Watching the sun lower in the sky slightly I bounce up and down on my toes waiting for Vixxie, in the same spot I told Blaze to drop me off. I had to pull another 'I'm working late' tonight to tide my dad over but he was pretty wasted when I left so he didn't question it as in-depth as he usually does. I still wore my work uniform out though and managed to find a tall bush to quickly change behind before I got there. No one was around but there's still that lurking fear I gave someone an eyeful.

It's early evening but the streaking shadows on my face from the low sunset makes the area kind of eerie, its quiet. Nothing makes much noise with exception of a passing car or the squark of a bird in the distant trees.

This estate is calm and peaceful, with barley any children or annoying teenagers having tantrums. Just wealthy middle-aged couples with Mercedes and elderly couples that wore several sets of pearls. It still amazes me this is only a few streets away from my benefit ridden estate, where whiny kids ride broken bikes and the elderly bitch and moan as you walk past.

The silence is broken by the blasting of pop music and off-key singing that stems from a half-open window of a Range Rover heading my way. I can see Vixxies head-bopping behind the wheel which makes me chuckle.

She pulls up at the side of the sidewalk, rolling down her window all the way.

"Get in loser, we're going shopping... well not really but I've always wanted to say that." She chuckles as I hop into the passenger's side of the car, also giggling at her Mean Girls reference.

I look around the interior of the Range, it surprises me she drives something so mainstream like this, I thought she'd be someone who's into the more vintage cars but she pulls away from the cub hastily in the Range Rover Evoque.

On our way to pick up Carrie, we laugh and scream along to the songs she has playing through the car. We're currently screaming to 'Girlfriend' By Avril Lavigne.

"I fucking love this song!!" She shouts turning the dial so the volume increases, bouncing off the leathered interior.

" Me too." I giggle as we start singing the lyrics at the top of our lungs back and forth.

"Hey! Hey!"

"You! You!"

"I don't like your girlfriend!"

"No way! No way!"

"I think you need a new one"

Vixxie pulls into a road and starts squinting at the house numbers, "Can you just read her address off my phone again. I'm fucking awful with directions. It's a wonder I even managed to pass my test." She snickers once I've read out the text Carrie sent her. We both look out for her house and lucky for us she's stood outside flagging us down.

She jumps in the back, "Right let's carnival this bitch!" She sings songs pulling her belt across her chest.

We all giggle and chat about an array of things, mainly the music, as we travel down the roads on the way to the fairground.

We eventually pull up into a field and park in one of the non-marked bays where a guy in a high vis jacket is beckoning us forward more.

We hop out of the car and the girls link their arms through mine, rendering me in the middle.

"Are you okay, really?" Carrie asks with a concerned expression, "You know with what Hannah said? I didn't want to bring it up but I just wanted to check."

We'd had a small discussion about it in the car since I'd not seen them since it happened. They all flocked to my aid, slagging off Hannah and her friends, saying they'd never hate me and that I'm stuck with them. I felt bad talking about Hanna about but I guess she's doing the same thing to me, I've always liked to think of myself as a feminist so I feel hypocritical talking shit about her but then I think back to what Blaze said in the hallway- F everyone's opinions.

"Yeah, I'm fine don't worry." I smile and I mean it.

"They don't matter and you have us, they're just jealous of you and how amazing our friendship is," Vixxie says dramatically flinging her arms about making me giggle.

They're right, I have them and I'm lucky to be their friend.

We get to the entrance of the fair which is just a few metal railings and we spot the boys leaning against them. They greet us, Brady jumping up and down like a child as he races through the entrance towards the rides. It's supposed to be the biggest carnival in Atlanta, so you can't see past the helter-skelter, it's red and white stipes immediately sending out old school vibes.

"Is he always like this?" Emily pops up from behind Rutherford, still with her camera dangling from her neck.

"Pretty much." Blaze sighs, shaking his head as we watch Brady spin in a circle, lit by the rides LED lights.

"Guys hurry up!!" He shouts flapping his arms like a mad man, even the little children are looking at him like he's crazy, "The queue for the Ferris wheel is short!" He starts running off in the direction of where I presume the Ferris wheel is, the others chase after him, I follow but slow down when I realise Blaze is still leant against the metal railing.

"You not coming?"

"No." He looks off in the opposite direction.

"Why not?"

"It's stupid." He scoffs.

Sure some rides may be a bit childish but it's just a Ferris wheel- ohhhh...

"Are you scared of heights?" I deduce, smirking as his eyes widen.

