off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ one hundred and one

While it was certainly a shame that summer holidays were nearing their end, Vicky could not give in to sadness just yet. After all, summer school had just ended as well, leaving her with a short time of freedom, but freedom nevertheless. And of course, it was as good an excuse as any to celebrate. When Dayeon had come to her talking about an ephemeral street fair that would close only in a few days, Vicky had thought it a perfect way to end the summer. She'd invited Jungwon along and, of course, had asked Ricky to come. He'd seemed a little nervous when she'd told him her friends would be there too, but he accepted happily.

A street fair wasn't much of one at all without cotton candy, Dayeon had said as soon as they'd walked through the gates. In all of his kindness, Ricky had paid one for each of them, even when Jungwon had protested, always embarrassed to be treated by someone.

As Vicky walked through the fair next to Ricky, cotton candy in one hand, the other tightly in his, she thought things couldn't possibly get any better. This would be one memorable summer, she was sure of it. The one where she finally found her prince, where she freed herself of all her past scars, and let someone into her heart. There was no doubt that, when she would be an old graying granny barely able to move anymore, she would still remember it fondly and vividly.

The fair was nothing special, save for its ferris wheel triumphantly standing in the center of the square. Granted, it was nowhere near as impressive as any of the permanent fixtures one might find in amusement parks. It was far smaller, and she couldn't imagine the view to be particularly breathtaking. But it was covered in multicolored lights, towering over all of the stalls, and Vicky found her feet slowing down as she stared.

Her moment of unattentiveness was just enough for Ricky to dive right towards her and steal a bite of her cotton candy. She gasped as he retreated, a sly smile on his face. There was a bit of sugar lingering at the seam of his red lips, and Vicky felt a wave of warmth flood her face.

"You— Why'd you go and do that?" she protested, moving her stick of cotton candy away from him. "They're the same flavor!"

Of course, Ricky had no explanation, and only snickered gleefully. It was obvious by now, that he only aimed to see her flustered, even though she already was half the time. Before she could hope to retaliate by stealing an even bigger chunk out of his cotton candy, Vicky heard the barely muffled chuckling of her friends behind her. She turned to see Dayeon staring at them with a mischievous grin, while Jungwon was rolling his eyes.

"My, my, you two have come so far," Dayeon teased, coyly covering her mouth. "Vicky, I can still remember when you came back from that party a couple months ago, telling us you'd met your prince charming!"

Vicky felt herself jolt, her mind immediately conjuring up the vivid image of their discussion in the school's cafeteria. At the time, as enamored as she was with Ricky's gorgeous looks, she hadn't imagined things would turn out this way. She'd always thought she would simply chase him like every other girl, admire him from afar and bask in his magical presence. To think that he had become so important to her, so much more than a pretty face... It did feel like fate, sometimes.

It seemed Ricky had been just as taken aback by Dayeon's words, albeit for different reasons. He turned to Vicky with his eyes wide, and she almost found herself commenting out loud that he looked like a cat that had just spotted the beam of a laser — then he opened his mouth.

"The party... At the Zhang house?" he asked, his voice going up high at the end. "Is that the one she's talking about?"

Vicky couldn't remember attending any other party since then — she hadn't even been able to show up for Narae's birthday. "Uh, yeah?"

"You've liked me for that long?!"

As his words hung in the air for a moment, Vicky couldn't quite pick between being embarrassed, or downright slapping herself on the forehead. There was no end to Ricky's obliviousness, even now that they were dating. Back when he'd confessed to her, she'd told him she'd liked him since forever. Now she could only wonder what he'd thought she'd meant then, if not ever since she'd first met him.