Gabe
Torren decided to close the shop early today—things were slow, and Felix had the day off.
On my way home, I pass the alleyway that leads to the Kitty Cat Club, and Jason pops into my mind. The urge to see if he’s there is strong, but I keep moving, strolling down the broken sidewalk.
He’s at the sugar factory, I’m sure.
Kids rush past me, all of them hurrying somewhere, when I suddenly hear a sound from my youth.
Is that creepy carnival music?
I walk a couple more blocks and—
It is!
A hand lands on my shoulder, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Is that creepy carnival?”
I turn, and there’s Jason. “Holy shit! Where did you come from?” I ask.
“Just left the Kitty Cat Club. That’s where we trained for part of the day. Is that creepy carnival?”
“It is,” I say. “You remember it?”
“Fuck yeah!”
Every summer when we were kids, Jason and I would go to the creepy carnival.
It’s not intentionally creepy; it’s actually called Dreamy Carnival, and it tries really hard to be nostalgic but fails miserably.
Everything is run-down, the music sounds like a kid’s piano in need of a tuning, and the employees look like they might rob you.
It’s perfect for the Patch.
“Dude! Let’s go,” Jason says, grabbing my hand and leading me toward the carnival.
“What? We’re too old for that,” I protest.
“Like hell we are. You’re never too old for creepy carnival! Let’s go, bitch.”
Jason wraps his arm around my shoulder as we walk.
“You trained at the Kitty Cat Club?” I ask.
Jason nods. “Yeah, we had to get through the maze in the dark while HellCats shot paintballs at us.”
“Paintballs?” I ask.
“Yeah, you know…just in case,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
In case he gets ambushed on a job…
I push that thought out of my mind and say, “Paintballs hurt like hell. I got hit in the ass once and couldn’t sit for a week.”
“A whole week?” he asks. “I’m shocked. Your ass can handle a lot from what I’ve experienced.” He grips my butt hard, making me yelp.
Well, that was embarrassing.
Together, we stroll to the entrance to buy tickets. “I got this,” he says. “Tobias gave us a little cash as an advance.”
He pays for the tickets, and I fight to ignore the light and fizzy feeling bubbling inside me.
We enter the carnival, and the place is wild. The creepy music is deafening, and kids dart past us in all directions.
It’s a lot, to be honest, and just as I’m about to suggest we grab a soda and sit, Jason yells. “BUMPER CARS!” He points at them in total disbelief. “They didn’t have these when we were kids,” he shrieks.
“No, they must be new.”
“Let’s go!” Jason literally runs to the bumper cars, faster than the kids who are at least ten years younger than him. He leaps over the divide and sprints to a red car. “Gabe! Get your ass in here!”
I rush over, laughing at the way he’s acting, and choose a black car.
The attendant closes the gate, an alarm rings, and the cars come to life.
Before I can even move, someone smashes into me, and I look back to see Jason smirking. “Asshole,” I scream.
He rams into me again.
Then again.
Soon, my car is wedged against the wall. “What the hell?” I holler at him
“You should be used to me ramming you from behind,” he says with a wink.
I manage to back the car up and push him away, giving me the space I need to escape. “Be careful, hotshot,” I say tauntingly. “I push back with a vengeance.” Then I soar to the opposite side of the floor.
The chase is on, the two of us treating this like it’s a battle for the ages, weaving around literal children while we scream ten times louder than they do.
Just as Jason’s about to smash into me again, the cars shut down, and the steady hum from the floor vanishes. “I could have had you,” he complains while slamming his fist on the steering wheel.
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda. You didn’t!”
“I’m gonna get you!” Jason snaps, jumping out of his car, but I leap out of mine faster, scale the divider surrounding the bumper cars, and take off.
He manages to catch up with me and gives me noogies. “Stop it,” I yell, laughing as he does it.
We playfully scuffle about the road that weaves through the dingy rides and fried food stands.
Everything feels better now that Jason is back. Colors are more vibrant, smells hit me harder, and even the macabre music of this weird carnival sounds a little more cheerful.
Jason finally relents and smiles in a way that makes my whole body ignite. Our chests heave as we catch our breaths and walk side by side in silence—our arms touching while the world passes by in a haze of lights and chatter.
But all I can see is him.
He suddenly stops and points at a shooting gallery. “Dude, watch this.” He motions for me to follow him, then saunters over to the attendant.
“One, please.” He picks up the gun and aims at the targets whizzing by on a belt, firing off a round of BBs and hitting ten or so targets in rapid succession.
“First grand prize winner of the day!” the attendant yells, clapping his hands.
“Fuck yeah! What do I get?” Jason asks.
“Anything from the top row.”
