I'm sorry I called you a meatloaf, Jack.

open starters for @vancitystarters​ (capping at 5) 

location: eating area of the festival

While Evie loved most days of the year, she came alive during the colder months. Holidays just felt different during the cold months. Perhaps it was her own nostalgic longing for something familial she hadn’t felt in years. Maybe it was the escapism that cold weather equated to a warm heart and wrapped in a pretty little bow. 

Her breath was nearly visible when she exhaled, a fascination she’d held since she was small, as she sat with a disgustingly sweet waffle wrapped around ice cream. Seats were hard to come by and she scooted her things aside to make room for someone.

“Here, you can sit here, but the rules are, you can’t judge me for my palate,” she offered.

‘just say when..’ beat, beat, beat... Carter, watched as the attendant's eyebrows etched upwards, in not-so subtle judgement at the amount of ketchup he was currently wanting her to drown his curly fries in.. not yet. “and..” she stopped. he shook his head. “no just a bit more..” the bottle started to huff and puff in protest. it was done, but was he? eh, it would have to do, “and stop.” 

with his box of ketchup curly fries in hand, the blonde made his way over to the crowded seating area, well fuck.. maybe he should’ve sorted finding a table first. the last thing he wanted was his fries to get cold. 

leaning down, Carter started to feed himself a few fries with just the aid of his mouth, as he continued on his search for a spare place to rest. the carnival was busy. it always was. he’d been coming here since he was a child and still he’d forgotten just how hectic the place could get around lunch time. he really should’ve timed this snack earlier. 

“argh yud sufr?” [ let’s try that again, but with less food ]. “sorry about that-- but are you sure you don’t mind? i’m pretty sure i could convince them to let me ride the ferris wheel till i finish these off if i pay them double..”  though, he didn’t really have a good track record with that ferris wheel, so maybe it was better just to thank the nice stranger for the seat and offer to shout her a root beer or something for her troubles. “would you like me to get you a---- wait, Jimbo’s Waffle Gaza is back??!?” God, he loved that place. “His Turkish Delight... oh my sweet baby cheeses.” judge? she was crazy. he wasn’t going to judge her. he was going to hassle her for directions.

─────── · ·

Since that night Carter had shared his story with her, giving her an insight into his talent and creativity, Nima hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Despite having meant every word in regards to how great she thought the story was, that wasn’t why she couldn’t get that night out of her mind.

From the moment she had met Carter she’d been attracted to him and had a little crush, something that only grew the more they worked together and she got to know him. The problem wasn’t shyness when it came to acting on any feelings she’d developed all on her own. It was the fact that she was technically his boss and also that she was working on her issues when it came to attachments and abandonment.

The last thing she wanted was to continually make the same mistakes. And Nima had smothered her one and only relationship out of fear. Even though she knew that no one else was her mother, it was hard to plant that deep into her psyche and not feel as though everyone was going to abandon her.

Her history had left her with many psychological and emotional scars, and knowing that, Nima couldn’t really pursue someone while she still felt she was emotionally stunted.

The last thing she wanted to do was cause another person pain.

Yet— Nima couldn’t let go of the warmth of his lips on hers and the way he tasted when he’d kissed her. 

It was a simple kiss yet she tossed at night thinking about it.

When she’d received a text from Carter she was equally relieved and surprised. She hadn’t heard from him since that night nor seen him and had become a little worried. So, Nima might have replied a little too quickly to his text and agreed to meet him at the corn maze at the carnival. She was eager to see him, curious if he’d be dressed for Halloween, and wondered what was in store.

Her aversion to spooky things wasn’t something she really shared openly, mostly because of the way she’d been bullied in her youth, but Nima also didn’t really allow people to see a vulnerable side of her.

“I guess that remains to be seen,” Nima chimed, grinning as she approached Carter. That blond hair and tanned skin— he was so wild and handsome. She felt bubbly all over already. “If you get us lost in there—” A playful warning finger was pointed at him, leaving him to imagine the trouble he’d be in.

At that point she would think nothing of how casual and friendly and how much he was like he’d always been with her, because she too wanted to get past the awkwardness so they could have fun again in each other’s company. 

Though, she’d likely still think about that kiss.

Nima plucked some blue spun sugar when it was offered and put it in her mouth, wincing at just how sweet it was. “Oh my god,” she laughed, covering her mouth. She hadn’t been expecting that, unable to recall the last time she’d actually had cotton candy. Maybe it was last year’s festival.

