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Sunny stood at the entrance to a carnival. It was in town for a few weeks and when Aubrey caught wind of it she thought it would be fun to come here together. Unfortunately, she was running a little late. Sunny didn't mind much though. He simply looked at his phone, waiting for his date.
"Sunny!" He looked up at her, waving to him as she approached.
"Sorry, about the wait. Bunbun was being difficult."
"It's okay. Are you ready to go?"
She grabbed his hand. "Yep! C'mon, let's find something fun to do."
They walked through the carnival grounds, looking around at the fun attractions and families having fun. "Hey, look! A ring toss stand." Sunny pointed to the stand in question.
"Sunny, you know those are rigged right?"
"Yeah, they're still fun though." Aubrey's face was marred with doubt. "Alright, let's give it a try."
The couple walked over to the stand and were greeted by a tall man with a baseball cap. "Hey there, folks. You looking to try the ring toss?" Sunny nodded. "Yep."
"Fantastic, that'll be a dollar per round." The man said. Sunny reached into his wallet and pulled out 2 dollars, handing them over to the man."
"Wonderful. Now here's the deal. You get 5 rings to toss on any of these 13 cones. The 6 in the front are worth 5 points, the 4 in the middle are worth 10 points, and the 3 in the back are worth 20 points. Our prizes range from 20 points to 80 points." He set the rings down in front of Sunny. "Good luck."
"You've got this, Sunny."
Sunny, motivated by his girlfriend's encouragement, was determined to perform at his best. He sank two 10s with ease but ended up botching his throw as he went for a 20. He ended up with a score of 35.
"Not bad." the man said as he collected the rings. When he set them back on the table Sunny turned to Aubrey. "Did you want to go?"
Aubrey wasn't quite sure she'd be able to do very well but thought it would be fun to try anyway. "Sure." She picked up the rings and readied to throw. After failing her first throw, she managed to get three 10s in a row. Feeling lucky, she went for a 20, which landed by a hair. She ended with a score of 50. She excitedly brought her fist to the side with a little, "Yes!"
"Well done!" The man said. "You've got 35 and 50 points. Pick your prizes!" The two didn't really want any of the prizes, so they simply gave what they got away to a few kids.
"You were right, that was fun."
"Told ya." Sunny smiled smugly. It always made Aubrey fuzzy inside when she got to see him smile. They continued to walk side-by-side until Aubrey saw a target game with water guns. "Sunny! Water guns!" Sunny saw the stand and before he said anything they were already walking over.
Aubrey was beyond excited. She always found these target games fun. She handed the stand-runner three dollars, enough for two players. "Grab a gun, Sunny."
Sunny did as he was instructed. Though he was shocked by how excited Aubrey was for this.
The game started and targets began to move along the railings. Sunny had some trouble aiming, while Aubrey had a much easier time hitting the targets. Sunny, not wanting to fall behind, focused even harder. Somehow he managed to pull ahead just in time to win.
"Easy." He gloated. Aubrey was a little tempted to shoot him since the guns weren't very powerful but she wasn't about to be a sore loser or a jerk.
"Yeah, right. Beginner's luck." She retorted.
"Wanna go again?"
"I do." Aubrey could hear the smugness in his voice. She placed another three dollars down and they readied themselves for another round. Unfortunately for Aubrey, the same result played out. Sunny had won again.
"Guess I'm pretty lucky."
"Alright, you win. Cocky dork." There weren't any prizes for the target range, but the competition proved enough for the pair.
The two lovers explored the carnival further, playing games, eating kettle corn, and enjoying each other's company. They were content with leaving at this point until Aubrey suggested something. "We should go on the ferris wheel!" Sunny felt a little nervous at her suggestion. "The ferris wheel?"
"Yeah. Isn't that a thing couples do?"
"I guess so."
"So whadaya say?" Aubrey looked at him expectedly. Sunny knew it wasn't that high and he knew that he'd feel safer with Aubrey, so he agreed. "Ferris wheel it is."
"Sweet! Let's go." They walked over to the ferris wheel. Standing in line Sunny was bracing himself to be lifted dozens of feet into the sky.
They made it to the front of the line and while they waited, Sunny got to see just how high he was going to go. They stepped into the cabin. As they sat down and held each other's hand Aubrey felt Sunny shaking. "Sunny, are you okay? You're shaking."
"Yeah, I just... don't like heights." He did his best to sound calm as his heart beat faster.
"I know that. I didn't think it applied to ferris wheels too. Why didn't you say anything?" The doors began to close.
"You really looked like you wanted to go on it. So I said yes..." Aubrey looked at her blushing boyfriend, touched that he would do such a thing for her. Yet concerned for the poor boy's heart.
The ferris wheel started moving. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Mhm. A-As long as you're here."
Aubrey's heart melted. Her heartbeat matching his more closely now. He's so cute! She thought to herself.
"As long as you're sure." Aubrey squeezed his hand tighter. Sunny leaned on her shoulder. He felt safe, and when they stopped up high he squeezed her hand again.
"If you're comfortable enough, the view is really nice from up here."
Sunny wasn't too keen on seeing how far up he was. On the other hand, it was nighttime, and looking at the floor wasn't going to make the ride go by any faster. He raised his head and looked outside. He could see the carnival lights and further out, the lights of Faraway Town blanketed by trees. He wondered if he could see the lake or his house if he looked hard enough. And when it moved, he didn't feel scared anymore. He was lost in the shifting view.
Aubrey thought it best not to say anything lest he be reminded of how high he was. She just held his hand and enjoyed their shared view.
The ride eventually came to an end. As the two got off and walked toward the exit, the silence between them broke. "So, was it as bad as you thought?" Aubrey asked.
"No. I actually kinda forgot how high up I was."
"That's good. But tell me next time when you don't feel like doing something." Aubrey lightly scolded.
"I will, but it really helped that you were there. So, maybe I'll feel better about doing things like that with you." Aubrey was happy that Sunny was being so optimistic. Then a coy smile came to her face.
"What about things like this?" Aubrey brought her face to Sunny's and gave him a kiss. He immediately turned bright red. Aubrey went red as well and had a cheeky smile on her face to boot.
They were both happy with how their date had gone.