StanfordBound2020: I had a good laugh at writing Cassandra punching Max. He did deserve it. :) Anyway, on with the carnival.

The gang was seated on the grass having a discussion on the upcoming school carnival.

"... I'm all for it. But organizing it is not going to be a walk in the park," Cassandra pointed out.

"Au contraire, Cassie," Payton refuted. "It's all renting rides, setting up gaming booths, make food and decorate."

"Wow," Cassandra said in amazement. "It's like you've done this stuff before, sweetheart."

Payton giggled, "I wish. I've spent a couple of hours fantasizing about organizing a carnival and putting all the ideas cohesively in this color-coded binder."

Payton opened her purse and got out a sparkly, purple-covered binder and passed it over to Cassandra. She took it and opened it. Inside were a bunch of ideas scribbled down neatly in Payton's cursive handwriting. Heart-shaped sticky notes were on the edges of the notebook. Pictures of carnival rides, food and the type of decorations to be used were right beside the notes.

Cassandra had to give credit where it was due; Payton was the consummate organizer and as such, she would be in charge of the organization of the carnival.

"Alright, then. Payton you're in charge, Cassandra decided.

"And I take it she'll need help?" Wes asked rhetorically.

"Yup," Cassandra replied, popping the 'p' in the process. "Divide and conquer."

"For one, I called dibs on doing the Tunnel of Love. I have so many ideas for it. Heart-shaped boats, heart-shaped flowers, heart-shaped hearts!" Payton said excitedly. "What about the rest of you?"

"I'll take care of the rides," Julian volunteered.

"And I'll help. I should be able to calculate what happens to the human body at extreme velocities," Nishan piped in.

"Oh, I know what happens to the body at extreme velocities. Pure. Awesomeness.," Julian stated with a grin.

"I'll do the food. I'm very particular about what I want served," Mia said in a tone of voice that left no room for argument.

"And we all know Sakura's running the game booths," Cassandra laughed.

Sakura smirked, "You know me too well."

"I can help with decorations," Autumn chirped.

"What about Wes?" Nishan asked.

"By the way..."

Cassandra looked around but couldn't find him. The guy had just disappeared like smoke.

"What the...? Where did he go?" Cassandra wondered aloud.

"Anyway, getting the materials for building the booths and renting the rides will require finances," Payton said as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Not a problem. Just write down a budget of the estimated amount of money you'll need and hand it over to the Student Govs," Cassandra told her.

"Sure thing, Cass."

Cassandra stood up and stretched out.

"If any of you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know," Cassandra told them as she walked off.

(Time skip)

The whole week was one of preparation for the celebratory carnival. Classes had been cut to half-day for everyone so that they could get time to prepare everything for the carnival. Everyone in the school chipped in to ensure that it was a success. Payton had requested Cassandra to assist her with ensuring that everything would be up by the day of the carnival. Cassandra was happy to assist in any way that she could.

First, she began with checking on the rides and saw Nishan and Julian directing the people from the rental company on where to set up the rides. She whistled and beckoned to them with a wave of her hand. They ran over to where she was standing.

"Hey guys. How's it going over here?" Cassandra asked.

"Awesome! We made sure to rule out the rides with the highest bucket factor as we chose," Nishan replied.

"That's about how long it takes you to get off the ride and find a bucket, so you can throw up," Julian explained upon seeing Cassandra's confused look.

"Noted, though TMI," Cassandra told him with a wrinkle of her nose. "Tell me what we got here."

"We have the Tsunami Whip-Splash! It's this crazy water coaster that races you through rip-roaring rapids and heaves you off a huge waterfall... " Julian began.

"And we have the Gravitator. Unsuspecting victims step onto a large spinning platter that pins them to the wall! The wonders of centrifugal force!" Nishan finished with a flourish of his hands.

Cassandra nodded and left them discussing the logistics relating to the rides. She went off to check in on Mia, who was busy with the Hipsters Allison, Nadiyah and Kai discussing food pairings as they prepared the carnival snacks.

"I say a food. You tell me what it pairs best with," Mia told them. "Peanut butter."

"Fig jam," Allison promptly answered.

"Strawberries."

"Balsamic vinegar. Deglazed, so it's thick and syrupy," Nadiyah responded.

"Baguettes?"

"Nothing. The best baguettes are from France, and don't require anything except for grass-fed butter," Kai replied with a starry-eyed look in his face.

Cassandra cleared her throat and they looked up. She smiled and asked, "Everything okay?"

