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Chapter Fifty: Maggie

The distant vibrant lights of the amusement park didn't fail to make me jolt upright from where I sat in the car, a rush of excitement shooting right through my system at the marvelous sight ahead, all while as the sound of people's roaring chatter filled up the air.

Evan started to look for a vacant parking space amidst the heap of cars in front of us, but even so, I could feel his lingering gaze on me.

"It all looks so pretty," I raved, watching the dozens of children running around holding various balloons and stuffed animals in their small hands while their parents accompanied them.

The mirth in Evan's tone was apparent as he spoke "If you hadn't told me that you've never gone to an amusement park before, I would've found out either way. You look so hyped."

"How can I not?! This is so beautiful! If I had gone here when I was young it would've honestly made my childhood a lot less boring, that's for sure."

"I still can't believe Veronica didn't take you here even once, my family and I always came here when I was young and it practically made up half of my childhood memories," he said, taking turns through the parking lot.

I smiled sadly at that "You don't really get to do a lot of things as a child with a highly dysfunctional family."

Evan turned to look at me, but I didn't dare meet his eye as I only kept my attention on the kids running around laughing, demanding to go on another ride despite the looks of utter nausea on their parents' faces, clearly exhausted.

"Well," Evan said, snapping me out of my melancholic thoughts "I'm here to make up for young Maggie and all the good experiences she missed out on."

I didn't miss the way my chest fluttered at that "Yeah? You mean that?" he nodded, shooting me a quick, promising smile in return as he finally found a vacant parking spot.

Once the car was parked he swiveled his body around to try and face me "So how's about it? Ready to have the time of your life?"

I chuckled "Absolutely,"

We got out of the car together but as soon as I stepped out I was immediately taken aback when a child went sprinting past me, startling me as I stumbled back.

But luckily Evan was there to steady me right back up "You okay?" he asked, holding onto me.

"Jonathan! What did I tell you about running around?"

We turned our heads to see the mother of the child making her way towards us "I am so sorry about my son-" she started to apologize.

"It's okay," I said, cutting her off as I turned to the little boy who stared up at us, embarrassed.

She heaved out a sigh before she diverted her attention back to her son, taking his hand in hers as she pulled him forward "I swear, starting now, you're not leaving my side."

"But mom!"

"No buts! I don't want anything happening to you!"

She excused herself before she turned around and walked away with him, while Evan and I simply laughed at the scene that had just taken place.

"I gotta empathize with the kid, even when I was young I used to act the same," Evan remarked.

I raised an eyebrow "Yeah? Is this your way of saying you're a changed man now?"

"I can't say I'll dial down on the excitement, but considering I don't want you getting into any more accidents, I gotta be responsible to keep a close eye on you."

He reached his hand out in front of me as I stared down at it "I don't need guidance." I retorted, my tone laced with feigned defensiveness.

He shrugged either way "This is your first time here, so it's more advisable that you hold my hand just in case."

"But Evan!"

"No buts," he cut me off, laughing "I don't want anything happening to you!"

With that, he intertwined our fingers and pulled me forward into the main entrance, the sound of the amusement park rides getting louder and louder as I felt the adrenaline kick in.

* * *

When the dart that I swung across the booth reached at least three inches away from the balloon I was trying to aim and instead hit the wall, all I did was groan as Evan snickered.

While he on the other hand successfully hit the two remaining balloons on his side while an alarm went off, signaling that he won as I shot him a dirty glance in return.

"What?" his face was smug as soon the employee behind the booth reached up the shelves of stuffed animals and took out Evan's prize which was a giant panda bear "It's not my fault you suck at these games."

"Oh, lay off, will you?" I pouted as Evan thanked the man once he handed Evan the toy bear.

I was still sulking even when he gently thrust the stuffed animal my way "It's yours anyway."

I huffed, aggressively taking the bear away from him as he laughed at my dramatics "But still, I wanted to win these prizes all on my own." I whined.

We started moving to another booth, this one involving toy guns and dartboards that were pinned to the wall, quite similar to the stand we had just left.

"Okay, how about we try this one, and I'll help you. They're basically the same but you can control the direction of the gun and where you're shooting."

I reconsidered the idea, "Fine," I said, and he grabbed my hand and led me to the booth which as I looked up at the banner, was named Shoot 'N Miss.