"No." He quickly says, kicking his vans against the grassed ground. He obviously is, who'd of thought Blaze was scared of something like heights.

"It's okay Blaze, everyone has phobias." I soften.

"I don't have a phobia-" He sulks but stops when he catches my raised brows, "Fine. Just don't tell the others. It's stupid. it's just a fucking Ferris wheel." He looks so ashamed by the fact he's nervous about something. It's strange seeing him so vulnerable but I like this more human side.

"It's not stupid... everyone is scared of something...how about we make a deal..." I'd hate for him to miss out over something as small as being scared of heights, the view from the top is bound to be beautiful especially since the sun is setting, "You come on the Feris wheel with me and I'll... talk to a clown?" I wince.

"Talk to a clown?" He snickers.

"Yeah, I have an irrational fear of clowns, I literally scream when I see them."

"You know you're at a carnival right... the birthplace of clowns."

I nod sheepishly, he looks undecided and I think for a long moment of this pregnant pause he's going to say no but then he nods his head slowly.

"Fine. But if you tell anyone Blondie-"

"I won't, we're all scared of things it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Blaze and I wait in the queue before the ride attendant buckles us into a wobbly cart. Immediately I feel Blaze tense up beside me as his big hands grab the bar with such force I'm worried it's going to snap.

I hold by my giggle listening to Blaze's heavy breathing, his eyes scrunched tight as the wheel begins to move up.

"Just focus on something else, look ahead not down." He grunts in frustration obviously not enamoured with my advice, "Open your eyes Blaze it's gorgeous up here."

Reluctantly his eyes drift open and his breathing normalises slightly. The view in front of us is gorgeous, to the left of me is the rest of the fairground bursting with people and colourful lights, children shouting and the screams of teenagers on bigger, more thrilling rides. Right in front of me is the sun vanishing into the vast bits of the city. The buildings and lights like hundreds of tiny people looking over at us. The stars are just beginning to pull in the moon as the slither of dark orange disappears down the side of Georgia.

"See, things look so much better from up high." I smile, I feel so powerful when I can see everything else below me, I don't care what's happening on the ground, it's peaceful up here.

"It's just a sunset." Blaze huffs, "I hate this."

"Talk to me then... tell me something... distract yourself." I kick my legs off the cart feeling it move slightly, Blaze winces looking straight out ahead again.

"Uh... I... used to live in New York." He blurts out making me laugh, "What?"

"Nothing, that was just very random." I smile watching his lips curve up slightly.

"Well, I'm more concerned about falling to my death."

"You're fine, honestly, we're not going to fall. It's perfectly balanced." I giggle. Its weird seeing Blaze so... undone. He walks around like he's not afraid of anything but we all have fears that like to creep up on us and hold us down until we suffocate.

"My mom went to school in New York- Julliard," I murmur fiddling with my rings, one of them a blue sapphire I'd taken from her room when I got taken away.

"Is that where you want to go too for college?" Blaze finally turns to me.

When I was younger, that's all I wanted, it's been my dream to go to Julliard- follow in my mom's footsteps- go and dance. That was what we worked for when I was younger, I wanted to be a Julliard dance student. But now-

"Gosh no, I need a scholarship anyway ... I don't really know where for yet, maybe do English or science somewhere out of the state," I murmur.

"You don't want to go pro with your dancing?" He questions.

"I told you I don't dance anymore. I was never that good anyway."

"You told me but I insinuated you were a liar." He looks at me with an unfathomable expression, like he was smugly enjoying the fact he'd dug through my wall of lies.

"What about you, are you going pro with football after high school?" I ask not wanted to be the centre of his questioning anymore. He'd be a fool not to continue football, he's insanely talented.

"Yeah that's the plan, Alabama's the dream place. I did a few training camps with them over the summer and they've expressed interest in me so hopefully..." He rubs his neck and I can even see a hint of red across his nose. It's cute, he makes all these jokes about himself but when he comes to actually talking about himself, deeply, he gets embarrassed.

"Well I- uh... t-they'd be insane not to take you, you're insanely talented..." I mumble.

"Thanks, butterfly... you should reconsider the dance thing though, maybe get back into it. You looked like you enjoyed teaching my sister." He chews on his gum looking behind him at the fairground.

"She's really sweet," I mumble, that and she reminds me so much of my younger sister. My heart clenches at the thought.

Suddenly the wheel moves with a large jolt and the cart swings back and forth, Blaze's hand stretches back out to reach the bar but ends up on top of my hand. His eyes are still shut, so I sit their frozen, his big inked hand covering mine, unsure of what to do.

"I uh- I-" I stutter.

