A Fair!

(SLADE'S POV)

"A fair!!" She exclaimed, eyes widened as she peeked through the window at the huge iron gates.

"More like a VIP preview night." I corrected. My attention was on my phone, where I was going through my itinerary.

"Even better! Because now we have a lot of rides to ourselves." She was craning her neck even harder now. "And I think I see older people."

"Probably. Our parents were the ones invited." I couldn't keep my eyes on my phone for long, I had to steal a glance again and I was disappointed because I couldn't see those sparkling blue eyes but at least she wasn't so sad anymore.

Her excitement was palpable, it has been since we got here and she realized that we are here for the exclusive launch of a fair.

"What are we really waiting for?" She asked, her body almost out of the car.

A couple of knocks on the window interrupted my answer.

"That." I said with a sigh as I slipped my phone in my pocket. "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready since we got here! I love fairs so much!" She said with an excited giggle that sent a surprising burst of warmth through my chest.

It was no news that she liked fairs. Dad had told me and it was the reason why he made sure Makaira and I attended.

'A good way to ease her into our lifestyle.' He had said.

It's also the reason why I agreed to come for this event because I would never be caught dead in places like this.

"Come on. Come on." She said.

I opened the door and Makaira was already at the car door, smoothing her clothes.

Seeing her was a breath of fresh air and it was so difficult not to look at her.

I held my arm out, an invitation for her. She looked down at my arm and then back at my face.

"You're my date." I stated.

"Oh." She said, coming forward with hesitation that made me bite my inner cheek.

But then she was finally beside me and when she slipped her arm into mine, a wave of calm, accompanied by her scent, settled over me.

I looked at her but she was staring down and so I got a good view of the center of her head. She was so small that the height difference between us was nothing to write home about.

I thought of what it would feel like to have her in my arms. I imagined she would be like a little teddy bear. A chuckle escaped my lips.

Makaira looked up quickly with a surprised look on her face.

"What's funny?" She asked.

"Nothing." The humor had disappeared from my voice and with the way she was looking at me, I'm sure it disappeared from my face as well.

"You should be ready for the paparazzi." I watched her face, expecting a little bit of confusion or at least some fear. But her posture was straight and her chin raised, like she was ready to face anything or anyone.

It made me feel even more confident than I already did. When we walked past the flashing lights of the paparazzi, I felt her hand trembling.

"Over here, Mr. Horton."

"Miss Horton, give us a smile."

"How does it feel to be a Horton, Miss Kaira?"

"Miss Kaira."

So I unhooked my arm and held her hand instead, giving it a strong squeeze.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw her look at me but I looked straight until she did the same. For me it was normal, walking past the bustling chaos, the flooded questions and being in the face of the media. Perhaps that's why I keep away from social media, because it doesn't interest me.

But for Makaira, this would be overwhelming. Thankfully, she got through it just fine and released a deep breath when we walked past the iron gates.

"This way, Mr. and Miss Horton." A man greeted with a bow and started to lead us in.

I noticed Makaira's jaw tighten but she said nothing.

"Was it rude that I didn't answer anyone?" She surprised me by asking.

"No. You answer when you feel like."

She gave me a nod and we continued walking. Another set of gates were opened and we walked into the large grounds where the fair was holding.

"Oh wow!" Makaira gasped and only then did I remember that we were still holding hands because hers was gripping mine so tightly. "This is so amazing."

She was walking faster now and I was the one who had to match her pace.

From the short distance, we could see a good number of rides, stands all colorful and exciting.

"Here, please." The man who was leading us now steered us towards a group of about twenty people seated and we joined.

"What's going on?" Makaira asked in a whisper that was too loud to be called that.

"We're waiting for everyone to get here. We'll probably have a little opening ceremony." I explained, leaning back in the chair.

"So boring." She blew a raspberry and removed her hand from mine before she folded her arms across her chest.

I felt the emptiness instead and missed the presence of her small hand in mine.

I clenched my teeth against one another in annoyance.

In less than ten minutes, the mayor mounted a little podium and said a few words of appreciation. Then we were asked to move for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Makaira's hand found mine as we walked, like it was a normal thing for us. And when I glanced at her, I noticed she wasn't even looking at me or our hands.

She was trying hard to suppress an excited grin (and was failing) as she led me towards the front.

The ribbon was cut and we were allowed to launch.

"There's no need for tickets. Have fun and food, as much as you want!" The mayor happily announced.

I looked down at Makaira, her eyes were all over the place and her cheeks were as red as anything.

"Where do you want to start?" I asked.

She turned to me, those sapphire eyes stealing my breath as she said. "I have no idea!"