“At least now I don’t have to offer you my jacket,” Nima teased Carter, eyes lingering on his blue lips. “But let me know if you get chilly,” she winked.

“You ready to show off those navigation skills?”

this whole thing was weird, but only because it wasn’t.. if that made sense. 

“remains to be--” a very offended breath of air pushed out between his lips... “wh-- what you doubt me, nims?” she did. that doubtful and semi-hurtful pretty finger of hers pointing out in his direction in order to tell him that she was the kind of girl that needed hardcore evidence before she simply just went ahead and believed someone on their ego alone. fair. “oh, you can put your little doubting finger away.. ‘cause i’m about to show you why they'll engrave corn maze tour master on my headstone one day.” now, if he could just remember how he got out with his nephews earlier he’d be set. 

had he just poisoned her with sugar? “please tell me this isn’t the first time you’ve tasted cotton candy, right?” that was surely a childhood milestone in the food department. though he was willing to take credit where credit was definitely due if she hadn’t. 

“oh so, you like my new shade do you? a little late 80s, eh? you know, when everyone was obsessed with looking like they were from the future or that guy pinhead from Hellraiser. speaking of.. what’s your favorite 80s film?” please let it be something like, Out of Africa or Cocoon and not Sixteen-Cliche-Candles. or... y’know.. let it. ‘cause that could help with that whole getting over her thing, right? maybe. or maybe he’d just end up suggesting that they watch it together again or something stupid like that. yeah, probably that. sigh.

“i’ll tell you mine, but where’s the fun in that? you should guess.. a prize might even be given if you can get it in three-- no five. i’ll be nice.” he smiled, but truthfully there was no chance in hell she was going to get it. he was no basic bitch in the film department. 

plus, when most people thought about 80s movies they thought Terminator, Alien, Star Wars, Full Metal Jacket, and ET.. what they didn’t think about was the Oscar Award Winning screenplay ‘Dead Poets Society.’ but, hey, maybe she would.. she had seen his collection of favorite screenplays and maybe the excessive fraying on the edges of that one in particular had managed to get her attention or something. 

"we need a photo first?” he wasn’t really the kind of guy that got into selfies, but there was a whole set up here and was it really a selfie when there was a semi-professional photographer telling you to pose it up with the possessed scarecrow? 

only maybe he should’ve passed on the opportunity, because now that he was being told to put his arm around his girlfriend (he couldn’t blame the photographer for thinking that), his heart was damn near bursting out of his chest. 

{ interior. exterior. galley. cornmaze. 

breathe deeply. kane screams. a small head the size of a small fist punches out through.. }

he shook his head. maybe she’d been right and there really was a good chance they were not going to make it out of this corn maze alive tonight.. 

HAUNTED CORN MAZE, HALLOWEEN ─── “Who is Wanda?” Fuck. [ you see, this is what you get when you decide to do something stupid; like look up a Relationship Advice forum in front of your mom ]. “wait, is this that girl you’ve been working with???” he could’ve said no and he wouldn’t be lying, but call him a momma’s boy all you like, he just didn’t like lying to her. “no, it’s--” this was embarrassing.. mortifying.. one of those events that kept your eyes from closing at 2 am ten years from now, kind of things, “she’s-- i needed some advice about her and Wanda’s--” “a therapist?” that would’ve probably been better. “an advice columnist.” he should’ve gone to Reddit. his mother never would’ve had a chance at deciphering her way through all of those acronyms. “oh, honey.. you know you could’ve come to me for advice, right?” oh he knew. he just didn’t want to have that kind of conversation with her. the one that started with, ‘i got really drunk, kissed my boss, and now i can’t stop thinking about her it.’ boundaries. “i just think this is one of those things we need to draw a line, mom.” which speaking of. it was time to break apart. he’d find her and his dad’s brother’s little rugrats again later. there was somewhere else he needed to be. 

it had been a bit risky on his end to text her to meet him here tonight. they hadn’t talked since the incident. the one, where he’d got real drunk, read her some story he’d been working on, and ended up kissing her because she had said something insane, like she thought it was really good or whatever... and yet, he felt if he didn’t do that soon there was a real good chance he might actually lose her over this whole thing. he didn’t want that. he might’ve done something stupid. like, locking lips with a girl so far out of his league, it was miracle she hadn’t pushed him into another dimension or something when he’d done it.. but, fuck.. please at least let it be one of those easy to forgive kind of mistakes. y’know, the ones children seem to make all the time and continue to get away with.. just give him one of those.