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Chapter Fifty-One: Maggie

The amusement park wouldn't close until 12:00 AM.

As we checked the time, we saw that we still had two hours left and so we thought we might as well make great use of our time while we still can. At this point, we used up almost all of our tickets and tried almost every possible booth and game we could lay our hands on.

We were exhausted yet we were still going.

"We should get a souvenir to remember this day by," I suggested as Evan stared at me for that.

"Aren't the millions of stuffed animals I got for you not enough of a souvenir?" he teased, making me roll my eyes as I held the stuffed animals firmly in my grip.

"No, something both you and I can share," I clarified "Not that I'm saying you can't take any of these stuffed animals for yourself because you won them in the first place."

"Good, because I was planning to keep the toy monkey, he'd look great on my nightstand," he admitted as I snorted.

"No, but seriously, we should get something nice, something meaningful."

He raised an eyebrow "Like what exactly?"

Half of the stands that sold souvenirs were already closed and the ones that were still open just sold t-shirts, hats, and typical trinkets like keychains and similar accessories.

I didn't know what I was trying to find in particular, but I didn't want something dull, I wanted something both he and I can remember for God knows how long. Something that we can take with us wherever we go, something that wouldn't end up stuffed in a drawer somewhere.

Something... special.

"Hello, ma'am, would you want to buy jewelry? For yourself or a loved one?"

It was almost as if luck was really on my side as I picked up on that great bargain, looking around only to see an old woman perched up into a small stool nearby a lampost, a box of bracelets varying of all different colors as she offered them to passersby.

I took Evan's hand in my own and immediately rushed towards her, and as if she could sense our presence drawing near, she looked up at me.

I smiled as I peered down at what she was selling with genuine interest "Hello, young lady," she greeted "See anything you like?"

"Yes, absolutely." I agreed, tugging on Evan's arm so he was forced to look down on the dozens of jewelry laid out in front of us.

He tilted his head "Is this what you meant when you said you wanted something meaningful?" I nodded enthusiastically as I whipped out my wallet.

"Anything that catches your eye?" the lady asked "I have many. You can buy matching necklaces, there's one of a broken heart paired with its missing half, you can give it to your partner and when put together, it forms a whole."

My nose wrinkled at that "Too cliche," I remarked the same time Evan said, "That's kinda cute."

I turned to Evan who raised an eyebrow in return "You wanted something meaningful, that for me," he countered "is meaningful."

"But too up your face," I argued.

"We have something more simple if that's what you would prefer." the lady proposed, tinkering with the jewelry before she picked out another selection "How about this?"

She displayed a simple, red bracelet. It was made up of rope, not too thin but not too thick. It appeared to be a slip knot bracelet. It was vibrant but also simplistic.

I took the bracelet from her hand, there was an infinity pendant on the center of the bracelet "I like this a lot." I muttered, examining it.

Evan tilted his head "You said you didn't want anything cliche but you opted for something that signifies the concept of forever?"

"It's ironic," I told him "Everything in this world is finite but the fact we're so adamant on words like forever despite knowing that such a thing doesn't exist is quite admirable. I like contradictory things."

His eyes softened at that "How much for two?"

"Thirty-five dollars."

I took out some cash and handed it to the saleswoman, as she then gave me the bracelet and I slipped it onto my wrist, admiring it "It's so pretty," I beamed before taking Evan's hand and putting it on him, tightening the knot "Red represents a lot of things, such as good luck and affection."

"Perfect for a first date," Evan stated as I smiled up at him.

A small grin tugged at the woman's lips as she looked at us "The cord may stretch or tangle, but it will never break." the saleswoman suddenly said, and I'm guessing she's referring to the bracelet's quality "Such a beautiful couple, you two."

Gulping, I felt my cheeks and the nape of my neck grow hot at her compliment, as this has been the first time anyone ever really addressed Evan and me as a couple.

"Thank you, ma'am." Evan thanked her before we turned around and started to walk away from her stand.

"What was that?" Evan asked as I looked up at him.

"What was what?"

"That, just a few seconds ago, you went totally quiet when the woman called us a couple," he pointed out as I sheepishly looked down on my shoes "Is something wrong?"

I heaved out a deep breath, shaking my head. "It's nothing, it just went over my head because that was the first time anyone ever really called us a couple and it just felt..."

"Weird?" he finished for me.

I tried to find a more considerate answer to match what I was feeling, but there was no other way to describe how it felt other than weird.

"Yeah, weird, and don't take it as a bad thing." I said, "I'm just trying to get used to it, that's all, and considering this is our first time going out and actually letting people know that we are a couple, I'm still trying to adjust to this new phase in our lives."

