Vic and I walked in silence to the main boardwalk. The moon was full tonight, casting a bright yellow light across the pier. The stars shimmered and reflected on the quiet, crashing waves.

"Do you like roller coasters?" Vic asked suddenly, removing his hands from his pockets, letting them dangle at his sides.

"Um.. not really. I've only ever been on one once, and it scared the shit out of me." I answered, laughing a little.

"Thank god. Jaime always drags me on them and I hate them." Vic smiled at me.

"But the ferris wheel and carousel? I will ride that for hours." I said.

"I like your style Kells, I like your style." Vic answered, smiling at the grown.

Kells. There it was again. That damned nickname that Vic liked to use on me. He didn't do it often but whenever he did, I couldn't stop the smile that would spread onto my face.

"We should be talking about your style. Your outfit tonight is very suave." I teased, shoving him gently. I gestured towards his red leather jacket.

"Suave? Isn't that a shampoo?" Vic asked as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

I bursted out laughing, "I mean yes it's a shampoo brand but suave is another word for charming or elegant. Are you trying to impress someone tonight?"

"Mmmmm yeah. You could say that." Vic gave me a cheeky grin and shrugged.

"Well you look hot. Whoever you're trying to impress? It'll work for sure." I said nonchalantly, skipping ahead a bit to meet up with the rest of the guys.

I greeted Jaime, Tony, and Mike with a bunch of one armed hugs. Mike had the redhead from the pool party on his arm and he was smiling huge.

"Ow ow! Vic! Looking very spicy tonight." Jaime chimed in, whistling.

"You know I like to look good." Vic laughed and fist bumped his friends.

We walked through the main gates of the carnival and I was hit instantly with all different kinds of smells. Buttery popcorn, sugary cotton candy, sweet vanilla from freshly handmade ice cream cones, and savory cheese friends.

The group started walking down the boardwalk, arcade games and food stands lined both sides of the strip. Towards the very end, almost sitting on the sand, were all of the rides lit up with multi-colored lights. The lights were so bright that they cascaded onto the wooden slats of the boardwalk, creating a mesmerizing glow.

There were all different kinds of games for different skills. There were bowling games, games where you had to throw a ring over a glass bottle, water gun games, even games that tested your strength. I had no idea what I wanted to play first.

Suddenly, I spotted a huge display of stuffed animal penguins and stopped in my tracks.

"Penguins! Vic! Penguins! I have to play this game, I need to win that penguin." I exclaimed, jumping up and down before running over to the stand.

We waved at the rest of the guys, letting them know we would catch up with them in a minute.

Oh no. It was a strength testing game. I walked up to the employee reluctantly and asked him how much one game would be.

"One dollar, please!" The employee answered.

I started to rummage around in my back pocket for my wallet when Vic's arm shot in front of me, as he handed a dollar bill to the employee.

"You didn't have to pay for me." I said shyly.

"I wanted to." Vic shrugged.

I stepped up onto the little black platform as the employee handed me a huge mallet. I looked up at the dauntingly tall strength meter. I had to hit a huge round button on the ground hard enough, that it rings the bell situated all the way at the top.

I grimaced to myself and swung the mallet backwards, using all of my strength, I brought it down on the button as hard as I could. The shock of the impact had me stumbled a little, but I quickly regained my balance and looked up at the totem pole.

The little meter ticked upwards but only reached a foot off the ground. Oh my god. All of a sudden the screen in front of us flashed "WIMPY WIMP LEVEL" as the meter fell back to the bottom of the pole.

"Sorry, maybe next time!" The employee said encouragingly.

"Dammit. I didn't think I'd lose and be insulted from a carnival game at the same time." I said slightly disappointed, turning to continue down the boardwalk.

"Hey wait, I want to try!" Vic tugged on the back of my shirt, pulling me next to him.

I watched Vic hand the employee another dollar as he stepped up onto the platform. He gripped the mallet effortlessly and swung it over his shoulder before slamming it down insanely hard.

The little meter shot upwards and smacked the bell, sending a loud ringing sound across the area. The screen flashed "MACHO MAN."

"Whoa! We have a winner! And on their first try too!" The employee announced to the crowd of people waiting for their turn.

"Vic oh my god! How did you do that?" I squealed in shock.

"I wasn't going to let you walk away from here without that penguin." Vic smiled and motioned towards the booth.

"Which one will it be, kid?" The employee asked me.

"Hmm...." My voice trailed off as my eyes scanned the rows of penguins. Even though they were all completely identical, I had to wait until I found the perfect one.

"Oh! That one please!" I pointed to a penguin on the top shelf. This was the only one with brown eyes. All of the others had blue eyes.

The employee grabbed the huge stuffed penguin and handed it over the counter to me. I took it in my arms, giving it a big hug.

"Vic, thank you so much. Seriously, it's adorable." I smiled, squishing my face against its soft fur.

"Why did you pick that one?" Vic asked, giggling.

"Uh... because it has brown eyes and I like brown eyes." I answered quietly.

"I have brown eyes." Vic said.

"I know." I smiled at him before walking towards the rest of the carnival games, holding my penguin close against me.

