Before fame; a 5sos fanfic

Chapter 19

Ashton:

Finally, somebody agreed with me! Clarissa was ecstatic when she heard about the fair, and the hour long drive to get there. Clarissa loved fairs, she loved road trips, and even though this was a pretty short road trip, I knew she would love the idea.

I, being the oldest, got to drive. We crammed into my car, and were off. Clarissa, as usual, called shotgun. She may have had to fight Luke for it, but she got the front seat. Whenever there was a long drive, Clarissa had to sit in the front. She claimed it was because she wanted to 'man the radio', as she put it, but we all knew the real reason; Clarissa got carsick. I don't know why she loved long car trips so much if she got carsick, but... There was a lot about that girl I don't understand.

We were halfway there, and Michael had already fallen asleep in the backseat, sandwiched between Luke and Calum. Luke was complaining, Calum and Claire were singing along to the playlist I put on, and I was snacking on a chopped up pineapple that Clarissa had cut up for me. She knows how much I love it, and that's what I love about her. She's no pushover, she's actually stubborn as hell, but she would do the nicest things for people she loved.

We reached the fair grounds and Claire busted out of the car faster than humanly possible. As soon as she saw her favorite amusement park ride, The Tornado. She looked at me with wide eyes before grabbing my hand and dragging me to the ride. She pulled money out of her pocket, payed for tickets for both of us, and dragged me to the ride. The ride operator smiled at Clarissa, his eyes scanning over her body. My jealous, protective instinct kicked in and I slung my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me and the ride operator looked disappointed, most likely assuming that Clarissa and I were together. He took Claire's money and ushered us to our seats. He buckled us in and Clarissa smiled at him, which made him smile in return. "Thank you, Danny!" I looked at her in surprise. How did she know his name? I then realized that he was wearing a nametag. You are so stupid, I thought to myself.

The ride started and Claire squealed. I wasn't a fan of fast, twirly rides like these, I was more in to roller coasters and such, but Clarissa dragged me on this one and it was too late to run away. We picked up speed and the wind pushed me back into my seat. Startled, I grabbed Claire's hand for support. She was squealing and laughing and having the time of her life, while I was fearing for mine. The ride stopped and we got off. I was unsteady on my feet and I clung to Clarissa, who seemed perfectly fine, despite the fact that her cheeks were rosy and her hair had been blown into a disarray. She still managed to look beautiful, though. Oh god, I thought, I am turning into a pile of mush. Really cheesy mush. I smirked to myself. That sounds like some kind of holiday food. Cheesy mush! I was brought back to reality, which was quite boring compared to my thoughts, when Claire snapped her fingers in my face. I smiled sheepishly at her and she poked my cheeks. "Did you hear a single thing I said to you?" Clarissa asked me. I shook my head, looking at the ground. Claire pouted and linked our arms, pulling me towards the carnival games. "As I was saying," Claire said, gaining my attention. "That ride, despite being my favorite, made me wanna throw up. How do the games sound? I need a break." She finished with a huff, and then her face lit up when she laid her eyes on her favorite carnival game, Dart & Balloon. There were about forty water balloons hanging from the wall, and each player was given five darts with one mission; pop as many balloons as possible in three turns with five darts each turn. Clarissa grabbed my hand and dragged me to the game, where the elderly man running the game smiled warmly. "Hello there, would you like to play?" Clarissa nodded eagerly. The man chuckled at her enthusiasm and handed her five darts. I saw Clarissa scanning the wall of prizes, and her eyes stopped on the giant stuffed penguin, about the same size as Clarissa herself. It's beady eyes stared back at her and one look at her face told me she was in love. The man noticed this too and laughed. He moved out of her way and gestured to the wall of balloons. She steadied herself before she flicked her wrist and the dart shot forward, popping a blue balloon, making water spill to the ground. She fist pumped and grinned at me before aiming and popping another balloon. And another. And another after that. With each balloon she successfully hit, Claire became more and more confident.

I studied the way her body looked when she bent down to aim, and swallowed. She had such a beautiful personality, and it reflected throughout. No wonder the football team had the hots for her.

Clarissa ended up winning the penguin. Not that I had my doubts; Clarissa had played this game so many times, she didn't miss a single balloon. We walked hand in hand around the carnival, looking for the other three boys. I saw Calum leaning against a wall, talking to a pretty girl with blonde hair and sunglasses covering her eyes. He saw Clarissa and I and waved. I smirked in response. I flashed him a thumbs up and steered Clarissa in a different direction, leaving Calum alone with his girl.

We eventually found Michael, who decided to hop onto Claire's back, which made her drop her penguin. She gasped and pushed Michael off, rushing to the stuffed animals aid. She picked it off the ground and glared at Michael. Claire stood, craddling the penguin like a baby in her arms, and brushed the dirt off of it. "You, Michael Clifford, are a very mean person. You could've hurt my baby!" She crushed the penguin to her chest and stomped away. I chuckled. "Never mess with a girls penguin, man. You have much to learn." I patted his shoulder and ran after Clarissa, leaving Michael standing there, confused as all hell.