted to eat.

"Why didn't you bring me pancakes or something yesterday?" I demanded, and Su-San gave me an apologetic look.

"They didn' have any yesterday. We slep' pretty late..." He pointed out, and I pouted.

"I guess so... Come on, let's eat before it's all gone!" I suggested, grabbing a plate and joining the line of people. Su-San followed behind me, waiting for me to take what I wanted before he would even touch anything. I had opted to get a little bit of everything, not having been able to decide, while Su-San had stuck with pancakes and some fruit. We found a table and sat down, blocking out the dull chatter of our classmates.

"Just pancakes?" I asked after a few moments of quietly eating. I just can't seem to let silence exist... I just... Need to fill it...

"Ja."

"Hmm... Isn't that boring?" I pushed, trying to get him to talk.

"I's foo'." He replied, putting a bite in his mouth. "...Gross foo'." He added, making a face. (Which was actually just a barely noticeable repositioning of his eyebrows, but, for him, that's a look of utter disgust.)

"Well, beggars can't be choosers. It's complimentary food, after all." I pointed out.

"...Tas'es like a mattress..." He griped bitterly, putting another bite into his mouth. I smiled, eating my food as well.

"It'll just make your food taste that much better when we get back. Eat your mattress like a good boy." I tutted, doing my best to sound like my mother.

"Um... Hello?" I jumped a bit, not having expected anyone to bother us in our little corner. I turned around, and found the quiet boy from my class... Matthew was it? He was holding a plate full of pancakes, and an entire container of maple syrup.

"Y-Yes?" I asked, not sure what this boy could want from me.

"Uh, well, all the other tables are full... Or they won't let me sit down... Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked me timidly, pointing to a chair at our table. How awful... He sounded like me before I moved; Lonely and unwanted, though outwardly there were no apparent flaws. He seemed like a normal enough boy, if not a bit quiet.

"Sure, that's fine." I assured, and he took a seat, giving me a small smile in the process.

"Thanks."

"Sure. You're Matthew, right?" I asked, and he nodded, pouring syrup over his pancakes.

"I'm surprised you remembered." He mumbled, now at the point of drowning his pancakes in syrup, yet he didn't stop.

"Do people forget you a lot?" I questioned.

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm used to it." He replied, finally setting the syrup aside.

"That's... sad." I informed him. He gave me another smile, but this one was forced.

"Well, it can't be helped. Something about me is just... Forgettable. Most people don't even know I'm there until they run into me. In fact, this is the longest conversation I've had in months." He explained, and I frowned.

"Seriously? That's awful! Don't your friends talk to you?" I demanded, ready to get angry at any friends that he listed.

"I don't have friends, unless you count Alfred. And I don't. He only knows I'm there because he's my brother."

"Alfred is your brother?" I asked incredulously, the two completely different personalities making it unbelievable.

"Yeah. We apparently look alike. If people do notice me, it's usually because they're mistaking me for him." He said dully, now about half-way through his pancakes, and adding more syrup.

"Wow... I don't see it."

"Your the fi... Second. Sorry, forgot about Gil."

"Gil? As in, Gilbert?" I asked, my cheeks already flushing a bit at the name.

"Yeah. Gilbert. He didn't mistake us. He was the first ever. But... He can be kind of an ass sometimes, so I don't really hang out with him. I hear he got beat up yesterday, but nobody knows who did it. His brother is keeping it pretty quiet." He said, conversationally. Su-San gave me a look, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Haha, yeah, crazy." I offered, doing my best not to sound forced and awkward, and failing.

"Well, it happens. I'm sure he probably deserved it. Anyway, thanks for letting me sit here." I looked down to find that his plate was now empty, down to the last drop of syrup.

"O-Oh, sure. Anytime. Nice talking to you, Matthew."

"Yeah, you too. See you around." He offered, taking his plate up to the counter, then leaving. I watched him go, then turned back to Su-San.

"He was... Nice. Really down on himself, but nice."

