Chapter 6

"Can we go now? I think I have a better place to go to." He suggests and I take one last look around. Students at school hyped the bar up so much; it was kinda disappointing that all I saw were old men who took off their wedding rings and a few underdressed women. The music was kinda low and no one was hype. I guess it was because today was a Wednesday.

I stand and he follows suit. We get back into his sleek black car, and he immediately ignites and peels out of the parking lot.

"Do your anger issues stem from your parents?" I ask and he glances at me from the corner of his eye.

"Maybe . . . I don't remember much of my birth parents, I was adopted at 12."

"Oh." I was a bit surprised.

"And my adopted parents are black." My eyebrows skyrocketed into my hairline.

"Really?"

"Yup. The best parents you'll ever meet."

"Wow . . . lucky." I laugh lowly and he nods.

"I believe so." He speeds over a highway and in less than two minutes we're at a fair.

"I don't look . . . "

He glances at my clothing and his expression never changes, he just glances around. "C'mon."

He walks over and opens up my door, taking my hand in his.

We don't walk towards the fair's entrance but in the direction of a mall.

"I don't have any money on me right now Samuel, it's okay really, we can go-"

"I'll pay." He doesn't even glance at me. Our hands were intertwined and I tugged mine away awkwardly. It's not like I had a problem with my clothing, but I knew it had teenagers crawling all over the place. The last thing I needed was everyone laughing and pointing at my baggy jeans or oversized t-shirt. Even my beat up converse.

"I'll pay you back," I state as he opens the door for me and he shakes his head.

"No, you won't."

I froze, mortified.

The mall was even more infested that outside. There were adolescents everywhere, even some from our school.

I immediately turn around and bump into Samuel's chest.

"I- it's okay I don't-"

"What is it?" He asks, grabbing both of my hands as I try to push past him. I gulp and risk another look to find that even more people were looking at us now.

"Samuel please can we just go? I don't want to-"

"They won't say anything. You're with me."

I shook my head at him but he only takes my hands again and intertwines them.

"You're with me." He repeats.

I lower my head to the ground and walk quickly past all the groups of people. Thankfully, they don't say anything as we pass.

We enter the first store we saw, and I bought a simple fitted tie-dye t-shirt for $12 and some blue jean shorts for $15.

I change quickly and step out of the dressing room.

"Is it good?" I ask him and he nods.

"Shoes." He says after he pays the cashier and I bite the inside of my cheek.

"It's fine. . . I can-"

But he was already walking in the direction of Footlocker.

"Size?" The woman asks and I clear my throat.

"11 In women," I say a little lowly, and her eyes widen.

"That's a man's feet." She mumbles to herself and I look at the carpet pretending not to hear.

"What did you just say?" Samuel snarls bitterly and my eyes flash to his.

"Samuel." I place a hand on his chest and shake my head. The lady had scampered away as soon as I distracted him.

"She said something rude to you."

"And I ignored it, not everyone deserves a reaction."

He doesn't say anything. "What did you ask for?"

"Do you like Reeboks?" He tilts his head at me and I raise an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"You'll see."

That was it. No shocked reaction that I didn't know what it was, or pity at the fact that I could probably never afford it.

The saleswoman brought back a nice looking sneaker that hugged my feet so nicely, which was rare because of my size.

"How much are these?"

"$70."

I was about to protest but Samuel simply glanced at me and I shut my mouth. He paid the lady and I left fully dressed in new clothes. I'm not going to lie it felt nice wearing clothes that actually fit, and that made me look presentable. My hair was just a tiny bit messy but it would have to do.

"Thank you so much." I sigh. The people watched me with different expressions, but I avoided all of them.

"You're welcome." I stuff my bags in the car and he locks it.

Finally, we enter the fair and I couldn't help but feel excited. Everyone was screaming and running around; the game noises echoed through the air, with either excited or disappointed grunts and there were so many things to eat my stomach growled for emphasis.

"Have you been here before?" I ask Samuel and he nods.

"A few times with the boys."

I wonder if he brought a girl here before. . . not my business though.

"You're the only female I've brought along with me." He answers my thought and I clear my throat.

"That wouldn't matter, I'm only a friend."

"Mm, just in case you were wondering. Are you hungry?" 

I felt guilty that I was basically leeching off of him so I shook my head no. He didn't look like he believed me but he reached for my hand and led me in the direction of the games.

"It's easy to get lost, keep close to me." I nod at him and my eyes land on this huge life-sized teddy bear in one of the booths. It looked so comfy that I thought about what it would feel like to cuddle with at night and feel a little less pathetically lonely.

"You want that bear?" Samuel asks noticing my infatuation and I shake my head.

"No . . . I was just looking."

"I'll get it for you." He says and my eyes widen.

"That's not necessary, let's just play a game."

"Fine," He smirks suddenly. " I want to play that game."

He points to the one which had the bear and I deadpan.

"Very funny."

"I didn't laugh, c'mon."

Once again he pulled my hand and we went in the direction of the booth. My heartfelt so light at that moment, I giggled like a bubbly teenager as I struggled to keep up with his long legs.