"Hey guys" I greeted Amanda and Meredith as I sat at the table in the cafeteria that they were on.

"Hey Ly" They said in unison. "What's going on?" Amanda asked me as she popped a fry in her mouth.

"Not much I guess, you guys?" I shrugged and took a bite of my golden delicious apple- my favourite.

"I have some news.." Mere started as she grabbed our attention.

We both looked over at her, gesturing for her to continue, "What's the news?" I asked, listening intentively.

She leaned a bit closer and whispered, "Scott asked me out" We all shrieked.

"Really? Oh that's amazing Mere! I'm so happy for you!" I gushed.

"Spill the details now Mere!" Amanda ordered, pointing a finger at Meredith.

She smiled brightly, "Thanks Ly" She paused. "Okay so I was out for ice cream with my little sister, as we were ordering what we wanted, Scott came. So we got to talking and he told me that he liked me and then he asked me if I would like to go out with him and I said yes!" She explained.

"Wow! You've liked him since sixth grade and now he likes you back! That's so amazing Mere" Amanda gushed.

"Yeah, what Amanda said. Congrats girl!" I exclaimed happily.

"Congrats to who?" A voice behind me asked and I turned to face, you guessed it, Calvin, with Lucas and Dylan beside him.

"Meredith, she got herself a date" Amanda smiled and he nodded.

"Congrats Meredith" Calvin said, being polite as he sat down beside me.

"Thanks Calvin. You know, I know somebody who's single and she would totally love to go out with you" She said randomly.

He furrowed his brow, "Who?" He asked as my brothers looked over at us, he smirked.

"Well she's got medium-length brown hair, sparkling green eyes and might I say- she loves soccer-" I cut her off by slamming my foot onto hers underneath the table.

She yelped in pain and everybody looked at me, Calvin smirked. "Are you describing Lyla by any chance Meredith?" Calvin asked, looking at me. His ego getting bigger by the minute.

I glared at her to say no, "Uh- of course not. I-I'm talking about someone else. Her name is Lily" She said as she struggled to find words.

"That's awfully close to Lyla's name"

"Well it's not so" Meredith snapped and Calvin held his hands up in defence.

"Okay" He said as he took a bite of his pizza. My brothers just sat there as Lucas smiled at Amanda, making her blush.

I watched as they both stared into each others eyes. Okay, was I missing something here?

I dismissed the thought of them liking each other as Calvin spoke up, "So I was thinking that since this weekend is a long weekend, why don't we go to the carnival that's in town?" He suggested as my brothers agreed to it and then Amanda and Meredith.

Calvin looked over to me, "What about you, princess?" He asked.

I swallowed nervously as I looked anywhere but him, "Uh- sure" I agreed half-heartedly.

He raised an eyebrow, "You don't seem too excited about it" He stated, bits and pieces of concern lacing his voice.

"I-I" I stuttered.

"Lyla here, is afraid of the rides at Carnivals" Amanda spoke up for me.

He raised a brow, "Why princess?" He smirked again.

I huffed, "It happened when I was four. I went on a Ferris wheel with my babysitter and might I add- I was really scared of heights. She told me it was okay and that the ride would be over soon. But next thing I know, we get stuck at the very top and this Ferris wheel was like 170 feet tall. We were stuck up there for over an hour and I was so scared." I explained and looked over at him.

He looked as if he was trying to hold in laughter, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion at him.

Before I knew it, he burst. He was laughing so hard that I thought he was gonna pee himself.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked in anger.

"I'm sorry princess, it's just that that happened such a long time ago. You're still holding on to your fear?" He asked as his laughter died down.

My anger slowly faded as I looked at my food in embarrassment. I shrugged.

"Okay, well, we are going to the Carnival this weekend and we're going to help you get over your fear." Calvin said.