Mia perked up and smiled, "Oh hey, Cassandra. Our school isn't tasteless as I thought. I found people who actually get my vision of good food."

"So what are you preparing?" Cassandra inquired.

"Basil apricot- ton candy, deconstructed corn dogs, butter, bagels ..."

Cassandra heard all she needed to know and from what she knew about the students in the school, this wasn't going to do. She raised a hand to silence Mia.

"Babe, you do know this is a carnival not a gourmet restaurant right?" Cassandra asked Mia with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I know. But would it hurt to try to have something new?" Mia posed.

"Just buy a couple of normal snacks as a contingency plan," Cassandra wheedled.

Mia nodded, albeit in reluctance. Cassandra went off to check in with Autumn and Sakura, who were busy at work building the booths with assistance from other preps and artists. There wasn't much issue on their end and construction was coming up pretty well.

Cassandra went to Payton to give her report. Payton was busy sprucing up the Tunnel of Love with roses.

"Hey, Pay. The Everything's nearly in place. The rides are set up, the food table's on its way and the games are coming up pretty well," Cassandra informed her.

Payton turned around and looked at her with an eager smile.

"Fantastic!" she said in excitement. "Okay. You go home and rest, Cass. I'll take care of everything else."

"Wait, won't you need..." Cassandra started but Payton put a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Shush. You've done so much for us, Cassie. Now let's take care of you for once," Payton told her beaming. "Now go home and come tomorrow ready to have yourself a good time."

Cassandra thought about it and shrugged. It would be nice to get some rest. She gave Payton a two finger salute and walked off to the parking lot to get her car and go home for the evening.

The next day...

Cassandra arrived in school, dressed casually in denim overalls, black boots and a black leather jacket. From the moment she stepped out of her car, she could feel the excitement of the students all around her for the carnival. Some students were dressed in specially made shirts for the occasion. They were written, 'Keep Calm and Think Carnival.'

Cassandra smiled as she walked towards the grounds where the carnival was being held. It was good to see the students in high spirits after all they had gone through to ensure that the school stayed open. She arrived at the entrance to the the carnival and was surprised to see Wes greeting people as they went in.

"Welcome to the greatest carnival the city's ever seen! Feast your eyes on the crazy rides and the bright lights, or simply feast on the finest of fair foods!" Wes welcomed them.

Cassandra clapped dramatically as she walked slowly towards him. He looked at her and gave her his signature smirk.

"That was quite the introduction, Mr. Deveaux. And here I was, thinking that you'd slipped out of helping out with the carnival," Cassandra said with a bright smile on her face.

"I take it you're impressed, Ms. Sage-Beckett?" Wes asked rhetorically.

She nodded and he continued, "I couldn't turn down being a carnival barker. It's the most important job there is. Besides, I want to make sure everyone has a good time. Especially you."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at that statement and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh really now?" she asked, doubt evident in her voice.

Wes raised his arms in surrender and replied, "I'm damn serious. You've done plenty for me. It's time I returned the favour."

The corner of her lips quirked into a smile and relented.

"Okay then. So tell me, Wes. What do we do first?"

"We?" He asked curiously.

"No. I mean Santa Claus," Cassandra said sarcastically. "Yes you. You also need some time to relax."

Wes chuckled. "Well, there are the rides we could go on together."

Cassandra smiled. "Lead the way, Deveaux."

"Gladly, Sage."

He put an arm around her shoulders and they walked together towards the rides.

Once they arrived, they found a bit of a queue and they had to wait their turn. Wes still had his arm around her and Cassandra had to admit, she liked it that way. She felt pretty good and wouldn't have it any other way. She actually wished that the queue wouldn't move fast so that she could get more of Wes. Luckily, the rides were made for two and she had him all to herself for the duration of the carnival.

After ten minutes of standing, their turn came and they stepped in to the water coaster. Once they were secure, it lurched forward making them both yelp on surprise. The damn thing was super fast and took some real twists and turns. The wind blew in their ears due to the fast speed they were going at.

"How did this pass the bucket test?" she yelled.

At some point, they approached a sharp corner and she thought they'd be thrown off the ride. She screamed in fright and without thinking twice, she wrapped her arms around Wes like a vice. The ride just negotiated the corner sharply but she still wouldn't let go.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Wes choked out from her firm grip.

The ride began slowing down, signaling that they were at the end and it finally came to a stop at the starting point.

"Uh, Cass? You can let go of me now," Wes told her.

