Now adorned with overstuffed fair prizes, the boys continue their stroll around their carnival, chatting away without a care in the world.

“So, would you rather be in the Hunger Games or the Battle of Hogwarts?” Theo asks.

“Sheesh… I never would have guessed you were such a nerd just by looking at you,” Julian pokes his arm and makes Theo blush, “but I would say the Hunger Games. That way it’s not people I know, right?”

“I get that. I think I’d maybe pick Hogwarts, just because then I know I have magic powers.”

“Which Hogwarts house are you in? I’m a Ravenclaw.”

“Well, I tell everybody I’m in Gryffindor, but all the quizzes I take say I’m a Hufflepuff,” Theo admits. “But don’t tell anybody! I gotta keep my cool guy persona goin’.”

Julian snorts. “What cool guy persona? All I see is a giant nerd!”

Theo makes a sound of disbelief. “Says the guy who was just going on about the intricacies of Greek Mythology-”

“That’s different! There’s like, history woven in! I’m basically a scholar,” Julian defends himself.

The boys continue their playful teasing until Julian spots a familiar head of dyed red hair in the crowd.

“Tracy?” he calls out, making the girl turn around. The group of Drama Queens all turn with her, looking shocked to see the boys at the event they planned to attend together.

“There you guys are! We’ve been trying to reach you guys for like, an hour!” Elena shouts in mock surprise, walking towards them.

“That’s funny, because I didn’t get a text saying you were looking for us,” Julian says accusingly.

“That is so odd- oh, you know what I did?” Elena says, turning her phone to show Julian her mistake. “I forgot the press send. Great going, amiright?”

Julian narrows his eyes at her, which she ignores, instead simply fluttering her eyelashes innocently.

“Did you guys just get in here? It’s already past 9,” Theo asks.

“Yup! Just got in here. The line really got long outside the ticket booth,” Val says, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

“Hey, we’re here now! Have you guys gone on any of the rides yet?” Susan asks.

“Well, from the looks of it, they just finished winning prizes for each other,” Elena deduces. Susan and Elena exchange knowing looks.

“Hey! I love the Tilt A’ Whirl, lets go on that!” Elena says a little too loudly. “Julian, can I ride with you?”

“Uh, sure,” Julian says, walking to join her.

“We all fit in pairs. How perfect! Tina, you wanna ride with me?” Susan asks. Tina nods in agreement.

“Quinn, you’ll ride with me, right?” Val asks with what can only be interpreted as a flirty smile. Quinn’s pale skin turns pink quickly, and she gives a short nod as well.

“Welp, looks like you’re stuck with me, Theo!” Tracy says, tossing her arm around his shoulder despite him being a few inches taller than her.

~~~

“Wow, it’s almost like you all planned the seats ahead of time,” Julian says in a flat tone, quietly enough that only Elena can hear it.

“What can I say? Life is just full of happy little accidents,” Elena says with a wave of her hand.

The group migrates toward the Tilt A’ Whirl, lit up by round yellow bulbs in all its clunky glory. Their group is almost large enough to fit all the seats, but a few stragglers make it into the rotation. Elena hops into one of the domed seats, making room for Julian and his giant pink fish before pulling down the lap bar earlier than necessary.

“So, how’s your first date been going?” she asks with a wiggle of her eyebrow. Julian’s face flushes almost immediately, and he curses himself for being so transparent.

“D-don’t call it a date, it was you guys who ditched us,” he grumbles.

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” Elena shrugs. She pats the top of the spherical pink pufferfish. “Did he win this for you?”

“Maybe.”

“That feels like a date to me.”

“Elena, seriously-”

“Listen listen listen. I get that you’re like, kinda pissed at me-”

“Kinda?” Julian bites back as the ride shudders and starts moving.

“BUT I wanted to give you guys a chance to interact outside of rehearsals! I wanted you to be sure you weren’t falling for him because he’s acting in a romantic play or something.”

“You sound like a damn psychology major, Elena.”

“And I also thought it would be a nice opportunity for some one-on-one bonding, since usually we’re always crowding you two.”

Julian grumbles something in frustration that Elena can’t hear. “It would’ve been nice if you ran that by me first,” he huffs.

“I knew you wouldn’t agree, or you’d get in your own head about it, so I went behind your back just a lil’ bit,” she sighs. “I want my best friend to be happy, so sue me.”

The rest of the ride passes with Julian in a bout of contemplative silence, while Elena enjoys the Tilt A’ Whirl experience.