"I get it, don't worry," he reassured, "You don't have to explain yourself because I'll always try to understand you, just as long as you tell me."

I smiled, grateful that he understood as I reached out and took some of the stuffed animals from his arms, seeing as how he was struggling to keep them upright.

"Here, let me help you," I offered as I took two of them and held them in one hand as he was left with only two more "By the way, thank you, for understanding me."

I reached out and took his other hand in mine and interlocked our fingers, gazing up at him as the beaming lights of the park illuminated brightly down at us.

He smiled back, grazing the side of my palm with his thumb as he brought it up to his lips and kissed my knuckles, with a certain gentleness that I'll always be familiar with.

* * *

The Ferris Wheel.

The remaining ride Evan and I still haven't tried yet, and as it was the only ride that was still available as all the other ones were already closed.

Considering we still only had thirty minutes left, we decided we might as well go for one last ride. "Is there still a seat available?" I asked the employee who was handling the ride.

He nodded and Evan reached into his pocket and took out two tickets he managed to save, compensating fairly for what was needed for the Ferris Wheel.

With that, we instantly got on and Evan helped me get comfortable on the cart, holding it still so it wouldn't wobble "Thank you," I said as he got on as well. The cart was an enclosed space, but there were open windows we could take a peep in and look out of if we wanted to.

As soon as the employee locked the door of our cart, the Ferris Wheel immediately began its motion, slowly going up as I relaxed in the calm and serene atmosphere while I felt the cool air rushing past the open windows and onto my skin as it blew past my hair.

I sighed as the Ferris Wheel went up higher and higher "The city looks so beautiful from here," I said, looking down at the city of Los Angeles with much admiration, seeing as all the lights glowed wonderfully from where we were, twinkling in all of its never-ending glory.

"Yeah, it really is." Evan said as I turned my head to look at him, only to see that his eyes were already on me "Such a beautiful view."

Swallowing, I averted my gaze and tried to control the rapid beating of my heart, as this was no place to act like a total, jittery mess. I needed to calm down.

"U-uh, you know," I began to speak, trying to rid the moment off of its suffocating tension, as this was our first date and yet here I am acting like we just met for the first time.

"Ever since I was a little girl I've always wanted to live in the city all on my own, with graduation coming up soon, I tried not to think much about my future considering it was the only thing I ever focused on but looking at all of this now, the buildings and the streets... I can't help but be reminded of the plans I had for myself."

"Considering I was always used to planning things out in advance." I said, "Specifically plans I had with Levi, but due to our very unfortunate encounter a few days ago, it got me thinking, what now?" I implied, eyebrows furrowed.

"The plans are still there, all I know is that I'm still going to college, I'm gonna work under my mom's company until eventually, I have to manage it all on my own someday. Get my own apartment, travel, and find a hobby that'll get me busy during my spare time,"

"But I don't know, these days it varies, and the more I think about it I've only ever depended on peoples' plans for me instead of making some for myself, with this arranged marriage and my mom obviously not getting any younger, I'm forced to only stay in Los Angeles and Los Angeles only, and it's not that I mind it here but..." I sighed "I can't help but want to go to more places than just to stay at one, like maybe Washington DC, or New York?"

"I love New York," Evan commented, "I visited there once when I was a kid and it was honestly the greatest trip ever, I think I might even attend college there."

I stared at him, intrigued "Really?"

"Yeah, but considering my family's company is here and I'm gonna have to end up being chained to the same old place as I've always had to keep the family's business going..."

I gave him a pointed look "Well, you can still go, you wouldn't even be managing your family's company until you're done with college, so why not attend University there first?"

He shrugged reluctantly at that "I don't know,"

"Go for it! New York honestly seems like the coolest place." I emphasized, "It honestly would've been the perfect place if only my dad hadn't ruined it."

He raised an eyebrow "What do you mean?"

Frowning, I continued in a solemn tone "I had heard from my mom a couple of days ago that he apparently moved his firm to New York, considering the divorce had already been settled, there was no point staying in LA because he was only obligated to stay here for his family but now..."

"Ugh, what a jackass," he remarked "Now suddenly I hate New York," I couldn't help but laugh.

I hadn't even noticed we were already at the very top not until I looked up and was greeted by the sight of the stars above us, almost as if the view of the city wasn't already too beautiful to fathom "Promise me, though." I said, "That you'll try and go to New York and follow your dreams, no matter how big or small it may be, follow what your heart wants."

Evan glanced at me from where he sat "Only if you promise you'll go to New York as well."

