DarkLink313: Muahaha! Here we go with chapter...uh...=checks list= 4! Chapter 4! Okay, well, this chapter is here to give some extra detail about Tim and Alex's new relationship, as well as to reveal the secret to those who probably didn't want to know, but seem to accept.

Violet: What's going to happen?

Vivica: I don't know. How would I know? I'm a Blue Mage, not an Oracle.

Violet: Why do you always have to give me your sassy attitude? You're never like this usually.

Rain: Well...maybe she just doesn't like you.

Vivica: I like her just fine. But I'm still a little peeved that I didn't get the hosting job.

Violet: I'm hosting because Lance loves me, and he convinced-

Rain: Again, that's not the reason. Lance loves us all, as those lemons he keeps writing for Ed, SL, and King show.

Violet: Well then, why DID DL put me in charge?

Vivica: It's because you're the most mature.

Rain: What about me? I'm older, and much more mature!

Vivica: You didn't want to, remember?

Rain: =sweatdrop= O-o-oh yeah. Right. My bad.

Violet: Well, let's get this underway.

Chapter 4: Carnival Fun and Revelation

More than a week had passed since her fateful first night together with Tim, and Alex was still in that blissful mood she was in after she got home the night of their first date. Sam and Clover had never seen Alex so happy, but they were still in the dark as to why. Alex ignored the fact that Clover and Sam persisted in flirting with her boyfriend, but she couldn't blame them. After all, they didn't know he was dating her.

It was Saturday afternoon, and Alex was taking a nice, warm bubble bath. She hummed to herself as she relaxed, still caught up in her bliss. Her thoughts were of Tim, romancing her in ways she always dreamed a boy would do. The only boys she dated before her current beau were geeks, nerds, and the like. While they were nice at first, later they ended up being all hands, and Alex didn't like that. She never let any boy get to even first base with her, though she was hoping to get that far with Tim. She got out of the bath after a few more minutes of blissful bathing, and wrapped a towel around herself and then her hair. She walked into her bedroom and was about to remove the towel before putting some new clothes on when someone's voice came from her window.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Tim said.

Alex nearly leapt out of her skin, but retained enough composure to show her slight anger.

"Tim? What do you think you're doing?" she asked, making sure her towel was still tightly wrapped around her.

"I was stopping by earlier and your mom said you were in the bath." Tim explained, though he had the sense to stay at the window, "I thought this would be a nice surprise."

"It's a surprise all right." Alex muttered.

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me to the carnival."

"The carnival's in town?" Alex asked, "I love the carnival!"

"I just found out, and I figured you'd like it. I guess you'll come?"
"Of course I will." Alex smiled, "When will you pick me up?"

"How does 5:00 sound? We can get there early and grab a bite to eat before we go."

"5:00 sounds fine." Alex nodded, "I'll just get some clothes on, and we'll go in a a little bit. It's, like, 3:30 now, or something."
"4:00, actually." Tim said, "I'll be back in an hour to get you."

"Okay." Alex said.

Tim was about to leave, when Alex quickly remembered something.

"Wait a second, how did you get up here anyway? I'm on the second floor, and the balcony is pretty small outside my window."

"I'm quite agile, you know?" he smirked.

Alex nodded, and then briskly walked over to him.

"Can I get a kiss before you go?"

"Sure." Tim smiled.

They shared a warm kiss, and Alex couldn't help but wish they were doing more. She often fantasized about David when he was here, but now Tim replaced him. She still couldn't get over how good of a kisser he was, though she had nobody to compare to. After a moment, they separated, and Tim waved goodbye before beginning to climb back down her balcony. Alex sighed happily as she began to get dressed. She had an hour to get the best outfit she could get, and it wasn't long before she was ready to go. At least, not by her standards. When she was all dressed, she told her mom where she was going and when she'd be back. Since it wasn't a school night, her mom gave her a much longer curfew, saying that 2:00 would be good. It was 4:55 when she was finally all ready to go, and Tim arrived at 5:00 sharp.

