"An ice rink?" I asked, my voice echoing off the walls. The stadium was completely empty, and there was just enough light to illuminate the ice, leaving the vacant seats mostly dark.

"I thought it could be fun," He responded.

"I know you actually didn't rent the entire thing out for the night."

He shrugged, "Only the best for you."

I smiled excitedly as he handed me a pair of skates, which apparently he had grabbed from thin air. Once we were laced up, we made our way onto the rink, and I bit back a laugh as I watched Carson attempt to skate. He almost fell a few times, and grumbled every time I let out a snort.

"I thought you knew how to skate?" I asked, grinning widely.

"Yeah, when I was 11. I'm a little rusty."

Once he got into his groove, he skated over to the side and grabbed something. When he came back, I found that he was holding two hockey sticks and a puck.

"You up for a game?"He asked, handing me one of the sticks.

"Carson," I stared at him and shock.

"Yeah?" His smile faded. "What? Is everything okay? We don't have to, I just thought it could be fun."

"How is it that you did all of this? How did you know what to do so perfectly?"

He shrugged and started pushing around the puck absentmindedly, "I remember one time you were talking about how your dad would take you skating every winter when you were younger. You guys would play hockey and he would let you win. You said that you guys had stopped doing it, so I thought it could be fun if we did it. Of course, I wouldn't let you win."

I couldn't help but just smile at him. It was now that it hit me how serious he was about the whole five years thing; I remember telling that story– when I was 14. He really knew everything about me, and I had blind to it for so long.

"So, are you just gonna stare at me or are we gonna play?"

I laughed, "We're gonna play, but be prepared to lose."

"We'll see about that."

***

"Careful now, watch you step," he whisper shouted back to me, as he stumbled around the chimney.

"Carson, what the hell are we doing?"

"You said you were hungry."

"That literally provides absolutely no explanation."

"We're having a picnic."

"On your roof?!"

He reached out his hand for to me to grab, which I was more than happy to take. He carefully pulled me past the chimney to the flat part of the roof. After taking a minute to count my blessings that I had lived through this excursion, I noticed my surroundings.

There was a large blanket spread out on the roof, on which was an assortment of food, ranging from fruit to Wendy's takeout, complete with those little fairy lights.

"You did all this?"

He shrugged, "I had help."

Carson led me over to sit on the blanket with him, pulling out a large box of chicken nuggets from the Wendy's bag.

"You can see the entire city from here," I observed, looking out to the tall buildings in the distance, blending in with the dark starry night.

"It's a good place to think. And hide," He responded. "Plus, I figured this beats some crummy old restaurant with a waiter named Beau."

Carson was right. It was a good place to think up here. There was an endless sky in front of us and almost complete silence, only ever broken by the wind and the rustling of the trees. We sat up there for a while, just eating and talking.

After eating enough to make my stomach hurt, I decided to finally ask him the question that had been bugging me. "Honestly, Carson why are we here?"

He shook his head, stuffing blueberries into his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer. I took the bowl of berries out from his reach, now having a general idea as to the reason.

"Your parents are inside the house right now, aren't they?"

"They're leaving in a few days," He answered. "They're going back to their research team in Italy."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged, "Doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. Is that why we're up here?"

Carson nodded, "Figured the least I could do is give them a proper goodbye. Y'know, trash the roof and stomp really loudly overhead. You done eating?"

Upon responding that I was finished, Carson stood up, taking the berry bowl back from me, and, before I could protest, pouring the contents out. He begun stomping on the fruits, mashing them into the roof and creating quite a mess.

"Carson, your parents are going to kill you!"

"They're not gonna know we were here. Pass me the ketchup? You can take the sodas and pour them."

I stood up, so as not to end up with food thrown on me.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Can't think of a better one."

He picked up the blanket, throwing it to the chimney in order to have more room to make a mess of the roof. He had now squeezed out most of the bottle of ketchup and reached for the drinks and the leftover Wendy's. He threw half-drank bottle of soda at me and, giving into him, I poured it out, watching it spread across the roof. It was a proper mess.

We stopped, however, when a light turned on from somewhere a below us, and the sound of a door opening could be heard.

"Who's out here?!" A voice called quite angrily. It was man's voice, so I assumed it to be his father. "Show yourself!"

"Maddie, c'mon, we gotta go," Carson whispered. He reached for my arm, and pulled me to the back of the roof, grabbing the blanket on his way.

"I hope you can fly," he joked quietly.

"You're fucking kidding me right?"

He threw down the blanket, and it landed on the grass right below us.

"Just slide down and try to aim for the blanket."

"You're never allowed to plan our dates ever again," I said, sitting down on the part of the roof angled downwards.

"You're having the time of your life, don't even." He didn't give me a chance to respond before giving me a push, and I slid down off the roof and landed quite roughly on the ground, thankfully on the blanket. Carson came down soon after, landing barely an inch away from me.

"Come on, come on," he said, standing up hurriedly and grabbing my hand. He hopped the fence into his neighbor's yard, cutting through the next three backyards to get to his car, which we had parked a block away.

Once we had safely gotten in his car, locking the doors, we sat there not talking, just panting from the half-mile run. As I caught my breath, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Carson joined in, too, and we didn't stop until we had gotten back home.

"So," He said.

"You're right. That was fun," I responded as we made our way up the driveway.

Once we had gotten to the front steps, he stopped, catching my wrist in my hands. I turned around to face him, and enjoyed that he was a few steps down from me because we were finally the same height.

"Madeline."

"Carson."

"I want you."

"Well, there's a bed upst-"

"No," he shook his head. "I want you to be mine. Just mine."

"Oh," I responded. I know it wasn't the appropriate response, but he had caught me off guard.

"Oh?"

Tonight had been overwhelming in the best way possible, and every fear and doubt I had about this had faded into the background. But when he asked that question, they all flooded back through my mind once again.

I had learned to not trust love, because I was certain it never worked. I had grown scared of being loved, because no had actually ever meant it before.

"All you have to say is 'Oh,' Maddie?" He asked, clearly offended.

But this was Carson. Carson. I had hated him. And somehow, now I couldn't get my heart to stop beating so rapidly just at the sight of him. He's angered me above all else before, he's given me reason to commit murder before, and after all that, I think I maybe kind of love him.

"No," I responded. "No. Start over. Ask me again."

So, all this had to be true, because I don't trust easily. I don't let anyone just barge in and break down every wall I've built.

He shook his head, turning away from me.

"Carson, seriously, ask me again."

He made me love him, despite me hating him at the same time.

"No," He responded as he started down the stairs.

I'd be damned if I lost him now.

"Fine, then," I said. "Carson, I want to be yours. All yours. And I want you to be mine and no one else's."

He finally stopped, turning back to me.

"You're mine?"

"All yours."

He moved closer, slowly making his way back up the stairs.

"And I'm yours?"

"All mine."