dark paradise•conrad fisher

thirteen

"TOO BAD FOR YOU, BASKETBALL'S ABOUT ANGLES."

Conrad stepped closer, rotating the basketball in his hand. Angela stood with her hands on her hips, glancing over at the boardwalk game called Shoot Your Shot.

Angela smirked and picked up her own basketball. "Too bad for you, I had such a great trigonometry tutor."

"Thank you."

Angela smiled remembering all of those nights Conrad stayed up to help her stay on top of her math class.

Cameron stepped forward. "Alright! The rules are simple. Five balls each, most baskets win. On your marks, get set, shoot!"

"You got this, Angie!" Taylor shouted.

"Go Connie!" Steven's voice echoed.

Conrad threw the ball into the basket effortlessly as the boys cheered. "In your face, Angel."

"I let you have that, Connie!"

"Sure, sure," he laughed sarcastically.

Fortunately for Angela, she focused and got the ball in right away too. She felt pride when she stared back at Conrad.

They continued to shoot back and forth as their friends cheered and Angela felt herself loosing focus.

She was looking at Conrad rather than looking at the basketball or the net. She wasn't even sure how she made it to the final round.

If Angela made this, she won.

"You got it, Ang!" Jere cheered.

"Wrong team, dude," Steven said, nudging him.

"You've got nothing!" Conrad insisted.

Angela watched as the ball fell into the net, her friends bringing her into a cheer and Belly hugging her.

Cam was clapping. "Angela Cortez is the winner!" he shouted in excitement.

"Told you I'd win," Angela said with a smirk, teasing Conrad.

Conrad wasn't doing anything but staring into Angela's eyes with the warmest smile ever. He had stars in his eyes.

"I let you win, Angel."

Jeremiah showed up, putting his arm around Angela. She sighed, knowing it ruined the entire moment.

"Not surprised that you beat Conrad," Jeremiah spoke with a laugh.

Conrad cleared his throat. "I think you get to pick a prize."

Angela's eyes looked up at the prizes. They still had Junior Mint. And they had a giraffe. She remembered wanting both of them.

"You could get Junior Mint a friend."

Angela giggled. "What if I like the giraffe better?"

Conrad's face fell. "I mean, if you like that better."

Angela turned to the person running the game. "The polar bear, please."

Conrad's face lit up again as she handed Angela the polar bear which she held in pride and happiness, showing it off to Belly, Taylor, and Skye.

"Good pick, Ang," Steven said.

The way he looked at her told her that he knew. The little smirk. The glint in his eyes. Steven was well aware of why Angela picked the polar bear as her prize.

There was one final game. And that was the go-kart race. Angela was prepared for this. This would determine who won and who lost.

If Angela won, she'd get candy of her choice, but if she lost she would have to ride the Tower of Terror. She was terrified of it, and that's why she was so determined to win.

Her heart was pumping as they sat in the go-karts. Cam was ready to start the competition. Some of them had paired up like Belly and Taylor but both Angela and Conrad were in go-karts alone.

"Ready, set, go!"

Angela started off fast and in the front. "Woo!" she yelled as she passed Jeremiah.

"I'm coming for you, babe!"

Angela still didn't like that. But she chose to ignore him. "You're going down!"

She was going fast, but Conrad was coming close behind her. She felt her hair blow in the breeze as her foot went down on the pedal.

Angela was nearing the end when Conrad suddenly crossed the finish line right in front of her.

"No!" she yelled.

Angela was winning the whole time! Conrad had beaten her by a second!

She stood grumpily in the candy shop while the boys checked out with their candy. Angela was sweating. She was nervous to ride the Tower of Terror.

It was something so simple to be afraid of, but she had always been afraid of heights. Angela wasn't one to back down from a challenge or the consequences of loosing. So there was no way she was giving up.

Angela didn't want Conrad to think she was a cry baby either.

Conrad handed his bag of candy to Jeremiah.

Steven was laughing. "Ready, Ang?!"

"Shush, Steven," Angela mumbled.

Conrad looked serious when he approached Angela. "I'm riding it with you."

"What? No, it's ok. That was the whole point of the challenge, idiot. You won."

Angela knew that Conrad wasn't particularly fond of this ride or heights either. Maybe he wasn't as afraid as her, but he definitely wasn't a fan either.

"I want to go with you. It will make you feel better."

"If you're sure. Seems like you want to spend more time with me."

Conrad's hand brushed against her waist. "Maybe."

Angela's stomach was knotted as she smiled. "Let's go then."

The Tower of Terror was much taller than Angela remembered. It was so high and so full of screams. She was scared, but at least Conrad was with her.

She was so happy he was doing this with her. It was one of the many reasons she loved him. Conrad always cared so much for everyone else.

"Yo! How come your boyfriend isn't going with you?" Steven asked.

"Good question," Conrad mumbled in an unwanted response.

"Steven, you know Jere is petrified of this."

Jeremiah sighed and then laughed. "Angie, no I'm not."

Conrad had his arms crossed, looking up at the drop tower as if it was nothing. "Next time you should be there for her."

The tone was suddenly dull, but Angela tried to brighten the mood again. "Let's go."

She gulped as Conrad lead her through to the line. Angela took deep breaths as she waited for their turn. Unfortunately, the line was quite short today.

When they were finally getting on, Conrad made sure to stay close. And then the ride finally started. The ride started going up further and further.

The eye contact.

Conrad and Angela were looking into each other's eyes. They looked nowhere else. The whole entire time the platform advanced, they were just helplessly in love looking at each other.

Angela was nervous because of the drop and because of him.

"We're ok, Angel. I'm here with you," he whispered.

Angela smiled, putting her hand in his. Conrad was a bit surprised, but he did the same. The platform suddenly dropped as they both yelled.

It suddenly didn't feel so scary to Angela anymore. She laughed as she looked over at Conrad.

The ride finished, and she felt happy rather than scared. She felt safe with Conrad. And she always would.