Not being able to contain the smile on my face from showing, I simply nodded my head as I reciprocated his wishes "Sure. If it all falls through, that is."

"Which it will," he said "And who knows, maybe once we're there we'll move in together-"

Choking on his own implications, I blinked back in shock as he started waving his hands around. As if the words were still floating in the air and he could somehow shoo them away by using gestures and to make it seem like he never said anything at all.

"U-uh, ignore what I said! I just m-mean maybe if you do decide to ever move to New York w-we can maybe share a room, hypothetically speaking that is! I was just babbling-!"

"Actually no," I interrupted. "That would sound... really nice, actually."

He swallowed, going along with what I'm saying as he was clearly relieved that I wasn't weirded out with yet another slip-up of his "Y-yeah, cool, cool, glad that you think so too."

The ends of my lips curled up as I nodded. "I mean, yeah, if you think about it, the apartments in New York aren't necessarily cheap, so it's only understandable if you decide to split rent with someone."

"E-exactly! A single bedroom apartment there already costs a grand!"

"Exactly!" I laughed, "So if you put it into perspective, moving in with someone wouldn't be that bad because you're just doing it for financial convenience."

Already picking up on what I was doing, he simply just lets out a peal of rueful laughter, trying to ease himself of the regret that was clearly eating him up as I was doing the same to let the moment slide, considering deep down, I did find his suggestion somewhat... inviting.

We let the following silence engulf us as we did nothing but sit there basking at the moment, the lights, and the way the stars scattered in the pitch-black canvas of the night, as well as our close but somewhat distant proximity.

Pondering over the thought, I found myself slowly scooting closer towards him in the tight space, causing him to glance up at me as I slid next to the spot beside him.

Meeting his eye once I was a couple of inches away, we sat there in the dimly lit space of the Ferris Wheel cart, his eyes glimmering brighter than ever underneath the starry night.

All the while as my eyes darted between the slow fluttering of his eyelashes as he kept his stare on me, as well as to the small dots of freckles pervaded across the bridge of his nose.

"Maggie?"

Looking up, I felt the atmosphere shift as he brought himself closer towards me, this time breaking the littlest bit of distance between us as I caught him visibly gulping.

"Yeah?" I whispered into the night.

He was hesitant to speak, seemingly trying to decide if he should get on with what he's planning to say or not, and just as I was about to ask him if something was wrong, the sudden engine of the Ferris Wheel going back down shocked us both, making Evan curse out loud.

"Is everything alright-"

"Oh, fuck it."

Without even expecting it, he suddenly pressed his lips against mine in a deep, heated kiss as he cupped each side of my face as I sat there utterly dumbfounded for a moment, not until I found myself easing into the sensation of his mouth moving in rhythm with my own.

As we ignored the sounds of the Ferris Wheel engines forcing us to go back down, he briefly pulled away as I opened my eyes once more, my vision somewhat blurry.

"I was supposed to ask you this while we were still at the top because it seemed romantic but my dumbass got tongue-tied and now it's too late-" he started rambling as I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you-"

"Point is," he added, his breathing labored whilst he still held my face in his hands, his touch gentle and cautious "M-Maggie Carter, c-can I please... be your boyfriend?"

Astounded, I tried to process his words to the best of my ability, his eyes searching mine for the slightest bit of confirmation as he sat there, obviously nervous as he waited.

"I know it all seems too fast-"

But I didn't let him finish as I lurched forward and pulled him into yet another kiss, this one less intense and heated as I proceeded to peck the other sides of his face while laughing "Yes! You can be my boyfriend, you idiot!" I exclaimed in between smiles.

He looked up at me with wide eyes before a huge grin spread across his face "Yeah?"

"Yes! Took you fucking long enough-"

But he didn't bother to let me tease him as he pressed his lips against my own once more, laughing along with me as I sat atop of his body in a tangled lovesick mess.

We hadn't even noticed we were already at the very bottom of the Ferris Wheel when we heard the sound of someone clearing their throat from outside the cart, scaring us.

As we were then met by the sight of the employee just standing there awkwardly as he opened the door to the cart "Time's up." he said stiffly.

I chuckled, standing up alongside Evan as we headed out "God, it hasn't already been day one of us dating and we're already that annoying couple." I joked.

Evan nodded, though the shameless smile on his face was still there "You're telling me."

We weren't even a couple of feet away from leaving the Ferris Wheel when we picked up on the sounds of someone sighing loudly as the employee closed the door to the cart we had just occupied.

"God, the things I have to see for this blasted job."

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