"I don't know. It's just... I never liked this ride. You and Chance go on since you like it so much. I'll go get us some candy floss, yeah?"

"Okay" I chirped, happily. Aaron smiled in return, kissing me on the cheek lightly

"Be right back" he whispered and with that he moved away from me, said a quick goodbye to Chance before heading towards the candy floss machine.

I yanked Chance by his upper arm and pushing him into the seat beside me. The ride started and, honestly, it was cooler than I had imagined, but that's not what I was thinking about. I started thinking of how much better it would be if Aaron was sitting in the seat beside me.

The ride ended shortly after with me blabbing to Chance about how cool the ride was. I was expecting Aaron to be standing there, smirking; some candy floss in his hand, but he wasn't there.

But that wasn't what broke my heart.

I looked over to the line of the ride to find that the 'ticket girl' was also nowhere in sight.

____________________________

"Be right back" he lied before moving away from her. A girl like her would do too much to his heart and he knew it would be too much to take.

So, he didn't look back once as he walked away because it would make him falter yet again. He could hear the footsteps of the ticket girl following him and he clenched his hands by side to strengthen his resolve.

It was either to distract from the pain or to drown in it entirely.

And he had made his choice.

He had made the choice, despite knowing that he disgusted even himself. For it gave him an opportunity to forget then he would wholly take it without fear or thought of how it would affect his heart in the slightest.

"The funhouse is empty. For renovation."

He turned just his gaze as the tan girl from before came into view, walking beside him with a coy smile. That was all he could call her for he couldn't remember her name. Had she even told him? He didn't know and he didn't care as he nodded, watching as she ushered him over towards a backdoor with a single movement of her index finger.

He followed without words, the sound of the blaring music drowning out as they neared the desolate attraction. It was with the silence that his thoughts feared to plague him, so he distracted himself with his surroundings- the sound of their shoes crunching against dry leaves; the smell of popcorn in the air and the feel of the girl's hand as she gripped to his arm, pulling him into the darkness of the now-open backdoor.

"Just a second." Her voice arose through the darkness and he still said nothing, just taking note of the thick accent to her tone. He could only wonder for a second where it was from before a light flickered on and he spared a look to the blazing colours of the funhouse. There were coloured boxing bags dangling from the ceiling along with a sloping floor and a hamster wheel right beside it. It reminded him of the distant childhood days and he looked wistfully to the right where the ballpit stretched across the room.

Forget.

It was all he wanted to do with a need so terrible that it made him ache; it made him hostile. He wanted to break everything in this damned funhouse. For it had remained, but the happiness of his childhood has only disappeared. Why had one survived the pressures of time but the other had broken down in its presence? How was that fair?

He couldn't forget, not when it was so up in his face, so he turned to his comforting instincts, swivelling around to where the girl was stood, watching him with a smirk.

"Are we going to do this or wh-"

Her words cut off as he pulled her in by her upper arm. She let out a squeal but it was cut short as his lips pressed against hers with an urgency that he couldn't quell nor repress. He needed this.

She didn't take long to respond, matching his urgency with an equal amount of eagerness, grabbing his shirt from the front. He felt the abrasive force against his lips, but he didn't care for the pain. No, this physical pain he could injure; it was thoughts that he needed to hide from.

"I knew I'd have you the moment I saw you." The girl whispered against his lips hotly, caressing the front of his chest with keen fingers and he closed his eyes to revel in the foreign feeling.

Oddly enough, he found he didn't like the feeling of her long fingers expertly moving against his hand. No, in his mind, the feel of petite fingers timidly moving against his chest as they drew towards his chest to hug him filled his mind.

Lexi.

Her delicate hands drawing circles against the back of his neck, her full lips pressed against his. He let out a long sigh against her, pulling her in by her waist, imagining her doe eyes widening in surprise at the action. He opened his eyes, craving the sight of that, but his heart constricted as he opened his eyes to see unfamiliar almond eyes.

He pulled back in shock then, recoiling fast as he realised this entire time he had been fantasising about kissing Lexi.

"What's wrong?!" The girl called out as he backed away from her hurriedly, even more so as she reached out for him and it was then that he fell over backwards, eyes widening as his body landed with a loud clutter into the ballpit.

"Oh my god!" The girl called out as the balls flew out at his sudden intrusion in the ballpit. A sudden crash then silence.