Cassandra let go quickly and blushed. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as they got off the ride.

"Where to next?" Cassandra asked.

"I guess some food is in order if you're up for it," Wes suggested.

They went looking for Mia's booth where they found her leaning against the table, sighing sadly.

"What's with the long face, Princess?" Wes asked her.

She looked at them unenthusiastically and said, "Hey guys. I've been trying to get guys to try out the gourmet food I made but noone seems willing to try it."

"I'll try it, Mia," Cassandra volunteered.

Mia's face brightened a little bit as she handed them both some cotton candy. Cassandra took a bite of it and she made a face as she popped it in her mouth.

"Whoa, that is weird," she commented. "Basil and sugar don't go well together."

"Starting to see why people aren't biting," Wes agreed.

"I'm guessing you're not going to like the deconstructed corn dog either," Mia told them dryly. She covered her face with her hands. "This is a disaster! It was a good call to buy the normal snacks then."

Cassandra could sense her disappointment and decided to cheer her up by pointing something out to her.

"Hey. It wasn't a total disaster. Look over there."

Mia looked at the other end of the booth where Cassandra was pointing and saw Julian and Nishan eating the gourmet food and moaning in satisfaction at the taste.

"Whoa, Mia, these corn dogs are really good! Especially with the fancy mustard and ketchup stuff you've got on the tables!" Julian complimented her.

Mia perked up at this.

"The mustard's hand-ground from France! And the ketchup was made fresh this morning!" She told them.

"Nice. The selection of condiments is statistically satisfying," Nishan commended her.

Mia gave him a bright smile and proceeded to serve them more of the gourmet food. Cassandra and Wes made do with some funnel cakes and chocolate bars. Cassandra took a bite of the cake and moaned at the delicious taste.

"Why does fried dough taste so good?" she asked noone in particular.

"Why do people like secrets? Because they're both so delicious," Wes replied. "Now then! It's time to step up! Hope you're ready to play some games."

Cassandra smirked and finished the rest of her snacks. Once done, they went to Sakura's game booth, where students were trying their hand at Sakura's game challenges and failing miserably.

As they approached, Cassandra remarked, "Wow, that looks brutal."

Sakura was nearby and she heard Cassandra's remark. She gave them a roguish smile, "You know me. I like punishing people brutally for their failures."

"What's in the challenge?" Wes inquired.

"We have the Ring Toss, the High Striker, and the Rope Ladder Climb," Sakura answered. "You only get one try at each challenge, then you have to move to the next one."

"Damn..." Wes murmured.

"If that's not your cup of tea, we have the Water Gun Range over there," she gestured to the other end of the booth.

"I'll stick to the Water Gun Range," Wes decided.

"And you know me. I'm not one to turn down a challenge," Cassandra told him.

"Good luck, Cass."

"Acknowledged. See you in a few."

Cassandra and Sakura stepped up to the Ring Toss. Sakura stood on the sides with a stopwatch in hand.

"You ready, Cass?" Sakura asked.

"Always ready," Cassandra replied.

"You only have a minute to do this," Sakura reminded her. "And begin!"

She tapped the stopwatch and Cassandra ran up to the Ring Toss station, grabbed a plastic ring, and threw it high. The ring arched into the air and miraculously settled on a bottleneck. She ran up next to a numbered tower with a metal plate at the bottom. Sakura handed her the hammer. She raised it over her head, but at the top, it teetered to the side. She balanced the hammer and struck down on the plate. The puck rocketed up and hit the bell at the top. Next was the Rope Ladder. She climbed on, and immediately the ladder started teetering wildly to the right and left. She inched forward carefully. Suddenly, the ladder dipped to the left.

"Whoa!" she yelped.

She put her weight on the right, and the ladder settled. She clambered to the top.

The students who had been watching her progress cheered the moment she successfully finished all three challenges. She dropped down and high-fived the surrounding students. Autumn was waiting for her with a gigantic stuffed panda. She handed it to her with a smile.

"Good work, Cass!" she congratulated her as Cassandra took the panda.

Sakura walked over to them and told her warmly, "That wasn't completely terrible!"

Autumn sighed in exasperation and said, "I think she means congratulations."

Cassandra walked back to Wes who was busy spraying water into the dummies' mouth and watching balloons fill up from the top.

"Having fun, Wes?" Cassandra asked in a growly voice, hiding behind the panda.

Wes looked at the panda and laughed.

"Yes, I am, Mr. Panda," he replied.