"Ja. He's always been like tha'. He's no' kiddin' when he says nobody notices him." Su-San said, stacking his plate on top of mine and taking them up to the counter, me close on his heels.

"That's sad... I think I'd get along with him. He seemed a lot like me..." I trailed, and Su-San nodded.

"Ya woul' ge' 'long." He agreed. He gestured for me to exit the lobby first, which I did, rolling my eyes at the gentleman treatment. He walked beside me, eventually taking my hand as we made our way back to our room. I turned my face to hide the flush, but smiled. Even though we got a few glances from passing peers, it was... Empowering. I found myself hoping that they would think we were dating, and back off.

We got to our room, and he unlocked it, holding the door open for me. I went in, and sat down on one of the chairs, joined promptly by him after he relocked the door. I laid my head on the table, trying to think of something for us to do today. We had already been to the zoo, and a museum. Both of these were pretty mild activities... Perhaps something more exciting today?

I jumped as I felt a touch to my shoulder, my head shooting up to find a concerned looking Su-San.

"Fin? Are ya okej?" He asked, frowning. I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he would be asking that. "Ya jus' slumped over on the table... Ya feelin' okej?"

"Oh! Yes, I'm fine! Sorry, I was just thinking. Any idea what you want to do today?" I asked, smiling to prove that I was fine. He didn't remove his hand from my shoulder.

"Wha'ever ya wan' to do. Doesn' matter to me." He answered. I sighed, dropping my head again so that my nose was squished against the table.

"That doesn't help..." I groaned. He rubbed my shoulders a bit as a sorry. After some more thinking on my part, I gave up. "Whatever. Let's just walk around till we find something interesting. That okei with you?" He nodded, and we both located our wallets, put on our lanyards, and made our way out of the inn. I randomly decided to go to the right, and he followed, interlacing our fingers yet again, matching his pace with mine. We walked aimlessly for a few minutes, stopping outside a few places and deciding on whether or not we wanted to go in. I was getting a bit frustrated with our lack of decisiveness, when, to my surprise, Kiku solved my problem. I felt a gentle tug at my sleeve, and turned to find the exchange student, looking very apologetic.

"Kiku! Long time no see. How have you been?" I asked, giving him a friendly smile.

"U-Um... I do not understand phrase... Rong time no see? I saw you two days ago... Is that a rong time?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Uh... No, I meant it sarcastically..." I explained, and he frowned.

"Ah. It seems I have yet to master this... Sarcasm. I wirru have to work on it." He said thoughtfully. He was quiet for a moment, then he gasped. "Right, sorry, I forgot. I have a question."

"Oh? Okei." I prompted. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt a bit before looking back up.

"I... I was wondering if you would... Would come to the amusement park with me?" He asked, giving me a hopeful look. My eyes widened.

What did he mean? Was this directed at Su-San and I both, or just me? Was it an "as friends" event, or was this him asking me out on a date? But that didn't seem likely for Kiku, especially not after what he had said on his first day. But then why was he asking me? He seemed to sense my confusion.

"I am sorry, I was asking both of you. I just... Ivan asked for me to go with him... But I am scared... Stirru, it would have been rude to decrine." He admitted. "I would feerru better if you were there..." He added. I looked around, and, sure enough, I saw Ivan a little ways away, watching us. I turned to Su-San, and saw his discomfort. I had to admit, I wasn't too fond of Ivan either. But I felt bad for Kiku, who had somehow ended up landing himself on Ivan's radar. Su-San gave me a small nod, and, having made my decision, I turned back to Kiku, who looked like he was afraid I would say no.

"Okei, sure. Are you guys going right now?" I asked. I watched as relief washed over his face.

"Yes. Is that okay with you?"

"Joo, that's fine." I replied, doing my best to give him a smile.

"You? You what?" He questioned, giving me a look.

"Oh, sorry! Finnish." I explained. "It means yeah."

"I see. I am afraid I am stirru trying to rearn engrish..."