"Ready to go, beautiful?" he asked with a smile as she answered the door.

"Of course." she smiled back, "Bye mom! I'm leaving now!"

"Have a good time, dear!" her mom yelled back from the kitchen.

Tim and Alex hopped into his car and drove off. Alex suggested Italian for their early dinner, and Tim complied, taking her to a nice Italian restaurant. After their meal, they left for the carnival. Alex still couldn't believe how much fun it was to be with Tim, even though they hadn't arrived yet. When they finally got their parking space, which was hard to do with all the people, it was 6:15.

"What would you like to do first, sweetheart?" Tim asked with a bow.

"What is there to do? I haven't been to a carnival since I was 12." Alex said.

"Well, there's a Ferris wheel, the arcade, the gaming booths, the merry-go-round. All sorts of things."

"Let's do the wheel last." Alex said.

She had always heard from Clover that the best part of the carnival was the Ferris wheel, especially if you picked the lucky car that took the longest on top. While Alex had been unsure of what Clover meant at first, it became obvious when Clover explained that it was very, VERY private. Alex blushed at the thought, though she knew that only Clover would do something like that. After all, everybody in school knew that Clover was basically tied with Mandy for the role of School Slut, since they each liked to put out on the first date. This hurt more than helped, since it explained why neither of them ever had a second date with the same guy, and why every guy was more than happy at first. Obviously, the guys lost respect for Mandy and Clover after date one, and never asked for a date two. David was the only guy who ever resisted their come ons before Tim, but Alex had begun secretly suspecting that David was gay. Tim, obviously, was into romance, not sex, so Clover's come ons never worked. Though, she wasn't questioning why Sam didn't get Tim. After all, many guys dated Sam to get help with homework, plus Sam was a little on the bossy side. Tim was bright, and probably didn't go for the bossy type (I am, and I don't...unless they're the hardcore-sex type. Those are yummy)

"Last, huh?" Tim asked, "Okay then, what's first?"

"How about the arcade? I sort of like video games." Alex said.

The couple went to the arcade, and Tim was actually excited at the selection.

"Amazing!" he exclaimed, "They actually have some of my favorite arcade games here."

"Like what?"

"They've got F-Zero AX, and they've got Virtual On, and Metal Slug...it's cool! Nobody ever has this good of a selection."

"Which game do you want to do first?"

"Your choice, beautiful."

"Let's try that racing one...F-Zero, was it?"

"Sure thing. They actually have two hooked up together, so I'll race against you."

"Sounds fun."

Tim helped Alex get ready, and showed her the controls by giving her a practice run by herself in Time Trial. To help, he opened his wallet and pulled out his Gamecube Memory Card, which he brought with him whenever he went to an arcade in case they had F-Zero (so sue me). With it, Alex was able to race any of Tim's favorite four racers: James McCloud (Jimmy!), Deathborn, The Skull, or Jack Levin. She chose McCloud, since she liked the way his Little Wyvern looked (and boy howdy, does that thing FLY down the track or what!?) Alex got the hang of it pretty fast, so Tim took a seat in his own machine and inserted his license card (booyah! Filled to the max!). He selected his custom racer (er...the name is confusing, so I just call it Custom Car), complete with his pilot, Prinica Ramode.

"Why do you have a girl racer, Tim?" Alex asked.

"I've always tried to pull away from the crowd by being good with the girl characters in games. They don't earn enough recognition, as far as I'm concerned. All of the heroines in games have to be voluptuous or something, it seems. I mean, just look at Tomb Raider."

The race was underway, one-on-one between Alex and Tim. Tim knew he could easily, if not effortlessly, win against her, but he knew it was proper etiquette to always let the girl win, so he did. It was easy for him to ensure that the margin she won by was so small that it appeared she had actually had a very close victory, and it was so believable that any onlookers, had there been any, would have been sure Alex won fair and square. To tell the truth, Tim actually didn't have to try too hard to give her an advantage, since Alex became quite good quite fast. After five races, Alex had four wins, Tim one (she made a mistake at the end of the last lap for Spiral, and Tim knew it would look suspicious if he stopped for her to pass him, so he took it). Afterwards, Alex said she wanted to go to the game booths.

