He walked up the stairs of the apartment building he knew well. Jamie had been living in this complex by himself for a few years now and Elias couldn't help but sigh in relief every time he remembered his friend lived in a relatively peaceful place. He still wished he could convince Jamie to move in with him, but for now he was at ease.

“Big bro Elias!” He heard the voice of a little boy call as he stood in front of a door ready to knock.

The young man in glasses turned to his side, seeing a woman and a boy walk out from the apartment next door. The woman smiled in greeting, and Elias returned the gesture as the boy ran to meet him.

“Are you here to see Jamie?” Asked the boy, clinging to the man’s leg.

“Yeah, we’re going to the fair later.” Elias smiled.

“So cool!” The boy beamed. “Mom! Can we go too?”

“Let’s ask your dad to take us this weekend.” The woman smiled tenderly.

“Aww but I wanted to go with Elias and Jamie…” Sighed the boy, taking his mother’s hand as she reached for him.

“Maybe next time dear. But today Elias and Jamie had plans.” Said the mother, turning to see Elias as they walked away, winking at him.

“Alright…” Said the boy. “Bye bye big bro!” He waved.

“Later.” Elias waved back.

The young man let out an amused laugh, not surprised that the woman who had just left still insisted that he and Jamie were a thing.

He knocked on the white door, hearing loud noises from the other side of it. Loud stomps were heard a lot more clearly one after the other until the door flew open. A disheveled Jamie gasped as he tried to catch his breath.

“Elly!” He shouted, reaching for his tall friend and dragging him inside, closing the door with a slam.

“That is exactly why your neighbors still gossip about us.” Elias laughed.

“Imagine the things they say in your neighborhood when they see me spend days at your place.” Jamie laughed before gasping loudly. “But that’s not important right now! What do I wear!?” He took Elias by the neck of his shirt and shook him. “And please- PLEASE tell me you’re not going dressed like that!”

“What’s wrong with my outfit?” Elias looked out at himself. He didn’t see anything wrong. His usual converse, his blue jeans and his unbuttoned shirt over his white t-shirt.

“Alright, let’s take care of my outfit first and then we’ll see if we can do something about you.” Jamie dragged the taller boy to his room, which was littered in clothes.

“Not like your clothes can fit me. And we need to hurry if we don’t want to make the girls wait.”

“I have some of your clothes here.” Jamie kneeled to pick up some of his clothes to make way for them to step. “And that’s why I’m freaking out! Just help me!”

“You’re asking the person with no sense of fashion.” Elias reached to rub his neck.

“Just. Help.” Jamie begged, on his knees, hugging a mountain of clothes.

Elias rummaged through piles of clothes, making suggestions that were shot down before he could even say a word. Let alone that Elias knew nothing about fashion, but Jamie wasn’t making this any easier.

While looking for something for the pretty boy to wear, they had managed to find something for Elias. He took off his checkered pattern shirt and put on a black one that Jamie had taken for some reason. When did he even take it? Elias didn’t even remember having this shirt. 

Just when he was about to leave it as it was, unbuttoned as always, Jamie stood in a flash and buttoned it up for him.

“There, much better.” Jamie patted his friend’s chest before returning to his search.

In the end, Jamie finally settled for a pair of jeans that he folded at the ankles. A black under shirt, and one of Elias’ shirts of a subtle dark teal that he buttoned up to his chest and tucked in. If they hurried, they would arrive at the meeting place just in time.

***

Thankfully traffic had been on the low side that day. They had arrived at the fair with ten minutes to spare, and the sun now colored the sky in vibrant oranges while a few stars were already visible on the black blanket that slowly crept on the opposite horizon. Even for a weekday and the lack of traffic, it was pretty crowded.

“Too crowded.” Elias complained, hiding himself behind the gate that signaled the fair’s entrance.

“Well, Thursday’s are pretty much the weekend already.” Jamie swayed on his heels back and forth, his eyes darting from his right to the left again and again. “And it was the only day Mia and Citara both had off.” He then turned to his friend. “Will you be alright at work tomorrow?”

“No problem.” Elias shrugged. “But you better not wake me up on Saturday.” He threatened.

“Well, I do kinda owe you for today so, deal!”

Just as Elias was about to make a snarky remark, they heard a familiar voice call out to them. Right ahead was Mia, who dragged along a girl almost as tall as the bespectacled boy, if anything just a few inches shorter.

