[Kitsumi]

For a moment, Lae actually stopped shoving food into his mouth for a moment when he heard that Nephelle had never done this before. His jaw dropped, and he stared at her as if in awe. "N-never?!" He shook his head, amazed. "You've never eaten a ton of sugary treats at one time? Never eaten enough sugar that you feel like you're gonna burst? Never gone crazy with the rush that sugar gives you?!" He laughed. "Well, you're certainly in for a treat then, my dear!"

He began eating again, but now he was making suggestions. "This one is really good," he'd say, pushing something towards her. Or, "I bet you'll love this!" The stockpile of food began to slowly diminish as they both ate, and soon there were only a few scraps of it left. Lae patted his stomach and gave a satisfied burp, and then quickly blushed and put a hand over his mouth, embarrassed. "Oops...sorry about that!"

Looking around, he let himself take in the sights of the different rides. "Hey...any chance you'd want to go on one of those?" He pointed. "I don't really care which one - I just want to have some fun! Besides, if you're like me, that sugar will have given you a ton of energy! Might as well use that energy before it wears off, right?"

{8-1}

[jobiehanna]

Nephele couldn't help but giggle at Lae's response. "No, never," she said quietly with a shrug. But it didn't sound like a bad thing. It wasn't illegal, like some things that could give you a high, anyway.

At every suggestion, Nephele tried the food. Some she really liked, and others just weren't her cup of tea. She could feel the buzz of the sugar high in her system as they finished the pile off. She felt like she couldn't keep still. She giggled at Lae's burp as she licked the stickiness off the tips of her fingers. "It's okay," she told him, now brushing her hands on her pants. It wasn't very lady like, but they didn't really have any napkins, and she didn't really care either.

Nephele took in the rides as well, wondering which one would be the most fun. She spotted one not far away. It was tall and had several long slides leading down to the ground, with many steps on the way up. People were sliding down them, many of them looking like they were laughing. She hopped up and pointed at it. "How about that one?"

Nephele grabbed Lae's hand, pulling him up with her. Then she blushed as she realized that she'd grabbed his hand. She looked down at them, a smile on her face, before looking back up at Lae. "I do feel like I have a lot of energy, like I can't possibly sit still for long," she admitted, hoping he wouldn't mind she had grabbed onto his hand to pull him along.

[Kitsumi]

It was actually a surprise to Lae that Nephele tried everything that he pointed out to her. She may not have liked all of it, but she tried it all anyways. Besides, most girls would be complaining about 'calories' and 'fat' and whatever other stupid things they were concerned about. It was as if they would suddenly gain three thousand pounds if they even ate a bite of delicious food, and they always turned it down. Nephele wasn't like that at all, and Lae was grinning happily as they finished off the food. He was beginning to really be glad that he had met Nephele.

At her suggestion, Lae turned towards the slides. His grin widened, and he nodded excitedly. "Yeah, I love the slides! They're not as thrilling as the big roller coasters, but they make your tummy feel weird when you go down!"

He was surprised when she took his hand, but as she blushed, Lae intertwined their fingers and smiled, hoping that this was all the reassurance she needed to know that it was okay. "Yes! It's your first sugar high!" Lae laughed loudly, and then allowed her to pull him forward. As they moved towards the slides, he examined each of them. "I bet you I could beat you if I took the purple slide!" He announced, seemed sure of himself. "That one looks like it would be the fastest, to me!"

{8-2}

[jobiehanna]

"Maybe we can try one of those next," Nephele said with a grin. Normally, she wouldn't suggest it, but now, well, it felt different. Being with Lae, she felt that it would be alright, and the sugar high made her want to try everything, even the things she had been nervous about before.

It was a big relief to Nephele that Lae didn't jerk his had away. She just smiled again, and pulled him until they had reached the slides. "That's okay, I'll take the blue one. It looks like it's the fastest," she said excitedly with a giggle. Then they hopped in the line; the wait didn't seem long at all.

