Take A Walk (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 5 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Sixteen

❝circus (pronounced ˈsəːkəs or sur-kuh s), noun
a travelling troupe of acrobats, clowns, and performers.❞

"So," said Adrian quietly after the circus. "How was that?"

"Oh, it was awesome," responded Drew, and Red, who had taken an unusual liking to Adrian, clung onto his leg. He chuckled, lifting her and letting her sit on his hip.

"I liked the guy who was breathing fire!" said Spencer. "He was awesome!"

"I liked the dog at the end, that was pretty cool," said Phoenix with a small smile.

"I liked the clowns!" said Robin, before skipping to a booth. "Drew? Drew, can we do this?"

Drew sighed, looking at the balloon and dart game. "Guys, we can't-"

"Oh, come on, they're kids!" said Adrian. "Let's give it a shot, huh?"

"Fine," he said. Adrian put a hand on his back, pushing him towards the stall, and he suddenly felt a little shaky. "R-Right," he said, putting a dollar on the counter. "We'd like a shot, please."

"Alright," said the carny. "So, shoot three of the same colour balloon to win. Ready?"

"Ready," said Drew with a small smile. This was more fun than what he'd had in a while.

The balloons started moving on the wall, and Drew aimed at a blue one- Elle's favourite colour- and fired. It somehow popped, and Robin laughed gleefully. Adrian chuckled as well. Drew took careful aim again, before shooting the next one, popping it cleanly. The carny looked impressed and Drew was surprised that he was doing so well.

The third dart, however, missed, and Drew hit a black balloon instead. He had one more chance to hit a blue balloon, or the game was over. "Come on, Drew!" said Robin hopefully.

He took aim one more time, biting his lip in concentration, before throwing and hitting the pink balloon beside the one he was aiming at.

He groaned, and the wall stopped moving as the carny brought out a plastic hairclip, a flower eraser and a temporary tattoo of an ugly looking cat. "So, which one would you like?" he asked, and Drew sighed, looking at Robin. He had probably disappointed her- she had really been eyeing that giant stuffed elephant.

But Robin was grinning. "I like the hairclip! Drew, Drew can you help me put in the clip?"

"I'm gonna have a few tries," said Adrian, putting a five dollar note on the table. Drew couldn't help but feel that his Irish accent was extremely sexy. "Let's do this."

While Drew helped Robin do her hair beautifully, reminding him of all the times he had played with Elle's hair when they were bored, Adrian suddenly called, "Well, guys, four prizes. What do you all want?"

Robin gasped. "The elephant, the elephant!"

"Can I have the wolf?" asked Phoenix.

"I want the Mordecai doll!" said Spencer.

Drew smiled at Red. "Darling, which one do you want?" he asked, signing at the same time.

"Green bird person," she signed, and Drew glanced at the vast array of toys, finally spotting the green fairy that she was referring to.

"That's a fairy," he said, signing the word 'fairy' to her. "You want that one?"

She nodded excitedly, and the carny handed them their toys. "I'm supposed to be annoyed when people actually win, because I have to rearrange the displays, but I'm not even mad, that was amazing," he said. "Have a good one!"