I looked up at him wide eyed, "No, I'm not going to the carnival this weekend! I can't"

"You'll be okay, I'll be with you through the whole thing." He whispered into my ear knowing that if my brothers heard what he was saying, he'd be on the ground probably being pounded by my brothers.

I smirked at that thought of my brothers beating him up.

I decided for a moment, can I even trust him? Of course you can Lyla, overall he did tell the truth in the end with the whole cheating off you in class thing.

What are you thinking Lyla? Are you crazy? You can't trust him! He's the school player, how can you trust a player?

"Fine" I gave in and everybody cheered. "I'll go. But if I die, I'm coming back from the dead to haunt you specifically Porter" I said sternly with a pointed finger and he just smirked.

"Okay princess" He winked and I just shook my head at that.

"So I can pick you guys up at 8pm. But there's only about four seats in my car so I could pick you three up and then we can meet Amanda and Meredith at the carnival." Calvin suggested.

We all nodded, "Okay that sounds good" Lucas smiled as they all talked about what they were gonna do when we got there.

I slumped down in my seat. What did I get myself into?

//

It was finally Thursday night and it was the night of the long weekend. That meant the night we were going to the Carnival.

I absolutely hate the rides there, I haven't gone to a Carnival since that incident with my babysitter. Oh, and I still don't trust babysitters ever since that night. New fact about me by the way.

Why was everybody doing this to me? They know I am terrified of rides yet they're pushing me basically to go.

Maybe it's because Calvin is now in our little group of friends and he's like the cool athlete. To them, anyways. Just because he told me he was sorry for that whole fiasco where he cheated off me, that still didn't mean I liked him as much.

I stood there nervously rubbing my arm as I bit my lip. We were standing just by some of the rides as everyone talked with each other as they bargained what ride we'd start on.

"Do you want to ride the roller coaster or the Ferris wheel first?" Dylan asked the group.

Amanda paused in thought, "You wanna go on the roller coaster first and then save the best for last?" She suggested, clearly saying that the Ferris wheel was the best part. Which I totally disagree.

"What? The Ferris wheel is definitely not the best ride. The roller coaster is!" Mere exclaimed.

Calvin agreed with Mere and so did Lucas- which earned Lucas a glare and pout from Amanda.

"What do you think Ly? What ride do you want to start on?" Lucas asked and everyone turned their attention to me.

I shrugged, "It's between you guys. I'm just going sit down and eat some cotton candy"

Calvin shook his head, smirking. "Oh no you're not," He exclaimed. "You're getting over your fear princess"

"Um Calvin- call her 'princess' again and I'll break your fingers" Dyl spoke up and everyone's eyes-widened slightly- except for Lucas'. He was standing beside Dyl, agreeing with him.

"It's just a nickname" I insisted and sighed, defending Calvin.

Wait, why was I defending Calvin? He is a jerk and he deserves to be beat up and taught a lesson.

But he can be nice sometimes-

Lucas' eyebrows knitted together as he looked at me, "I thought you hated him"

I ran a hand through my hair as Calvin just stood there, waiting for my answer, looking amused by the situation. "I-" I paused. "I don't necessarily hate him, I just don't like him." I explained.

A flash of hurt shone through Calvin's eyes before quickly being hid by a wall that he put up sometimes- like me.

I regretted saying it for a moment.

Dylan just stood there, glaring daggers at Calvin. "Fine. I won't call her that anymore" Calvin said firmly and my brothers nodded hesitantly.

Even though my brothers were scary, Calvin was scarier. Calvin could easily have both of them pinned to the ground in a heartbeat but he just listens to them? He actually looked genuinely scared by them for a moment.

"Um, can we get back to what we're going to do first?" Mere asked uneasy and Calvin and my brothers shared glances before Dyl nodded.

Well that was awkward.

"Okay, we'll take a vote. Who wants to go on the Ferris wheel first?" Calvin asked.

Everybody nodded.

Great.

"Ferris wheel it is" He smiled and my brothers nodded, slowly forgetting about scolding Calvin a minute ago.