"Haha, not at all. It's my fault." We started walking towards Ivan. Perhaps it was my imagination, but it seemed that the closer we got to him, the closer Su-San got to me. My thoughts were confirmed as his shoulder brushed mine.

"Ah, you got them to come?" Ivan asked Kiku, who nodded. "How nice of you two to join us! How are you?" He asked, sounding friendly enough.

"We're good." I replied, Su-San's fingers squeezing mine. "Better now that we have something to do." I added.

"Da? Well, I am glad you could come along." He said, smiling. I returned it, though I could tell that he didn't actually want us to come along. Still, we set off for the park, talking about nothing in particular, keeping the conversation reserved and impersonal. We had to take a bus, and this was, so far, the longest trip I had to make at Faiacre. After about ten minutes, I could see the tall roller coasters in the distance, seeming to skim the clouds above. I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling very dry.

I wasn't particularly fond of heights... In fact, I was quite adverse to them. Knowing this, my mother had never taken me to an amusement park before. Now, seeing the sheer size of the rides... I was feeling a bit sick. Still, I had agreed to come, so I couldn't back out now. Besides, agreeing to go didn't mean I had agreed to go on a roller coaster!

The bus stopped, dropping us off at the entrance. I looked up, the roller coasters mocking me from on high, making me gulp. But then I glared, scowled. How dare they mock me! I'd show those stupid roller coasters!

Su-San and I followed Kiku and Ivan in. Kiku, after nearly being tempted onto a roller coaster, admitted to never having ridden anything of the such, and, to my relief, we started off with a gentler ride. Perhaps it was strange for four teens to pile into a spinning teacup, but I wasn't complaining. The ride started, and I sat back, prepared to relax for a bit, and enjoy the gentle breeze. Ivan, however, didn't seem to think that we were spinning enough. He grabbed the wheel in the middle, pulling, consequentially making us spin much faster. I guess this is the point of teacup rides, but... I don't have the strongest stomach when it comes to spinning. Needless to say, I was more than happy when the ride came to a stop. Ivan made a small sound of disappointment, and we were let off. I looked to Kiku, who looked about as queezy as I felt.

"Are... Are all of the rides that... Spinny?" He asked, rubbing his stomach. I gave a pained smile.

"Fortunately, no." I replied. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, next one, da? A roller coaster this time?" He pushed. My heart dropped a bit.

"Shoul' star' with a small one." Su-San reminded him.

"Da, I know. The one over there is small! Let's go!" He urged, grabbing Kiku's hand and forcing him to walk towards it. I frowned, hoping it wasn't making Kiku too uncomfortable (though I know it was), and followed. We joined the line, which wasn't too long. (Likely on account of it being a weekday, during the school year.) I looked at the roller coaster we were about to board, butterflies fluttering in my stomach, the sensation intensifying each time we got closer. Finally, it was our turn, and I sat down next to Su-San in the car. I strapped myself in, and was proud of myself for having gotten on it. They checked the latches and seatbelts, then sent us on our way. Up we went.

That was when I started freaking out.

"S-Su-San?"

"Hnn?" He turned to me. "Fin? Are ya okej?" He asked, noticing my trembling lip. I'm sure my eyes were probably glassy too, seeing as I was on the verge of tears. I shook my head, closing my eyes tightly. I felt tears slip out of the corners, and sniffled a bit.

"I want off..." I informed him.

"...Ya can'... Ah..." He stuttered, obviously a bit at a loss. The best he could do was grab my hand, squeezing it tightly. "It'll be alrigh'. Promise. Real quick." He assured me. I kept my eyes closed, squeezing his hand for all it was worth. I didn't have a chance to think about it anymore. Next thing I know, we were falling. My eyes shot open in surprise, and I screamed, clasping Su-San's hand as if I would fall out without it. We shot down, then back up, and down again, then through a curve, through a tunnel. Slowly, the fear wore off. Truth be told, this wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be. Maybe even a little... Enjoyable? Indeed!

