pilz: hey guys, i hope you enjoy this chapter.

• • •

Rin woke up around 9:00 am and found she was in the arms of her sleeping friend, Len. She got up, yawned, and stretched, then went to the kitchen to get some breakfast (quietly so as to not wake up Len).

She finished her cereal and put the bowl into the sink. Might as well make Len some breakfast, too, she thought, then got another bowl of cereal ready and put banana slices on it. When she finished, she placed the bowl by a spot at the table and began to wash the dishes.

Rin filled a glass of orange juice for herself and sat down again to check her phone. Her mother had texted her a couple hours earlier; Hey Rinny, turns out I'm going to be out the whole week for business. Rui's staying at her friends' all day and maybe going to the carnival, you should go too. Love, mom. (p.s. your boyfriend's really cute, you should've told me you were dating him). Rin snorted, bring a hand up to her face while she blushed. "He's not my boyfriend, mom. . ." she whispered, taking a sip of orange juice.

Len woke up about fifteen minutes after Rin did. He wasn't too surprised she wasn't in his arms, considering she's usually up way early, so he just got up and walked around to look for her.

Len heard the water running and he walked in that direction happily. When he saw Rin, he ran his hand through his hair and sleepily said, "Good morning!"

"Oh, there you are, Lenny! Good morning!" she said while putting the last dish on a shelf. She motioned to the bowl of cereal

"How kind of you, Rinny," he said.

Heading in the direction of her room, Rin said, "Changing, I'll be back in a couple minutes." Len began to eat the breakfast she had made for him, particularly enjoying the banana slices in it.

Rin came back downstairs in an white t-shirt and yellow capris. When she reached the table she sat down across from Len and said, "So Lenny, I heard there's some sort of carnival going on today. . ."

He swallowed the banana he had in his mouth and looked into Rin's deep azure eyes, "And you want to go?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, it's just something to do. Unless you want to go back home soon."

Still staring into her eyes, he raised his spoon to his face and hit his chin with his spoon, getting some of the milk on his shirt. He quickly put it in his mouth and swallowed. "I want to go, but I need to change and tell my dad I'm going to be out again."

"You should probably do that, then."

"Yeah, I probably should."

Rin's phone made a tone and she checked it; Miku texted her saying, I'm going to the carnival with Kaito, do you and Len want to come? We can go to my house afterward -Miku H.

Len's phone also beeped; he checked it and it was from Kaito: hiii, do u and rin wanna go to the carnival? miku asked me to ask, we're prolly going to go to her house after soooo u should prolly tell ur dad if u wanna come.

Thanks, Kaito, Len thought.

Rin looked up at Len and said, "Ooh, Miku's going with Kaito. Do you want to meet them there? She also invited us to go to her house after the carnival."

When Rin said this after he finished reading his text from Kaito, Len really couldn't say no. "Yeah! I'm totally down for that!" He finished his cereal, put his bowl on the counter, went to Rin's room to grab his school bag, then got his shoes on. "I'm going out to go to my house and get more suitable clothes for carnivalling," he said.

Rin laughed at his usage of 'carnivalling.' "Okay, cool," she said as she texted Miku back, we'll be there! thanks miku ily -rinny. She washed Len's bowl, then sat down on the couch to watch television when he left to get his things.

Len left and went to a nearby apartment building. He put his key into the main door, walked in, went up a set of stairs, and stood in front of another door. He got out a different key and unlocked the door to his 'home'. Len passed by his dad who was sleeping and went into his room; it was normal sized for an apartment, with various yellow things. He went over to his dresser and got out a pair of yellow shorts, a bright yellow shirt, and a less bright orange jacket. He wrote a note to his dad saying he wouldn't be back until later tomorrow, then went back to Rin's house.

When Len arrived back at her house, Rin turned off the television and got up from the couch. She put some money and her phone into an orange and yellow purse, slipped into her shoes, then rushed to the door. "Are you good now, Lenny? We should get going soon, Miku and Kaito are probably waiting," she said, then texted Miku saying they were leaving.

"Yeah, I'm good, and we should probably be going." Then he remembered he hadn't texted Kaito back; Yes, thank you for the offer, he replied. He was still at the door so he just pawed at the handle, opened the door, and walked outside.

Rin followed Len outside, locking the door behind them. "I wonder what's at the carnival," she thought aloud. Then she giggled, "I bet Kaito's going partly for the ice cream."

Len walked at a steady, slow pace. He laughed a bit, "He probably is, and probably to see Miku, too. I assume the normal carnival things'll be there, like a merry-go-round and a ferris wheel. Maybe some drunk elderly people."

