Blaine loved carnivals. He hadn’t been to one since he was 12, and he missed the fleeting sense of summertime when the carnival came around. It was the last chance he had to have fun, to be a kid until school started and he had to grow up. Once he started seventh grade, however, that had ended forever, and his parents told him he had to focus on the important things in life and not some silly carnival for little children.

As he stepped on the pier, he felt the years slip away, stress melting as a genuine smile lit across his face. Kurt could see the sparkle in Blaine’s eyes and told himself he would ask Blaine about it someday. But now was time to enjoy the carnival, with the little time that was left.

They walked by the booths and Blaine stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh, Kurt! This is totally my favorite carnival game! I used to play it all the time. Can I? He looked eagerly at Kurt, almost looking like an adorable little puppy.

“You can do whatever you want, Blaine. It’s your life.”

Blaine fist-pumped the air with a silent “YES!” and half-hopped over to the booth. He took out his wallet and handed the guy in charge a couple of bills. The guy gave him three baseballs and told him the instructions: you must knock all three cans down using the baseballs in order to win the prize. If you knock them all down in the first try, then you get the biggest prize.

Blaine stood behind the counter and aimed his throw. He played this all the time, so he knew exactly how to knock down all three cans in one shot. Pretending to be nervous, he took a deep, calming breath and threw it at the center of the pyramid, just below the top can, and knocked everything over. 

“YEAH!” he shouted. “Still got it!” 

Kurt clapped in amusement, laughing to himself at this guy he had just met, yet has already charmed him enough for Kurt to bring him here. “Which prize are you gonna pick?” he asked Blaine.

Blaine thought for a moment. “I don’t know.” He cocked his head to the side, examining his options. “Why don’t you pick one for yourself. I’m not going to need it anyways.”

“Fair enough,” said Kurt, and he moved closer to the counter as he chose the large, stuffed monkey hanging on the side. It was as tall as his waist and the guy at the counter had a little trouble hoisting the cumbersome toy over the edge.

Kurt went to grab it, but Blaine got there first. “Let me carry it. You had a long day at work, I assume. Just relax for the rest of the day.”
“…okay, I guess.”

Soon enough, they found themselves waiting in the line for the small roller coaster set up by the edge of the carnival. The queue snaked along the perimeter of the ride, but they passed the time by talking about everyday things, like school, work, and their friends.

Before it was too long, it was already time for them to get on, so Blaine put down the monkey on the side and got in after Kurt. When everyone was on the ride, the coaster operators gave the OK and sent them away, hurtling through the twists and turns, clutching at the sides of the car and screaming loudly in happiness.

The ride was over all too soon, and Blaine and Kurt were dizzy with adrenaline and had to wait a moment before setting off again for another part of the carnival. By then, it had grown dark and the lights shone brightly, illuminating everything for everyone to see.

The carnival had a different charm at nighttime. If the fleeting sense of the end of summertime was felt during the day, it was all the more salient at that night. The next day, the carnival would be gone, packed up and moving to the next place, to entertain the next crowd of people wanting to experience summer one last time.

Blaine and Kurt must have looked like a funny sight, or at least Blaine did, for he carried the giant stuffed monkey on his back, as if he were giving it a piggyback ride. Every time Kurt glanced over at Blaine he had to stifle back a laugh because it just seemed so silly to be bringing the monkey along everywhere they went.

They walked further around the pier, looking for something to eat, and settled on burgers and curly fries. After they stood in line and paid for their food, they looked for a table to sit at and found one near the edge of the food area and sat at the benches.

They ate in silence, because they didn’t realize just how hungry they were until they dug in. Blaine finished first and ate his fries while waiting for Kurt to finish the last bites of his burger. All of a sudden, Kurt stopped and picked at his fries.

“Ugh, I cannot believe I just ate all of that. I’m going to have to practically live at the gym for the next month to work that off.” He picked up a fry and tossed it back on the tray. “Ugh,” he repeated.

Blaine laughed. “Come on, you look fine. One burger and an order of fries aren’t going to ruin that.” Kurt blushed at the compliment, but he could tell Blaine genuinely meant it.

“Meh,” was all he could say in response to that, so he ended up just letting it be and he ate another curly fry.

They sat in silence for a little longer, just gazing around at the scenery, the lights, the rides in action, the kids running around everywhere asking for cotton candy from their parents. Blaine excused himself for a moment, then came back a few minutes later with a huge stick of fluffy, blue cotton candy.

“Oh my god, you can’t be serious,” said Kurt. “You’re not going to eat that all, are you?” he asked incredulously.

Blaine shrugged. “Well, there’s two of us here, and I’m sure you still have some room left somewhere.”

“No way, I am not eating all that sugar. I cannot mess up my skin by eating that. I simply won’t allow myself.” Kurt was adamant in refusing the cotton candy, so Blaine shrugged again and ripped off a piece and popped it in his mouth. “Fine then, more for me.”

