I can explain my lack of updates, for now, enjoy!

I don't own anything.

How to Rock

The County Fair had remained clammily cold, and all Stevie wanted at the instant was a cup of hot chocolate, a bigger coat, and Justin Cole's arms enfolded around her waist, keeping her warm.

Stevie watched as Nelson and Kevin both skipped excitedly at sighting one of the rollercoasters. Nelson gulped, while Kevin almost collapsed on sight.

"I'm riding with Nelson!" Kevin would yelp, bouncing up and down on the balls of his heels, trying to regain his excitement to a minimum, though, it wasn't working as well as he expected.

Strangely, but predictably in unison, Nelson would yell out, "I'm riding with Kevin!"

Stevie and Zander both provided comparable gazes, but chortled all the same. It was nice hanging out again, just the four of them, like it used to be. Stevie was the girl of group, Nelson was the wiz, Kevin was the comedic jokester, and Zander was the enchanter. There was no Kacey Simon stirring the whole thing up. It was something the fates did Stevie good.

Zander elbowed Stevie on her arm informally, nodding towards the ride that was dangerously moving too wildly for her fondness. His hands had been gloved and thrusts into his Brewster High, violet sweatshirt pocket, not scheduling to jerk them out anytime soon that night.

"We should follow them," he said. Witnessing his breath, making him beam, Zander sustained, "wouldn't want to report to the lost and found about two missing teenagers."

Stevie chuckles and rubbed her arms, trembling. "I guess you're right." Stevie grins, slowly proceeding towards the extended line for the petrifying ride.

But with each step, it seemed the ride appeared to develop both in speed, and in size. She hitched her breath, "on second thought," Stevie replied, turning towards a confused Zander, "I think I'd be better over here," she snickered apprehensively, directing to an empty bench alongside the line.

She sat, and grinned as an elderly woman sat the opposite side of her, bumping, what Stevie presumed, was her grandchildren.

Zander grinned at her teasingly, "are you…" dare he say it? "Scared?"

Stevie whipped her head towards him, her eyes broaden. "Scared? Me?" she hooted, "what are you on?"

Zander blinked, "If you're not scared," he took his hand out his pocket, and almost, almost, regretted it as the emotionless wind gusted past him, "then get in line with me."

She scoffed and crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest, "no."

"Why not? Scared?" He cooed.

"Ha- ha- ha," she laughed acerbically, an unqualified expression worn.

"Well?"

She blinked, "I just… need to pee."

"Pee after."

"I'm cold, and that thing's moving way too fast."

"You'll warm up."

"No, I won't."

"I'll buy you a cup of hot chocolate after."

She sighs, "Why do you want me to go on?"

"Because I don't think I've ever seen Kevin and Nelson this happy," he chuckles, running his gloved hand through his hair, "and, I'd rather go on this," he sighed and sat next to her, making sure not to bump into the elderly women on his right, "then sit here and let them ride it alone."

She sighs, "I really need to pee."

"Stevie," he says, "It's only a thirty second long ride," he chuckles, "I think you'll live."

She sighs, and stands, "fine, but I want the hot chocolate with ten marshmallows, and a bendy straw."

Zander scoffed and stood, "Marshmallows are ten cents each!"

She shrugs, "I could always sit back down," as she begins to sit, he lightly clutches her forearm, preventing her to create several additional actions.

"Okay, okay. Whatever, anything you want." Zander, all the much, pleaded. His eyes searching her face for an answer.

"Well aren't you two the most adorable thing," the elderly women lastly piped up. Zander, confusingly, glanced at her, as did Stevie, with a flush that was either from embarrassment, or from the frigid cold. The women laughed to herself, "I remember when I was your age, and in love too."

"We're not," chuckled Zander anxiously, releasing her forearm, making her fall back to the bench the women was seating on with a thud.

Stevie stood and dusted herself off, glaring at Zander. She faced the woman, "yeah."

"Oh, I remember like it was yesterday," she said dreamily. "Just another school girl in love, was I not?"

Stevie simply grinned, and pulled on Zander's wrist, "thank you, but, we should get going. Nice chatting with you," Stevie waves and pulls Zander into line.

"That wasn't nice," Zander crossed his arms over chest, looking over heads to spot Nelson and Kevin.

She shrugged, "she was weird." She said bluntly.

"You're weird."

"Not crazy weird." she snorts, nodding towards the bench, but to only witness a lone bench with a family of three proceeding to sit.

"I didn't think she was crazy. I mean, we did look like a couple." Zander shrugged.

She scoffed, "Don't push your luck, pretty boy."