• • •

Miku and Kaito were waiting at the entrance when Rin and Len arrived. When she saw Miku, Rin ran over and tackled her in a huge hug. "It feels like I haven't seen you in ages, Miku! I missed you so much!"

Miku laughed and hugged her back, "I missed you too, Rinny, but it's only been two days!"

Len ran up to them, too, although not as enthusiastically. When he got to them, he waved at Kaito and said, "Hi Kaito!"

Kaito began to laugh and walked to Len, hugging him. "Lenny, my buddy, it's been forever!"

The hug almost crushed Len. Surprising for someone whose diet is based solely on ice cream, he thought, then painfully said, "Please no, Kaito, stop."

Rin and Miku laughed at Len and Kaito. "So where're we gonna go now?" Rin asked Miku.

"Kaito's been complaining about not having ice cream since I picked him up, and I don't think I can stand it anymore," Miku replied, smirking at Kaito. "So we're probably going to have to visit an ice cream vendor first."

Kaito released Len and began running in the direction of the vendor with his arms flailing about, exclaiming, "Yaaaaaaaaaay!"

When released, Len practically fell down. When he got up he rubbed the sore spots on his body and slowly walked to the vendor, trying his best to stay behind Rin and Miku. "How is he so strong? He only eats ice cream. . ."

Miku laughed, "Beats me." Finally they caught up with Kaito, arriving at the ice cream vendor.

"Do they have orange sherbet?" Rin asked excitedly, almost jumping up and down; the question was mainly directed toward Kaito since he'd been there studying the flavors long before they even got there.

"This place has more flavors then the shop," Kaito said excitedly. "There're some I haven't even heard of!" And with that, Kaito ordered a pizza flavored ice cream.

"Well, I still just want banana and orange. . ." Len said quietly to Rin.

Rin nodded at him. "I'm probably getting orange sherbet again," she said, reaching for her wallet.

Miku stopped her, saying, "No Rinny, I can pay."

"But Miku-"

"Nope, I'm doing it!" she insisted, walking up to the man running the ice cream stand to order. "Hello, I'd like a mint ice cream, orange sherbet, and an orange and banana ice cream," Miku said cheerfully.

Once the ice cream was ready, the man said, "That'll be ten dollars, miss." Miku paid, then handed Rin and Len their treats.

Rin took her orange sherbet gratefully, but continued to complain to Miku; "Mikuuuuu, I really could've paid for me and Len!"

"Oh, hush up and eat your sherbet."

"Thank you, Miku," Len said.

"You're welcome, Lenny," Miku replied, taking a small bite out of her ice cream.

He ate few bites of his ice cream and looked around. "So what are we doing after this?"

Through a mouthful of ice cream, Kaito said, "There are plenty of rides and other things here."

"Yeah," Rin said. "How do you guys feel about roller coasters?" She herself had never been on one, but people were always talking about how much fun they were.

Kaito finished his ice cream quickly, then hugged his stomach. "That's not really a good idea. . ."

Len nodded in agreement. "We should try something much more peaceful, since we're eating right now."

Miku also agreed, "Yeah, Rin, they're right."

Rin winced. "Okay, so that should probably wait for a while. What do you guys think? Ferris wheel?"

The blue-haired boy pulled out the map of the carnival's landscape and put his hand near the picnic areas saying, "We're here. . ." His hand crept to the picture of a large wheel, where Len's finger had already been.

"And the ferris wheel's there," Len said.

Miku walked over to look at where they were pointing on the map. "Okay, so we should start walking. . . that way," she said, pointing to a path to the left of them.

Rin glanced at the path, then grabbed Len's hand and dragged him toward it saying, "C'mon Lenny, I'm excited! Who do you wanna sit with?"

Len's feet half slid while Rin dragged him. "I want to sit with you, Rinny!"

Miku watched them go and giggled, "They're so cute, aren't they Kaito?"

Kaito smirked as he saw the boy get dragged and began to walk along the path with Miku. "They are, but they got upset when I tried to show them. It broke my poor heart, it did," Kaito put his hand to his heart and arced his arm out, looking like he could easily be pushed down. He looked at Miku and asked, "Won't you repair it?"

"Of course," Miku replied, laughing.

• • •

When they arrived at the ferris wheel, Rin smiled and looked up at the tall, spinning wheel. "You're not afraid of heights, are you Lenny?" she asked.

Kaito patted Len hard on the back and laughed, "Yeah, it would really suck if you were!"

Len's stomach flopped when he anxiously looked up to see how tall the ferris wheel actually was. He quietly said, "It's not that. . . large, Rin. . ."