"You want to win something, huh?" Tim asked, "Let's see what they've got then."

They went to the game booths and tried their skill at Ring Toss, Hit-the-Cans, and even a shooting gallery. Afterwards, They had managed to save up enough tickets to buy Alex a giant Teddy Bear, which she immediately gave affection to. They went to the merry-go-round next, and laughed the whole time they went around. After a few more things, they had managed to do every activity in the carnival, except for one thing.

"Time for the Ferris wheel, beautiful." Tim said as they walked towards it.

"I've never been on one before." Alex blushed, "I used to be scared of heights...but being in WHOOP has changed that."

They got into their car, setting the giant teddy on the seat across from them. They sat together, holding hands as they looked out at the carnival below them. Alex was wowed by how high they really were, and clutched close to Tim since her fear of heights wasn't as gone as she would've liked. When the wheel stopped, they were at the very top. As if by luck or fate, they had managed to select the car that would be emptied last; the car that took the longest.

"It's so pretty..." Alex said as she looked at the lights below.

"I can think of something prettier." Tim smiled.

He kissed her forehead and held her closer. Before long, Alex looked up him and they shared a passionate kiss better than any they had shared before. The kiss was magical as far as they were concerned, and when they finally separated, it was time for their car to be emptied. They left the car, brining Teddy with them, and walked towards Tim's ride. They drove in a blissful silence back to Alex's House, where Tim walked her to her door, holding her hand with one of his, holding the Teddy under the other. When they reached the door, they shared a quick kiss before they began to say goodnight. It was 1:45.

"I had a wonderful time tonight." Alex said softly.

"So did I, Alex." Tim smiled, "Being with you is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Likewise..."

"I'll see you tomorrow, maybe?"

"Of course. We wouldn't even have to go anywhere, or do anything."

"Goodnight, beautiful."

"Goodnight."

They shared another quick kiss, then Tim went off and hopped into his car and drove off with a last wave. Alex sighed blissfully, and opened the door. She would've went straight to her room, but her mom called from the living room.

"Alex! You have some company!" she called.

Alex walked into the living room to see the two people that she was hoping not to see after her date: Sam and Clover.

"I'll leave you three alone." Alex's mom said as she began upstairs.

Alex stood with a worried look towards her friends, and nervously took a seat on the couch across from them. She set her Teddy down, knowing there was no point in trying to hide him.

"Hi girls...uh...what's up?" she gulped.

"So, how was your date?" Clover asked.

Alex's mind raced quickly. Obviously her mom had told Sam and Clover she was on a date, but it didn't seem they knew it was with Tim.

"It was...good."

"That's nice." Sam said with a smile, "Who was he?"

"Oh...just a boy I met..."
"Why didn't you tell us you had a date? We came by earlier and your mom told us you'd be back at, like, 2:00 from your date."

"It was sudden...and..."

"Is he a hottie?" Clover asked.

"You could say that."

"I'm glad." Sam said, "It's about time you started dating regular boys, not the hands-on guys you usually get stuck with."
"You're right, Sam. She usually has such a bad time on dates because she ends them early. Those geeks she dates are too touchy-feelie. The way I see it, unless they're hot, they don't have a reason to think we'd like that."

"You're so conceited, Clover..." Sam sighed.

"Still...I'm glad I'm not too worried about it. I'm still dating around until I can snag Tim." Clover declared.

"Good luck." Sam commented, "If he's anything like David, I'll bet he's gay, and not interested in us like that at all."
"I...I don't think he is." Alex said.

"Well, he must be." Clover stated, "I'm moving faster with him than I did with David. I've offered him head, like, nine times these last two weeks."