But before I could get into it, the ride ended. We came to a stop, the lap guards lifted, and we were told to exit to our right. I blinked stupidly for a moment, then scrambled to undo my seat belt. Su-San offered me a hand out, which I used. I stumbled a bit, my footing questionable. He helped me walk to the exit, and brought me to a bench, sitting me down. He bent down and looked into my face.

"Fin?" He asked, concern more than evident on his face. I blinked rapidly, finally coming to my senses.

"Oh, sorry, I'm alright... Just... Shaking off the adrenaline. That... That wasn't too bad, actually." I admitted. His frown lessened, and he ruffled my hair.

"So yer okej?"

"Joo. I... I'd like to go on another." I announced. He seemed surprised, but agreed to it. We turned to ask Ivan and Kiku if that was alright, but found that they were in no state to reply.

Ivan was holding Kiku in his arms, rocking him slowly. I furrowed my brows, this display unsettling me a bit. I realised that Kiku was shaking a bit, and got up.

"Kiku? Are you alright?" I inquired. I received a small shake of the head. I frowned, gesturing for Ivan to sit down. He did so, not letting go of Kiku. Now that I could see him, I could see his terror, his face pale, his eyes clamped shut.

"Kiku? Hei, can you look at me?" I asked, speaking softly.

"N-No. I... I don't ferru werru." He replied, turning his face away from me, into Ivan's chest. Ivan held him a bit tighter. I guess I should have expected that. The teacups had been rough for Kiku... What were we thinking taking him on a roller coaster? Of course he wasn't okei!

"I think I better take him back to the inn, da?" Ivan decided, standing back up. He smiled at us, offering a quick nod as a goodbye, then walked back towards the entrance, Kiku still in his arms. We watched him go, and I was a bit awestruck at how quickly we had lost our companions. It seems only moments ago Kiku had asked me to come along, and now we were alone at the park. Well, perhaps today was fated to be our day alone together? After all, there's no such thing as Coincidence. I turned back to Su-San, and was surprised to find that he was glaring.

"Su-San? What's wrong?" I questioned.

"...He planne' tha'." He replied. My eyes widened.

"What? But why would he do that?"

"He likes Kiku. Wante' him to nee' him." He explained.

"He... He got Kiku on a roller coaster so that he would practically go catatonic... Because he likes him?" I tried to understand, but my mind couldn't comprehend it.

"Tha's how he works. He nee's Kiku to nee' him."

"Needs Kiku to need him? So... He needs to have someone dependent on him? That's a relationship for him?"

"Ja, tha's how it was when he was datin' Yao Wang. They broke up a few years 'go. Anyway, s'no' our business." He reminded me. I sighed, nodding.

"I guess not..." I agreed. Honestly Ivan's weird way of flirting was better than what I did... Hide my feelings and pray for a miracle...

"D'ya wan' to stay here? Now tha' they're gone, we can leave if ya wan'." He offered. I shook my head, smiling, and grabbed his hand.

"I want to stay! Now that I know that they aren't horrible, I like roller coasters! Can we go on another?" I asked, doing my best to make big puppy eyes.

"Ja. Which one?" I grinned, pulling him into a walk.

"I don't know... The next one we run into. Really, I feel like I'm ready for anything! So much adrenaline! Maybe I'm one of those adrenaline junkies after all? I mean, I was scared at first, but after I figured out that I wasn't going to die, it was pretty fun. Oh, and while we're here, can we ride the carousel? I haven't been on one in years, and I miss going around in a circle on a fake animal. I mean, how can you beat a plaster horse? I think I saw a lion though... That beats a horse... Can you beat a lion? Hmm... I don't think so... Maybe a real lion... OH! They should make penguins! I would soooo ride a plaster penguin! You'd never get me off! Oh, speaking of which, anything you want to ride?" I rambled, finishing up with a question. He blinked a few times, and I smacked myself mentally, realising that I had been talking his ear off. After catching up, he got a look of deep thought on his face. (This means he furrowed his brows a bit more than normal.)

"...The Ferris Wheel." He decided. I raised an eyebrow.

