Black Ice

Chapter Thirteen

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." 

~Nelson Mandela 

*****

"Oh, hell, no."

Carter grins, and for the first time, I realize how diabolical he looks when his eyebrows scrunch together on his forehead. "You were the one who said you wanted to do something different."

"Yeah, but a ferris wheel? Carter, this is straight out of The Notebook."

"Technically, we're not riding a ferris wheel," He reasons. "We're hi-jacking one."

"Right. Because that sounds so much better." I turn away from his crazed grin and look up at the ferris wheel in question. It's pretty small, but still high enough that if we fall, it won't end well no matter what way we land. It's also clearly abandoned - who knows how sturdy it is now? The stained red ribbons hanging from the metal poles have a haunting quality as they sway in the breeze. The unlit rainbow lights twinkle in a multicolored reflection of the moonlight.

I feel Carter's hand slip into my own. "Trust me on this one, Aly. You want to try it."

I decide to take the logical tactic: Stall. "How did you even find this thing, anyways? We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Sometimes the best stuff is where we least expect it." He kisses my temple.

I shrug him off, giggling. "Stop trying to turn this into a rom-com moment, you whacko. You're not getting me to climb that thing."

"Oh, come on! Come on," He pleads, tugging my arm toward the lonely ride. Despite my best efforts for mental superiority, I find my attempt to drag my feet slightly lacking. Besides, he's stronger than me. I am beside the rusty metal ladder before I can stop.

"It's probably not even stable," I argue weakly.

"The view is amazing," He counters, his breath on my neck.

He smells like Fro-Yo.

Vanilla.

I groan. "Fine."

"Ye-es!" He pumps his fist. "I'm right behind you. Just take it one step at a time."

I hesitantly boost myself up against the cold iron. "Is this even legal?"

"Details, details."

"Your ability to reassure astounds me yet again," I say, monotone and sarcastic.

"Just keep climbing, Walker," He laughs, poking me in the back.

And I do.

It takes me about ten minutes to get to the top. It shouldn't even have taken that long, except for the fact that the higher up I get, the more I regret ever leaving the ground. I go slower and slower until finally, a few steps from the top, a grind to a halt, frozen against the metal, not wanting to look down. We're not even terribly high up, but the wind is getting harder and sharper, and it's scaring me.

Then I feel Carter's hand, warm and reassuring on my ankle. His voice is a few pitches higher in the cold, but it retains the comedic undertone. "Move it, darling, before I grow old and die and they have to put 'lazy girlfriend' as the cause of death on my tombstone."

The laugh that rises in my chest is hot, and it keeps me warm as I reach the top.

Carter comes up behind me and swings himself off the ladder, balancing on beam. His hands rise to my waist, and he tugs me gently away from the ladder and down next to him. For the briefest of moments, we stand there, on a beam hardly thicker than your average bookshelf, far to high above the ground for my liking. We are nose to nose. Suddenly, the height is the least scary thing about the situation.

Then Carter laughs. "You should see yourself, Aly. If I knew ferris wheels turned you on, I would have taken you here a long time ago."

I snort. "In my defense, they seem to turn you on, too."

"Oh, that's not the ferris wheel." He smirks. We exchange a smile before a sharp gust of wind interrupts the moment.

Carter swears and grabs a nearby pole to steady us. "Let's move."

"Where are we going?"

"Just down here," He answers, making his way to the edge of the beam and sliding down into the little ferris wheel cart below.

I follow nervously, slipping with a plop into the seat next to him.

And wow. The view really is amazing.

I brush my hair out of my eyes and tilt my head back, taking in the stars. "You can see so many of them," I whisper.

"Well, we are, as you said, in the middle of nowhere," Carter replies, tilting his head in the same direction as mine. "No city lights to ruin the show. See that?" He gestures to a faint trail in the black sky. I nod. "That's the milky way."

I take it all in. To think I could have lived my whole life without ever seeing this. My hair blows into my mouth and I sputter, ruining the moment.

Carter laughs. "Here." He reaches over the edge of the cart and unties the red ribbon from the pole below us. It's remarkably fresh-looking, compared to the others. A little frayed, but definitely still recognizable as the color red, not mud brown or faded pale orange.

Carter brushes back my hair and ties it with the ribbon. "Now not only can you see better, but you have a keepsake. From the evening."

I smile. "A dirty ribbon. It's perfect."

"I know. I'm perfect, too."

"Perfectly egotistic."

"Hey, it's still a variation of perfection."

I laugh at that. We lean back together in the cart and look up at the sky. He puts his arm around me. I lean into him, and we enjoy the silence. There's silence, and there's Carter-silence. Regular silence I've always found soothing. Relaxing. Peaceful. But silence with Carter is different. It's a hopeful silence, like the world is holding it's breath and waiting for something exciting to happen.

After a while, Carter begins to hum softly in my ear. I'm not sure he even realizes he's doing it. I don't know the tune, but after a while he begins to whisper the lyrics. It's a strange song, about death and dreams and youth.

"I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take," He breathes to the stars, "When people run in circles, it's a very, very mad world...mad world..."

I hum along gently, but my mind is not on the melody. It's on a million things at once, a million fears and hopes and questions. There are more thoughts in my mind than there are stars in the sky. Carter's lullaby rocks me into a sort of daze, and I stare at the sky as my mind churns with death and dreams and youth and hope.

And silence.

Perfect silence.

The red ribbon twists in the wind.

*****

AN: So many updates! Happy smiles. I'm sorry I'm such a craptastic writer, guys. Please bear with me. This is a rough draft. I love getting feedback, and can't wait to hear what you guys have to say in the comments. PLEASE, constructive criticism! I promise, the pace will pick up again soon. I just wanted to fluff things up a little bit, so...yup.

Okay, confession time...Alysson is in for some serious emotional/mental/physical trauma in upcoming chapters. I wanted to give her some happiness, because I'm the type of loser who cares about her character's feelings. 

As always, hugs and kisses to everyone who bothered to read or vote or even comment *gasp* on this story. You guys are my LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM. THANKYOUSOMUCHOMIGAWRSH. *hyperventilates*

-HopelessByComparison