"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Katherine's voice was muffled by Jack's shoulder as she clung to his arm. They had been at an amusement park and Jack had insisted they go on the new ferris wheel. What he didn't know, however, was that she was deathly afraid of heights.
"Because you love me." Jack replied before sighing. "Katherine, honey, we've barely been moving a minute. We ain't very high up at all yet." Had it only been a minute? It felt like a lifetime.
"Yes, but we will be. And I don't want to have my eyes open when we are."
"C'mon, Ace, they wouldn't let us get on this thing in the first place if it wasn't safe."
"Yes, but what if this time is different from all the others and something happens? This thing is a death trap." Jack could tell by her tone that she was completely serious. He paused, before answering.
"That ain't gonna happen Ace, this ride has been running for six years."
"Exactly! It probably isn't very stable after six years of use. And besides, you don't – "Katherine cut herself of with a scream as the Ferris wheel shuddered, before coming to an abrupt halt. "What was that?" she asked in a quiet voice. She hated herself for being so vulnerable, but she couldn't help it. She was terrified. Jack pulled her closer to him and looked around.
"I don't know... probably just some part stopped working or something." He was concerned, but not nearly as concerned as his girlfriend.
"Jack, what if we're stuck up here forever?"
"Ace, that's not – "
"What if something catches on fire and we all burn to death? What if the straps malfunction and we both fall out and die?"
"Kath, you of all people should know that nothing like that is gonna happen."
"But what if it does?" Katherine pulled away to look at Jack, which she found was a mistake when her instincts instructed her to look down. She let out a small whimper before burying her face back into the crook of Jack's neck. The newsie sighed.
"Katherine, we're gonna be fine. And, look on the bright side, at least you're with me. We're gonna be okay, trust me."
"For sure?" Katherine's muffled voice asked.
"For sure, Ace."
oOo
They had been up there for what Jack guessed was probably about an hour, and he was getting bored. Katherine had managed to calm down somewhat and was leaning on Jack's chest. He could hear voices of people on the ground gathering around the bottom of the ferris wheel, whom he assumed were working on fixing it. Jack looked ahead at the view of the slightly setting sun, and then down to Katherine, who noticed and offered him a weak smile. He stroked her hair and smiled back. He wished he'd thought to bring his sketchbook, but then, when they left he didn't think they'd be stuck on the ferris wheel for this long. He sighed, and tried to memorize the sight of the sunset in front of him so he could draw it later. However, his concentration was broken when the wheel lurched again, and Katherine freaked out and grabbed onto him again. But this time, instead of staying still, the wheel started moving again.
"Jack, what's happening?" Katherine mumbled.
"Calm down, Kath, we're moving again."
"We're going back down?"
"Yeah sweetheart, we're going back down." Jack chuckled. "And you never have to come back up this high ever again."