"Mr. Panda? Really? One, that's rather generic. And two, she's female. I'm insulted," Cassandra told him in a mock hurt voice.

"What would you have me call her then?" Wes asked curiously.

"Hmmm," she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I think Iltani works. Or what say you?"

"I think it's cute," Wes told her softly. "Just like you."

Cassandra beamed at him and turned to the game in front of them. She handed the doll to the attendant and asked for a water gun to try her hand at it. Rather than squirt water at the dummies, she shot at Wes's face. He looked at her in shock and she laughed at the look on his face.

"What was that for?" Wes asked.

Rather than answer, she sprayed at him again. This time he was ready and he ducked. He aimed at her and she ran off, laughing all the while. Wes chased after her, spraying water at her. She ran behind the booth and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Catch me if you can," she taunted.

Wes smirked as she ran off, jumping over benches, rails and tables in the way. He gave chase, employing some of his skateboard skills in the process.

Cassandra had to admit, he was pretty fast. He began to catch up to her and were neck and neck. He tackled her and they went down.

"Gotcha!" he said triumphantly.

They were lying side by side and it was easy for them to forget the world around them. They were busy laughing too hard on the grass. Once the laughter had died down, they looked at each other for what seemed like forever before Wes stood up and held out his hand to her. She took it and he helped her up. They walked back to the game booth and they handed the water guns back to the attendant and in return, Cassandra got back the panda.

She looked up at Wes and asked, "Where to next?"

"You may have heard that there's a Tunnel of Love?"

Cassandra snorted, "Payton's mentioned it once or twice... or, like, ten times."

"Excellent. Let's go."

Wes led her to the Tunnel of Love's entrance where couples were entering the boats hand in hand directed by Payton. The moment she saw them, she squealed up and ran up to them.

"Aah! It's about time I saw you two," she said happily. "I hope you're enjoying yourselves."

"We are. Thanks to your organization," Cassandra told her warmly.

"You're too much, Cass," she blushed. "Anyway, are you two here for a ride or what?"

"Yup," Wes said, popping the 'p'.

"I hope you two are going together," Payton said eagerly.

Wes and Cassandra looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Ummmm..." Cassandra began.

"Errr..." Wes put in.

"Come on. Just go together!" Payton begged, grabbing them by the shoulders and pushing them towards an empty swan boat. "Trust me, you'll thank me later."

At her insistence, they stepped in the boat and it glided forward. Inside the Tunnel of Love, the boat gently passed through a curtain of hearts and into the tunnel beyond. They floated into one room with a beautiful red and purple sunset.

"Whoa, I got to hand it to her straight, she has an eye for decoration," Wes remarked.

"Amen," Cassandra agreed.

In the next room, there was see a picnic on the beachside.

"Not bad. That would be a date worth going on," Cassandra said, a smile on her face.

Wes shrugged, "Not really to my tastes but yeah, I could get behind that."

And in the last room, they glided under a dome of infinite dazzling stars. They looked up in amazement at the detail in the stars.

"Perfect for making out with your significant other," Cassandra murmured.

Wes looked at her, smirking.

"Are you trying to tell me something, Sage?"

"What? I wouldn't blush if you laid one on me, Deveaux."

Wes looked at her for a while and then cupped her face. Cassandra's heart raced as he leaned in and caught her lips in a gentle kiss. It increased in intensity as she kissed him back. He tugged on her lower lip and his tongue slid into her cavern. Their tongues danced with each other and to Cassandra, this felt right as she wrapped her fingers in his hair. They separated from each other and her lips quivered from all the feelings rushing through her. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, wow," she whispered.

"Yeah," he murmured.

She however, wanted more of his embrace. This was not meant to be as light emerged at the end of the tunnel. After the tunnel ended, they jumped out and before they could say anything, were interrupted by Payton.

"So, did you enjoy yourselves or what?" she asked with a knowing look on her face.

"Yeah, you could say that," Cassandra stated.

The rest of the evening went by in a fun blur, and by the end, Cassandra and company regrouped at the picnic tables.

Payton exclaimed, "Success! The carnival was amazing!"

Nishan agreed, "Went off without a hitch!"

Julian smiled, "Want to know why my day was awesome? I rode my water coaster six times! Eat that, bucket test!"

Payton asked curiously, "What's the bucket test?"

"Trust me, you're better off not knowing," Cassandra told her.

Sakura said, "What I really loved was the food. Whose idea was it to slice up hot dogs and make savory cotton candy?"