"The name is already discouraging me," I grumbled as Evan laughed at my cynicism.

"From my knowledge, I know these guns shoot out water," Evan elaborated, signaling for the employee handling the booth that we'll be playing.

He paid for the both of us and once we got situated on our spots, he went around and stood behind me once I held the plastic gun in my grip.

"Okay, the thing with this game is you can control the direction in which the water is shooting, all you need to do is once the water hits the dartboard, don't move the gun until you hear the alarm go off," he instructed while he circles his arms around my shoulders until his hands were on top of mine as I held the gun tighter in my grasp, feeling the slow rhythm of his breathing fan against my neck as I looked down, flustered by our proximity.

I felt the tip of his fingers slowly lift my chin, making me jolt as he whispered in my ear "Pay attention," he ordered, his voice low and husky as I gulped.

I breathed in and out of my nose as I held the gun higher, aiming it directly at the dartboard as Evan nodded, helping me "Keep your eyes focused on it and..."

Once I knew my aim was as accurate as it could be, I pulled the trigger and kept my aim on it until eventually, an alarm went off while the dartboard fell loosely from where it hangs in the wall, causing my eyes to widen in shock.

"Oh my god! I did it! I shot it! I won!" I cheered as Evan smiled at my enthusiasm.

"You most certainly did." he muttered, "Just a couple more left though, so don't get too excited."

I puffed out a breath, dismissing his words as I resumed back to the game, this time without his help as I tugged the gun away from him "It doesn't matter, I'm already an expert anyway."

* * *

It's safe to say my first successful shot of the night was purely out of luck considering my following shots were missed by several, and Evan just ended up winning the game for us.

"I swear to God, those games are rigged, all of them," I proclaimed, bitterness dripping from my tone despite holding a handful of toys in my arms, still feeling pessimistic that none of them were won by me.

Evan puts an arm around my shoulder, probably as a way to appease my irritation "Come on, don't be like that, this is your first time after all. You know those games are never easy in the first round until you try some more."

"As well as the fact that they're all rigged," I repeated as we wandered around the park, having just finished visiting multiple booths. We were quite worn-out, to say the least.

"How about we just get some food? You're probably just hungry that's why you're taking it out on those games," he teased as I rolled my eyes, but went along with his request either way.

We found a nearby cart that was selling hotdogs, corn dogs, onion rings, and just conveniently fried food, something I wouldn't typically eat daily, but due to my food deprivation, my mouth instantly watered at the sight.

I asked for one order of a corn dog and an onion ring, while Evan ordered the same as well, and as soon as it was served I was immediately hit with the realization that I can't hold either of my orders as I was clutching too many stuffed animals in my arms.

"Uh," I fidgeted awkwardly, trying to figure out how I was gonna make this work as Evan held both of our orders in his hands "This is gonna be difficult."

"I'll just feed you," he suggested as I shook my head.

"No, honestly, it's okay, we'll just find a bench somewhere-"

"Maggie," he cut me off as I stared up at him, "I insist."

Sighing, I admitted defeat as Evan brought the corn dog up to my lips "Fine," I groaned as I bit down on it.

Right away and despite my refusal to let him feed me, I have never felt more grateful, as the taste of finally eating my first food of the night didn't fail to elicit a moan out of me.

"Oh God, that's good," I gushed, practically taking the entire thing into my mouth as Evan watched me with amused eyes "I forgot how good these things were."

"Don't tell me this is your first time eating a corn dog," he mused.

"It isn't, I think the last time I ate a corn dog was in fifth grade when Henderson High hosted a festival and the students were forced to cook food that they needed to sell, and a lot of them sold corn dogs," I practically devoured both of my orders in a matter of seconds as Evan got down to eating his.

"That was great," I said as I felt his eyes on me "What?"

"You got a little bit of grease on the corners of your lips," he pointed out, and due to my immobility to move my arms, he reached out and wiped it for me.

Frozen on my spot, I blushed as his thumb swiped against the corners of my mouth, his eyes trained on my lips as he pulled away, eyes darting towards mine for a brief moment as he let a sly grin make its way up to his face.

"There, it's gone."

He got back to eating his food but even then, I couldn't ignore how immensely flustered I was with his current display, and how despite it being so ridiculously mundane it was also so incredibly... tender and affectionate.

