Emma walked along the dark pavement, a smile etched on her face. Between the bright lights around her, the food, and all of the attractions, she was put in a good mood. The carnival was always a place that she could enjoy herself at. It only came around once a year, so she wanted to make the best of it.

"Emma! Are you even listening?" her sister Stephanie, blurted from beside her, pulling her from her trance.

"Yeah, sorry. I zoned out again." She laughed, nudging her shoulder with hers.

"You've been doing that a lot lately. Something on your mind?" Stephanie glanced at her curiously.

A sigh escaped her lips, "No, everything's fine."

But it wasn't. There was something that had been bothering her, but of course she wasn't going to tell anyone. Emma wasn't the one to make a big deal over something no matter how much it affected her.

It was James, the guy she'd liked for as long as she could remember; and Stephanie knew this too. But recently, Stephanie had been acting strange. From canceling plans and making ridiculous excuses, she knew she was up to something. Something that involved James. There would be times when the three of them would hang out with a larger group and the both of them would disappear at the same time. Emma had also noticed James' name pop up on Stephanie's phone screen quite a few times in the past few months. She couldn't help but jump to conclusions. Stephanie knew how much she liked him; she wouldn't do this to her, right? She was torn, not knowing what to believe.

As they both continued walking through the carnival, Emma's eyes fell on something in the distance. Someone, actually. James.

'Go figure,' she thought to herself. She always caught herself staring at him, even when she didn't intend on doing so. When James heard her and her sister talking, his eyes drifted over to the both of them. A blush broke out on her face as she darted her eyes down, hoping he didn't catch her staring at him. He left the sister he was talking to and began to walk in her direction.

'Don't be so obvious,' Emma thought as he now stood in front of her, looking slightly nervous.

"Um, Stephanie, can I talk to you for a second?" Stephanie turned to look at her.

"I'll be right back," she spoke, walking away with James trailing behind her.

Emma's heart dropped immediately. She knew it, she was right. He liked her. Why would he ever like her, anyways? She wasn't anything special. She was nothing compared to Stephanie, plus she already had a boyfriend.

Emma sat down at one of the wooden picnic tables, playing with the hem of her shirt to keep herself busy. She couldn't help but to be upset over what had just happened. The sun was quickly setting in the distance, the sky turning to a dark orange. A few minutes had passed, and she was beginning to get cold. Cursing herself for not bringing a jacket, she began to run her hands up and down her arms to try and keep warm. She suddenly felt something drape over her shoulders, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"You looked a little cold," James smiled down at her. Her heart was beating rapidly as she looked up into his blue eyes.

"Oh, thanks..." she trailed off, pulling the jacket further onto her.

"Uh," he trailed off for a moment, "Do you want to walk with me for a little? There's kind of something I wanted to talk to you about." His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he hesitantly looked towards her.

"Yeah, okay," Emma stood up and was surprised when he tugged on her hand, lacing her fingers together. A blush rose on her cheeks as she began walking away from the carnival.

She was confused and nervous; what would he want to talk about? Did he know that she liked him? That would be so embarrassing, were she that obvious? So many thoughts clouded her head as he led her towards a deserted area far from the all of the commotion.

He dropped her hand, running it through his hair. "There's been something I've been meaning to tell you," he began, looking a bit nervous. "Um, I haven't been very honest with yo-"

Emma cut him off, not wanting him to finish his sentence.

"Look, it's okay if you don't like me... I get it-"

"What? That's not what this is about, I like you, not her, she already been taken by Hunter," Emma stared at him in shock. She was so surprised, she had no idea what to say. James liked her this whole time? She immediately felt like a complete idiot.

"I-I, oh," she looked down towards the grass, embarrassed.

"I didn't mean to make this awkward, I'm sorry, it's okay if you don't like me back, really-"

"No! No, that's not it. I do, trust me," she laughed slightly, a small smile on her face, "I just thought you liked my sister this whole time, you've been with her a lot lately..."

"Yeah, about that...I've been meeting with her about you. I sort of wanted to ask you to be my friend and I just wanted all of it to be perfect because you deserve it but I couldn't wait any longer, so..." James trailed off slightly. Emma was speechless, once again having no idea what to say. She couldn't wrap her head around what was happening.

"James, I don't even know what to say...that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." she spoke softly, gazing up at him. Their close proximity made her heart flutter. James smiled at her, walking towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. Their foreheads were touching, noses brushing against each other. Emma could feel his warm breath on her face as he spoke.

"You don't have to say anything, everything's okay now. I'm just relieved that you like me back or else this would have been extremely awkward." she giggled, smiling at him. Everything around her was silent, the faint sound of the carnival in the distance. They both stood quietly, enjoying each other's presence.

"Emma?" James whispered, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah?"

"You look beautiful tonight..." James grinned softly.

"Thanks..." she replied shyly looking to the ground.

James looked into her emerald green eyes and smirked. "You have bewitched me and I know that from the minute I laid my eyes on you."

"James, would you like to be my date for my cousin Jeremy's wedding this Saturday?" Emma asked shyly.

"Of course, I'd love to..." He smiled.

"Thank you," she said as she gave him a bear hug.