"Just stay still." He whispers through clenched teeth, I try and resist my giggles but they bubble up from my throat, I think of things to distract him with.

"When did you start playing football?"

"I- uh- I was about four, me and Brady we started at a one for kids but I always wanted to be in the NFL so I carried on through my schooling." He breathes.

"So you trained a lot in New York?" It's silent for a long time and I feel I've asked the wrong question. His eyes open and they drift over the horizon again, now less visible as we're on our way down.

"Sort of." He says and leaves it like that, it's a silent descent for a while which leaves me to ponder over why he's so closed off. He obviously doesn't feel comfortable talking about New York. I can feel Blaze getting calmer the closer we get to the ground, "Where have you come from Blondie?" He suddenly asks breaking the tense silence.

"I – uh, I came from Illinois," I mutter being vague.

"Why the long move?" He asks, I'm sure it's harmless but my answer isn't.

"What about you? New York to Atlanta's a big move too," I question back, Brady had been vague when I'd prodded about their relationship.

A grunt escapes Blaze's throat but the rides already come to an end. The attendant lifts the bar and he quickly jumps from the cart walking off into the fairground, I'm sure he's absolutely thrilled to be back on the ground. I guess New York is a sore point, much like Illinois is for me.

I meet the girls on the ground who are already stuffing their mouths with a cloud of candy floss, Carrie hands me a stick and mentions the boys have a runoff to competitively beat each other at some shooting game. We find a bench near the house of mirrors and sit down still scoffing on the pink sugary cloud.

In between the random noises from the rides and children screaming we have an in-depth conversation about Carrie and Ethan, deducing they both like each other but they're both scared to do anything about it. They're perfect for each other though and to the outside when they're together you wouldn't think they weren't already a couple.

"This is tragic!" Vixxie moans, "We have to do something to give them a push." I nod agreeing with her, I feel like Vixxie already has an elaborate plan but I'm more than happy to go along with it.

"I hope you guys don't mind me imposing on your group," Emily says finally, she looks like she's been stepping on eggshells all night, on high alert trying not to upset us.

"Of course not!" I reply, the girls nodding with me. I haven't known her very long but she seems really lovely.

"And I'm really sorry Atlas about-"

"Don't even stress. It wasn't your fault and it doesn't matter." I smile at the girls as Carrie's arm finds my back, pulling me into her side.

"You guys seem like such great friends, I wish my old group was like that. I always felt like I was constantly being pushed out and left out of things because I wasn't a white blonde barbie." Emily sighs looking down at her now empty candy floss stick.

"Fuck em girl," Vixxie says with a flip of her hand.

"You're always welcome with us, it still disgusts me that people get away with treating others like that." I place my hand on top of hers and smile at her. It's obvious the past friendship with Hannah was a toxic one and I don't blame her for wanting out. Vixxie and Carrie were kind enough to be my friends and Emily deserves that too.

"OH my gosh!" Carrie squeals from beside me, "You should totally join the cheer team and then all four of us can do it together."

Vixxie and I chuckle at her enthusiasm but Emily looks distraught.

"I appreciate the offer but I have the coordination of a snail, I can move straight forward but not do much else. I much prefer being in front of the group and capturing it all." She holds up the camera situated around her neck.

"You do photography?" Obviously, she does Atlas... she has a fricking camera.

"Yeah, it's my passion, I capture absolutely everything. That's what I want to do after school." She smiles before holding the camera too her face, "On that note... say cheese." She giggles snapping a photo of me, Vixxie and Carrie.

Once the flash had disappeared from my eyes, I notice the boys stood behind us, Rutherford wrapping his arms around Emily's shoulders.

"Who won then?" Carrie chuckles.

"Blaze." They all huff and look at Blaze who's holding a blue teddy bear by its paw.

"I didn't want too, now I have to hold this piece of shit!" He flings the bear about, I giggle, he's the first person I've seen who hasn't wanted a toy from the fair, "Here blondie, you take it." He throws it at me and I just about catch it, carful not to stumble backwards.

"Nice catch." He winks and I stick my tongue out like a child in response to take away from my blushing cheeks.

"Alright, I want to go to the house of mirrors next." Brady jumps heading in the direction of the potentially unstable building. The girls get up and follow but as I start walking away Blaze grabs my arm, goosebumps appear under his tattooed fingers.

"You guys coming?" Rutherford shouts.

"Nah, we've got to go find a clown." Blaze laughs with an evil handsome smirk watching me groan.

He sends me a panty-dropping wink much to my protests, leaving me both petrified and flustered.

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