sutton looked over to him and smiled, as the thought of taylor’s flirtatious behavior drifted back into her mind. it was so obvious to her when they were on the carousel and he hopped on the animal behind her, but suddenly she wondered why he was acting so differently. he usually never was affectionate towards her around his family or when they were home. and what would be it like when the tour began? sutton frowned, and her brow creased as it often did whenever she was confused or distraught. spending time with taylor was one of the main things that had kept her mind off of her parents. “what are you thinking about?” taylor asked softly as they wandered down one of the narrow paths. sutton quickly looked at him. “uh... nothing, really,” she smiled. “tell me,” taylor said, ever so gently and calmly that convinced sutton he genuinely would care and want to know about her thoughts. his hand brushed beside hers as they continued walking. sutton looked down to the ground in front of them and back at taylor. “i was just kind of thinking...wondering what it’ll be like when the tour starts for you.... and i. what things will be like between us. if we’ll ever get to really hang out.” “you worried about something?” he asked. sutton shrugged and sighed. “i just don’t want anything to change. i’ve had a lot of fun with you, and you’ve been one of the main things that has helped me to keep my mind off of my parents. helped me not to think about them so much and become sad.” “i don’t really know what things will be like. this is kind of new for us, in a sense. i know how busy we are when we tour on the road for tv shows and promo’s and stuff... but i’m sure i can always find time to hang out with you, sutt. i love being with you, too,” he said quietly. sutton smiled as taylor pulled her towards one of the food vendors, and pulled a couple of bucks out of his pocket. sutton shot him a questioning look. “cotton candy always cheers people up.” he grinned. “ah,” sutton nodded. “okay. hurry up and get your cotton candy, its time to go on the ferris wheel.” taylor quickly paid for the cotton candy and pulled off a chunk and let the sweet dessert melt in his mouth. “time for the ferris wheel already?” he grinned. “yep,” sutton said as she led them towards the magnificently lit up ferris wheel and added to the short line that was already forming for the next ride. once they were in line she looked over to taylor, who was enjoying the cotton candy. “are you enjoying yourself?” she asked and brushed away a piece of cotton candy that was resting on his upper lip. she softly smiled at him as he licked his fingers and immediately blushed as he wiped his mouth. “of course i am,” he said and pulled out a chunk of the cotton candy. “here. open up,” he instructed. sutton opened her mouth and taylor deposited the cotton candy in her mouth and smiled. “see, its good.” “its very good. i haven’t had cotton candy in a long time...since the last time the county fair was here in tulsa.” “here, have some more,” taylor said and thrusted the bag towards sutton and wiped his mouth. “hey, you know something?” taylor asked as he looked above his head at the ferris wheel slowly spinning around. “hmm?” “you know that they actually purposely stop the ferris wheel, like and pretend that it is stuck since most of the people that ever go on it are couples or people who hope that it will get stuck, for obvious reasons.” “oh, is that what we are?” sutton asked him coyly ad then looked at him quizzically. “they do not do that.” taylor smiled and looked at the ground, and then said, “i’m serious, sutton. look --” he pointed to the ferris wheel. “there aren’t any empty gondolas now but sometimes they leave like, four or five empty and when those are at the bottom, they stop it so most of the people are high in the air, suspended.” “are you kidding me?” “no, i am serious!” he grinned. “yanno logan? he used to work here, last summer, and he told me that they purposely do that now after being asked from so many people to have them accidentally have them stop the machine.” taylor said and made quote fingers when he said ‘accidentally.’ sutton looked at him questionably. “they seriously do that?” “well not every single time, i’m sure, but they do that, i swear.” taylor said as they moved along with the line. “that’s bizarre,” sutton said and stuffed another chunk of cotton candy in her mouth. “i guess that would be kind of cool though. as long as you weren’t the people at the very, very top.” she said and looked up at the ferris wheel that was slowly rotating to let the people off. “especially at night, like it is now. you could see a lot of the park and the bright lights if you were like, in the middle. i bet that would be so beautiful,” sutton said. “maybe they’ll stop our ride and we’ll be able to watch the sun set,” taylor said as he and sutton entered the gate and were ushered into a small gondola, its faded white paint that had cracked and broken safety belts that hung loosely off of the seat. “this is reassuring,” sutton commented as she pushed away the broken belts and sat on the inside as taylor sat next to her on the outside and an employee closed their door. sutton shivered and looked above her at the gondolas that were already filled as they slowly were raised and then stopped as the next couple entered a gondola. “nothing is gonna happen, you don’t need them or anything,” taylor said and leaned back into the sagging cushioned seat and stretched his legs out in front of him. Sutton did the same and unwrapped the bag of cotton candy again. their gondola slowly swung back and forth as they were raised to the very top of the ferris wheel, and several gondolas were left empty. sutton slowly looked over her shoulder and down below her