Once he was done I felt the inevitable drying of my throat with the lack of beverage after what I just ate "Ugh, is there any water here?" I asked out loud.

He looked around for any carts selling beverages as he discarded the food wrappers in a nearby bin "I'll find some," he said "You just wait here, okay? Would you want anything in particular?"

"A bottle of water would be great, thanks."

He nodded, walking off as he started to scavenge the park for something to drink as I stayed on my spot, looking up beyond the docks and into the body of water that surrounded the amusement park as I felt a sense of calm course through me, seeing how it was all so peaceful and serene.

The lights of the attractions casting a pink and orange glow onto the vast surface of the ocean and how the tides were calmly moving back and forth, everything just seemed like it was straight out of a movie with how gorgeous it all looked.

As well as how whimsical this night has been in general, and how unbelievably romantic Evan has been the entire time, teaching me how to play these silly amusement park games and winning me these stuffed animals that'll just end up crowding my bed.

Time flew by so fast with how much I've enjoyed the time spent so far and yet I couldn't help but want to replay those moments all over again, wishing that the night would never end, for it to keep going and going and going.

Considering it has been a while. It's been a while since I've last loosened up and spent this type of occasion with someone, thinking at one point that I'll never be able to experience this again.

That I didn't deserve it after everything I've done, but after tonight, and with the way Evan has been treating me, not gonna lie, I've been feeling otherwise.

After so long, I actually feel like I could breathe again for the first time. That I've gotten a fresh intake of air after being mentally and emotionally pinned down on the throat.

Unable to move, say or do anything, thinking I deserved it. Thinking I deserved what I've gone through when the truth is, nobody deserves that. Nobody deserves what I went through:

Let alone me. And for once, I actually feel like it.

That I deserve this.

I hadn't even noticed the minutes that had passed until I turned around and saw how the crowd had gotten bigger, a sense of panic coursing right through me as I started pushing past people.

"Evan?" I called out as I couldn't seem to find him anywhere "Evan?!"

Ignoring the odd looks I've garnered from bystanders, I continued to push through the sea of strangers as I searched for Evan's familiar mop of brown hair and towering frame.

He couldn't have gotten very far. For Christ's sake, how hard is it to find a six-foot-tall man in a crowd of strangers with his face?

I was still searching around until finally "Maggie?!"

With my ears perking up at the sound of Evan's distinct voice, I tiptoed more to see where he could be, finding it hard as the people around me didn't make it any easier with how they were rushing past me like they were on a mission.

I was growing frustrated as I couldn't seem to spot him anywhere, and just as I was about to stop and give up on my searching:

"Can you people make way for crying out loud?! I'm looking for someone!"

People immediately parted ways at the sound of Evan's thunderous demand and with that, he emerged out of the masses.

As soon as we locked eyes, he frantically rushed over towards me, two bottles of water in his hands "Fuck, there you are." he heaved, his chest rising up and down in labored breaths, obviously exhausted trying to search for me.

"You found me," I blurted out as he laughed faintly in response.

"Yeah, I did." he panted, reaching out to cup my face in his large palm as my breath hitched at the sudden contact "I found you."

I gulped "How far did you go to have gotten lost in the first place?"

He simply shrugged, "I don't know, one moment I was roaming around not knowing where the hell I was heading, and the next thing I knew I was trying to figure out where you were."

I sighed deeply at that, grinning "You idiot."

He chuckled, shaking his head "It was scary as hell though, looking for someone in a sea of people, not knowing your sense of direction. But thank God, I found you."

I stared into his eyes, inspecting the perspiration on his face, the gratified look in his gaze as if he's never been happier to have found someone and to be standing right beside them.

As if he's never been happier to be here. With me.

"Yeah, at least you did..." I whispered, smiling back "At least you found me."

Hey guys, if you're curious why Love Arranged suddenly ends here, you can read the announcement I made regarding Radish and my decision to switch the pricing model of the book there from Freemium to Wait-To-Unlock - meaning some chapters will be locked for a specific amount of time until they're free to read again, while some remain locked unless you purchase them through coins.

I've unpublished the last 20 chapters here on Wattpad because the story is already monetized on Radish completely. So if you want to read the rest of Love Arranged, head to Radish as you'll be able to support me and my writing. Thank you and I love you all.

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