Vic fell into step next to me, grinning huge as we meandered down the strip. We stopped at a cotton candy stall and Vic once again paid for me. The puffs of cotton candy were so big they completely covered our faces. I started nibbling at my blue one as Vic bit into his red one, as we walked over to the Ferris Wheel.

We waited until it was our turn before hopping into one of the passenger cars that was orange and sparkly. I placed my penguin who didn't have a name yet, on the far left side of the seat, plopping myself in the middle. Vic wedged himself on the right side of the car, our thighs pressed up against each other. I kept one of my hands tightly wrapped around the penguin's flipper, making sure he stays in place during the ride.

"Okay, so the best way to eat cotton candy is to mix both flavors together." Vic explained, turning his head to face me.

Since we were in close quarters, when he turned his head towards me, our noses were so close to touching. The Ferris Wheel lurched forward as we moved up and around, the entire pier and beach easily in view.

I bit my lip nervously and glanced down at my cotton candy. I don't know why being this close to Vic made me nervous.

"Alright let me give it a try." I said, reaching forward to pluck a piece of Vic's pink cotton candy.

"Wait no, you gotta put each color in your mouth at the same time." Vic said as he pulled out a large chunk of pink, holding it in front of me.

I did the same and held up the piece of blue cotton candy, before popping it into my mouth.

"Ok now what?" I asked, my voice coming out mumbled.

"Open your mouth and hold out your tongue." Vic instructed.

I did as I was told and stuck my tongue out at him, giggling a little. Vic reached forward and gently placed his pink fluff of cotton candy on my tongue. I closed my mouth slowly and let the soft substances melt against my tongue, savouring how delicious it tasted.

"Okay, you were right. That was incredibly good." I said, letting my tongue lick across my lips, making sure I didn't have any cotton candy stuck there.

Vic watched me intently as I pulled off a blue chunk and waved it around in front of him.

"Your turn!" I laughed, looking him in the eyes.

Vic didn't say anything as he opened his mouth, slowly pushing his tongue out. I carefully placed the blue cotton candy on his tongue, taking note at just how close we really were right now.

"Delicious as always." Vic said, the breeze blowing some of his long brown hair into his face.

It suddenly got really quiet as the Ferris Wheel came to a stop at the very top. I looked out across the coast and admired the way the stars were twinkling. The moon looked incredibly close from up here. I noticed the silence and decided to change the subject.

"So um, have you seen whoever it is that you wanted to impress yet?" I asked.

Vic's head snapped towards me.

"Yes." He answered.

"Oh! What do they look like?" I said quietly, keeping my eyes on my lap. I suddenly didn't want to know the answer, feeling a slight jealous pooling in the pit of my stomach.

"Y-you..." Vic whispered.

"Wait, what?" I asked, my eyes were back on his now. Did I hear that right?

Vic looked terrified. Absolutely terrified. His eyes darted from mine to the ocean, then back to mine.

"It's you." Vic spoke.

Before I had a chance to answer the Ferris Wheel started back up again, sending our car down to a stop on the ground. Vic was first to hop out, stumbling a little nervously as he walked down the platform. I grabbed ahold of Mr.Penguin and followed after Vic.

"Vic! I like-" I started to say but was interrupted by an excited Mike, who jumped in between us.

"What's up guys?! I just won a hot dog eating contest! I won like fifty bucks!" Mike exclaimed, high fiving Vic.

"Bro that's awesome! Congrats!" Vic responded, no sign of nerves at all.

"Yeah and I won this sick stuffed turtle." Tony said, showing off his little turtle proudly.

"Hey Kellin that penguin is HUGE! How did you win that?!" Jaime chimed in.

"Vic won it for me actually. He used his big strong, manly muscles" I said proudly, shooting Vic a huge smile.

He returned the smile, but his cheeks were blushing madly. He quickly shook it off and pretended to puff out his chest in an over dramatic fashion.

"What can I say? What's the point of working out if you aren't going to use your muscles for stuffed animal winning?" Vic chuckled.

"Hmmm, I don't maybe so you can show off your buff arms like you always like to do?" Jaime teased.

"Alright alright boys, relax. Jenna wants to go on the Carousel and a man never lets a lady wait." Mike grinned, motioning for the group to follow him.

For some reason my eyes flicked to Tony, who was looking almost longingly after Mike. His eyes held a sadness I had never seen coming from Tony. Huh.

I looked back to Vic who was watching me intently. He patted his shoulder and smiled at me.

"Hop on." He said.

I bite down on my bottom lip hard, trying to hide my smile as I held Mr.Penguin in the crook of my armpit. I stood behind Vic before hopping up onto his back, keeping my arms around his neck.

Vic instantly hooked his arms underneath my legs, holding me securely. He walked us over towards the group and fell into step with the rest of the guys.

Even though Mike, Jaime, and Tony were right there with us, neither of them made any comments about Vic giving me a piggyback ride. I don't know why I assumed they would care, or think anything weird about it, but a small part of me did. I was glad that wasn't the case.

"Comfy up there?" Vic asked, turning his head a little towards me.