He smriks.

How to Rock

"Zander," she huffed out breathlessly. She was partly surprised her vocal chords were on her side and doing her right, and also that she hadn't fainted yet.

Zander, completely oblivious, had been chatting with Kevin and Nelson, who had been sitting behind them on the ride that was currently waiting on two passengers who refused to sit next to each other.

Stevie gulped when the two finally resolved their differences and sat next to one another, and the ride managers were currently checking on each passengers safety, checking the seat-belt, in which Stevie presumed wasn't tight enough, and the harness that her nails appeared to be digging in.

"Zander," she breathed out again when the manger tightened her seat belt, and mutters a quick 'check' under his breath.

"No, I think we should stop to get something to eat first." Zander continued on his conversation, completely incognizant to Stevie's difficult grip on the rusted bar, that was freezing, before them, and her vocal actions.

"But I want to ride the blue one!" Kevin whined.

"Yeah, but Stevie really needs to use the restroom, and, plus it'd be nice to warm up." Zander debated.

Kevin huffed, "fine."

Zander rose a brow, "don't get pouty, we're about to ride this," he looked at a sign to his right that read: "Banana Split." Which was strangely ironic due to the fact it felt negative seventeen degrees out, and an ice cream treat did not sound fun at the moment.

Kevin grinned, "Dude I heard someone died on this."

However, the three boys didn't realize Stevie was on the erg of jumping out her seat at any given moment. "Zander," she hissed a bit louder. He turned towards her and grinned.

"Hey."

"I um… lied," she gulped, "I'm terrified to the point where I'm going to puke all over you," she gritted through her teeth.

Zanged smirked, "really?" he said in fake astonishment.

She smacked him on his arm. He winced and rubbed it, "Zander," she hissed once more.

"What? It's not like the ride's even started yet." He says, shrugging. She glares at him, and he grumbles something under his breath that sounded something along the lines of: 'don't get mad at me…' "Stevie," he finally sighed out, "you'll be fine." He wrapped an innocent arm around her shoulder, nestling somewhat up to her, "just relax." He demanded nonchalantly.

"I can't."

He undid her firm grip on the bar, and positioned them moderately in her lap, and serenely retorted in her ear, "relax." His murmur was so lenient thus so tough.

She shivered. How was she theoretically supposed to lessen her tension when he was adjacent to her body?

She squirmed in his presence and crushed as distantly near the ride's side, and away from him. "Erm…"

Noticing her reddened face, and uncomfortable writhe, Zander sulked, and scooted a bit left from her, "it's just a ride, Stevie." He said a tad dismally.

She huffed, "A ride that will plan my death," she mumbles.

"You could have said you were scared."

She glared at him, "And get humiliated? No thank you."

"Come on, look," he nodded towards a few kids boarding for a couple who were too alarmed to ride. "If those two kids could do it, then why can't you?"

Stevie sighed, "They're too ambitious about their deaths."

He raised a brow, "You'll be fine. It's for Kevin and Nelson, Steves. I mean, just look at them," he nods towards the two, currently in an argument with one of the ride mangers about how to start the ride sometime while some of them were young. "You can't tell me they don't look like a kid on Christmas."

Stevie snorts, "They always do." Zander glared at her. She gnawed back in additional offense, and huffed, relaxing somewhat in her seat, "fine. But if I rip your hand off, and make you deaf, then I just want to say I warned you."

Zander chuckled, "As long as I get to hold your hand, then I'll be fine." Zander smirked playfully.

She blinked, "wha-?"

As if on cue, or perhaps the fates really did hated her, the rollercoaster beeped, and instantaneously, the coaster shot the pew onward. She didn't realize Zander had essentially been linking his fingers with her own waffle style, or the fact that her eyes had been locked, or even that she was screaming her ass off.

I'm dead. I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead. And I haven't even kissed Justin Cole yet!

When the suddenly jerky movements halted, Stevie rested her screams and opened her vision. Her chest was high in tension, and her breath seemed to be lost. "Who the hell invented this?"

How to Rock

They were all silent, simply thinking.

The fattening pizza flopped on their paper plates were saturated in grease, and strangely, almost gone and entering their digestive systems. The hot chocolates heating their palms weren't nearly warm enough, but it helped.

"I'm glad we didn't go to that lame party," Kevin piped up after a moment of silence. His hot chocolate currently empty.

"You know, me to. Who needs Kacey, right?" Nelson asked, a bit watchfully.

"I'm just glad not to see Molly," Zander concludes, "I can't take her fashion lessons any longer."

"She gives you fashion lessons?" Kevin asks astonishingly.

