The Carnival

I had to get out of the house; I had to get away from wedding talk and reminders of Jake. Alli was gone, away at Science camp and Jenna had gone to visit her brother. Eli and I were hardly on speaking terms again so spending an entire evening with him was not going to happen. I could have called Adam, he would have come with me but he was still recovering from his gunshot wound he received at prom. Besides which it was Saturday night and I figured he had better things to do than cheer me up. I could have called Wes, Connor, K.C. or even Dave to hang out but I hadn't been in the mood for their company this evening and that is how I came to be at the summer carnival alone.

I hadn't been to a carnival in a few years, not since before Darcy had left and I was still too chicken to go on the fast rides. Yet I had been drawn here tonight, the upbeat music and sounds of the rides, the lights, the smells of caramel apples, kettle corn and cotton candy. Even the air tasted like cotton candy when you got inside the gates. It had called to me and I had come, although considering I seemed to be the only one here that was by myself I was beginning to wonder why. Instead of cheering me up I was becoming more depressed, reminded that I was alone, that Jake had left me and Eli would hardly look at me. I had yet to go on a single ride or into a single attraction; I'd simply been wandering the carnival for the last hour.

With a deep conviction to do something at this carnival, seeing as I'd paid the price of admission, I walked to the fun house. I had second thoughts for a brief moment when I saw the entrance to the fun house meant going into the laughing mouth of a giant clown! My stubbornness would not let me give up and I ran up the steps and into the mouth. The first part of a fun house is a wobbly bridge, it shakes as I walk across it and even though I'm sure the floor isn't far beneath me it's painted black and made to give the impression that you're up much higher and you might fall.

"Don't slip!" A male voice taunts in my ear behind me as he grabs me by the waist and acts like he's going to toss me off.

"Get your gross hands off me you pervert!" I demand stomping on his foot!

He lets go of me and I run across the bridge and through to the next room. This one is full of those mirrors that are warped so you look fat and thin and warped yourself. I walk through this room quickly and come to a spinning and wobbly floor, it feels a little like walking on Jell-O, or so I imagine. I can hear the boy coming and he has friends so I get through this room as fast as I can, it isn't easy though. The next room looks like something M.C. Escher painted, lots of levels, arches and doors and when I make it through there I come into a maze of mirrors. I'm starting to wonder why I ever came into this fun house, the mirrors are tricky and I keep taking wrong turns, ending up at dead ends. I'm about to turn a corner when someone jumps out, I scream from the shock and jump back into a pair of arms. Strong arms, with big muscles holding me tightly, I would be frightened but I know these arms, although before this I've never been in them. None the less I know the olive skin and especially the scent of the elder Torres brother. I've spent enough time around him at his house to know Drew without seeing him and I relax in his arms.

"Get lost and leave her alone!" Drew barks at the boy that jumped out me, it's the same one that grabbed me on the bridge. "I could always toss you through the mirror," Drew offers when the boy doesn't move.

He looks at Drew, grins at me and walks off. Drew lets go of me and I have to admit that I regretted that he did so.

"Thanks Drew," I smile turning to face the boy with dark blue sapphire eyes.

"You alright?" He asks taking my hand as he begins escorting me through the maze.

"Yes that idiot just surprised me," I reply.

"Well why'd you come to the carnival alone?" Drew questions as we make it out of the fun house and he lets go of my hand.

"I had to get out of the house, away from the wedding talk and reminders of Jake. I think I would have been better off going to the book store though I haven't been on a single ride yet." I admit.

"Come on then," he says taking my hand again.

"Where are we going?" I question.

"I'm not going to let you come to the fair and not go on a single ride." He responds and I smile.

For all the stupid things he's done, the idiot things he says, the mistakes he's made and the alpha male stuff he's pulled Drew really is a good guy. He's sweet, thoughtful, caring and very protective of his younger brother. Drew tires hard and he means well even when he's wrong. He's always been kind to me, although he's never really paid too much attention to me before this, even when I was at his house. He takes me to the carousel and we get two horses next to each other. Then we go on the whirl-o-wind, it's one of those with the clamshell type cars on a round track and the cars spin. The centrifugal force causes me to repeatedly be thrown into Drew but we're laughing and smiling. I have to say I really didn't mind having my body forced into Drew's. After that he takes me to the Ferris Wheel, I was kind of disappointed actually because this ride won't force us to touch. In fact when the operator closes the gate on our car Drew and I are on opposite sides of the bench.