I look at the prizes on the top row—they are the epitome of creepy carnival swag. They’re all dingy and look older than Jason and me combined. They're supposed to have happy faces, but their eyes are scuffed, and their little mouths twist into grimaces. They look like zombie toys.
“Which one do you want?” Jason asks.
“Huh?”
“Pick one,” he adds.
I shake my head. “No, you won. You pick it.”
“I won it for you.”
Butterflies take flight in my stomach. “Really?” I ask.
Jason nods—his little smile sending my heart into overdrive.
“Let’s pick together,” I compromise. “It’ll be like our little trailer mascot.”
Jason laughs. “I’m into it.” He moves closer and asks, “Which one of these weirdo plushies screams creepy carnival the most?”
Together, we survey the big stuffed animals on the top shelf and simultaneously point at the same one.
“That one,” we say in unison.
It’s a mangy-looking brown bear wearing a black vest and bowtie, and I can tell from where I stand that one eye is loose. There’s even a grease stain on its head.
“Yup, if that doesn’t scream creepy carnival, I don’t know what does,” he says.
“Totally.”
“We’ll take that one,” he says to the attendant, pointing to our busted bear.
Jason hands the bear to me. “You didn’t ooh and ahh over my shooting skills.”
I roll my eyes and say, “Oohhhh, ahhhhhh,” with forced enthusiasm.
“So sassy,” he says, lightly bumping into me.
I hold up our bear, and together we take a look at it. “It’s so ugly,” I say. “I love it.”
“For real. The vest gives leather daddy vibes.”
“Right?” I say, laughing.
“He’ll match the depressing wood paneling in the trailer, too.”
I crack up because the wood paneling really is disgusting.
Jason laughs too, and we bump into each other, cracking up before meeting each other's eyes and stopping.
We stand there, me holding the bear, and Jason looking at me with those incredible blue eyes.
The world stops spinning for a moment, the two of us alone in the universe, then Jason snaps out of it and asks, “You hungry?”
“I could eat,” I say, trying to mask my disappointment that the moment is over.
“My treat.”
“No, you got the tickets,” I protest.
“You bought the air conditioner,” he counters.
We’ve been fighting like cats and dogs for weeks, and now we’re sparring over who can be nicer to the other. I can’t help but chuckle. “Okay,” I reply. “Thank you.”
“Of course. What do you want?” he asks.
We scan the food options. “I mean, I want a chili dog, but I also want to have some fun later,” I say, waggling my brows.
Jason stares at me with a blank expression. “Please don’t eat a chili dog,” he begs in a grave voice.
I explode laughing. “I think I will. You know what? I’d like two, please!”
His face falls. “Gabe…I just won you a creepy bear...”“I’m kidding!” I say, still laughing at him. “I’ll have some fries and a Coke.”
He gasps and adds, “And we need to split funnel cake like we used to.”
“Definitely,” I reply.
***
The Ferris wheel rises again, giving us a view of the Patch bathed in the magenta light of the setting sun.
It actually looks pretty for once. Our bear sits between us, and I balance the paper plate holding our funnel cake on my lap.
Jason tears a piece off and feeds it to me.
His face is powdered with sugar, but I refuse to tell him because he looks so cute.
Jason hums as he savors his bite of cake, licking his fingers afterward.
We’ve ridden the Ferris wheel three times now. Nobody is really waiting for it, so we keep asking for another ride, and the attendant couldn’t care less.
“How many times do you think they’ll let us ride this?” I ask.
Jason tears off another piece of funnel cake and feeds it to me. “We’re watching the sunset on this thing, and nobody is gonna stop us.”
I just can’t help myself. I lean in and kiss Jason’s cheek before licking off some of the sugar. “Yummy.”
Jason snags a napkin and wipes his face. “How long did I have sugar all over me?” he asks.
I lie and tell him, “Not long.”
Our pod reaches the top once more, and the Ferris wheel stops just in time to see the sun disappear behind the horizon.
“Nice,” Jason sighs.
“Mmhm.”
I let my head rest on his shoulder and close my eyes. He smells like freshly fallen rain with the faintest hint of musk that’s just strong enough to make the fire inside me ignite.
I rest my hand on his thigh, and Jason wraps his arm around me.
“I’m scared,” he whispers.
My eyes blink open. “What?”
His jaw clenches, and he looks out onto the horizon. “For the job on Friday. I’m scared.”
There’s shame in his expression, and I wrap my arm around his torso. “I think most people would be scared.”
He opens his mouth to speak before closing it again. His eyes shut, and his head falls in defeat. Jason pinches the bridge of his nose and says, “What if I’m not good enough?”
“You are,” I say with zero hesitation.
“But—”