"Hey, Dean, I-"
"Yeah, I know," Dean cut off Elijah. "You could have handled it yourself. You could've kicked their ass and saved the day. Sorry to steal your thunder."
"Actually," Elijah smiled. "I wanted to thank you. You didn't have to step in, but you did. Thanks for having my back."
Dean let a small smile spread across his face. He nodded in response to Elijah's appreciation, and then Janelle grabbed Elijah's arm and asked him to go on a carnival ride with her. He grinned at her and followed her to the line.
Dean turned to face me. "Where to?"
I shrugged. "I don't care."
He grinned and gestured towards the ferris wheel. I let out a sigh but followed him towards the ride.
"What? Are you afraid of heights?"
I nodded slightly. "Something like that."
Dean chuckled. "Don't worry, I got you."
I smiled. "Thank you, by the way."
"For?"
"Stepping in when you did." I said, and then added playfully, "I mean, I totally could've kicked his ass, but thanks."
Dean laughed. "Next time it's all you."
I giggled. "No, but seriously, thank you. I've gotten in plenty of confrontations with them, but that was the first time they actually laid a hand on me."
"Well, if they do it again, let me know. I'll take care of it."
I nodded, trying to hide my blush. "Thank you."
The people on the ride were starting to get off, which meant very soon we'd be getting on. I cringed looking up at the wheel. I hated heights. I absolutely hated them.
"Ready?" Dean grinned as we moved forward in the line.
I gave him a fake smile. "Of course."
--
"If you grip the bar any harder your fingers might fall off," Dean joked, poking at my knuckles, which were turning white under my tanned skin from hanging on to the bar in front of me so tight.
"I'll take that chance."
"What if you hold it so tight it becomes undone? Or what if that happens and you slip because you're leaning forward? Or what if-" a devilish smile spread across his lips as he began to swing his feet back and forth, rocking the cart.
"Dean!" I screeched, holding on to the bar even tighter. "Stop!"
"Let go of the bar."
"No."
He shrugged, kicking his feet faster. The cart began rocking furiously, giving me an extremely uneasy feeling.
"Let go, Audrey."
"Dean, please stop." I begged, making the mistake of looking down. We were almost at the top of the wheel.
"Let go," he sang, smiling.
"Stop it!"
"Let go!"
"Fine!" I threw my hands up, immediately scooting closer to him and grabbing his arm instead of the bar. "Happy?"
"Extremely." he stopped kicking, and the cart stopped rocking. I let go of him, moving back to my side of the car and gripping the bar.
He groaned. "Audrey-"
"Please," I whimpered. "I'm scared of hei-" the wheel began moving, making me scream. I released the bar, my hands flying up to my chest as if it would help me control the furious pounding. Dean wrapped both arms around me and pulled me closer to him.
"You're okay!" he laughed, letting me hide my face in his chest. His laughing subsided, and he leaned in closer to me. "You're okay." he whispered.
I took a deep breathe before pulling away, looking up at the sky rather than the ground far below us. My right hand reached out to grab the bar for reassurance, but Dean caught it instead, intertwining our fingers. I gave him a surprised look, careful not to look past him to the carnival happening behind- and below- him.
"If you have to hold on to something, it might as well comfort you a little," he shrugged, saying the words shyly. I nodded, smiling a little before looking back up at the sky.
"Look at all the stars," I sighed. The light emitted from the carnival made the amount of stars scarce, but there was still plenty in the sky to admire. At least, I thought so.
"Hm," Dean scoffed. "This is nothing."
I looked away from the sky, back at him. "What do you mean?"
"This is nothing," he repeated. "You should see the sky when the stars and moon are the only things producing light."
"When did you see them?"
"There was this one time when we were driving across the country. Sammy was asleep in the backseat, and my dad and I were blasting classic rock music. I'm not sure how Sam was sleeping through it. The car broke down, so we were stranded in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, with no cars anywhere near us. Not that my dad would have left his car if there were. Anyway, he popped the hood to try to figure out the problem, and I woke up Sam. We went for a little walk, away from the light of the flash light Dad was using, and just looked at the stars until he got the car back up and running. The amount of stars was unbelievable. It's one of those things you just have to see for yourself, you know?" He looked away from the sky, back down at me. I realized how close I had gotten to him as he spoke and scooted back. He cleared his throat. "I'll show you sometime."
I smiled. "Okay."
Dean leaned forward to see how far we were from the ground just as the wheel turned again. I jumped slightly, making him laugh.
"Ready to get off?" the girl controling the ride asked, her voice bored.
"Yes," I replied immediately.
Dean laughed again.
