Neighbors(.)

Chapter 10

Vincent smiled as the Ferris wheel rocked and shuddered to a stop at the very top. In his arms was a tiny plush bear (Scott was apparently killer at darts), a bag of cotton candy, and the last of their tickets: a single stub. Not enough to ride anything, but certainly a treasured memory. He was so happy, dangling his feet and looking out at the cityscape from their high position. He glanced at Scott. Scott was looking aside.

He was still thinking about the moment in the funhouse. Oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness it wasn't a date. Thank goodness they didn't have to kiss. Did Scott not like him? Of course, he didn't expect Scott to like him that way, but... Scott just seemed so offended to even consider the possibility. He sighed. This was just so confusing.

"Hey, Scott?" He'd noticed Scott's empty expression. "You okay...?"

As he leaned to check on his friend, the cart softly rocked. You'd think the wheel had caught on fire by Scott's reaction. He screamed and bear hugged the lap bar, head down with his eyes tightly clenched.

"Uh, Scott...?" Vincent reached out to reassure his friend, and soon found that he was the one being clung to.

"H-hey, uh... if you don't mind... can I have a hug?"

Vincent chuckled and wrapped his arms around the larger man. "Scared of heights?"

Scott glared up at him. "And s-so what if I am?"

"Oh, it's nothing... you're just really tall and scared of heights. I don't know how you don't scream every time you stand up."

Even Scott had to giggle at this. "Shut up."

The wheel lurched back, and Scott's grip on him tightened. Apparently his good humor didn't cancel out his fear of heights for long. "Hey, Scott... uh, don't be scared, okay?" He glanced up. "Hey, I can see our apartment complex from here."

"Y-you can?" He peeked up. "Oh, yeah, heh... y-you can."

"I wonder if your cat is watching us from here."

Scott laughed. "Probably."

The wheel slowly moved down, and the operator signaled that it was Scott and Vincent's turn to get off. Scott climbed off and ran down to the concrete, Vincent chuckling and following after. He wrapped an arm around the rejoicing Scott, and they started back down the sidewalk.

"Hey, Vincent?"

"Yeah?"

"... don't tell anyone I'm scared of heights, okay?"

"As long as you don't tell anyone I'm scared of the dentist, we're good."