Mia perked up, "Aww, it was mine! And your games were great, Sakura. I won a prize!"

Autumn inquired, "Cassie, what was your favorite part?"

Cassandra replied, "Ummm...I don't know. I mean, the entire thing was a blast."

She ran a hand through her hair as her face warmed up at the time she spent with one certain Slacker. Speaking of him, where was he? She looked around and saw that once again, he wasn't with them.

"Yo. Has anyone seen Wes?" Cassandra inquired.

They all shook their heads and she announced, "I'm gonna go look for him. Sayonara."

She stood up and went of in search if the elusive Wes. She began searching the school in all logical places that Wes was likely to be in. She searched the gym, the parking lot and the library but he wasn't there. She finally decided to check the Slacker Hangouts and luckily for her, he was there. He was seated on the couch, remote in hand and was flipping through the channels on the TV.

Cassandra leaned on the doorway with her arms folded on her chest.

"I thought I'd find you here, Wes," she spoke at the doorway.

Wes turned around and looked at her.

He gave her a smirk and asked, "There's nowhere I can't hide from you, is there?"

"Ouch. That hurts. But yes, I pretty much own this school so I know every nook and cranny."

"Noted."

There was a brief moment of silence before Wes asked rhetorically, "So you gonna stand there or you're going to have a seat?"

Cassandra walked up to the couch and sat besides him. After another pause, he asked, "What brings you here?"

"Well, I was worried about you. You just disappeared after the Tunnel of Love. Didn't you enjoy yourself?"

"Oh, I did. I pretty much loved the entire carnival."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, "But..."

"But nothing. I'm okay Cass. You don't have to worry about me."

"Sure thing. Nothing to worry about, especially with the disappearing act.

Wes shifted himself so that he was facing her fully. He cleared his throat and said, "Okay. Let's get one thing straight here, Cass. That's just me. I enjoy the whole man of mystery stuff because that's just me. I prefer working in the shadows because it's my thing."

"Noted. Though with that viewpoint you should be a Wallflower, not a Slacker."

Wes chuckled, "Fair point."

They both laughed for a bit and it helped break the ice for what Cassandra was about to discuss next.

"Another thing. That kiss..." Cassandra began.

Wes raised his hand to silence her and said, "Hold up, Sage-Beckett. That was just a kiss. Nothing more, nothing less."

This time, Cassandra shifted so that she was facing him.

"Bull. Shit. Deveaux," she said, emphasizing on every syllable. "That was one heck of a kiss."

Wes shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a good kisser."

"On that we can agree. But that kiss is not the type you give to a friend. That's the type of kiss you give to someone that you want badly. That's the type of kiss you give to someone you like a lot. How am I doing? Am I correct in assuming that you feel something for me?"

At this point, Cassandra and Wes were looking each other in the eye intensely. The silence was so loud and evident that you could hear a pin drop. Cassandra licked her lips nervously. Maybe she had read too much into the kiss. She especially regretted broaching the topic when Wes stood up and ran his hand through his chocolate brown hair. However, that changed when he said, "You know what? Fuck it!"

He took her hands and helped her up. He then put his hand on the small of her back and pulled her close.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"What I should have done a long time ago," he responded.

He leaned in and he kissed her and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest. If he could feel her own pulse and heartbeat, it was like a sledgehammer. They walked backwards, lips still locked until Cassandra hit the wall. Wes pushed her against it and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he trailed kisses against her jaw. He told her, "Truth be told Cass, I feel something for you. I'm not sure if it's love or lust but I'm willing to figure it out if you are."

"I'm game, Wes," she breathed as he traveled to her neck and bit down gently on her sensitive flesh. That was likely to leave a mark, not that she was complaining. He whispered in her ear, "Mine."

She smiled and marked his own neck and whispered back, "Mine."

Their lips met once more in a gentle and insistent kiss. That's how it was and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Author's note: And that's a wrap for the carnival! Truth be told, I had writer's block when I was writing this chapter down not to mention a few other activities in real life. But it worked out well in the end. I hope that you like it! :) Finally, Cass and Wes get together. It's been a long time coming. I loved writing the scenes between them. The title of the chapter is from the song Sledgehammer by Fifth Harmony. I thought it suited the tone of the chapter just fine. Anyway, the gang has some more adventures coming up. Stay tuned for more!! I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors. Please read and review. Ideas are welcome as always. Bye bye! Canary out! :)