"Maybe he just doesn't go for girls like you." Alex snorted, starting to feel angry that they were still so hyped up about her boyfriend. Still, she knew they didn't know she was dating Tim.

"Doesn't go for...Alex, are you insane?" Clover asked, "Of course boys go for that. Every guy in school has before. I don't think there's too many hot guys in school I haven't gone down on."
"Why do you sound so dignified about it?" Sam asked.

"Because I have experience, and when I go to college, I'll be the life of every party."

"I still say you should give up on Tim." Alex said, "He obviously doesn't like you that way."

"I guess you're right." Clover sighed, "I just wish I knew why."

"Maybe he's dating someone." Alex said, though she wished she hadn't.

"Yeah, right." Clover laughed, "I'd know if he was dating someone. Besides, who could he be dating? Other than the three of us and Mandy, there aren't any single girls in school."

"So, none of us are dating him." Sam said, "But that means..."

"Mandy! That back-stabbing bitch!" Clover snapped, "She stole my man!"

"Your man?" Alex asked, again wishing she hadn't, "I don't think he's yours."

"Well...our man. Mandy stole our man." Clover said, calming down.

"Still...I think Mandy would've rubbed it in our face by now, don't you?" Sam asked.

"Which means it can't be her..." Clover sighed, "Damn. Maybe he's dating someone out of school?"

"What other high schools are close by?" Sam asked.
"Maybe someone from his old school. He might have a long-distance relationship."

"No...that's not it." Sam said thoughtfully, "He would've told us that."
"Maybe he's dating someone...and doesn't want anyone to find out." Clover suggested.

Alex made her move.

"Well, then I guess we should leave it alone then. If he's trying to hide a relationship from you guys, then you should stop snooping."

"I guess so. But still, I-" Sam began. Then, she realized something, "Wait...what do you mean, 'you guys'?"

"I meant 'us'." Alex hastily added, "I'm not snooping, so I didn't include myself."

"Something's not right here..." Sam mused, "Tim is obviously dating someone already...but is trying to hide her from us. You, on the other hand, don't seem to care...and you've also suddenly begun dating someone...and you're not telling us who he is."
Clover began to notice too, "It does seem suspicious..."

Alex nervously squirmed in her seat, trying her best not to make eye contact. But it was too late.
"Alex...are...are you and Tim going out?" Sam asked.

Alex knew she was found out, and stopped trying to hide it.

"Yes...Tim and I are dating..." she admitted, "I didn't want to tell you...since I thought it would hurt your feelings."

"Alex, you know you can be honest with us." Clover said, "If you had told us from the beginning, we would've stopped flirting with him. You made us think he didn't want us because of us. I was beginning to worry I lost my touch."

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, Alex. We're your friends." Sam smiled as she took a seat next to Alex, "You can tell us anything."
"You guys...aren't mad?"

"Not at all. Actually, we're happy for you." Clover smiled as she sat on Alex's other side, "We're happy you finally got a guy better than all those guys you used to date, and Tim is the perfect catch."

Alex cried tears of joy, and Sam and Clover embraced her.

"You guys...you're such good friends. Anyone else would probably be furious..."

"Hey...it's okay. We almost let David ruin our friendship, but we got over him when we found out the truth."

"Tim obviously likes you the most...so we accept that you got him. After all, I can find someone else." Clover smiled, "And Sam can too."

After a few emotional minutes, the trio separated, and Sam and Clover said their goodbyes for the night. Alex went upstairs and slept happily. Now her friends knew, and they accepted it. Tim would be glad to find out.

Violet: Such good friends...much better than YOU TWO!

Vivica: What did we do?

Violet: You know full well that you two are jealous that the official FF-Zero fic chose me over you two. So ha!

Rain: Now...we're not mad that it happened. We're mad because you GLOAT about it.

Violet: Oh...sorry...

Vivica: If you wouldn't brag, it'd be okay, but all you ever do is 'Lance loves me this' and 'Lance loves me that'. It's real irritating.

Violet: Sorry...we'd better end this now. I need to do some apologizing...