It was quiet for a moment as they both seemingly registered what happened and then the girl was ducking down beside him, extending her hand out to him.

"Shall I join you in there?" She asked suggestively, improvising with the sudden strangeness of his actions and he looked up to her in thought.

There it was, a second chance to forget everything. He had royally screwed up with thinking of Lexi but, here this girl was, acting as though it hadn't happened. What could be more convenient than that?

Yet, try as he might, he knew he wouldn't be able to forget the idea of Lexi's lips pressed against his, her hands on his nape or running through his hair. He wouldn't be able to erase her and it was with that thought that he shook his head, sighing deeply.

"Look, Leyla, I think I should head back." He finalised, looking up to see her eyebrows drawing together as she glanced around.

"My name is Tiana." She answered and he suppressed the eye roll. He didn't care but he wouldn't share that for fear it would lead to a longer conversation. Instead, he nodded apologetically.

"It's been a long day." He responded and he had assumed she'd glare then but, instead, she just leaned forward, the smirk still on her face.

"Well, my shift lasts for the whole night so you know where I am if you need a break from your long day." She voiced out with purpose and then she was walking away, not even staying for an answer.

He didn't care for her response, however, all he could do was sit in silence and think about what happened. There was embarrassment and lust that filled him in that moment and it disgusted him. How could he feel this way for her?

For Lexi.

She got on his nerves like no other girl, so much so that sometimes he felt like hitting his head against concrete or, rather, hitting his lips against hers.

'Wait, what?'

He stood up then, not wanting to give more energy to his thoughts as he walked to the exit. His phone buzzed as he did and he fished it out, welcoming the distraction it gave. So, he ignored the texts from Lexi as he looked at other things that could ease his now rapid heartbeat.

It only sped up then when someone cleared their throat and he looked to the source to see the women in his thoughts. He didn't want her to see his turmoil so he merely smiled at her, not able to speak then for fear of blurting it out.

"Where were you? We looked everywhere for you" She asked, eyeing him curiously and he panicked as he thought of his fantasy of his lips against hers.

"With Tiana." He shared, hoping he had gotten the name right. She had only said it to him a while back. Lexi watched him then and he felt as though she could read his face; like she was peering into his soul. Had she figured it out?

"And what if someone saw you and our plan got ruined?" She asked in her normal overly cautious way and he smiled in relief, glad she couldn't read him.

"Relax, I was careful, no one saw us." He replied dismissively in response. After all, what would they have seen- him falling into a ballpit as he fantasised about his fake girlfriend?

"But, in the funhouse?" Lexi raised an eyebrow and he decided to tease her, a smirk making its way to his face.

"It's called a funhouse for a reason, right? And truth be told, that's the most fun I had in that damn house." His smirk only widened when her mouth hung open and she eyed him with a glare. Why was seeing her get riled up so entertaining for him when nothing else entertained him anymore? It was truly a mystery.

"Some kids could have saw you! You probably scarred them for life" She admonished and he continued on with his joke, eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Don't worry, Lexi, we were well hidden. No kid was there." He said, shrugging his shoulders to try and act as though was playing it off and she just raised an eyebrow in response to his words.

Of course, these were lies, but he'd rather have her think that than what had actually happened. Perhaps, if he'd hear of what he actually had done then she'd be more disgusted.

A part of him, however, wished to share it with her to see her reaction; to see how she would respond. He stared at her then, wondering what face she'd make; her every expression; how her eyebrows would softly draw together and how her lips would form a small pout.

The mere thought of her lips sent him into overdrive again and his hands clenched by his side as Chance came over to them, speaking. He forced his gaze away from her lips, looking to the ground with one thought and one though only.

Come what may, he wouldn't fall for her.

________________________________

I raised my hand to his face and pushed the hair out of his eyes. He watched my every moment. I brought my face closer to his and our breath mixed together.

"We should stop, but I don't want to" I whispered and, with that, I closed the gap between us.

Aaron tensed at first, but then kissed back. Hard. This was the most passion and lust I've seen coming from Aaron and I liked it. I liked it more than I would like to admit. He feverishly kissed back, his hands going grabbing me in his hold and I gasped as I felt his cold hands on my warm back. It felt so exhilarating. So enthralling. One minute he was holding me tight and then suddenly he was gone.