~~~

“Nice monkey,” Tracy tugs at one of the red monkey’s feet after she and Theo are secured in their dome seat. “Which booth did you win that at?”

“Oh, um… Julian won it for me. At the ring toss,” Theo says quietly while trying not to meet Tracy’s eyes. He can tell from her tone that she’s feeling smug about something, but he doesn’t know what.

“That’s sweet of him,” she says, jolting back into her seat as the ride begins. “And did you win him the puffer fish?”

“Ah, yeah. I kinda got too excited with that, didn’t I?” he says with an awkward chuckle.

“Maybe a bit. But I think it would be juuust excited enough if you guys were dating,” she says coolly, now focusing hard on his expressions.

Theo feels her eyes on him, and wishes his blush was less obvious on his pale-ass vampire skin. Anybody can read him like a book, and he wishes he could hide his reaction from Tracy’s prying eyes.

“We- I… well, he’s just- I mean I like him as a friend, so uh, so don’t get the wrong idea,” he stammers. He tries to prove that he’s cool as a cucumber with a laugh, but it comes out high pitched and nervous.

“I get it, it’s hard to have a crush on someone when you’re unavailable yourself,” she says. She speaks like an old woman who has lived through countless unrequited love stories, despite only having been on a few dates.

“Do you um… have experience with that?” he asks, confused.

“In a sense, you could say. But we aren’t here to talk about me,” she dismisses his question. “I’ll tell you this: smart people know when someone is worth waiting for… and in case you couldn’t tell, Julian is very smart.”

Theo feels a rush of hope. In a perfect world, Tracy would be right. Theo would be someone worth waiting for, and Julian would be someone with a whole lot of patience. But when is the world ever perfect? He shouldn’t get his hopes up. He still doesn’t know if Julian really feels that way, and there are a lot of other things he needs to consider before plunging into uncharted waters.

“I also think that Julian will wait for you. You know, for when you’re ready” she continues before he can say anything.