Once at the top, Nephele left Lae for the blue slide, glancing back at him. "Let's go on three," she said to him. Then she began to count, slowly getting louder with each number. "One... two... THREE!!" She yelled three as loud as she could, which got a few odd looks from the person watching the slides, and shoved off with her hands, racing for the end of the side.

[Kitsumi]

"Great idea!" Lae grinned at Nephele. "You know, some girls are afraid of them, so if you want to go on one of the smaller roller coasters, that's fine with me. And I could..." at this point, he blushed, but forced himself to finish the sentence. "I could even hold your hand or something, if you wanted..." He was relieved that the excitement both of them shared was enough to hopefully distract Nephele from the shyness he suddenly felt at offering that. He wasn't the type of guy who was touchy-feely and generally all over a girl, and actually, he was usually awkward and clumsy around girls. But Nephele was easy to get along with.

"You're on!" Lae laughed a bit, and fidgeted as they waited in line. It wasn't a particularly long line, and with Nephele at his side as excited as he was, it seemed to take no time - but he was still impatient to prove that he was right! The purple slide had to be the fastest!

Nodding, Lae readied himself on the purple slide. He watched Nephele as she began the count, but as she got near to three, he focused on the slide in front of him, ready to push off with all of his might! As soon as he heard the shout, Lae was off, ignoring the odd looks from the people watching. He felt as if the world was rising up to meet him, and he let out a single, happy whoop of pure joy. Then, all too quickly, it was over and he was standing up on wobbly feet. "I think you won," he admitted, having landed just a few seconds after Nephele.

{8-3}

[jobiehanna]

At Lae's suggestion, Nephele smiled, blushing a little bit. "I'd like that," she said softly, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. But that was before she excitement overwhelmed her again. She didn't show it too much, but she was glad for the offer. It would make her feel much safer.

Nephele watched the ground below her coming at her, much to fast for her liking. But before she knew it, she was out of the slide, landing on the ground on unstable feet. She glanced behind her, seeing Lae landing just after her. She laughed, brushing off her pants. "I told you," she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

[Kitsumi]

"Well, you beat me by barely a second!" Lae stuck his tongue out as well, then laughed. "But I guess you were still right. Good job!" In a moment of excitement, he hugged her. "Thanks for coming here with me, by the way. I'm really glad I got to meet you." He had nearly forgotten the incident with the counterfeit money earlier, and was left with only happy feelings over his and Nephele's meeting.

"So...did you want to try that roller coaster?" Lae asked the question gently, wanting to give her one more chance to back out if she wanted to. "We could do something else. But if you do want to do it, I'll hold your hand the entire time!"

{8-4}

[jobiehanna]

Nephele laughed, "But I still beat you," she said as she stuck her tongue out as well. Truth be told, she had just picked a color and went with it. Luck was on her side. Then she blushed at Lae's comment, "No problem, I'm glad I met you too. I haven't had this much fun in ages," she said happily. She couldn't help the happiness that spread within her as she looked at Lae. He had opened her world up to the fun side of things, despite the incident earlier.

"Of course," Nephele exclaimed, "I can't back out now," she went on to say with a wink. She grabbed his hand once more and started heading toward the large ride. Butterflies rose in her stomach at the thought of being so high up, but she couldn't let that get to her.

[Kitsumi]

"You're right, you did win. You should get some sort of reward..." He looked up towards the sky, thinking. "I know! I could win you a prize later. Would you want a stuffed animal, or I think I saw a game with guitars as prizes! Just let me know if you see something you want. I'm really good at winning carnival games." His face was practically alight with joy upon realizing that she was having just as much fun as he was. "Well, maybe we could have fun some other time, too?"

Lae squeezed Nephele's hand encouragingly as they began climbing the metal steps leading up to the ride. It was pretty high up, so it took a while before they were nearing the front of the line. "Would you want to sit in the front? Or back? Or somewhere in the middle?" Lae pointed to each spot as he spoke. "We might have to wait longer for the front or back, though."

[jobiehanna]

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Nephele said as her cheeks turned red. But she did think about. No one had ever won anything for her before. "I do like stuffed animals," she admitted, the blush burning on her cheeks. Her heart fluttered at the thought of doing something else with Lae. "Yeah, that'd be great," she admitted with a smile.