Just before we could get in line, I heard a familiar voice behind me. "Hey"

I turned around, instantly smiling. "H-Hi Spencer" I stuttered.

He chuckled at my nervousness, "I didn't know you'd be here?"

My brothers, Amanda and Mere already knew that I was practically head over heels inlove with Spencer, but I knew if we ever tried to date, I'd be attending his funeral before we even went on our first date.

"Yeah, I'm here with my friends" I gestured to everyone behind me. "Me too" He said.

He nodded, smiling brightly. "Who's this?" He asked, looking at Calvin.

He stood beside me, standing tall as he clenched his jaw and stared angrily at Spencer. He looked jealous.

Um, what?

Calvin stayed silent just glaring rudely at Spencer. "Um, this is Calvin. My brothers' friend" I introduced and he nodded.

"Well I just saw you over here and wanted to ask if you wanted to go out for lunch with me tomorrow?" He asked as a light blush spread across his face.

He was blushing over me?!

I smiled widely before my face fell, my brothers would never let me go out with him.

Dylan and Lucas were practically looking at him as if he were the target in archery just waiting to release the arrow and see which body part they'd puncture.

Which he was, to them.

He noticed my brothers' and Calvin glaring at him and he looked back at me confused.

I turned to look at my brothers, they faced me as they didn't look happy. "Please?" I mouthed pleadingly, as they fell into thought.

Dylan walked up to Spencer and looked down at him. I instantly sighed in anger. What was he doing?

"I'm Dylan. Lyla's older brother" He greeted and Spencer nodded.

"Spencer." He greeted back.

"What are your intentions with my sister?" He asked.

Spencer's eyes flickered to mine and then went back to Dylan. "Uh, I guess I just wanted to ask her out" He said, he didn't look too nervous.

"Do you love her?" He asked, bluntly.

"Dylan!" I accused from behind him and he ignored me and awaited Spencer's answer.

"Spencer you don't have to answer that-"

"Yes he does" He cut me off.

Spencer shrugged lightly, "I like her"

Oh wow thanks.. Rude.

Dylan's eyes turned darker than they were before, if that was even possible.

"I mean, I haven't talked to her all that much. I think she's sweet, and very intelligent. She's beautiful" Spencer rushed the first part before he looked into my eyes, finishing.

A dark sheet of red covered my face as I smiled brightly, quickly looking down at the ground.

He thinks I'm sweet, smart and beautiful.

Calvin snorted and shifted his body from his left foot to his right.

Dylan calmed down a bit before he nodded, "I'm sure your intentions with my sister are good so," He paused, looking at me with an unclear facial expression. "You can ask to go out with her, if she accepts. But- if you break her heart" He paused for effect. "I'll break you into two pieces with my bare hands."

Spencer nodded lightly as I walked up to him.

"You're letting him off the hook just because he said she was beautiful?" Calvin asked in disbelief.

I mentally cried out in frustration. This situation was stressful enough! Was he trying to make me turn into the hulk?

Dylan waved him off and I smiled. "I'm sorry about my brothers, they're just very protective I guess" I chuckled lightly to Spencer as we walked a safe distance away from everyone.

He just smiled, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure your brothers mean good. They're just looking out for their little sister. I would feel the same, especially over a girl like you"

I blushed madly at that and he just chuckled, nudging my shoulder with his arm.

"Ly it's our turn!" Amanda called out to me, winking at me and I just nodded at her.

"I gotta go, I'll see you tomorrow" I smiled brightly.

"Bye Lyla" He said and placed a gentle kiss on my hand.

I smiled and blushed again, before running up to everyone.

"Okay, so we have to be in pairs of two so, I'll go with Dylan, Amanda and Meredith will go together and you and Cal?" Lucas asked me.

I shrugged, "Sure" I stated nervously over having to go onto the ride. Wait- scratch that. I'm terrified.