and patted taylor’s arm. “look,” she said. “we’re already at the very top.” “and look,” he commented. “there are like four or five empty gondolas. you know what that means,” he grinned as he turned back around and ate more of the cotton candy. sutton brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “wow,” she commented as she looked out over the park. all of the lights had gone on and the park was illuminated with fluorescent and brightly colored signs and lights. “its so different when you’re up high.” taylor dropped the empty cotton candy bag to the floor of their gondola, and slowly leaned back into sutton. “it is. it sure is getting dark quick, too,” he said as they slowly rotated around and around. “look at the sun, taylor.” sutton smiled and looked over to him. “you know they probably positioned this ride so it faced the direction of where the sun sets.” “i tell you, the people that work here know things, i wouldn’t doubt it,” he laughed as he brought his legs up to his chest. sutton opened her mouth, about to answer as their gondola slowly rocked back and forth, and stopped while they were midway to the top of the ferris wheel. she slowly turned her head and looked over at taylor and had to laugh as he grabbed on to the side of the gondola and a frightened look appeared on his face. “what’s going on?!” he called down to the ground. sutton laughed and tugged on taylor’s shirt and pulled him back into the gondola and hit his arm. “taylor!” taylor grabbed sutton’s arm and held onto her hand with one of this and pressed his body into hers, pretending he was scared. “i told you, sutt. i told you this would happen!” he said in a mock frightened voice. sutton looked at him and laughed as they heard the intercom crackle and a voice called up to them. “everyone, please remain calm. a technical difficulty has arisen, but we assure you thre is nothing to worry about. as soon as we fix some programming the ride will resume. please stay calm, and don’t rock your gondolas.” “i can’t believe you were serious when you said they actually purposely stop the ride!” sutton giggled as she looked down to their hands that were still hooked together. taylor brought his legs back up to this chest and kept his hand in hers as a soft wind blew through their hair. sutton crossed her legs and leaned back into the seat. “i told you, you just didn’t believe me,” he looked over to her and smiled. “you never believe the things i tell you.” “i believed you. i do, too. i never doubt you, taylor, geez --” “shh,” taylor interrupted, and leaned into her shoulder. “look,” he said and pointed with his free hand at the sun in front of them. the sky had slowly turned a maroon orange color and the bright ball of a sun was slowly diminishing into the trees. a smile spread across sutton’s face as she looked at the sky, her hand hooked to taylor’s and a soft breeze blowing through their hair. their day together was perfect, and the moment they were sharing made it even more memorable. “wow, taylor,” she breathed. “wow,” he chuckled and took his eyes away from the sky and looked over to sutton. “have you never seen a sunset before?” sutton’s eyes stayed focused on the sky in front of her for a moment before they met taylor’s, their faces inches apart and smiles on both of their faces. “yes i have,” she said softly and grinned as she slowly looked away. she looked down at their connected hands and back up to him. “are you happy?” he asked lightly as he looked into her eyes, and his gaze traveled down to her lips and to their hands. sutton gently sighed and looked back into the sky as the last bit of sun peeked out from behind the pine trees. she thought for a moment and slowly nodded. “i’m very happy,” she said to the sky. taylor remained quiet, sensing she wanted to elaborate. “i’ve had so much fun today. i do think about my parents and I get sad. but if i look at you i feel better, happier.” sutton said and looked over to him. “i thought you were thinking about your parents just now.” “i was.” sutton softly said. “i wonder if they’re watching the same sun rise that i just watched set.” “that’s a nice thought,” taylor said. “i bet they are,” he quietly said as their gondola sharply swung back and forth and they started moving again. he leaned in closer to her. “hey taylor?” sutton asked. “hmm?” “i don’t know. it might not seem like a lot, but thank you. i appreciate the way you’ve made me feel and welcomed me into your family. kinda jumped right back into our friendship even though we lost touch.” taylor removed his hand from sutton’s and brought it around her shoulder and gave her a small hug. “if i’ve helped you in some way then i’m glad. i love spending time with you, sutt.” he said and took his arm away from her shoulder. she looked over to him and smiled as they neared the top of the ferris wheel. she quickly pulled her camera out of her pocket and snapped a picture of the fading sunset. “come on,” she grinned and held the camera in front of their faces again. “i have to use up this film.” “that flash is going to blind me, sutt.” taylor grinned. he quickly put his arm around her shoulder and leaned his head closer to hers as she quickly took a picture. “ah, i hope you’re happy,” taylor said and brought his hands to his face. “its not that bad,” sutton laughed. “i know, i know,” taylor agreed and leaned forward in the small seat. “looks like our lovely ride is ending,” he said as their gondola slowly reached the bottom and they crawled out. they quickly left the ferris wheel area and stretched. “thanks for coming on the ferris wheel with me, taylor,” sutton grinned as they wandered around to no where in particular. “you’re welcome, sutton,” taylor said in a childlike voice. “that was really beautiful.” twenty five