"Perfect." I said, nuzzling my face into Vic's shoulder.

I could smell his shampoo, it smelled like peppermint and lavender and it was intoxicating.

The walk to the Carousel ended way too quickly as I slid off of Vic's back. I lost my balance during the dismount and stumbled forward. Vic was quick to spin around and wrap his arms around my waist, keeping me from falling.

"Th-thanks." I spoke quietly.

"Do you remember when I said I'd never let anything bad happen to you? At Jaime's pool party?" Vic asked, smiling.

"Of course I remember." I answered.

Vic's expression changed as his eyes started glistening, his mouth breaking into one of his heart melting toothy smiles.

"I honestly didn't think you'd remember that." Vic spoke as we climbed the steps to the Carousel.

"Why not?" I asked, following him.

"Because I was a huge asshole back then." Vic shrugged.

"Yeahhhh you were. But you ended up apologizing. Plus, how could I stay mad at your cute face?" I said, the last part spilling out uncontrollably.

I jumped up, straddling a pink horse, my hands gripping the pole in front of my face.

"You think my face is cute?" Vic asked, grinning as he playfully poked my side. He hopped onto the matching pink horse next to mine.

"The cutest I've ever seen." I answered, facing forward as the Carousel music began and the ride started spinning around.

The wind was whipping my hair as the ride spun in a circle. I felt Vic's hand over mine and I turned to look at him. He intertwined our fingers and gave my hand a little squeeze.

I couldn't believe this was happening. Yes, Vic had done things the last few days that could lead someone to believe he was into me. The body shot, the dancing, the sleeping in the same bed, giving me a flower, saying he liked me.

But for some reason, no matter how many little adorable things he did, a part of me was terrified that I was interpreting it all wrong.

Vic brushed his thumb gently, back and forth over mine and I was instantly pulled from my thoughts. I locked eyes with Vic as he stared deeply at me. Right then and there, looking into his eyes, I couldn't feel terrified. It was impossible. The only thing I felt when I looked into Vic's eyes were butterflies. My heart felt warm. All doubts floated away.

The ride slowly came to a stop. Vic quickly jumped off his horse and strutted over to me.

"Allow me." He said, before holding my hips and lifting me up and off the ride. He handed me Mr.Penguin and then instantly reconnected our hands, holding mine tightly as we walked towards the exit.

I noticed that Vic yawned a little, exerting a small squeak as he stretched his arms. God, it was adorable.

"Are you tired?" I asked.

"Mmm yeah, a little. I didn't sleep well last night." Vic answered, looking at the ground as we walked.

"I know. I can't believe last night was the boat party. It feels like we've been up for hours. Walk me home?" I grinned.

Vic and I walked along the sand covered sidewalks until we arrived at my front door. I turned to face him as I squeezed Mr.Penguin. Vic's eyes flicked to my lips then back up to my eyes, almost immediately.

"Wh-what did you end up naming him?" Vic asked, gesturing towards my penguin.

"Hmm I'm not sure. What do you think his name should be?" I shifted my weight back and forth as I waited for Vic's answer.

"Umm I'm thinking... Snowcone." Vic said, giggling.

"Snowcone is the best name ever! Thank you." I smiled, hugging Snowcone to my chest.

Vic and I looked back at each other for a few moments, an awkward silence filling the air.

"Goodnight Vic. Thank you for the best night of my life. I'll text you tomorrow?" I asked, putting my hand on the doorknob, waiting for Vic to speak.

After a few more moments of silence, Vic finally opened his mouth to answer.

"Y-you're welcome. Tonight was a-amazing, for sure. Yeah, yeah. We'll talk tomorrow." He stuttered, before giving me a small wave as he walked backwards down the front steps.

I watched Vic as he stumbled a bit awkwardly before chuckling to himself, giving me one last wave as he turned the corner.

I giggled and went inside, walking into my bedroom and flopping down on my comfy bed. I was exhausted. I positioned Snowcone next to my pillow and yawned.

I was just about to get up to change into my pajamas, when I felt a small knock at the window. I shrieked a little until I slid open the curtains to see Vic standing on the other side of the glass. I pushed the window up and stuck my head out, smiling.

"Vic, what're you doing at my window?" I asked.

"Even though I'm so nervous right now, I couldn't leave without doing this." Vic whispered.

"Doing wha -" I started to say but was cut off.

Vic gently put his hand underneath my chin, pulling my face towards his. He immediately pressed his lips to mine, softly but with a little force. I melted against his lips, feeling electricity run through me as I moved my mouth against his. I tugged gently on his bottom lip and heard a quiet whimper escape from Vic's mouth.

He suddenly pulled back from me and grinned shyly, still keeping his face close to mine and his finger under my chin. The second his lips were off mine, all I wanted was to put them back.

"That. I wanted to do that. Now I can say, goodnight Kellin." Vic said softly, removing his finger from my chin as he turned and headed towards his home.

______________________Authors Note ___________________________

IT HAPPENED! FINALLY (PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE)

What're your thoughts on Vic?

How about Kells?

I can't get over the CUTENESS

- Cassidy