Zander nods, "they're hell."

Kevin only blinks, looks down at his empty mug, and stands. "Refill time! Anybody want something while I'm up?"

"Yeah, actually can you grab me some-" began Nelson.

"What do I look like, an ATM? Get it yourself." Kevin scolds, walking away in a fake dramatic matter. They chuckled, and the silence fell back over the three.

"So…" Stevie sighs.

"So," Nelson replied clumsily.

"Guy's, I think we better call it a night," Zander pipes up, looking down at his phone and frowning.

Stevie did the same, and ignored yet another call from Kacey and Justin. As much as it pained her, she would not be living the fairytale with Justin Cole that night. It would be with Nelson, Zander and Kevin. Her real knight in shinning armors.

"Wh-what? We can't, we still haven't even ridden the Ferris Wheel. You can't go to a fair, and not ride the Ferris Wheel, it's practically tradition!" Nelson argued.

"Fine, the Ferris Wheel, then we go home." Zander orders. He turns to Stevie, "Unless you scared?" he smirks.

She glares, "I can do the Ferris Wheel, Zander. I'm not a child." She rolls her eyes.

He raises his brows, "sure…"

How to Rock

She hated Ferris Wheels. They were high, and squeaky, and it was far too cold to be stuck at the top while couples boarded. What made it worse, was it was began raining. Like, full on rain. Not a downpour, but definitely not a sprinkle.

Stevie shivers, and glared at Zander, who was using his hood to protect his hair, "Oh come on! I just got my hair done!"

Stevie rolled her eyes, "Who's fabulous idea was it to come here anyway?" Stevie asked aloofly. She blinks when a drop enter her eyes, and rubs it away, cursing herself for wearing makeup.

"Mine." he states bluntly, looking forward.

The lights were beautiful. The view of the town was enchanting and awe-inspiring, and the stream of rain bucketing over it assistance the stunning view. Zander grinned to himself.

It was moments like these when life was truly going good for him. He had a friends beside him with helping hands that would rather go to the town's fair held in the back parking lot of the mall, then to attend a social infested party that would get him laid, Nelson a girlfriend with the beautiful Grace, Kevin a laugh out of a couple of chicks, and Stevie would get what she always wanted:

Justin Cole.

"It was dumb." Stevie said icily, her jawbone quivering. If he hadn't known better, it viewed as if she were crying. Her cheekbones were a fading rosy pink, dews cascaded her face, her jaw quivered, and she seemed generally miserable.

It's just the weather. She's just… cold.

"You came." He nudged her arm slightly, blocking the top of his head with his hoody and his hands.

"You all came to my house, and forced me to go," Stevie explains matter-of-factly. Her voice stronger, before breaking again.

"You could have said no." he said nonchalantly, grinning at her sudden interest in the conversation.

"I did!" she was a tad livid currently, but her minor chuckle underneath her voice made him contented.

"So, would you rather had gone to the party?" he raises a brow at her.

She blinked, "no."

"Not even with Justin Cole? I'm sure he would have made the moves on you tonight."

She sighed, "don't remind me. I got at least ten calls from him alone."

"So, what's the problem? You have him right where you want him, right? I mean," he shrugged, "he finally likes you. That's good?" He more asked than told.

"But… yeah. I know I should be happy, but," she looks away when they begin moving again, "I feel like he's not completely into me that way." she shrugs.

"Like what?"

"Like, in a relationship type," she blushes. Never would she depiction herself having this conversation with him. "I don't know."

"You really like him, don't you?" he asks, frowning.

She glances at him and grins, "Yeah..."

Drama's coming up everyone.

I think.

Possibly.

Anywho, I want to apologize about my lack of updates. I blame part of it on my damn Microsoft Word crashing, (I still need to get it fixed, but I'm scared if I do, they'll completely wipe out my saved stories I was going to update for later chapters) and myself for not completely keeping up with this story. I've been getting pretty lazy about it, to be honest.

I need to thank all my feedback: whether it's comments, adding my story to favorites, story alerts, myself as your favorites, myself to your alerts, or messaging me privately in a PM. I can't express how much you all inspire me to continue.

I'll try and update as fast as I can, I'm still getting used to this new Text Document, so I apologize if it's not my best chapter. Good news, though: school's OVER! (about time, right? I've been out for six days now.) So, updates should be going good. I don't plan on leaving my bed, the couch, or my desk anytime soon. Bad news: not sure when my Microsoft will get fixed, but hopefully soon.

I'll try and update later today. Thanks to the patience, readers. And don't forget to give some love to the review button.