They went back to sitting in silence again, Blaine eating his candy, both of them watching the people that walked by. Kurt loved to do this, because he always liked to imagine what other people are thinking and what their lives must be like, based on a short glance into it. He wonders if people do the same for him, and if they even manage to get anything right.

Blaine liked to play this game too, but he liked it simply to watch other people. There was something relaxing about it, and it always managed to calm him down after a stressful day.

A woman passed by, a hardened look on her face, and she held two crying children by the wrists and was tiredly walking them out of the carnival. The kids looked extremely tired and unhappy to leave, and the poor woman didn’t look like she had had any breaks for a long time.

Blaine leaned in closer to Kurt. “What do you suppose is up with her?” he asked quietly, so that other people nearby wouldn’t get weirded out by their observations.

Kurt thought for a minute as his gaze continued to follow the woman and her kids on their way out. “She must be a single mother. I didn’t see a ring on her finger, and there was no guy to be seen anywhere.” He looked a little sad afterthat.

“What do you suppose happened?” asked Blaine quietly.

Kurt shrugged. “I don’t know. Divorce? Not married to begin with? Widow? I really have no clue. She just looked really sad. And tired.” He had that sad face again.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” asked Blaine. He could tell something was up with Kurt, even if he still didn’t know him all that much yet.

“Hmm? Oh no, it’s nothing. I’m fine. Just a little tired, is all.” He smiled at Blaine to show him that he was okay, even if it was just a face he put on. He didn’t really want to pour everything out to this guy he doesn’t even know properly.

Blaine leaned back again. “Okay, then. If you insist that you’re fine…” He took another piece of cotton candy and placed it gently on his tongue this time, letting it melt slowly in his mouth and trying to see if he could see if the candy had dyed his tongue blue yet.

Kurt took this opportunity to sneak a piece of cotton candy from Blaine and snuck it into his mouth before he noticed. Except Blaine wasn’t oblivious at all.

“HA! I saw that!” Blaine smiled smugly to himself. “I knew that you wouldn’t be able to resist the delicious taste of cotton candy. I win.”

“Shut up,” said Kurt, rolling his eyes. But he had a grin on his face and stuck out his blue tongue at Blaine.

-O-

Eventually, Kurt had gotten so tired he ran the risk of falling asleep standing up, so they made the executive decision to leave the carnival and go their separate ways. Blaine did accompany Kurt home, but to make sure he wasn’t going to fall asleep in the street somewhere and get mugged or something. You can never be too careful, he told Kurt.

They exchanged contact information, and Blaine asked shyly again if Kurt had really meant what he said about letting Blaine talk to him when he left.

“Of course I will. I don’t back down on my promises. That’s not the kind of person I am,” he said simply.

“I—just thank you, Kurt. You don’t know how much this will mean to me,” said Blaine.

They stood awkwardly at Kurt’s door, not quite knowing what to do, but they eventually settled on some hybrid of a handshake and a hug, and Kurt dug in his coat pocket for his keys after they pulled away.

“Don’t be a stranger,” said Kurt, unlocking his door and stepping inside. He closed the door and leaned against it. What had just happened? Did that day really occur? He peeked out of the peephole and saw Blaine linger on the doorstep for a moment longer before he turned away and hopped down the steps and walked away down the steps.

Kurt didn’t really know what he had just gotten himself into. He promised himself that he wasn’t going to go into anything too soon, he was still putting the pieces of his life back together after a messy breakup a couple of months ago. Why exactly had he agreed to keep in contact with Blaine? After all, he had never met the guy before today, and next week Blaine would be gone.

But there was something about him that Kurt found so interesting. He was a nice guy, for starters. He seemed like he liked to live life at a fast pace, but there was something holding him back. Kurt wondered what that could be.

And it didn’t hurt that Blaine was probably one of the nicest looking guys he had ever seen, not just personality-wise. Kurt didn’t normally like dark, curly hair, but on Blaine, it was strangely hot to him. And his smile was always so genuine. Kurt never had to guess once throughout the day what Blaine meant when he smiled at Kurt. That much was clear, at least.

But no, why was Kurt thinking about these things? He remembered his promise to himself, and vowed to keep things strictly friendly. There was no sense in getting attached to someone who wasn’t even going to be around for who knows how long?

As much as he didn’t want to, Kurt had to push those thoughts away.

Across the city, Blaine finally made his way to his own apartment and let himself in.

He sank into his couch and sat there for what seemed like hours, just staringinto a blank space ahead of him.

All he could think about was Kurt. He couldn’t tell what Kurt really wanted out of this at the moment. Blaine was only looking for friendship, though, and he had the feeling that Kurt was feeling the same way.

All he wanted was just a friend. But there was something that was niggling at the back of his mind, and he couldn’t quite place what it was.

I hope I don’t screw this up, he thought.