The car moves back a little to load people into the next car, Drew and I sit there in a slightly awkward silence. He dated my closest girlfriend for almost two months, he is the older brother of my best friend, I've spent more hours at the Torres house in the last year than at the Bhandari house all the time I've known Alli. So it's not as though I've never been around Drew before however I've never been alone with Drew, not for this long anyway. When we've been together at his house I was hanging out with Adam, and up until he crashed his car Eli would hang out with us too. Drew often had a friend over as well, usually K.C. which was good because Adam and I were also friends with K.C. but on a few occasions I had been forced to spend time with Owen and other jocks. The most time I'd ever been alone with Drew before this was maybe a couple of minutes while Adam was in the washroom and we hadn't exactly spoken. Drew and I really don't have anything in common aside from both of us caring about Adam. Four more cars have been loaded and we're nearing the top, I shiver when a breeze flows between us.

"You cold?" Drew asks.

It's June and the weather is warm, I didn't even need a sweater when I left the house, but we're a good twenty feet in the air now and there's a bit of wind and chilled air up here.

"Just a little," I reply, holding my arms close to my body to warm up.

Drew's not wearing a coat either, but he also doesn't look cold, he does on the other hand move over, closing the gap between us and wrapping one arm tightly around me. He uses his other hand to rub my arms, creating friction and warming them up.

"Better?" He asks.

"Yes thank you," I smile.

He gives me one of his goofy grins and it makes me giggle. Reaching the top of the Ferris Wheel I look out over the carnival. When my head turns to the left, Drew's lips attach to mine. There's a second of shock that Drew is kissing me and then I melt into his lips. My eyes close and I kiss him back, my body turns to his and my hand rests on his shoulder. He holds me a little tighter, turning his body too until our torsos are so close I can feel his body heat. When the ride begins moving again, he breaks the kiss; all the cars must be loaded because we don't stop. I look at Drew biting my lip out of habit and I can feel my cheeks heated because I'm blushing.

"Always wanted to do that," he tells me and my cheeks get a little hotter.

He doesn't kiss me again but his arms stay around me until the ride stops and we get off. After the Ferris Wheel we go on a few more rides but we don't kiss again, mostly because all the rides were fast or we were in separate cars. We even walk about a foot apart when not on a aride and we don't talk much but I'm happy and I'm having fun.

"One please," Drew orders some cotton candy from a food cart.

We start walking again and he holds the cotton candy out for me to take some. I pull off a piece of the pink fluff and nibble at it while Drew tears off a huge piece and stuffs it in his mouth. Then he grins at me with pink fluff all over his lips and I giggle.

"Your mouth is covered in cotton candy," I inform him smiling.

He furrows his brow and starts rubbing his lips but it's not coming off and I giggle again. Running to another food cart I get a napkin and the guy gives me a small cup of water. I go back to Drew dipping the napkin in the water and to wash the cotton candy but before I do Drew's arm goes around my back pressing his body to mine. His lips overtake mine; this kiss is not hesitant or soft like the last one. It's passionate, salacious and wanting, I get lost in the kiss of heated fervor dropping the napkin and cup of water to the ground. My arms assailing his neck, he drops the cotton candy as his other arm comes around me. I clean his lips licking off the cotton candy, and then snaking my tongue between his lips. I have no desire to break out of the kiss and may not have if a loud boom didn't frighten me into gasping and I pull away for air. We look up to see fireworks in the sky, which seems oddly appropriate. We watch the fireworks, remaining in each other's arms. When the fireworks end Drew looks at me, I know I'm blushing, and I'm smiling while biting my lower lip. Drew opens his mouth but Adam's voice comes out.

"Hey Drew!"

Hearing his brother call to him from somewhere in the crowd Drew and I jump apart like being in each other's embrace just became painful. A few minutes ago we were making out and it was heating up but fearing Adam seeing us we separate putting a good foot of space between us.

"Oh hey Clare," Adam says noticing me and giving us an odd look, probably at the fact that we're together without him.

Audra and Omar walk up behind Adam also giving us a look, I hug Adam and smile at the at the Torres parents.

"I found her in the Fun House, some idiot was pestering her." Drew explains to his family and it's all true he's just not saying what happened after, or a few minutes ago, not that I blame him, not too sure Adam would react well. "Hey I see Owen and the guys, I'm gonna go off with them now that Clare has better company, see you guys at home." Drew says and starts to walk off. "HEY OWEN!" He calls and Owen looks over.

He sees Drew and waves him over and Drew walks to them without looking back, Adam looks at his parents.

"I'm gonna go with Clare, be home by curfew," Adam tells his parents.

"Okay be safe kids," Audra says while Omar takes out his wallet and gives Adam some money.

Adam and I start to walk away, I look over my shoulder at the direction Drew went, he's looking over his shoulder at me. He gives me a wink, I smile, rolling my lip between my teeth again, my cheeks blush and I look ahead.