Absolutely Smitten

fairs and fangirls

She knows this feeling all too well,
She feels her heart begin to swell,

Saturday, June 15, 2019

The scents of salty popcorn and fried sweets fill the warm summer air as I keep my grip on the hand of the girl dragging me towards the radio tents with excitement laced through her. Ariana is determined to get me to come with her to see "someone", she won't tell me who, and when Ariana King is determined to get something, nothing can stand in her way.

I'm thinking she just wants to meet the people she listens to everyday. Which seems sensible, after all, we are headed in the direction of all of the radio station booths.

Ari's grip on my wrist tightens as we get closer to the KDWB booth. She's pushing through the crowd of people and I can faintly hear the voice of Falen, a voice we knew all too well from the radio, announcing a contest. Over the chatter of the crowd it's hard to hear what exactly she is saying but I caught the words 'meet' and 'band', those were accompanied by some thrilled screams as well.

And suddenly. Ariana is running with a large grin plastered on her face. I have no choice but to follow, as her grip on my hand never falters.

Along with speakers, handheld mics, and radio tents there are usually cords; and they are not helping with my forced running, as I am very clumsy even without all the obstacles. However I was not anticipating the one cord that decided to jump out from the grass and trip me.

And this is where I go, flying.

I prepare for impact with the ground, which isn't much,  just screaming and throwing the one arm, that is not being pulled, out in front of me.

I land on my knees and forearms, but I'm not on the wet ground for long.

I'm being lifted up by a pair of arms that don't belong to the girl I know, instead they are strong and safe, and I'm met with bright blue eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Thank you, for you know helping me up and all that jazz." Oh goodness what even are words? I have no clue. I really hope he didn't hear that. I suck at this...

"You're welcome - and all that jazz." Oh crap he heard it. He silently laughs as he says it, a smile on his face.

I don't think this blush on my face can get any redder.

"Oh Ev."

"What Ari?"

"You're arms... and your jeans." I was very wrong about the whole 'this blush can't get any worse' thing.

Very, very wrong.

I quickly check what she's talking about, and soon the sight of blood and newly ripped jeans fill my vision. It's a good thing the only thing that happened when I fell is scraped arms and knees, plus holes in the knees of my new jeans, but that doesn't keep the embarrassment away.

I finally process that there are boys standing in front of us. And I don't miss the wide eyes and small smile that don't linger on Ari's face.

The eyes of the five boys, in matching black, follow where I'm staring. My knees are a mess and my brand new jeans are ruined. This certainly doesn't help the blush and I can feel my ears get hotter.

"Oh no-"

"It's not too bad, just a scrape. Here, follow me, we can fix this." The determination in this boy's voice makes my uneasiness settle and be replaced with amusement.

"What?" I question on the verge of laughter.

"Well I just thought that you might want a first aid kit or something." He shrugs his shoulders and looks down at his toes.

I glance over at Ariana and wait for approval. I trust her sense of judgment much more than mine. She nods and I look over at the tall boy with a smile. "Sure." He glances up and relaxes.

"Alrighty then. Let's get some bandaids." He glances over at me, a look of pure joy on his face, "I'm Daniel by the way."

"Everly."

~~~

Ariana doesn't miss the smirk placed on the blond boy's lips.