"The Ferris Wheel? But why? You can ride that at any carnival..." I pointed out.

"I's tradition." He said simply.

"I...Well, I guess so..." I mean, have you ever seen a movie with people at an amusement park that didn't ride the Ferris Wheel? And have they ever not gotten stuck at the top? Hei... Maybe the Ferris Wheel wasn't a bad idea. "Okei, that's fine, but it comes last, so we can ride it while it's dark, okei?"

"Ja." He agreed. I smiled, and finally caught sight of another roller coaster. I pointed, and pulled him into line. And so began our day...

-.-.-.+.-.-.-

A few hours later finds us sitting on a bench, taking a break from all the rides. As fun as it was, it was definitely a tiring practice. Walking around the park, waiting in lines... All for those few seconds of excitement. Still, it had been worth it, so far. We had conquered about half of the park, and it was about lunchtime. After our little break, Su-San located a on-site restaurant, and we ate there. Then it was back outside for us. We found our way back to where we had rested, and continued walking towards the unseen part of the park. I had just seen the telltale rails of the next roller coaster above us, when my eyes were drawn back down.

And what, you ask, caught my eye, distracted me from a roller coaster? A parasol. I mean, I had never been before, but who brings a parasol to an amusement park? The only redeeming quality was that it wasn't frilly... Very white though. Su-San seemed to have noticed this oddity as well, and we proceeded to stare. Hei, we're human, alright? We stare at things that seem out of place! It appeared as though this person was going to the same ride as we were.

"Hey, West! Do you have my sunscreen? It's been an hour and a half... I probably burned on that last one..." I recognized the voice and gasped. Why did HE, of all people, have to be here? Seriously? I just beat the kid up yesterday... At least give me some time to collect myself before our next run in! But, as my luck had it, my gasp alerted him to my presence, and he turned around.

His eyes, red as rubies, fell on me, and I immediately shrunk away, grabbing Su-San's arm and trying to hide myself. His eye, despite my guess yesterday, had managed not to become a full fledged black eye, but there was a bruise near his pale eyebrow.

"I can see you! But it kind of hurts... You're wearing white... Ow..." He complained, turning away a bit and blinking. "Fuck... West, where are my glasses?" He called. Ludwig, who I hadn't noticed before this, sighed, letting go of Feleciano's hand to dig through a small backpack.

"They aren't in here. You left them in your room. Now can I please TRY to enjoy my date with Feleciano? Go find someone else to follow around." He said, an air of finality about his words. Gilbert frowned.

"Mein gott, bruder! You can't just tell the awesome me to fuck off like that! What happened to bros before hoes?" He demanded, and Ludwig glared.

"That 'hoe' happens to be my boyfriend. And I'd like to spend some time with him... Without you. Find something to do for a few hours." Ludwig finished, walking back to Feleciano, then leading him away. Gilbert stood there for a moment, then turned back to us.

"Vhatever, the awesome me doesn't need him. Oh, right, I was talking to you. How awesome of me." He recalled, grinning. "Gotta say, you threw some awesome punches! Didn't think a little guy like you had it in him!" He continued. I blinked, coming out from my failure of a hiding place.

"Y-You're not mad?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, nah. The awesome me has been in worse fights."

"Oh... Well, um, I'm still sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"Like I said, nothing to worry about. I wasn't being very awesome... Sorry tall-scary dude. I said some not-awesome things." He admitted, turning to Su-San. Su-San nodded, acknowledging his apology. And then, apparently, everything that was wrong between us had been fixed.

"Well, the awesome me is hungry. See you around." He waved, walking in the opposite direction. I watched him go, then shook my head.

"So... We're... Friends now?" I wondered aloud.

"As close to frien's as possible with tha' guy..." He added. I looked up at him, then broke into a giggle.

"Well, that was... Rather, wasn't what I expected. I thought he was going to go for round two for a second there! Well, I would prefer being friends to enemies."

"Ja." He agreed.

