Third Chapter: Carnival is for Kids

Eleanor woke up at 6 in the morning. Last Tuesday, Caelan, her now undeniably close friend, asked her to go with him to some carnival. She'll never admit it, but she was glad that he asked her out. That fluttering feeling in her chest has been there the moment she woke up and only becomes more intense as the minutes passed by.

She told Fiona yesterday of what exactly happened. And to her dismay, she regretted ever mentioning it to her because now, Fiona won't stop pestering her about it.

"Come on, Elle. You have to look good! This is literally your very first date with the one and only Caelan Xander Evadene III!" Fiona cheered for her friend. Clearly, she was more excited than the one who's actually going.

"Fi, stop. First, we're just going to the carnival, nothing else. Second, it's not a date! We're going out only as friends. Nothing else." Eleanor reasoned out.

"You have no idea, don't you? He literally called you princess! And, hello? There are so many girls swooning over Evadene. You're missing your shot here, girl!" Her best friend said.

'Am I? Why would I care? They can have him for all I care…' she told herself, not really sure if this is real or she's just assuring herself.

"Whatever. I don't really care, they can get him whenever they want, he's not even mine to begin with." She slightly put her tone down a bit. Again, weird. She felt sad.

'Why am I feeling like this? Curse the universe!' she silently cursed herself.

Eleanor shook that thought out of her head and focused on what's happening now. In 5 minutes, Caelan would pick him up. So, she finished her routine and readied herself.

"It's all or nothing, I guess. Right?" She looked over at Fiona for support.

Her best friend could only look at her with a grin that you'd usually see in kids. Eleanor could only sigh and prepare herself for the worst. I mean, what's the worst that could happen, right?

=== TIME SKIP ===

Caelan picked her exactly 5 minutes after. Nothing out of the ordinary, both said 'hi.' He drove his car, Eleanor on the front passenger seat. Both were silent on the whole ride. Turns out, it was only a 20-minute drive towards the said 'carnival.'

As Eleanor hopped off the car, she looked at the carnival in awe. How come she never saw this carnival? It was enormous. If she saw this as a kid, she'd probably flip out then faint. Probably, who knows?

They walked towards the entrance of the carnival and entered it. Man was there were a lot of people. Eleanor doesn't like people in general. Caelan loves meeting new people every day. A trait which they learned from each other during their encounters in school.

Caelan looked over Eleanor who's looking at one of the game stalls, particularly the basketball one.

"Want to play that one?" Caelan pointed over to where Eleanor had just looked at previously.

"Do you? I mean- "Eleanor tried to reason out but Caelan cut her off.

"I'm only going to play the game if you play the game, Eleanor." He chuckled.

Eleanor smiled like a little child and ran over towards the stall, Caelan right behind her. He swore that he'd love to stare at that smile of hers and not get tired at all. But of course, he could never tell that to Eleanor.

Caelan thought, 'What if she has a boyfriend? Or maybe she's- No, it can't be. It's way too early to find my soulmate. Studies show that you have to be at least 20 to find them.'

He spun out of his thoughts and looked back to the girl beside him, playing basketball. To his surprise, she could aim really well. Thus, making her shoot into the hoop really well. By the end of the game, she'd earn 100 points. 10 points per shoot. Caelan made this 'surprised' look that caused Eleanor to look at him weirdly.

'Not bad.' Caelan thought to himself.

"I used to play basketball with my dad back in my place where I grew up. So yeah, no need to be all that amazed." Eleanor cut all of his questions off with that sentence. Appearing to be a bit blunter than what she'd expect to come out of her mouth.

"Well, I guess that's one more thing I learned from you," He toothily grinned.

Afterward, they played almost every game stall there is at the carnival. They were starving by the time they finished the last game stall. It was already 6 PM in the afternoon and the sun's about to set.

"How about we try the Ferris Wheel. I've never ridden on it before." Eleanor said to him.

"Never? Have you been living under a rock?" Caelan joked but stopped when he saw Eleanor's glare.

"Just kidding, sheesh, woman." He put his hands up in a surrendering motion. Eleanor then started laughing.

'What's with this girl?'

"You seriously thought I was mad? Psh, it'll take more than to get under my nerves, Evadene," Eleanor looked at him straight in the eye.

"So, Ferris Wheel? Let's go!" She ran off towards the direction of the ride without waiting for the boy's reply.

Caelan could only laugh at her quirky behavior and followed her.

=== TIME SKIP ===

They're riding the Ferris Wheel and it stopped with an interval at the top. Both Caelan and Eleanor get to enjoy the scenery below. Eleanor could only smile and sigh in contentment. Caelan, of course, took notice of this and smiled slightly.

"I'm glad that you took me to this ginormous carnival today. Even though I'm not really the people type." She thanked him.

"Of course, any time you need me, I'll be there," Caelan smiled genuinely.

"Hey look, the sun's setting. Cool," He added while staring at the view with awe. Eleanor looked as well and was awestruck.

'This is definitely a day worth remembering,' Eleanor glanced slightly at Caelan. His features appearing more sharply due to the sun's light hitting his face. 'How can I meet someone that looks like he was sent from heaven?' She smiled at that thought.

Caelan could feel Eleanor's stare so he glanced, only to find out that they made eye contact. It stayed like that a little while. Then both realized they were leaning in, and quickly moved away.

"Erm, uh- "Caelan tried to talk but his head is in a mush at the moment.

Eleanor could only clear her throat and look away, facing back at the view. The sun has already set, and it's starting to become dark. Her hoping that Caelan wouldn't see her overly flustered state.

Their ride ended and bought food on the way. They ate at the car while involuntary looking at the view in front of them. It was painfully quiet. Eleanor broke the silence by asking something.

"Do you believe in the Red String of Fate?"

Caelan was caught off guard by this question. He looked over at Eleanor, who looked down at her food and ate quietly.

"Well, I'd be lying if I say I don't but…" Caelan trailed off.

Eleanor was confused and looked at Caelan. Even in the dim light, she could see Caelan's emotions surfacing on his face. She didn't ask nor talked after that.

When they finished eating, they both decided that it's time to call it a day and head home. By this time, it's already 8 PM. They still have classes tomorrow. Eleanor started to loll her head on her left. Clearly indicating that she's tired.

Caelan supported her head and chuckled lightly.

'This girl. How can someone like her be so… So beautiful, yet fierce. A warrior princess indeed.' He happily thought to himself.

He was cut out of his thoughts when Eleanor slightly awoke.

"You know, carnival is for kids." She looked at him, smiled, then fell back asleep. Clearly half-asleep.

He couldn't help but laugh as quietly as he can. Caelan then couldn't stop smiling afterward. He drove her back to her house and carried her towards the door. He rang the bell and the door opened to a wide-awake Fiona.

"Wha-, oh. Aw! Aren't you guys just perfect for each other?" Fiona spoke.

"Oh, uh. Really? Heh, well anyways, she fell asleep midway through the drive home." Caelan told.

"It's okay, I got her. You go home and rest as well. You deserve it." Eleanor's best friend grinned.

Caelan stared at her skeptically, "Okay then…? Goodnight to the both of you," he said and turned around, heading for his car.

Fiona waved goodbye as she watched Caelan's car drive off, soon losing sight of it.

She looked at her friend, Eleanor, lightly snoring. "Oh, you better be ready. You've got a lot to tell me tomorrow, Elle."

She helped Eleanor towards her bed and went to bed as well. And before that, making sure for the last time that all the lights are turned off. Doors and windows are shut and locked.

'Tomorrow's going to be a very interesting day.' Fiona thought to herself as she closed her eyes, smiling.