Haley and Isaac split ways, sharing smiles and looks as they went. When Haley could no longer see him, she bit her lip trying to rein in the giddiness bouncing around inside her. At the kissing booth, she found Jace and Josie already nestled inside, leaning against the opposite posts. Josie was holding up a tube of lipstick.

"What are the chances I'll go through this whole thing tonight?" she asked.

Haley stationed herself with them, half-listening as she gazed about. Due to the overhead lighting, the fair had an old fashion magic quality to it. Part of her expected to see couples arriving in 1950s outfits arm linked together.

"I would guess very high," Jace answered. "What guy wouldn't want your lips marked on his cheek?"

Josie replied with a cheeky smile and Jace's response was a flirtatious wink. As eight o'clock neared Rachel made the rounds checking to see if people were aware of their duties. She also reminded everyone that the fair would wrap up around twelve and tear down would take over an hour.

The sun melted away and the lights overhead burned brighter as if stealing the sun's glory. Seniors trickled in at first then arrived in larger droves crowding the booths, snapping photos and cheering when they were victorious with a game.

Haley was kept busy taking photos. At first, there was only a line of girls. Each time they stepped up, they wrapped their arms around Jace's neck and grinned as he planted a kiss on their cheek, his arms encasing their waist. They left with a wink from Jace and bright red cheeks.

When the mass of females had dwindled, a guy with broad shoulders and a swagger approached the booth. Jace looked the guy up and down, something like a warning in his eyes. Josie smiled at the senior.

"Is this where I get a free kiss?" he said, a crooked smile coming into play.

"On the cheek, yes," Josie said.

Sticking his hands into his pockets, the guy leaned forward.

"How about on the lips?" he said. "I might be able to give you some tips to improve your job."

Haley noticed as Jace folded his arms and clenched his fist, holding in his thoughts. Josie's smile took on an edge, like a shining knife.

"It's on the cheek or a kick to the groin, your decision," she said, her voice deceptively cheery.

Haley stifled a laugh and Jace's lips curled. Swallowing, the guy straightened.

"I'm good," he said, sauntering off.

When he had been sucked into the crowd, Haley let out her laugh. Josie smirked.

"There's a reason Rachel asked me to work this booth," she said.

Haley snorted. "I can see why."

As the night wore on the line of girls and boys ebbed and flowed. Towards the middle, Matt arrived and Haley took a couple of minutes to point out which booths she had a hand in building. With each booth, she told him one funny anecdote that made him smile. When she finished, Matt captured a picture of them in front of one of her booths, stealing a memory for the night. A group of his friends found him and Haley was happy to let Matt be whisked away to create other moments.

In the later part of the fair, the focus seemed to center more on the food trucks and the lanes thinned. Josie took the lull as a chance to take a break, asking Haley to just stand in her spot. Accepting, Haley joined Jace inside the booth. Isaac hadn't managed to stop by but Haley figured he had been kept busy. With the dip in crowds, she wondered if he would make it over. As she stood tucked into the booth's shelter, her eyes wandered over the remaining groups.

"What are you looking for?" Jace asked.

Haley started at his voice, almost forgetting he was beside her.

"Uh...nothing."

Jace raised one doubting eyebrow. In response, Haley blushed, embarrassed.

"Isaac...said he might stop by."

"It's good to know my scheme paid off," Jace said, crossing his arms and leaning against the post.

"You're scheme?"

"Yeah, last night."

Haley frowned in confusion. "What about last night?"

"The game..."

Again Haley could only stare at him, not understanding where he was going.

"Seriously, Haley Day? You didn't actually think it was chance that got you and Isaac matched for Seven Minutes in Heaven, did you?"

Haley turned bright pink, cause that was exactly what she had thought. At her obvious surprise, Jace laughed. It wasn't mocking, simply amused.

"Haley Day, I rigged the game. I figured it would take both of you ages to do anything and well...I know the power of an enclosed space and limited time."

Mortified, Haley buried her face in her hands. "You can't be serious?"

"Are you mad?"

Rising her head, she scowled and punched his arm.

"Of course, who made you Cupid?"

Jace raised his hands in surrender and to ward off her abuse.

"You could have said no, and you didn't have to do anything while you were in there. I nudged you, but you were the one who took the leap."

Flashes of the previous night darted through Haley's mind: asking Isaac if he wanted to kiss her, the feel of his hands on her skin, the taste of his lips, his breath as it caressed her cheek. In an instant, all her irritation with Jace vanished. She wouldn't take back that night for anything and he had been the one to help it along. Folding her hands behind her, she settled back on the side of the booth.