As they climbed the steps Nephele tried to calm her racing heart and thoughts. Was she really going to do this? "Um, I don't want the front. The thought of going down first really terrifies me," she admitted. "How about somewhere in the middle?"

The line moved forward. Soon they'd be sitting in the cart that would take them to the very top and drop them down. Nephele squeezed Lae's hand tighter. She was really nervous now. They got into the car and Nephele closed her eyes.

[Kitsumi]

"I wouldn't offer to do something if I already knew that I had to, silly. I'm offering because I want to! I've never won a prize for someone else, though. You'll have to show me which one you want, later." He smiled as he saw her blush, thinking it was incredibly cute. "After this ride, then, we can scan the games and see which prizes you want. I'm pretty good at any of them." It wasn't exactly the truth, but he'd be willing to try the games multiple times to win her something.

Seeing that her nerves were bothering her, Lae gave her hand another squeeze. "Okay, the middle is good too. To be honest," he leaned forward and whispered as if telling a secret. "I sometimes get a little scared on these things too, especially on the front."

Lae sat in the little cart, a bit squished against Nephele, not that he minded. He let go of her hand, but only to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her a bit closer. "You can close your eyes for now," he said. "But at the top of the hill, you should open them. I promise, the view from up there is amazing!"

[jobiehanna]

Nephele shivered at Lae's proximity as he whispered in her ear. It was exhilarating to feel him so close to her. But she felt comforted by his words. "Then I'm not alone," she said with a teasing smile.

With Lae so close to her Nephele felt a little bit better. She nodded at Lae's comment. She was sure he was right, but she continued to keep her eyes closed as the bar came down. Then the warning announcement was made to keep all hands and such inside the cart and to stay seated. It seemed arbitrary to need to say those things, but some people weren't that smart.

Nephele let out a big breath and sucked it back in as the ride finally began to move. She clutched the bar in front of her as hard as she could. She leaned against Lae for comfort, glad that they weren't separated by a bar or a wall or something. She clenched her eyes shut and listened to the chains pull the carts up the tracks. They would be at the top soon, she could feel it.

[Kitsumi]

"Definitely not alone," Lae said. "Especially not right now. I'll be right beside you the whole time, and I promise that it'll be okay."

They were soon buckled in, and the bar descended to keep them in place. Lae could hear the excited and nervous chatter of the others on the ride, and it started to get him hyped up. He was grinning from ear to ear, ready for the fun that the ride would provide. It had a couple of big ups and downs, but the first hill was probably the biggest.

When the ride started to move, Lae began rubbing his hand up and down Nephele's arm to try to keep her calm. The steady clinking of the ride had him almost shaking in anticipation. As they began to near the top, Lae moved his mouth towards Nephele's ear, having to shout to be heard. "We're almost at the top. Get ready to look out...almost...now!" They were at the top of the ride, and the view below them was spectacular. It would only last a couple of seconds though, because soon the ride would be zooming down the hill, before taking the various twists and turns that made it fun.

[jobiehanna]

Nephele listened to Lae and opened her eyes to take a look around. The carnival (fair?) sprawled before her. She could see the ride as well, and all its twists and turns. She swallowed, maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be. Before she could say anything, the car started its ascent down the hill. She squealed and snapped her eyes shut again as the world flashed by.

Her body bounced with the car as it went over several small bumps before climbing and then plunging again just to whip around a sharp curve. She opened her eyes once or twice; the small bumps weren't that bad. The way she bounced made her giggle. But the tall climb and sharp plunge had her screaming with her eyes closed.

By the time the ride was over she felt exhilarated, if not a little shaky. She grinned at Lae as the ride came to a stop. "I guess it wasn't that bad," she told him breathlessly.

((We have a local amusement park and one of the roller coasters has several small hills. I was riding behind my little brother once and he bounced up and down so bad. It was hilarious to watch. xD He didn't like it much though. Just wanted to share!))