-.-.-.+.-.-.-

The sun had dipped down past the horizon about thirty minutes ago, the moon now providing light, along with the bright, neon lights attached to rides. As promised, we had saved the Ferris wheel for very last. We got into the dwindling line, our turn coming quickly. We loaded into the little gondola, and off we went. I secretly crossed my fingers, hoping we would stop at the top. Cliches are cliches for a reason! They wouldn't be overdone if they weren't wonderful! Granted, I didn't know what I expected to happen, even if we did get to stop up there.

Of course, with my stupid, unfortunate luck, my wish was only half granted. We did get stuck, but it was about a fourth of the way up. We waited for about two minutes, assuming that they were loading more people on, but, instead of starting back up, the machine turned off.

"Our apologies, the Ferris Wheel is experiencing technical difficulties. We will get it running again as soon as possible, so please relax, and again, we apologize for the inconvenience." A voice over an intercom blared. I groaned. We were too high for them to let us jump out, but still low enough to be seen. Not very romantic!

"Goo' thin' it was las'. Don' have anymore rides to rush to." He offered, trying to look on the bright side. I rolled my eyes, leaning back a bit, getting as comfortable as I could.

"I guess. Honestly, you'd think they'd have these things worked out! But, I guess I can't blame them. They just push the buttons."

"Ja." He agreed, then we fell quiet. After a few seconds, the silence was killing me. I tried to think of something interesting to talk about, but nothing came to mind. Until I remembered this morning. That's right! I had a question to ask him! And there was no way we were getting interrupted up here! Perfect!

"Hei, Su-San?" I said, getting his attention. "Um... Well, the past few nights... I keep thinking I hear you say something, right before I fall asleep..." I started. I saw him sit up straighter. That means that the guards are up. That was a problem. "I thought it was just a dream, but last night it... Well, it didn't seem like a dream." He shifted, his posture straightening even more. He was uncomfortable... So he had said something. "In fact, I'm pretty sure it was real. No, I'm absolutely sure." I decided. "I just... I'm not sure what exactly you said." I finished, looking to him, hope in my eyes. He looked worried, tense, like I knew something I shouldn't, and was planning to use it against him. "So... What did you say?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. He hesitated, obviously mulling it over in his mind.

"Fin... Ah..." He sighed, and beckoned me over to him. I stood, wobbling over awkwardly thanks to the rocking of the gondola. He grabbed me before I could sit down, pulling me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly. He breathed in and out for a bit, and, due to my close proximity, I could hear how fast his heart was beating. He took another deep breath, then started again.

"Fin, Ah never though' Ah was goin' to say this... When Ah move', I tried to cu' ya ou' of mah life. Though' it was for the bes'. And it worked, at firs'. Ah was lonely, an' Ah missed ya, bu' Ah though' ya would be happier. Bu' then... Then ya moved in, and Ah realised how much I need ya, Fin. Ah can' even imagine life withou' ya again... Yer so importan' to me, an'... Tha's wha' makes this hard." He paused, taking a few seconds to catch his breath.

"Ever since we me', an' even more now, Ah... Fin, Ah..." With a jolt, the Ferris Wheel started back up. I groaned mentally. Unless I was a stupid fuck, he was about to say exactly what I had wished for my whole life. But, of course, the world seems to be against me! We made our way around, but started slowing down. I realised where we were, and sighed at the irony. I HAD wished that we would get stuck at the top... And sure enough, it broke down again, us suspended at the top. I felt a warm breeze, mussing my hair, the sweet smells of funnel cake and other amusement park food wafting up to me. I guess the shock of what had almost happened was making my senses acute. I was noticing unimportant things... Or maybe I was trying to distract myself from reality... And failing.

I didn't get a chance to curse fate, myself, or really think at all. It took me a few seconds to realise that there were soft, thin lips, pressed against mine. My brain malfunctioned, so overstimulated, so overwhelmed. Surely I had lost my mind, had fallen asleep, surely this wasn't real. Things like this don't happen to real people, especially not overemotional, feminine, self conscious Finnish boys! But what else could I chalk this up to? This was so much sweeter, so much more awkward than I would have imagined it. Before I could even catch up, even piece my shattered mind back together, he pulled away. He glanced at me, looking almost guilty. I stared, mouth gaping, eyes unblinking.