Rin shrugged, "I guess not. Let's go." She pulled Len to the gate, not having to wait in line because there was barely anyone there; the carnival wouldn't be too crowded until noon. The wheel had stopped and she walked to the empty bench at the bottom.

Miku sighed. They forgot to pay the one dollar ride fee. . . but what are friends for? She took out two dollars and began to hand the money to the brunette running the ferris wheel.

"Let me pay for this, Miku!" Kaito said, showing the brunette two dollars. The girl took the money and Kaito stepped inside the gate, turning to Miku and saying, "Ladies first."

Miku blushed, then nodded, putting her money away.

Len got settled into his seat on the wheel. His heart was racing, but his face was calm. "How high do you think this thing is?" Len asked as the wheel raised at an arc and stopped again.

"I don't know," she replied, then shouted down to Miku who was near the sign for the ride. "Hey Miku! How tall is this?"

Miku read the sign. "Uhh, about two hundred feet," she replied, then walked over to the next empty bench.

Again, Len's stomach turned. Even though he didn't know exactly how big that was, he could assume it was tall. The machine started moving again, and the higher they got, the more unsettled Len seemed to get.

Kaito sighed, assumedly from deep thought, but then quickly chuckled. "You know, it doesn't feel right. . . making Len get on this."

Miku glanced up at Rin and Len's seat, smiling sympathetically. "I think he'll be okay. He's got Rinny, anyway; she'll get him through it."

Kaito shook his head, "Shouldn't we at least tell her he has a fear of heights? She can sometimes be pretty dense. No offense, though."

"I guess you're right," she sighed, then looked back up at Rin and Len. "Hey, Rin!"

"What?" Rin's voice sounded from above.

"I think you should know that Len is afraid of heights."

Rin quickly looked over at Len; he seemed pretty nervous. "Hey, are you okay, Lenny?" she asked worriedly. "You should've told me!"

Len sank into his seat, hoping it would just eat him alive or that the wheel would fall down. Nervousness swept through his body and he tried to come up with a reason, but nothing came to him; he managed only a noise from his throat. "I-I, uh," Len groaned.

She looked at him in concern, then gasped as she realized they were approaching the top of the wheel. I have to do something. . . She didn't know what to do other than hold him, so she did, pulling him into a tight hug. "It's gonna be okay, Len."

Len melted into Rin as she pulled him in. He would've held her back, had he not been at the peak of the wheel overlooking the landscape of the carnival; this only made him lean into her more. As the ferris wheel slowed to a stop, his voice only allowed him to whisper, "I hope you're right."

Rin tightened her grip on him and tried thinking of more ways to comfort him. Maybe distracting him would help?

Len sat there, a bit more calm then he had been. The wheel stopping both discomforted him and bothered him. It's not moving, so it can't break down or have any issue, but it won't go down.

Then Rin's hand accidentally brushed against Len's hair; she was amazed. "How is your hair so soft?" she asked. Some questions should take his mind off this.

Len heard the question, and he tried to focus on that. "I use hair conditioner and shampoo, but other than that I can't think of anything that would make it be softer."

She nodded and stroked his hair another time. She gasped, startled when the wheel started up again. At this, she instinctively pulled Len in again.

Down a seat, Miku smiled up at the two who were now huddled together on their seat. She was glad Rin was there for Len. "Look, Kaito. They're hugging, how sweet!" she said, scooting a little closer to him.

"It's quite cute, Miku," he said with a grin. "And it's going to stop again, just for us!" he yelled maybe a bit too loudly, then remembered about Len and felt ashamed that he'd done that.

Miku noticed his expression after saying that. "Kaito, it's fine," she assured him, then added, "Anyway, he's probably too focused on the heights and Rin to hear you."

In the other seat hugging Len, Rin was glad the wheel had stopped again. She slightly loosened her grip on Len and asked him, "You okay? We're going back down now."

Len sighed. "I just want off, but I'm glad you're here," he answered, laying his head on her shoulder. He was very glad that she was here and didn't yell at him for trying to be tough. However, he was still anxious about getting to the ground.

"I'm always here for you, Lenny," Rin said, smiling as she rested her head on his. "At least, I hope I can be," she added, laughing nervously.

The wheel again started with a jolt; she jumped again and squeezed him in another hug. She relaxed when she realized they were being brought to the ground, but still held onto Len tightly. "It's over!" Rin announced, breathing a sigh of relief.

Stepping out of the car, Len locked his elbows with Rin and walked with her to a nearby bench. He sat down to wait for Kaito and Miku; however, he couldn't stop thinking about what Rin had said. "I hope you're always here for me, too. . ." he said quietly, although still audible so she could still hear it.

