"I can't wait to see the cute cows at the county fair today!" Julian cried to her friends Mara and Angel as they walked through the corn field to get to the center where the fair was being held.
"I know, right?" Mara exclaimed, "I want to see the adorable chicks that they have this year." She giggled and jumped up and down before they continued walking down the path.
"I heard there'll be baby goats there!" Angel said, which earned an excited squeal from the group.
They could smell the fresh popcorn and cotton candy before they even saw the tops of the tents, the scent wafting through even the thickest of corn patches. Growing more excited with each step, Julian ran ahead of the group to take in the glorious views of the fair.
"Wow!" Julian said, exacerbated. There were colorful tents of varying heights planted all over the place, containing farm animals of every kind. Food trucks run by Mexican uncles produced foods that made Julian's stomach growl.
"You guys can go ahead, they called to Mara and Angel, "I'm going to get some food, then catch up to you guys."
"Alright," Mara said, "we'll be going to the chickens, then to the goats. Hurry up, you don't want to miss the cows." Julian nodded and watched as they walked away.
"Alright, what do I want to eat?" Julian asked to themselves as their eyes swept the surrounding food trucks, looking for something appetizing.
Finally, they saw a spaghetti stand sat off in the corner, and it seemed not as busy as the rest of them. They pulled out their wallet and walked over.
"Hello sir, "Julian said, still looking down at their wallet, "one plate of sketti, please."
"Sure thing," the man said," That'll be one dollar and sixty-nine cents." Julian quickly grabbed the money from the pouch and then, they finally looked up. Their eyes widened as they gazed upon the most handsome man they had ever seen in their entire life.
"Wow, uh-"their hands started to stumble and they dropped the money onto the ground.
"Oh my," the man said with the most beautiful southern accent Julian had ever heard,"lemme help ya with that." The man came over and bent down beside Julian, and began picking up the dropped coins. With large, rugged hands, nor handed the coins back to Julian, mal hands resting on top of Julian's for a moment longer than needed. Julian looked up at the man, their faces mere inches apart.
"Why, thank you, "they said breathlessly. They noticed that the man was blushing hard, and they realized that they were too. The two quickly stood up at the same time and stood there awkwardly for a moment, the man's hand still in Julians.
The man looked down and quickly snatched his hand back, embarrassed.
"I'm uh-" nor stuttered, "My name is Richard, but you can call me Ricky. Or Dick, if you'd prefer. And my pronouns are Nor/Mal." Julian smiled, probably much larger than they intended to.
"Uh, Ricky is nice, "they said. After another moment of just standing there and looking into each others eyes, Ricky seemed to remember something.
"Oh right!" nor exclaimed running back over to the food truck, "Your sketti!" Nor quickly put together a plate of spaghetti and handed it over to Julian.
"I should uh... get back to work," Ricky said, disappointed.
"Yeah, I should get back to...my friends," Julian said, a twinge of pain in their heart. After an awkward hug and wave goodbye, Julian started towards the goat tent, figuring Angel and Mara would be there already. Would they ever see mal again? Julian should have asked for mal's number while they were there, they realized.
After reaching the goat tent, Julian caught sight of Angel and Mara, and quickly hid their disappointed expression.
"Hey guys," Julian said excitedly," You'll never guess what just happened."
End~