The girl with short hair sported a cute pair of shorts, a billowy wine-colored blouse that tied to a bow right above her bosom. On her feet, Mia wore a comfortable pair of closed sandals that tied up against her ankles with satin black ribbons. The taller girl who had been allowing her hair to flow gently at the bar, now tied it back in a messy bun. She wore camouflage cargo pants, disappearing into her thick combat boots just above her ankles. Covering her upper body was a black crop top hoodie which was long enough to cover any of her abdomen, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. 

“Hey guys!” Mia chirped, letting go of her friend to throw herself over Jamie’s shoulders for a hug.

“Hey Mia!” Jamie hugged back, growing red when he realized the other girl was watching. Very gently stepped away from Mia, his face a red mess. 

“Hello.” Elias smiled kindly, stepping out of his hiding place.

“Citara, these are my friends, Elias and Jamie.” Mia pulled her friend along.

“H-Hi.” She said.

“H-Hi!” Answered Jamie, a little louder than he intended to. Elias only nodded.

“Did we make you guys wait?” Mia asked.

“Not at all!” Said Jamie, unable to level his voice. “You guys are just in time!”

“That’s good.” Mia giggled.

There it was, that smile that tugged at Elias’ insides. At least Jamie was too busy being embarrassed, but Mia’s mask was thick today…

“Let’s head right inside then.” Elias led them inside, his steps hurried.

“Wow, he seems pretty excited.” Mia turned to Jamie.

“Well…” The boy tilted his head. “Elly isn’t really a fan of crowded places in general, so I think his train of thought right now is more along the lines of ‘the faster we go in, the faster we leave’.”

“Pfft.” Mia chuckled. “Why would he even suggest the fair then?” She laughed, not letting Jamie answer. “Whatever, we’ll all make sure to have fun tonight!” She declared, locking Jamie and Citara on either arm, following after Elias.

The group went from attraction to attraction. Elias did skip some of them, like the roller-coasters and anything with high-speed spinning. The girl next to Mia did try to avoid some of the rides herself, but her shorter friend didn’t allow her or even give her a break.

“Is that ok?” Jamie asked Mia, a little concerned for Citara, who seemed to have lost her soul after the pendulum. The group sat on a bench on the edge of the path.

“She’ll be fine.” Mia reassured. “She needs to let loose.” She winked.

“Why don’t we take a break?” The group shot a look at Elias. “Ok, you guys take a break. I’ll get you guys something to eat.” He rolled his eyes, getting up from his seat.

“Oh, I’ll go with you!” Mia jumped and followed after Elias.

“Eh? Aren’t you guys asking what we want?” But by the time Jamie was done with his sentence, his friends were a ways ahead. “Jerks…” He pouted and suddenly felt something against his puffed cheek.

Looking to his side he saw Citara, looking at him wide-eyed. Her finger had pressed lightly against his cheek, careful that her long nail wouldn’t hurt him. She was leaning forward so as to be on eye-level with him. His eyes too grew wide open as he met hers, taking in a sharp breath as he felt blood rush to his cheeks.

“Ah.” She gasped softly, pulling her hand away and straightening her back. “I’m sorry.” She laughed nervously.

“I-It’s alright.” Jamie shook his head furiously. “It just startled me a little-”

“You were just too cute, I couldn’t help myself.”

“E-Eh?”

“... To be honest, I love cute things.” Citara giggled. “Kittens, teddy bears, pastel colors, but people think I’m the total opposite.”

“I- I see.” Jamie tried to let out a laugh, but he only managed a hurt “heh”. “There’s nothing wrong with liking cute things. I like cute things too.” He pointed to himself.

“But you’re cute, so people wouldn’t think that’s weird.” She added.

He felt his limbs tense up at her words, his chest tightening. He didn’t want to hear that, he realized he didn’t want to hear it, not from her.

He whipped his head away, hoping he could hide himself by looking away.

“Well, I still think you’re allowed to like whatever you want… And I think you’re cute yourself…”

There was a brief silence before he heard Citara. “Thank you.” She said, her voice had been so soft and gentle that he just had to turn to look at her.

When he did, she had a smile on her lips that didn’t quite reach her eyes, but still managed to close them into crescent moons, her emerald irises peeking like the jewels they were. He might have forgotten how to breathe, or maybe she had taken his breath away, or both.

Jamie finally took a deep breath, unable to stop the smile that took over him.