"F-Fin?" He called, timidly. I blinked, still not daring to take my eyes off of him. He stared back, still obviously worried. "Fin? Y-Ya need to breath..." He reminded me. I blinked, shaking my head and drawing in a huge breath to replace the one I had unwittingly been holding. I returned my gaze to him, sizing up what had just happened.

"Fin? Please tal' to me..." He pleaded.

"I-I... Um..." I tried, failing to string any intelligible words together. How was I supposed to respond to that? That couldn't be mistaken as anything other than a confession of love. So, he loved me? "...Um... Me too? I think..." I said, not even sure what I had said at all. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Ya too? Wha'? Ah don'..."

"Um... I... I l-l-love you, Su-San." I finally managed, my face instantly heating. I buried my face in my hands, my brain finally catching up. "Oh my GOD! Perkele, that wasn't how I planned this at all! I-I... Oh, Su-San, I'm so..."

He cut me off, pulling me closer and crushing his lips to mine. I gasped a bit, the sudden action having surprised me, but I caught up much quicker this time, and closed my eyes. This one lasted longer, and I was forced to pull in air from my nose, though this was also pretty unsuccessful, as his was smushed against mine. We broke apart, both of us gasping for air. After a moment of trying to catch our breath, we looked up, staring at each other yet again. Then I broke out into giggles. I don't really know where they came from... Maybe my fear of this exact situation had been repressing them, and now that the fear is gone... They were free? Regardless, I couldn't stop laughing.

"O-Oh my gosh... That really just happened?" I managed between my laughter. "That had to be the most awkward thing I've ever done! But I'm so happy!" I finally calmed down, my giggles subsiding. "I... I never actually thought... I never thought I would ever tell you." I admitted. "But it's true. I love you, I always have! Oh, wow, it feels so nice to say it! I love you, Su-San!" I said, my voice getting a bit louder than should have been allowed. But he didn't mind. In fact, he smiled, a rare treat.

"Ah love ya too, Fin. So much."

A/N: Finally, after 28 chapters, there it is. FUUUUUUUUUUCK. What am I going to do know? Well, there is still a lot of No Such Thing yet to come, don't worry. But... Well... What did you guys think? Was it awkward enough for them? I'm actually not going to talk much about it here, I'd rather hear your reviews!

Well, I hope the climax in this made up for the lack of an update in AGES! I'm sorry, all of my time has been eaten up by the Harry Potter Trivia Night stuff. (I can't tell you how many signs I've painted... Ugh...) Luckily, it is on friday, so I will be FREE after that! (Aside from my piano class, but that only goes till 11.) So hopefully updates will pick up!

Aside from that, my birthday is this Thursday... It snuck up on me... Again. I always seem to forget about my birthday. Oh, speaking of memorable days, I'm sorry to say, but I didn't update on my anniversary! NSTAC was officially one years old on May 16th. Despite not getting a chance to update, Terra Saltt gave me an amazing anniversary gift! She published her own SuFin high school story that day! I've been meaning to advertise it for so long, but, if you haven't seen it yet, GO AND READ IT! It puts NSTAC to shame! (Remove the spaces!) www. Fanfiction s /8123722/1/ Its_Worth_It

Alright, in other news, a new fanart has surfaced as well! Thanks to Verametric! I swear, I'm going to answer your question! Life got really busy as soon as you asked! Sorry dear, but I never leave one unanswered! Here is the fanart: verametric. / art/NSTAC- Fanart-305390337

As always the ask page is always up for any questions/concerns you may have! ask-nstac. Deviantart

Hmm... Anything else? I don't think so... For now... See you guys later, and I look forward to hearing what you think about this chapter! Hope everyone is good, wherever they are!