All four had a good laugh about this idea as they headed down the open freeway. Mark complained constantly about his lack of legroom, pushing his seat so far back that Rose had to perch her heels on the edge of her seat, then back again.
As Rose talked to Amy about what it was like to live the life of a WWE Diva, Mark gazed through the window. Glen needed to concentrate because he rarely drove manual shift. Mark didn't mind, inwardly; it gave him a chance to think. What had happened the night before, as well as earlier that day, was weighing heavily on his mind. Yes, he treated Rose like a sister and they had played games before, but she had never just gotten into bed with him and fell asleep cosied up against him. Not even when her parents had been away on business trips and Mark had been asked to stay with her.
He contemplated asking Glen about it, but decided against it. Glen was not famous for his ability to focus on two things at once, so Mark figured he'd probably get a couple of grunts from him and not much more.
They arrived at the carnival ground in short time. Even though the strange unease and unending list of "What if's?" weighed on his mind like a huge concrete block on his shoulders, Mark did his best to hide it. He couldn't put it out of his mind as he went through the queue for a ticket.
Predictably, people noticed the group and recognised them. Mark and Glen easily slid into character and they mingled with the fans and staff so well that, after a while, they came back with a handful of free tickets.
Rose laughed with Amy about the lipstick on Glen & Mark's faces from the female fans that had asked to kiss them. But she noticed for a split-second that Mark looked a bit down, like he hadn't wanted to do it. She had an odd feeling. Mark had to be feeling a little awkward about the events of the last too days, she did after all. Even though it had felt so right she had felt a little uneasy. Was he going to do something soon? Would he make a move?
The question kept popping up in her head. She was sure she was never meant to feel this way about her Big Brother. She decided it was all in her imagination and put it out of her mind. She slid one arm around Mark's waist and held Amy's hand with the other. Amy did the same with Glen and together the four wandered merrily through the park.
She did however feel grateful that she had sat behind Mark on the log flume - he took the full brunt of the massive wave the little boat sent up by its impact, his sheer size shielding her completely from every drop. Rose opened her eyes to see she was completely dry. Mark, on the other hand, leaned over the boat's side, spat out a spitoon of water in one, long fountain arc, then looked ahead, trying to look as casual and calm as ever with his hair so bedraggled that he looked like a swamp rat in Biker gear. Frankly she'd been grateful to him for guarding her, even if it was accidental, but she couldn't resist laughing her head off at the sight of the sopping wet Mark Calaway.
Mark stared back at her, growling incoherently. Rose made the mistake of saying he was cute. She paid the price when Mark shook his head violently, spraying her with water so that her thin white t-shirt went almost see-through.
As Amy wrapped Rose up in her jacket and took her to the restroom to dry up, Mark leaned against a railing of a decorative fountain. Glen had wandered off to get a hotdog so he was temporarily alone.
From ride to ride, stall to stall and show to show, Mark had been plagued by his stormy sea of a mind. He couldn't shake the wierd feeling from his mind as he had wandered through the park, most of the time hand-in-hand with Rose. He felt strange about doing this with her as he still regarded her as his Little Sister.
But he also felt the beginnings of a strange pull towards her that felt like more than just sibling love.
Even when they were on rides he felt it. When the others returned to him and they wended their way around the park again, the day passed as a blur. Mark's mind lost feeling in his heart, which was becoming more and more comfortable.
At length the day drew to a close and the park began to do likewise. In a wierd mix of happiness and delusion, Mark wended his way back to the carpark and got back into the car to head back to the hotel.
On the way back, Mark sat in the back seat with Rose. Well not exactly sitting. He was lying down with his head in Rose's lap, feet poking out of the open window. He was surprised no one thought there was a dead body in the back seat. Rose even went so far as to stroke his hair out of his face as he lay in her lap.
That was when Glen noticed what was going on, whilst glancing in the rear view mirror. He didn't care what Mark said. He had never seen a brother and sister do THAT.
When they finally got back to the hotel, Rose got out of the car and Glen took her to oneside whilst Amy and Mark sorted out the souvenirs from the car's trunk.
"Rose, I don't know if you realise it but something's going through Mark's head. You two might be like family, but what was happening back there just now, was not family. It was different."
Rose was surprised. Glen seemed to have seen right through Mark AND Her. "You really think so?" She said, as much cautious as optimistic.
"Yes, I think so," Glen emphasised. "If I were you, I'd find out what's going on, because he hasn't been himself today. He's been too quiet."
Rose took Glen's advice to heart when she and Mark got upstairs. She finally decided to see what was going through Mark's head.
"I've been having...problems," Mark began. "Not that kind of problems," he added hastily, noticing her glance fleetingly downward toward his waist. "This wierd feeling has been runnin' through my mind all day." He looked at her and saw a look of sympathy in her eyes for him. "I think...I think I'm feeling something that I haven't felt in over four years."
Rose looked at him, gently putting a hand around his back. "What?" she asked, genuinely concerned about him. Mark looked into her eyes.
"I think...I think..." he looked down in a fit of embarrassment. "Look at me, the most intimidating WWE Superstar in history, and I can't even string a few words together." He gave a very small laugh. Rose was full of compassion. She stayed quiet, showing she wanted him to continue.
"I think I'm starting to like you, not just as a sister, or a friend," he said with no small amount of worry.
Rose was surprised. She looked into his eyes. He was telling the truth. She had known this man all her life, but had never seen him in such a vulnerable state.
Mark stared into those shining eyes, and felt that irrepressable urge again. Even though she still looked overwhelmed, he couldn't stop himself.
He leaned in and kissed her.