“No, but this is nice though. Maybe we can stay like this until we’re done.”
I shake my head, and my stomach bottoms out. “If it’s helping, then I guess it’s okay, but I will not be giving you a piggyback ride, so you better keep your feet on the floor.”
Another spider jumps through a hole in the wall, causing both of us to jump. “Deal,” he says.
I push the next door open, and we enter into a hallway. The black walls are only illuminated by a sporadic strobe light. The sound of bugs crawling is being piped in from every direction. It’s disorienting, and I brace myself for thenext jumpscare. Tanner tugs me against his chest, and goosebumps break out down my arms.
“This is creepy as shit,” he says as more bug noises start. It’s a symphony of clicking and gnawing, and the rubbing of little legs. A group of kids runs past us down the hall, and Tanner screams again, pulling me tighter against him.
“I know you’re scared, but I need to be able to walk,” I say, giggling. “Can you loosen your grip, scaredy cat?”
“Oh, sorry,” he says, letting go of me a little. We finish moving down the hall, and I push open the next door. We enter a dark room that looks like some type of laboratory. Lining the shelves are little jars full of bugs covered in cobwebs and dust.
In the middle of the room stands an actor in a white lab coat, looking at something covered with a sheet on the metal exam table.
“It’s alive!” the actor yells, and at the same time, the thing on the table sits up and jumps in our direction. The lights flash, and the sounds being filtered into the room are borderline deranged. Before I can react, Tanner picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. He runs through the next two doors, not stopping until the fair comes back into view.
“Tanner!” I shriek. “Put me down.”
“What the fuck was that thing?” he yells, breathing rapidly.
“It was like a Frankenstein bug thing,” I get out between laughs. “Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not okay. That was terrible.”
“But you did it,” I say. “We’re outside now. It’s over. We can go get that funnel cake we wanted.”
He bends over into his knees, trying to catch his breath. “I think I might be sick. I can’t eat right now.”
“You okay, T?” Jacks asks. I look over and spot all of our friends standing to our right.
“No, I’m not okay. That was fucking awful. Y’all know I don’t do bugs.”
The group bursts out laughing, and I try to stifle my laughs, but his hair is a little disheveled, and I can’t help but notice how adorable it is when he gets flustered.
“It’s not fucking funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” I say. “Come on, let's go get the funnel cake or do something fun. You can pick the next thing.”
He looks around the fair, scanning each of our options. My stomach sinks when his eyes land on one of the rides.
“Ride the ferris wheel with me,” he says.
“No, you know I don’t do heights. Let’s go do the bumper cars again.”
“Oh, no, Wren Dawson. You forced me to face my fears tonight. It’s your turn.”
“That’s not how this works,” I argue.
“That’s exactly how this works,” he quips.
“Look, I’ll even hold your hand the whole time,” he says, reaching for me. “You owe me after putting me through that. I almost had a heart attack.”
I look over toward Poppy and Lacey, who both shrug.
“It’s not that high, babe,” Lacey says. “You got this.”
I look back at him, and he does the pouty, puppy dog face. “Please ride it with me,” he begs.