"I can trust you right?" He asked Cal.

Calvin looked at him, "Yes."

Lucas nodded before we all sat down, two to a bench.

I held my breath as the Ferris wheel began to move and I gripped onto the seat with my eyes closed.

Calvin just chuckled at me and I didn't bother to say anything as I was too focused on this ride ending.

Please don't stop the ride. Please don't stop the ride. I chanted to myself in my head as we neared the top.

Before I knew it, I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me into their chest.

I kept my eyes closed as I felt at ease in Calvin's arms. He held me, making me feel like I was safe.

"Cal-"

"It's okay. You're doing it" He smiled as he leaned his chin on top of my head.

I opened my eyes slowly seeing as we just got to the top.

And just as fast as my fear left, it came right back when it stopped.

It stopped. Leaving us at the very top. I held onto Calvin tighter and buried my face into his chest in fright.

I was terrified. Even saying that was an understatement.

"We stopped. I should've never got onto this ride, this was such a mistake" I cried frantically.

He rubbed my back soothingly, "Just for a minute princess" He whispered.

"What if we're going to be stuck up here" I cried out again as terrible memories from when I was four infected my thoughts.

He pulled away slightly and cupped my cheeks making me look into his deep, sparkling, blue eyes.

"You can do this" He whispered as we just stared back into each others eyes.

"Princess." I whispered.

He looked at me confused, "What?"

I smiled, "You called me princess. If my brothers find out-"

"I don't care, they don't scare me." He smiled.

I laughed, there it is. I knew he wasn't scared of them.

Suddenly, we began to move again and I instantly let out a breath of relief. "Thanks" I whispered, feeling grateful.

He smiled brightly, "Don't mention it"

I pulled away lightly. I felt surprisingly calm as we neared the top again even though I wasn't in Calvin's arms.

I turned to look at him and he was already looking at me with a huge smile on his face. "See princess? I knew you could do it" He encouraged.

"Thanks" I whispered again lightly as we sat beside each other and I smiled lightly as I looked at the scenery below us.

It was dark out, but that's what made it so much prettier. The lights from other rides and the food trucks lit up the whole park as I smiled in awe. It was such a pretty scene.

"I can't believe I missed out on this" I sighed lightly.

"Well atleast you faced your fear now- better late then never" He shrugged and I nodded, agreeing.

After a moment of comfortable silence he spoke up again, "You really like him, don't you?"

I looked at him and furrowed my eyebrows in confusion before I realized who he was talking about and then the confusion swept clear from my face. "Spencer?" I clarified.

He nodded.

I stayed silent, not really knowing how to answer his question until I finally did, "Yeah, I really do." I paused. "I've liked him since the eighth grade and he never liked me back- until now- maybe- if he even does I guess"

"It really sucked liking him for such a long time because he didn't have the same feelings back so I was just left there. In a corner with all my feelings tucked in with me, having no way of expressing them. It just sucks when you like someone and you can't even tell them, while knowing they will never feel the same way" I continued, looking over at Calvin after I spoke.

"I know the feeling, trust me" He chuckled as his gaze was still focused on me.

I furrowed my brows, "But I thought you never had a girlfriend" I looked over at him.

"I've never had a girlfriend. It doesn't mean I've never loved a girl before" He smiled.

I blushed in embarrassment, "Right"

He just laughed and I joined in with him.

Being with Calvin was different. Good different. I was able to pour my feelings out to him if I wanted to- it just felt right. I felt like I could trust him.

He just had this sense of happiness that trudged along with him lighting everybody up as he walked by. I guess he had that with him since I met him, I was just blinded by it at first.

I think I was maybe starting to actually like him. And no- before you think in a romantic way, it's not that.

I like him as in a friend and that was something I was beginning to feel really happy about.

—

Heyy! I hope you liked this chapter! I really enjoy writing this story ahh.

I hope you guys are liking it!

Thanks for reading!

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- Taylor