"Sorry."

"For what? Punching me or getting mad at my help?"

"All of it. I'm not really good at this sort of thing."

Smiling, Jace gave her nose an affectionate tap. "Don't worry, Haley Day, you can always learn."

She returned his look.

"How did it go in there?" Jace asked.

The memories made Haley blush and bite her lip again. Jace raised an eyebrow.

"That good, huh? Get it, Haley Day." The color deepened on Haley's cheeks. Jace cocked his head. "That wasn't your first kiss, was it?"

"No, but it was the only good one I've had."

Jace chuckled. "All the rest were bad kissers?"

Haley opened her mouth but closed it, a thought striking her. Her forehead scrunched together in puzzlement and concern. The other times she had kissed someone it had been awkward, but was that because of them or her? A trickle of worry nagged at her.

"What are you thinking?" Jace asked, nudging her shoe with his.

Before Haley could rethink her decisions, she blurted out the thought that was banging around her mind.

"How do you know if you're a good kisser?"

Regretting her words, she covered her mouth her hand. A hint of amusement curled Jace's lips but he kept the full force of it at bay.

"It's hard to tell, why?"

Haley suddenly had a fear that the source of the previous kisses failings was on her. What that meant for Isaac and her, she didn't know but had an unsettling worry came over her all the same.

"What if I'm a terrible kisser?" Haley asked.

This made Jace pause, thinking.

"It's hard to be unless you were really tense," he said. "Were you?"

Haley shook her head, remembering the way everything in her softened at the feel of Isaac's lips.

"It's also about the lead up to it," he said.

She frowned at him. "The what?"

Straightening, he moved closer to her. Haley tried to back away but had nowhere else to go.

"It's about the anticipation," Jace said, inching closer. "The moment building. The pause before. The breath you share." Gently, he cupped the back of her neck and slowly leaned in. "The lead up is all these things. They factor into a good kiss."

Haley stared up into Jace's eyes, frozen in place, suddenly afraid that he was actually going to kiss her. When he was a breath away, he grinned and pulled back.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're a good kisser but you're not my person to kiss."

Haley blushed at the thought of Isaac and the closet. She bit her lip.

Jace laughed. "Don't worry, I'm sure you kissed Isaac just fine."

Haley couldn't help it, she covered her face and laughed. Right then she was struck by the fact that Jace had been so close to kissing her and she hadn't felt anything. Not what she felt when she was simply near Isaac.

When she raised her head, Jace was smiling. From the sparse crowd, Josie reemerged a bag of popcorn in hand and his smile brightened.

"What did I miss?" she asked.

Haley and Jace exchanged a look.

"Nothing at all," she said.

*******

They spent the remainder of the fair talking about nothing in particular and taking photos for the few who wanted them. By the time Rachel came around to tell everyone to start carrying their booths back to the gym, Isaac hadn't stopped by. Haley was disappointed but figured with working one of the game booths he must have always been busy. As she took part in tearing down the fair, she looked for him.

It wasn't until she had helped move one of the lasts booths to the gym and was heading back to the field that she spotted him. Grinning, she hurried to catch up with him. He made no comment when she slowed to walk beside him.

"I never got that 'hi' you said you would deliver," she said.

Isaac's jaw clenched but he had no reply, his eyes never meeting hers. Something in Haley's stomach tightened but she ignored it.

"I wasn't working the kissing booth, but I figured for you I could make an exception."

Shaking his head, Isaac let out a derisive grunt.

"I'm sure you would," he said.

Stunned, Haley stopped walking, staring at Isaac's back.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

When he didn't bother to stop, Haley raced after him, tugging on his arm. The touch was the light to the fuse, Isaac spun around so fast, Haley stumbled back. His blue eyes had lost all its cheeriness, instead, anger, pain, and regret collided together. The betrayal of his emotions made Haley freeze.

"Are you seriously going to pretend I'm an idiot?" Isaac said. He ran a hand over his hair, shaking his head. "Why pretend? I am an idiot!" He threw his arms out to the side. "I'm the biggest idiot ever! I couldn't see what was so plainly obvious."

Haley felt herself falling, trying to understand where the ground was.

"Obvious?" she asked, shaken. "What are you talking about, what was obvious? The fact that I liked you?"

Isaac's eyebrows snapped down in anger and he pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Don't. I'm not a big enough idiot to believe that. If that was true you wouldn't have kissed Jace."

