micah eden had a rebellious streak, as most lads did.

every november there was a pop-up amusement park, fairground amalgamation by the park—an impromptu funhouse, carousel, and rigged games to win very despondent-looking stuffed toys. but this year it had been shut down prematurely due to the autumn rains.

since the area was abandoned until the mayor could gather the braincells it’d take to clean it up, it immediately became a lovely territory to explore.

micah and mates—ryder, bella, sidonie, paisley, and yourself—had spent the afternoon in the dim, buzzing sanctuary of the local arcade (as if you weren’t college freshmen) and gotten tipsy on the spirits that ryder had smuggled along in his worn ralph lauren satchel. by sundown, ryder, again, had the brilliant idea to pay a visit to the amusement park.

in other words, breaking in.

the smell of rain lingered in the air, along with the typical aroma of the sea breeze that reached inland. the girls had drifted ahead in a fit of laughter, settling on the stationary horses on the carousel while making rather bawdy euphroia references; as ryder was god knows where, so that left you and micah and a shitty flashlight.

“do you think there’re any plushies that survived the storm?” micah inquired, his shoulder brushing yours in a gesture both casual and deliberate, as though nudging you into complicity.

he was tactile, as were all his friends—it was jarring. you were the token introvert that they had adopted, and in doing so probably signed a metaphorical contract stating that you were trapped with them forever. how romantic.

“the aubergine ones look like they’d be used for something nefarious.” he demurred, wispy blond tresses curling over his floral earrings, damp from the lingering humidity. if you didn’t get your head in order, you’d imagine them grazing your cheek.

“well shit,” you sobered up sharply when he showed you a battered pink teddy bear, regarding it through the light brown crescents of his lashes. “i’m not winning bella back with this, jesus."