Rin smiled and sat down next to him. "Well, after this frightening experience, we probably shouldn't go on any roller coasters," she said, laughing. "What do you want to do next?"

"Well, other than the ferris wheel and the gambling stands for the old people, there really isn't too much to do here," Len replied with a slight giggle.

• • •

At about 2:00 pm, the friends' time at the carnival was over and they were now walking to a nearby small restaurant for a late lunch. Miku had recommended it because they offered very delicious sandwiches and other lunch dishes. It was slightly expensive, but since her family was fairly wealthy, she had offered to pay.

Rin walked steadily beside Len toward their destination. She turned to look back at Miku, who was behind them walking with Kaito, and whined, "Are we almost there, Miku?"

Miku chuckled, "Yes, Rinny. I think I can see the sign down the road; it should only be a couple more minutes."

Len pointed to a sign far away in the distance. "See, it's the one all the way out there!" He then stopped, hoping Rin would, too, so that Kaito and Miku would get ahead. Maybe she would be alright with holding hands again, he thought.

Kaito looked over at the sign and gave a large smile. "It sounds like it's really fancy; good choice, Miku. I wonder if it has fancy ice cream. . ." He kept walking, bumping into Len and just moving around him.

Following him, Miku elbowed Kaito in the side and said, "Kaito! You've had enough ice cream today!"

Kaito sarcastically whined at being hit. "Mikuuuu, that huuuurt!" he complained, then started laughing.

Rin fell behind with Len and looked down at his hand. I wonder if I can hold it? she thought, then decided to do so and slipped her hand into his. "That was really fun, wasn't it?" she asked him, smiling happily.

Len smiled as well. "Yeah, well, most of it anyways; the ferris wheel was scary." Len got shivers from remembering the terrifying experience, but quickly got over it.

Nodding in understanding and smiling sympathetically, she said, "It was, even for me." Thinking back to that morning, she actually hadn't been frightened by the heights, but she was panicked because she didn't know how to help Len. "But really, Lenny, you should've told me before you got on! I would've waited with you!" she added with a serious tone.

"I know, I should've, but I didn't want to spoil the fun we all were supposed to be having. . ."Len replied, a hint of regret in his tone.

Rin sighed, "Well, the past is in the past. . ."

Distracted by her thoughts, she ran into Miku, who had stopped upon arriving at the restaurant. "Silly Rin, watch where you're going!" Miku laughed.

Rin blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, Miku."

"It's fine, Rinny. Anyway, we're here; why don't we go inside?" With that, she walked through the door.

The others filed in behind her. Kaito had been correct; the restaurant was indeed fancy. The tiled floor was a dark turquoise color; the tables were wooden, covered in a light blue silk tablecloth and surrounded by wooden chairs complemented with velvety cushions which were also colored light blue. Waiters and waitresses dressed in nice blue and white uniforms walked about the place, taking orders and handing out food to those hungry for lunch.

"Wow, this place is really nice!" Rin exclaimed, admiring the inside of the restaurant.

Len looked at the place and took it in; to him, it seemed like one of those places that served tiny amounts of food for large sums of money, but Miku had recommended it and was paying, so he didn't complain. "This place does look nice."

Kaito had already taken to ringing the bell that was on the front counter to signal a finely dressed man who spoke in a somewhat bold voice; he asked them, "Table for four, I presume?"

Miku nodded. "Yes, please."

Once they were led to their table, they sat down; Rin and Miku on one side of the table and Len and Kaito on the other.

Rin rested her chin on her hands and looked over at Miku. "Hey Miku, what are we gonna do at your place?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe some games. What do you guys think?"

Kaito got a sly grin on his face as he spoke, "I've heard truth or dare is plenty fun."

Len thought back on the other day when Rin wanted to play hide and seek at the park. "Miku, don't you like, live in a mansion? We could play hide and seek."

Miku nodded. "I do live in a mansion, and both sound very fun."

Rin clapped her hands softly in excitement. "I can't wait!"

The man came back after a few minutes and asked the four what they would like to have for their meal.

Miku thought for a moment, then replied, "I'll have whatever the sandwich of the day is. And water, please."

"I'll have that, too, but with orange juice," Rin said as the man wrote their orders down.

"I'll just have ice in a cup, as well as what the ladies are having," Kaito said.

"I'll have water and the same sandwich as him," Len answered.

The man jotted down their orders. "So, four of the sandwich of the day, two waters, one orange juice, and one glass of ice?"

"That's right," Miku confirmed.

He nodded and walked away.

• • •

pilz: thank you for reading and please review! i wish you all a good day / evening. 谢谢你！

Beluga: This next part is going to be my entire life, I really cannot wait for it.