Friendly Dating - Kira

Chapter 45 - Trying to Be Festive

Arriving at the festival, walking down the busy, cheerful main road, turned into a walkway bordered by stalls and booths offering games, souvenirs for sale, food and various beverages, I am flooded with memories of past festivals. 

Memories of chasing Ethan with a cider-tasting paddle, threatening to beat him up for decorating my hair with candyfloss. Another fond memory involves me being picked up and perched on the roof of an ice cream stand, my legs dangling over the edge, begging Ethan to let me down but refusing to promise that I won't make him miss the ring toss by throwing my rings to crash into his anymore.

I remember laughing a lot, running away and hiding from Ethan a lot and being frustrated and sabotaged a lot. I remember him taking huge bites of whatever I'm trying to eat and stealing my sweets, and I remember calling him a beast, an aqua bastard and a cave dweller, but I also remember him carrying me on his back to the medical tent to get my scraped knees cleaned when I tripped and fell on loose gravel. I also remember him buying me ice cream when we got banned from playing in the teenage ball pit because we were apparently being too unruly... as if that is even possible.

These memories are from the pre-Simon days, and I was convinced that Delia and I did everything together, usually by ourselves, but here I am, remembering scenario after scenario of having fun with Ethan. I am stunned to realise that almost all my best festival memories involve him. I know I always have loads of fun with Delia; I never doubted that, but for some reason, I always thought that when it comes to Ethan, my life has just been annoyance, pain and frustration.

Today he is letting me use the magnetic fishing rod to actually catch steel fish, and I don't constantly have to detangle my string from his or duel in a tug of war for the same fish caught on both our magnets. He is patiently watching me, giving me advice and cheering me when I manage to get one out of the tub. They make these fish just too heavy for the magnet, so it takes some skill and clever manoeuvring to get them out. I deserve his praise, but seriously, I'd rather have him play too and mess things up for me.

Yeah, I'm apparently weird that way now. 

Ethan and I have, on occasion, teamed up, using our magnets together to empty the tub of fish... which was frowned upon... We were eventually each given a prize and told to go play other games and stop starting annoying trends.

Depending on the games we tried to play, we always ended up wet, dirty, getting scolded for misbehaving or being banned. I usually only managed to leave a booth with a prize because Ethan would flirt, beg or threaten one out of whoever was working there at the time. His tactics differed according to requirements. I always got a prize, even if it was only an edible bangle.

I'm starting to realise that Ethan's claim that he only sucks at throwing darts at balloons because I'm a relentless pest is completely true. I do tend to "accidentally" bump his arm or distract him or steal his darts whenever he is trying to play the game... well, he does the same things to me. Today, when I wasn't here to fulfil my role as pest, he won a rather nice octopus which proves that he does not suck at it at all... unless it is another prize he flirted, begged or threatened out of someone.

I always enjoy the game we're playing now. It is one where you have to use the never-ending stream of water from a water gun to spit water into a clown's mouth and make a balloon grow. The first one to pop their balloon is the winner. Right now, I find it really boring because my stream is steadily reaching its target, and the balloon is growing and growing. The reason for this disaster is standing next to me, calmly and with focus aiming his own gun at his own clown... Yes, it is important to mention that all these items are his own this time... There usually is no guarantee for that.

In another few seconds, my balloon is going to pop, and I'll be the winner. Ethan is clearly holding back, and I am starting to feel annoyed more than bored. I am not a child or an invalid that needs special treatment, and he is like a watered-down version of himself today. I cannot stand this half-defeated vibe coming off of him anymore. Clenching my teeth, I lift my gun off its stand and direct it at Ethan, dousing him with a generous amount of water.