Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

Jack’s fingers were loosely laced with mine as we aimlessly wandered the grounds of the carnival. We weren’t officially dating, or officially boyfriend and girlfriend or officially anything besides two members of bands touring together. I wanted us to be dating, but by the looks of how things were going, that might have to be something I would have to wait a while for. Sure, we were holding hands, but we had already kissed and weren’t anything more than just friends.

Fried food could be smelled throughout the park, along with women’s perfume, men’s cologne, and sometimes, unfortunately, sweat and body odor. Music blasted from several different loudspeakers located around the bigger rides. Kids were yelling at the top of their lungs as they reached the top of the roller coaster they were on, throwing their arms in the air in triumph. But in the midst of it all, the only thing I could think about was the fact that Jack Barakat was holding my hand. Holding. My. Hand. And the butterflies in my stomach were going mad.

The Farris Wheel loomed overhead on the other side of the park, towering over the treetops. “Jesus Christ, that thing’s tall,” I muttered, pointing my index finger at it.

“Yep, it is. Which means we’re going to have to ride it,” he exclaimed, looking over at me.

“Um, no. Heights and I don’t mesh well,” I chuckled nervously.

“They will after today. Face your fears, girl!” he laughed. “Old habits die hard, after all.” He didn’t realize his last statement could have an underlying double meaning until after he said it. When he realized what else it could have related to, his eyes shot wide open, and he jerked his head at me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up-“

“It’s fine,” I chuckled, cutting him off.

It was quiet for a moment, then Jack changed the subject. “I’ll make a deal with you,” he reasoned.

“Alright, shoot. I’m game.”

“If you promise to do whatever I want to do while we’re at the carnival, I won’t make you ride the Farris Wheel with me.”

I stopped walking, contemplating his proposal. “Deal.”

“Good. Now I see a game that’s calling my name!” he erupted excitedly. “Oh, oh, oh! I made a rhyme!”

I had to laugh at his child-like antics. “Yes, yes you did. Good work.”

“I know, I’m proud of myself.” At this point, we were in front of the game stand, and he was retrieving a dollar from his wallet. The scary-looking carnie behind the counter and handed Jack five darts, then leaned up against the side wall, crossing his arms with attitude.

“Someone’s rather bitchy today,” I mumbled to Jack, who laughed as he aimed his first dart at the wall of balloons.

POP! He hit the first balloon spot-on, then got ready for his second target, then third, fourth and finally, fifth. He accurately punctured each balloon, earning himself a prize.

The carnie rolled his eyes at Jack’s win. “Which stuffed animal would you like, sir?” he asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

Jack ignored the man’s rude demeanor, and looked at me. “Pick one.”

“Hmm…” I tapped my finger on my chin, looking at the selection. A blue plush elephant caught my eye. “There! That one.”

I directed the carnie to it, and he ripped it off the wall, tossing it to me. “Kids,” he muttered to himself under his breath as he handed me the prize.

“Ah ah ah!” Jack shook his finger at me. “Not yet.” He took the elephant from me, grasped my hand with his free hand.

“Aw, why not? It’s so cute!” I gushed.

“Because I said not yet!” he laughed. “Patience is a virtue. Now, where to…”

“Oooh, let’s ride the Bumper Cars!” I erupted, jumping up and down.

“NO!” he shouted playfully, causing me to pout. He smiled at me, then said, “Oh, I know what we can do! How about the Bumper Cars?”

I squinted my eyes at him. “You dork.”

“Hey, don’t insult the guy who won you an elephant!”

“Which you won’t even let me have,” I complained.

“Yet,” he pointed out with a smirk.

We reached the entrance to the Bumper Cars, and Jack handed the worker our ticket stubs. The man opened the gate that led to the arena where a group of ten year-olds were getting into the cars.

“I feel so stupid, Jack! It’s all little kids! We’re both twenty-one, for god’s sakes!”

“Who cares? We’ll whip their asses!” he bragged. He picked out a green car, getting behind the wheel. “Check out my hot-rod!”

“Oooh, yeah, you’ve got the coolest car all the ten year-olds have,” I joked.

“Ten year-olds with very good taste, I noticed. This car is the shit!”

The ride started up, and he was driving it like a maniac. Speeding towards the perimeter, he almost get blocked into a corner by a gang of adrenaline-fueled kids, but he backed out, ferociously knocking a red car backwards. “Jack!” I exclaimed. “You’re gonna kill a kid driving like this!”

“No I’m not,” he denied. “Haven’t you ever done this before? This is what you’re supposed to do!”

Fifteen minutes later, the ride was over, and Jack, all the kids and I got out of the Bumper Cars, each one of us stumbling from getting dizzy. “You’re walking like you’re drunk,” Jack chuckled, pointing at me.

“Shut up and help me!” I grabbed onto his shoulder, nearly falling backwards into our car in the process. After regaining my balance, we walked back on the pavement, wandering around the carnival.

“Mmm, I’m hungry,” Jack said, dreamily staring at a food stand.

“Get something to eat,” I told him.

“Are you gonna get something to eat?”

I just shrugged.

“Yes, yes you are,” he nodded, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the line. The woman behind the window smiled at him, allowing him to recite his order. “I’d like one large basket of French fries, and two sodas.”