Haley's face went paperwhite and her throat became dry as sawdust.

"I didn't-"

"I saw you! I came to see you like the idiot I am because I was sure that you liked me, but instead, I find you flirting, laughing and kissing Jace!"

All thought and words flew from Haley's mind, all she could see was the scene from Isaac's perspective. Josie was gone and they had been together in the booth, being...being friends, but how could she explain that to Isaac?

Isaac dragged his hands down his face. "I'm so stupid. This entire time I thought you were just friends cause you lived next door to each other, but all the signs were there. For crying out loud you knew Jace's shirt from the smell!"

Fear and panic jolted Haley into speech. Everything was spinning away from her and she tried to grab it to reel it back.

"It's not like that, Jace isn't even like that-"

"Stop, Haley I know who Jace is, I just didn't think you were someone to fall for it. Look at me and tell me he doesn't mean anything to you?"

Isaac's eyes were boring into hers, daring her to lie to him. Haley opened her mouth, but no words came out. Of course, she cared for Jace. He was the person who had offered her a ride when she needed it. He was the person who despite the up and down start had become her friend. He was the one person who had forced her to take part in the world.

At the hesitation, Isaac took a step back, shaking his head like he was trying to erase the past three weeks.

"I knew it." He held up his hands, everything about him resigned. "Forget it, Haley. Us. Prom. Forget all of it."

Before Haley could rally some sort of explanation, Isaac walked away. Someone had taken a battering ram to her chest. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, everything inside her was ripping apart. She blinked and tears spilled over her eyes.

With each step Isaac took, she felt the memories of the past three weeks burning, turning all the happy emotions to ash. Standing there, she felt as if someone had punched a hole in her chest and smashed her heart.

A pair of students passed her, knocking her back into reality. She swiped furiously at her tears and forced herself to walk back to the field. She didn't look for Isaac, didn't talk to anyone. She did what she did best, she gathered up all the ripped pieces of her emotions and threw them away. This was all her fault, even knowing what she did she had let herself be stupid enough to think it could be different.

By the time she was walking to her car, there were no tears to cry. Why cry over a reality she had always known was true? It's never worth it. She knew that and still fell for the possibility that it was. As she fumbled for her keys, Jace tapped her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Haley Day?" he asked.

Like a crack in a dam, it all came crashing out. She rounded on him, arms flying.

"You want to know what's wrong?" she yelled. "Everything! Everything is wrong! I was stupid to think it would ever be different! That somehow in this terrible world that I could find someone that made it all worth it but I was wrong!"

Jace leaned back, shocked. "Haley Day-"

"You're the one who forced me to think I it could be different. Because you decided to give me a ride one day and kept forcing me to go to parties and be your friend. But I never asked for that! I never wanted that! I wanted to be left alone. But you didn't leave me alone! Why? Why, Jace? Why did you even talk to me that first day? Why?"

When Jace realized that she was actually looking for an answer, he dug a hand through his hair.

"Cause I heard your parents fighting and you looked lonely, Haley. I felt bad, so I offered you a ride...I don't know...I thought it might help cheer you up."

Haley ground her teeth, clenching the keys.

"So you became my friend because you pitied me." Jace took a step forward but she glared at him. "Well, guess what Jace, I don't want your pity and I never wanted your friendship. Find someone else to give you a ride home."

Haley yanked the door open and climbed in. She left, her heart pounding in her chest and the sight of Jace retreating in the rearview mirror.

**********************************************************************

*Peeks out from behind desk*

Uh...hi. How are you doing? I'm guessing there are some emotions you want to get off your chest right now. Go ahead, I won't hold them against you.
👉🕳👈

Maybe you should breath, it might keep you from passing out. I understand that right now you want to yell at the world. I don't blame you, this probably didn't go as you hoped. Sad how life rarely does what we want.

Let's take a poll. Who are you most mad at?

Isaac.

Haley.

Me.

To my Jaley shippers, you didn't get your kiss. How you feeling?

Anything else you want to yell at me?

Right here I would put in a cute, funny anecdote about me being weird, quirky and just plain odd but let's face it, I'm not sure I'm even funny enough to bring us out the well of despair that we seem to have fallen down. Oh well.

Let's face it, if you're still conscious at this point you most likely don't want to vote, comment, or follow, but hey if you are and still have pieces of your heart intact, I'll take whatever you want to give.

Hopefully this can make you smile!