Theo’s blush reaches the tips of his ears. “Um… Thanks, Tracy. I uh- I really hope you’re right about that,” he says, standing as the lap bar lifts and allows him to exit. “I don’t want to keep him waiting for too long.”

~~~

The group continues on, enjoying the carnival festivities. Quinn ends up winning Val a blue unicorn, which Val names Mr. Luz after Quinn’s character in the play. Quinn thanks the darkness of night for helping her cover most of her embarrassing blush while Val walks along seemingly unaware, holding Quinn’s pinky with hers.

They go on a few more rides. Julian and Tina opt out of riding the Vomitron, instead waiting patiently with the cotton candy and fair prizes. They fill the whole row of the Swinging Ship, with Val and Tracy screaming wildly as the ride boosts higher and higher. Susan and Quinn have a friendly competition over who can pop the most balloons in the balloon dart tent, both ending up with zero points.

After a quick snack break consisting of hotdogs, popcorn, and nachos with yellow, plastic-y cheese, the Drama Queens make their way toward the Ferris Wheel. It will be the last ride of the night for them all as their tickets are running low and time ticks closer to their curfews. Once again, Susan and Elena conveniently assign everyone’s seats, this time leaving Theo and Julian to ride together.

Theo stands beside Julian as a particularly cold gust of wind blows by, making Julian visibly shiver.

“You cold?” he asks.

“Ah, only a little bit. I’ll be fine,” Julian says with a dismissive wave.

“Well, it’s only going to get colder once we get up there,” Theo says, unzipping his hoodie.

“Theo, oh my god, don’t give me your jacket-” Julian groans, yet makes no move to stop Theo as he drapes the hoodie over his shoulders.

“Don’t worry about me, man. I’ve got the monkey to keep me warm,” Theo says with a cheeky smile. Julian rolls his eyes while pushing his arms into the sleeves, unable to stop the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth.

The Ferris Wheel operator beckons the boys forward, seating them opposite from each other in the snug gondola and shutting the door with a click. Theo playfully knocks their knees together in the small space, making the tan boy smile and turn away. Julian immediately regrets this, because he soon sees Elena and Susan giving him thumbs up with goofy smiles.

“I haven’t been on a Ferris Wheel in forever,” Theo says, leaning back slightly in his seat to look up at the gondolas above him. “We used to go to carnivals all the time when I was a kid. The Ferris Wheel was consistently fun for the whole family.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been. My mom is scared of heights and my dad prefers not to go on rides since his accident.”

“Get outta town! You’ve never been on a Ferris Wheel?” Theo shouts in disbelief. Julian shakes his head no, startled by Theo’s outburst.

“Well then, it’s an honor to be here for your first,” Theo says with a smile. “Wait, that sounded kinda weird. Let me try again… um, I hope you like the Ferris Wheel!” he says loudly as his cheeks start to burn.

Julian giggles. “Thanks, Theo.”

They make their rounds quietly with the wheel stopping every so often to let other passengers in and out of their gondolas. The wind helps the frigid temperature feel colder than it actually is.

After their third rotation, Theo notices that Julian is still shivering. Without a second thought, he reaches out and takes Julian’s hands with his own, catching Julian and himself by surprise.

“Um… you looked cold,” he explains nervously. “I… I have warm hands. Oh my god, that sounded weird too. I’m sorry. I’ll let go-”

Before Theo can pull away, Julian tightens his grip ever so slightly. Just enough to reassure Theo, but not enough to stop him if he really wanted to let go.

Please don’t let go, Julian thinks, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping that Theo can’t see how red his face is.

Suddenly, the ride jerks to a stop, leaving their gondola at the highest point on the wheel. Above them sits a dazzling sky of stars, twinkling brightly with the lack of city lights around them. The only buildings around are lit up by little pinpricks through windows on the horizon. Theo turns to look at Julian while the tan boy gazes at the sky with wonder in his eyes.

Unconsciously, Theo leans forward. Maybe he is just getting more comfortable on his solid wooden bench seat. Maybe he is trying to get a better view of the sky for himself. Maybe he wants to study the details of Julian’s face while his eyes are filled with amazement. Maybe he wants to close the gap and help warm up Julian just a little more…

“Theo, this is beautiful,” Julian gasps. “You grew up seeing the sky like this?” he asks, turning to meet Theo’s eyes, only to be surprised by his proximity.

Theo hasn’t stirred from his reverie, still lost in the bright eyes that have made the butterflies in his stomach flutter so madly.

Julian chances a quick glance down at Theo’s pink lips, slightly parted while he focuses so intently on Julian’s face.

Theo takes a breath and lets out a shuddering exhale.

Julian can feel the warmth of Theo’s breath on his skin as he leans in a little bit closer.

The whole world stops turning for a few moments as the two boys sit a breath apart, simply basking in the feeling of closeness. Letting their hearts beat wildly without thinking of consequences. Noticing each other’s minute facial features in the yellow lights of the Ferris Wheel. Julian can see the indent of a small scar above Theo’s right eyebrow, emphasized by the shadows cast upon his face. Theo notices that Julian has very soft hands, and hair that he would love to run his fingers through.

Just then, the ride shudders back to life, starting their descent back to solid ground and away from the possibility of Nirvana.