She nodded, taking his money and retrieving his order. “Here you go, sir. Have a nice day.”

Jack handed my beverage to me, leading us to a table with an umbrella. “I got the fries large so we could share!” he said proudly.

I still wasn’t comfortable around food. I couldn’t take knowing that I was putting something so unhealthy into my body, subsequently making me gain weight. That scared me.

He dipped his hand in the basket, eating a few fries. “Want some?”

I hesitated. He sensed how uneasy it made me, and sighed. “Scarlett, I’m trying to help. You have to at least try one. They’re really good…”

I swallowed hard, nervously grabbing a short fry. I chewed it, gulping it down.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked knowingly.

I sighed. “I guess not.”

“How’d it taste?” he asked, a smirk playing on his lips like he’d won.

Again, I exhaled deeply. “It was pretty good,” I admitted.

“Great!” We continued eating – well, he continued eating, and I nibbled on a few fries here and there – then we threw out our trash and headed to the other side of the park. I may not have eaten very much, but what I did eat counted; it was progress.

A few hours later and we had conquered just about every ride except for the Farris Wheel. “Well,” Jack smiled, “Looks like you did it. You kept up your end of the deal. We don’t have to go on the Farris Wheel.” We were standing right in front of it, and the carnival was going to close in two hours.

“You’re just guilt-tripping me to ride it with you anyway, aren’t you?” I inquired, already knowing the answer.

“Duh,” he admitted with a grin. “But you don’t have to, since you did keep your deal and all…”

I sighed, and he smiled, knowing he’d broken me. “Alright, I’ll do it. But only because I don’t want to go back to the buses yet.”

Jack smirked. “Sure,” he said sarcastically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I didn’t have time for an answer because the worker who took Jack’s ticket stubs was already pushing us towards the ride, forcing us into a seat and strapping us in. Since it was so late, Jack and I were the only two people who were going on it.

My anxiety level was rising already, and the wheel hadn’t even moved yet. Heights freaked the shit out of me. My heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest, and I gripped the handrail on my left side tightly, and gripped Jack’s hand on my right side. I squeezed his hand hard enough that his knuckles turned white, and he looked at me.

“Relax, Scarlett!” he chuckled.

I ignored him, and began ranting. “How safe do you think this thing is? Do you think the belt buckle is secure?” I started pulling at it, seeing if it would jiggle. It didn’t, thankfully, but that still didn’t make me feel better. “What about the worker? Do you think she really knows what she’s doing? Oh my god, oh my god-“

“You’re just psyching yourself out,” he exclaimed with an amused laugh, cutting me off.

“WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?! WE COULD DIE UP HERE!”

“Calm down! It’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.” I actually believed him. My breathing got steadier, and I actually relaxed. The ride lurched as it started up, causing me to jump, but Jack squeezed my hand reassuringly.

The rest of the ride was smooth, making me feel much better. We moved up, up, up, until we reached the top, and for some reason, I felt safe. I hated heights, but Jack calmed me down. It didn’t seem to bother me.

“Look at this,” Jack said in awe. “You can see everything from up here! Oh, there’s the venue we played at yesterday!” He extended his hand out, pointing at the venue.

“Wow,” I said, agreeing with him. Suddenly, the ride jerked, coming to an abrupt halt in midair. We were at the very top, hovering above everyone and everything, and we weren’t moving.

“Oh my god, Jack, why did it stop?” I asked, the panic beginning to set in yet again.

“I don’t know…” he muttered, looking down to see if he could see what was going on.

A small scream escaped my lips, and tears poured from my eyes. “Jack, I’m so scared!” I choked out.

“It’ll be okay, I know it will. I told you I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you, and I’m not breaking my promise. Okay? Everything will be sorted out soon enough,” he assured me, squeezing my hand.

The only thing I could do was trust in him, so I did. Eventually the tears subsided, and I accepted the fact that we might be stuck up here for a while.

“OKAY, JUST RELAX!” we heard from below. I looked down, seeing the management crew was grouped together below us, each of them looking like dots from so high up. A man was using a megaphone, trying to get our attention. “THERE WAS JUST A MINOR TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY, AND WE’LL GET IT FIXED MOMENTARILY. YOU MIGHT BE STUCK UP THERE FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF. WE’RE VERY SORRY.”

“Great,” I muttered hopelessly, sitting back and sighing.

“Hey, don’t think of it like that! Think of it as an hour and a half being stuck with me!” Jack smirked happily.

“Ew, why would I want that?” I joked, crinkling my nose.

He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his chin up at me.

“Aw, I’m sowwy, Jacky!” I said in a baby voice.

He slowly turned his head back to me. “I will accept your apology under one condition,” he said, a smirk playing on his lips.

“And what’s that?” I inquired. The sun was setting, and the sky was melting into a beautiful shade of purple, with specks of vivid pink and gold in between. No one else was on the ride with us, and the only thing we could hear was the sound of the refreshing breeze rushing past our heads.

Jack still had the blue stuffed elephant he won at the beginning of the day with him, and held it in front of me. “Be my girlfriend?”

I didn’t even try to hide my huge grin, and nodded my head. “Absolutely.”

He smiled sweetly, handing me the plush toy. “For you.”

I returned his grin as he leaned forward, kissing me at the top of the Farris Wheel.