My heart accelerated as Nigel kissed me. Suddenly the height of our Ferris wheel cabin stopped mattering. The sunset bathed everything in a dreamy orange glow. I kissed him back... deepening the kiss as I leaned into his touch. After an uncounted amount of time, he pulled away.

"Nate..." He began, but was interrupted by a deafening creak. He looked at me before glancing up at the roof of the cabin quizzically. The sound of breaking metal followed, and our little box dipped in place, tilting aggressively to one side and launching me off my seat.

Nigel caught me on his side. My eyes widened and focused on the ground as our cabin threatened to break off the structure completely. "Nathan, grab onto me!" Nigel urged just as the final rung holding us up snapped, and plunged us down to our deaths. Nathan!" Nigel's scream resonated in my head as we free-falled and crashed straight into the concrete below.

I sat up with a jolt, a loud wheezing gasp escaping my lips as my eyes shot open. "Please. Lay back down Mr. Hart, you're going to make yourself dizzy again." The nurse urged as my head swayed and I fell back onto the hard mattress. "Nathan! Are you okay!? Nurse!?" Nigel fretted when he saw my eyes threatening to close again.

"Deep breaths." The nurse instructed, putting down the smelling salts they'd used to bring me back. "How are you feeling. Please, try to stay awake." Nigel urged, his features contorted with worry.

"It was just a dream..."

I thought to myself as I forced my racing pulse to steady. Slowly, I began to recognize our surroundings. "What happened?" I asked, draping my bandaged arm over my eyes to shield them from the florescent lighting. "Your bitch ass fainted like I predicted you would." Jade teased. I turned to her and glared, angrier with myself than anything. "Hey. Please just...breathe" Nigel reminded as he reached for my apple juice.

"Here, drink." He instructed, opening the tiny carton and holding it out for me to take. I tried sitting up but the world still seemed to be spinning. On my second attempt Nigel slipped his arm around my back and repositioned my pillows to keep me upright. "T-thanks..." I stammered, as I took the juice and sipped it. "I'll be storing these away. Just hang tight for a few minutes." The nurse informed as she took both of our plasma bags and put them in a trolly. She wheeled them towards the back of the clinic, disappearing behind a set of double doors.

"Good, now eat these." Nigel ordered after taking my empty juice carton. He opened my pack of cookies and handed them to me. I obeyed quietly, still embarrassed by this entire situation. "At least you've got some color to your face now. You were really pale a few minutes ago. Really scared me..." He admitted, messing with the scratchy bandage on his own arm.

I glanced down, noticing that I had his cardigan draped over me like a blanket; It smelled like him. Maybe that's why I had that dream. "Something wrong?" Nigel asked when he caught me staring. "Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked, wiping the crumbs off my face with my arm. Nigel gave me a weary look. "I was never mad at you Nathanial, if that's what you're asking." He assured, taking the empty pack of cookies and disposing of them in the bin beside the holding tray.

"Yeah, well I still am." I huffed, pulling the cardigan off my torso and handing it to him. "Thanks for the blanket." I mumbled before sitting up and swinging my legs off the side of the bed. "Here's your visit summary Mr. Hart. Please try to take it easy for today. No drinking or illicit drug use." She reminded as she handed me my paperwork. "Thanks." Was all I said as I hopped down from the bed and walked past Nigel. He stared down at the floor, his expression filled with misery.

Jade followed behind, along with Archie who urged Nigel forward. The Doctor, still busy with our charts, gave us a small wave as we made our way out of the clinic. "The nerve of this guy." I muttered bitterly to myself as I stomped ahead. "He thinks he can just be all nice and adorable and everything will be forgotten. As if!" I huffed as I brushed my hair out of my eyes.

"Nathan, wait up." Jade called as she jogged to catch up. "What is your problem? Why are you being so mean to Nigel?" She asked, gesturing with her hand to the back where the other two trailed behind. "Me!? He's the one that's wrong! How can he think it's okay to deny our relationship, just because his family—who may be dead by the way, might not approve!?" I huffed, visibly agitated.

"Everything we've been through has been for nothing. He clearly never cared. I was an idiot for letting my guard down and thinking I'd found someone who could love me—!" A loud slap resonated through the air as Jade smacked one side of my face. I glared at her angrily, eyes narrowed as I reminded myself I wasn't allowed to hit girls.

"Shut up!" She told me sternly. "That man is clearly head over heels for you." I rolled my eyes. "You don't know jack." I mumbled, rubbing my enflamed cheek. "He nearly pulled out his own IV when you zonked out! Archie and I had to hold his ass back long enough for the nurse to disconnect him! I've never seen anyone so worried about another person..." She trailed off, her emerald eyes darker than before.

"I get that it sucks. Your ideologies don't always align, but that doesn't mean you aren't compatible. It just means you have to try a little harder!" I glanced down at my pristine Jordans, bitter that she was actually making sense. "You two have clearly been through hell together and if you're daft enough to piss that away for some miniscule disagreement, then you don't deserve to be loved!" She huffed, flicking her braid over her shoulder before turning and stalking ahead.

The rest of the walk was silent. I kept my eyes trained on the concrete below and Nigel trailed behind. Archie had caught up with Jade some time after our argument and together they led us back to our neighborhood. "Are you folks ready!?" The blaring of a megaphone caused me to glance up. Were these people fucking stupid? They would alert any zombies within the vicinity if they kept up that noise!

I watched appalled as the crowd cheered and whistled, not giving a single shit about the ravenous monsters that littered the world outside their flimsy, sheet-metal walls. If enough of them piled up...
"Ok everybody, settle down." The Mayor's familiar voice made me tune in. "I'd like to keep this brief. As you all know, we're approaching the anniversary of Slice of Haven's founding. Though it has been a difficult and trying three years, I wanted to thank everyone who was there to make the establishment of this little utopia, possible."

After a round of applause, she continued. "That's why I'm here to formally announce our third, annual summer festival!" More cheers erupted from the crowd. "Please join us tomorrow for a night of games and music as we celebrate the power of unity and perseverance!" Jade whistled loudly as she joined the crowd. "There will be food and raffles and we'll conclude the night with our annual summer ball. Please look over the flyers for the dress code. They'll be posted in the bulletin board of the town square. Long live our new haven!"

"Long live our new Haven!" The crowd repeated before erupting into more cheers and applause. "I can't wait. Last year's festival was so much fun!" Jade enthused as we continued our walk home. "Yes. The ball was quite wild. Remember that giant conga line?" Archie asked with a light hearted chuckle. "I'm sure the dress code is the same as the last two years. Good thing I've already bought my dress."

After dropping us off, Archie and Jade made their way back down the street. They barely even waved goodbye, too caught up in their excitement for the upcoming event. "A festival huh? That actually sounds pretty fun." Nigel broke the silence as we watched the pair turn a corner and disappear. I shrugged. "Sounds like a lot of fucking work." I mumbled before making my way back into our little house.