My Hockey Alpha Chapter 61

Nina

The fairgrounds were already packed full by the time I arrived at the Halloween fair the next day. The air smelled like kettle corn and apple cider, and all I could hear above the din of excited students and screaming children was the sound of rides and Carnys trying to sell their rigged games. Ahead of me, a man on stilts dressed as the Grim Reaper terrorized a gaggle of children, and a woman dressed in a skimpy clown costume juggled bowling pins while passersby tossed coins into her hat on the ground.

I wasn’t even waiting by the entrance for five minutes before Ronan appeared, seemingly out of thin air.

“There you are,” he said with a smile. I felt myself blush slightly as I looked at him. He was dressed in a flannel and jeans with boots, and wore a thin silver chain around his neck with a small round pendant on it. His black hair was combed back, giving him the look of a 50s-era Greaser with his square jaw and deep set eyes. “Are you ready?”

I nodded, turning to walk into the fairgrounds in order to hide my blushing. “What do you want to do first?” I asked, keeping my hands in my jacket pockets. “We can play some games, or go on a ride, or get something to eat if you’re hungry.”

Ronan scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment before perking up slightly when he saw one particular game. “How about a game first? I’ll try to win you something,” he said with a wink as he stepped up to the counter.

“Step right up, young man!” the attendant said as we approached. “Trying to win a toy for your little lady?”

Ronan glanced over his shoulder, and before I could explain that I wasn’t anyone’s ‘little lady’, he nodded and slapped some money down on the counter. “I sure am,” he said, pointing at a stuffed duck. “I’m gonna try for that one.”

The attendant snatched up the money greedily and revealed a wide, plastic-looking grin before handing Ronan a toy rifle and stepping out of the way, gesturing to the moving targets.

I watched as Ronan picked up the toy gun. He aimed down the sights like he had shot a gun a million times before, taking a deep breath… but missed almost all of them.

“Ooh, better luck next time, kid,” the attendant said. Ronan sighed and started digging into his pocket for more money.

“I guess you’re not as good at carnival games as you are at hockey,” a familiar voice said from behind me. I whirled around to see Enzo standing there. His eyes flashed orange as he glanced at me, quickly fading back to brown as soon as Ronan turned around.

“I guess so,” Ronan replied, surprisingly well-spirited although I could tell that Enzo was being more territorial than joking. Ronan seemed polite, but I could also see him look Enzo up and down in an extremely subtle aggressive manner, like two dogs fighting over a piece of meat. “You wanna try?”

Enzo shrugged, stepping up to the counter. He brushed past Ronan so closely as he passed that their shoulders slammed together. I felt myself cringe slightly, noticing as Ronan swiveled his head around to glare back at Enzo.

“How much for that one?” Enzo said to the attendant, pointing to a stuffed wolf hanging on the wall above him.

“Oooh, that’s an expensive one,” the attendant said. “Tell you what… fifteen shots in a row and it’s yours.”

Enzo nodded and slapped his money down on the counter, picking up the toy gun to shoot the moving targets.

I watched in shock as Enzo shot down one target after the other with ease. When he was done, he set down the gun and folded his muscular arms across his chest while the baffled attendant turned around to grab the wolf.

“Hey, you’re a good shot!” Ronan said, slapping Enzo on the shoulder -- which Enzo did not seem to appreciate -- and sticking his hands in his pockets. “That’s way better than I could’ve done.”

The attendant handed Enzo the wolf, who took it and turned to face me. He held it out to me, right in front of Ronan. I felt my face go red, and for a moment, I completely forgot all about the rival hockey captain. It was as if everything else faded away as Enzo held the wolf plushie out to me, our fingers brushing as I took it from him.

“T-Thank you,” I murmured.

Before I could explain anything about why Ronan was with me, Enzo disappeared into the crowd.

“Interesting guy,” Ronan said, watching after him for a moment.

“Y-Yeah,” I replied. I realized that I was clutching the wolf to my chest, and I quickly shifted it into one hand and held it by my side.

“Hey,” Ronan said suddenly, pointing toward the ferris wheel. “How about a ride?”

“Step right up!” the ferris wheel attendant said, gesturing to the next available seat. Ronan climbed on ahead of me, sliding over on the bench and patting the spot next to him.

“I’m scared of heights,” I said sheepishly, absentmindedly running my fingers through the soft fur on the wolf plushie.

“It’s alright,” Ronan replied, holding his hand out for me. “I’ll be here if you get scared.”

Taking a deep breath, I got on and clutched my wolf to my chest as the ferris wheel started to move.

“Close your eyes,” Ronan said as we started to move up above the fairgrounds. I did just that, clenching them as tight as possible. I gulped as I felt the wind hit us as we went higher and higher, but relaxed a bit when I felt one of Ronan’s strong arms slip around my shoulders.

“I always liked the ferris wheel the most here out of all the other rides,” Ronan said, squeezing my shoulder. “I love the view. Open your eyes.”

I cracked one eye open at first, then the other.

“Woah,” I whispered, too awestruck by the beautiful view to notice my fear anymore. Ronan was right: it was gorgeous. We could see the entire campus from where we were, its stone buildings poking out from between the pine and oak trees. There was something else that caught my eye, though: down below, by a popcorn stand, I saw a familiar pair of glowing red eyes looking up at me. Just as quickly as I saw them, however, they disappeared.

“See?” Ronan said once we were at the top, apparently not noticing Enzo staring at us from below. “It’s not so bad.”

Just then, while we were right at the top, the ferris wheel stopped. I gasped and clutched the sides of the seat.

“What’s happening?” I said, my voice trembling.

Ronan chuckled. “It’s fine,” he said. “We’ll start moving in a second.”

Ronan’s words went right over my head, however, as I started to hyperventilate. It felt as if the world around me was spinning out of control, like the ferris wheel would suddenly pop off of its stand and go rolling across the fairgrounds like a giant spinning wheel of death--

“Hey. Look at me.”

Ronan cupped my cheeks in his hands and turned my head to look into his eyes.

Suddenly, the ferris wheel lurched and started moving again. I quickly pulled away, blushing, as I involuntarily scanned the crowd below for Enzo’s gaze again.

Once we got off the ferris wheel, Ronan turned toward me with his hands in his pockets. It was getting dark.

“Can I walk you home?” he asked.

I glanced around nervously for a moment. Not wanting to let this go any further, I shook my head.

“Sorry,” I replied, looking down at my feet. “This was nice, but--”

“It’s fine,” Ronan interrupted. “I get it.”

Before I could say anything else, the rival hockey captain turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone with no one but my wolf plushie.