"I'm going to grab Benji, he's just around here somewhere. I'll go find him," Ashton spoke, pointing across the fairgrounds.

Betsy nodded, "Okay, " she said with a soft smile.

Ashton grinned at her before turning and setting off into a light jog. Luca watched as he ran, his figure slowly disappearing into the crowd of people.

"Who's Benji?" Fredrick asked, eyebrows scrunching up together into a frown.

Luca looked between his father and then towards his sister who shrugged nonchalantly at the question.

"One of Ashton's friends," she replied, "I hope you don't mind?"

Fredrick shook his head, "No not at all. The more the merrier!"

"More like the less the merrier," grumbled Luca under his breath.

He shoved his hands into his jean pockets and kicked some dirt below him with the tip of his sneakers. His eyes glistened under the sun and his features were sullen and sombre.

His dad and Betsy didn't notice his misery and instead engaged in a conversation surrounding Ashton.

"He's a nice young man Betsy," he told his daughter, "Poor guy—he obviously likes you."

Luca didn't want to hear it.

"I'm going to get fairy floss!" he announced, turning and walking off in search for a stall.

When he found one, he realised he didn't actually want any fairy floss. So, he stood there and watched as the lady whipped up sticks of the sickly sweet candy with a machine and handed it out to the people waiting in line.

He remembered how his mother loved it and bought it for him to which he ate and fought back the urge to spit it out. He didn't like it—but he ate it anyway because his mother did.

Fuck, he thought to himself, out of all things, he was getting emotional over bloody fairy floss.

"Oh hey Luca, you getting some too?"

Luca snapped his head towards the voice, eyes falling on an approaching Ashton and the boy next to him, Benji.

He knew of Benji, he knew of the whole football team. It was hard not to not know when they practically oozed confidence and popularity.

Luca's lips quivered and suddenly he felt frightened. Or maybe he was nervous, he didn't know. He was also unknown to whether it was because of his feelings towards Ashton or of how strange it was for two popular guys to be talking to a nobody like him.

Not that it bothered Luca though—or so he told himself.

"Um no.." Luca replied, watching as the two boys joined the line.

"Oh. What are you doing here then?"

Luca shrugged and glanced between Ashton and Benji, "Trying to get away from Betsy and my dad.."

Why was he even talking to him? He was supposed to hate him.

Ashton laughed and grabbed a hold of Luca's arm before he could make a quick escape. It's like he almost sensed that Luca was on the verge of leaving.

Luca fumbled against the contact and his gaze fell to the grass covered ground before being averted back up. His eyes met Ashtons.

It felt as if their hearts began to beat in sync at the sudden proximity of their bodies, Ashton's firm grip on the other boy's arm and their eyes holding contact that neither wanted to break.

Or maybe it was just Luca. Maybe his heart was the only that was beating rapidly. Maybe.