Keep Away

“Why are we running!?” Braiden cried, nearly out of breath, as we continued to run through crowds.

“I can't tell you!” I screamed back. I was getting more and more worried when I hear their footsteps getting closer and closer.

“Can't we at least stop to rest!?”

“Sorry, we can't!” I ran into a man and he turned around, looking angry. “Sorry.” I squeaked and I ran back into the crowd.

However, something seemed wrong when I saw that Braiden was nowhere to be found. I began to panic and look around me, screaming “Braiden” over and over again. There were way too many people to hear Danny and Terrance's footsteps anymore. I managed to get out of the crowd and found myself standing all alone. Fear washed over me and my knees began to shake.

Somehow, I felt vulnerable.

I wanted to cry, because I felt lost. I felt like a little girl, panicking because she couldn't find her mother. I wouldn't cry however, because I don't cry. The last time I cried was because Connor yelled at me. Then Braiden showed up like the main character in the movies, there to comfort me.

Braiden. Where is he?

I stood there numbly for what seemed like a while, then something, no someone, took my hand.

“Brai - !” I shut my mouth when I saw that it was Connor who grabbed my hand. I stared at it then back up at him. He looked as if he had just run a mile, with sweat sticking to his hair. “Connor?”

“There she is! She's with her little boyfriend!” The voice I've been dreading the air broke the silence.

Before I could say the word, Connor seemed to already knew. We both started to run, with Connor never letting go of my hand.

“Where do we go?” I screamed in his ear.

It only two seconds for Connor to pull me into a random line to a random ride. We kept quiet and heard the footsteps run past us. I realized that when he pulled me into the line, he had unknowingly pulled me close to him. I looked up at him, mouth half open, with my body almost pressing against his chest.

“S-Sorry,” I tried to pull my hand away, but he still held it.

He looked in my eyes for a bit then finally let go.

“Next!” The employee called and next thing you know, we're both on the Ferris wheel.

The ride started and it was silence for the first couple of minutes. I squinted down below for any sign of Braiden, but everyone looked the same to me, resembling tiny ants.

“It's funny,” I tried to break the silence. “I was just on this ride with Braiden earlier.”

“Don't worry, I'm better company.”

I felt as what it seemed like, the biggest blush ever, creep on my cheeks. “Wait, what?”

He gave me a confused look and replied, “I can actually keep my eyes open, unlike Braiden.”

“Oh.” I breathed a sigh of relief to myself.

“What did you think I was talking about?”

“Oh, um, nothing.” I looked away. “So um, I don't understand something. You and Riley just moved to Orlando, but you seem to already know Thomas and Braiden?”

“I used to live here, where I met Thomas and Braiden. Braiden suggested that we form a band, so we did. Then, dad got a job in Tampa, so we had to move away during middle school. Even though we were miles away, we still kept in contact. Now we moved back here and the gang is united.”

“What's the name of your band?”

“Before You Exit.”

“You have a good singing voice.” I said this too softly, hoping that Connor didn't hear. It was something I needed to get off my chest.

“I'm sorry, can you repeat that?” He smirked and I groaned. He did hear.

“You have a good singing voice.”

“Louder.”

“Seriously?”

“Do it. It'll please me.” He chuckled evilly and I couldn't help but smile.

“You have a good singing voice!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I don't know why I did it. It was probably because no one could hear me, when were high above the ground.

“Boy, you have a voice.” He chuckled. “How come I don't hear it at school?”

I scowled, “You know why.”

“You seem more outgoing recently. I wonder why,” He narrowed his eyes. “Is it because of Braiden?”

I blushed and pressed my lips together, “What's it to you?”

“You smile more when you're around him.” He replied quietly. “You look better when you smile, so smile more.”

“I can't seem to smile when I'm around you, because all we do is argue with each other.”

“How about we call a truce?” He held out his hand and I could only stare at it in amazement, because the idea seemed so ridiculous.

“Truce? What changed your mind?”

“You said I have a good singing voice.” He smiled and as always, it never failed to sent my heart racing.

“Alright then.” I placed my hand in his and we shook on it, once, but it was all it needed. I was almost quick to pull my hand away, but I wanted to put it to the test. I watched attentively, like a hawk, as he gave my hand a squeeze, lingering for sometime, before finally letting go.

“Is that your habit?”

“What?”

“Holding on to girl's hands like that? For so long?”

“I only do it to girls I like.”

“You....like me?” It was so odd to say those words. After all that's happened to me, I would suspect that nobody would ever like. Getting a confession like that out of nowhere, is what really surprised me.

“Don't take it the wrong way. You're an interesting person. That's all.”

“Oh...right.” I almost felt disappointed because it would have been the first confession I'd ever received. And it's coming from an adorable guy. “I'm interesting and you're always trying to get into a fight with me?”

“You're really stubborn,” he sighed. “And that's what irritates me the most.”

“And you're nosy,” I said back. “And that's what irritates me the most.”

He smiled and this one, I couldn't comprehend. It was rare for me to even witness Connor cracking a smile in the first place, due to our “relationship”, but it seemed different. And I liked it.

For some reason, I wanted to see it all the time.

Xxx

After that somehow surprisingly, yet reliving ride on the Ferris wheel for the second time, we eventually found Braiden who was trying to look for me in return. We ran into Thomas and Riley, and decided to spend the rest of the time at the carnival together. Everyone was surprised to see Connor and I actually speaking to each other, but no one decided to question it. Luckily, we didn't run into Danny and Terrance again.

I could finally spend the rest of the day, with my “no-longer-acquaintances”, but what I would call, friends.

On our ride home, we were all bustling with stories and exclaiming how fun the rides were. I even participated, which was a big difference from what happened this morning. By the way, Connor didn't seem annoyed that I was sitting next to him again.

As soon as we dropped off Thomas and Braiden back at their homes, we were home.

My home, I can finally call it.

As I skipped up the steps to the front door, I heard a “Trinity” from behind me. I turned around and Connor tossed me the stuffed the giraffe.

“I just remembered,” he said. “I don't think mom really likes giraffes that much.”

He walked past me and into the house, without a second glance. I hugged the stuffed animal tightly and my lips broke into a smile.

He was a sneaky one, that Connor.