The ride was far from quiet, filled with singing, stolen kisses, and the sound of my heart pounding loudly. I made a conscious effort not to let any overthinking spoil the day. I was relieved that he had spoken to my Mom, sparing me the need to do so.

I shouldn't have been upset with Mom for what happened with Della. She had no clue about the situation. I returned to my initial reasoning. Perhaps Della misunderstood everything. Maybe her accusations were baseless. It's possible she misinterpreted things all those years ago. I inwardly groaned when I caught myself thinking about Della. Dwelling on her and her past relationship with Chase would only taint the wonderful moment we were having. Everything was going perfectly fine.

Suddenly "Flashlight" by Becky G started playing on the radio.

"It's our song!" Chase exclaimed with an exaggerated gasp.I laughed but my heart fluttered at his words. Our song. I cherished that thought. As the song filled the car, Chase cranked up the volume, and I felt my cheeks flush.

I playfully rolled my eyes. "How could I forget? I practically made a spectacle of myself singing that in front of the whole school."

"I'm glad you did." He said. His voice was coarse and warm " It was special to me. I never told you this but you made me feel very special. No one had ever gotten up on the stage and sung anything to me. For days after, and even until now, I've been thinking about it. It warms my heart to know you liked me that way and if you do then I must be doing something right."

"You are." I'd usually not want to flatter a guy but with him, I realised I didn't mind.

"I never got to say this but thank you." I say softly, giving his hand a squeeze. "For not turning me down that day, and embarrassing me even further. You had every right to be indifferent to me but you weren't and I'm glad. I'm glad I like you and you can possibly never give me the ick." I added humorously.

"That's good to know." He says quickly, leaning over to kiss me on the cheek. As we came to a stop, by the sign WELCOME TO SWINTON

"Just a little bit more." Chase says, smiling at me.

Swinton was decked for halloween already even though it was late September. The street was lined with Jack-O-Lanterns and a ragged scarecrow perching right over the town sign.

"We're here" Chase says as we slowed down at one turn and a large Ferris wheel came to view. It was a fall fest! Swinton's Fall fest! The air was filled with the scent of caramel apples and popcorn, and the sound of laughter and music drifted through the open windows of the car.

Chase grinned, his hand finding mine as we navigated through the throngs of people towards the entrance. "I thought you might like it," he said, his voice filled with pride.

We joined the queue for tickets, chatting and laughing as we waited our turn. When we finally stepped through the entrance gate, it was like stepping into a different world. Everywhere I looked, there were stalls selling homemade crafts, games with prizes, and food stands offering everything from funnel cakes to hot apple cider.

"Where should we start?" Chase asked, his eyes shining with excitement.

We started by playing games at the booths. It was tricky, but we had fun trying to win prizes. We managed to win a cute plush pumpkin and a little scarecrow figurine. Then, we watched people making scarecrows, which was cool. The smell of caramel apples and kettle corn made us hungry, so we bought some to munch on. After that, we checked out the craft vendors. Chase got his sisters some nice gifts—Two cute little ghost key tags and pumpkin printed scarves.

Finally, we went on the Ferris wheel to see the sunset. "The carnivals are going on until Saturday. We should come back here with Kacey and Tyler." I told him while we were boarding the Ferris Wheel.

"Yeah I'd like to bring my sisters too." Chase said.

As the Ferris wheel lifted us higher, I couldn't help but be amazed by the sunset spreading its colours across the sky. Leaning against Chase's shoulder, I whispered, "Look, it's so beautiful."

Chase turned to me, his eyes reflecting the same wonder I felt. He gently tilted my chin up with his finger and leaned in for a kiss. Our lips met, and in that moment, everything else faded away.

Pulling back slightly, I looked into Chase's eyes, feeling a warmth spreading through me. "I know," he said softly. "And kissing you is like seeing a thousand sunsets."

My heart skipped a beat at his words. It was such a simple yet beautiful way of expressing how he felt. As we continued to watch the sun sink below the horizon, I felt a deep sense of happiness knowing that I was sharing this moment with Chase, and that there would be many more moments like this to come.

We got off the ferris, and walked along the stalls once again, hand in hand making sure we visited every corner of the fall fest. I spot a familiar figure in a distance.

I gently tug at Chase's arm. "That guy at the Hit or Miss is wearing the same letterman jacket, Tyler wore today."

Chased hummed a yes beside me, squinting at the guy. "That is Tyler..."

"What's Tyler doing in Swinton fairgrounds alone?"

"He's not alone. Who's he with?"

I squinted at the other guy he was competing with. They seemed to know each other by the way they laughed and shoved each other around. He was in a black hoodie, shades and curly hair that poked out that made him look vaguely familiar.

"I think...that's Jordan. From Bradley. I didn't know they were friends."

"Should we go over to them?"

"No wait, we don't know if it's actually Tyler."

I reached for my phone and quickly found Tyler's contact. With the dial tone ringing, I shifted closer to Chase, wanting him to hear the conversation without needing to put the call on speaker. We leaned over the hay patch that obscured Tyler's view from us, peering towards the Hit and Miss stall they were at. Our suspicions were confirmed as we watched the guy pull out his phone from his pocket.

"Lucy?" Tyler sounds through my phone."Uh-" I stuttered and gaped at Chase who leaned in to say. "I thought I dialled my brother's number. Sorry ty-"

"Did Chase stand you up on your date or something?" He asks humorously.

"No I did not! Where you at man?" Chase quickly asked.

"Ugh I'm at home?" Tyler answered with an amused laugh. Chase and I immediately exchanged a puzzled look. He Lied. "What's the matter? Got a loose tire or something?" Tyler asked.

"Oh dammit I had hoped you'd still be at school so you can ask my brother to call me. I forgot to tell him I'm going out with Chase and he's not answering his phone. He seldom checks his texts" I improvised. "I'll just call my brother again. Sorry Ty." I said before hanging up.

"He lied." Chase furrowed. We both peered at Tyler and the other guy-Jordon who were back to playing their turns at the hit or miss stall. "Why would he lie about hanging out with whoever that guy is at the Swinton fall fest?"

"We can just go up to them and find out."

"Nah. Let's leave him be. He doesn't want us to know."

"But we do know."

"Maybe he just wants to spend time with his new friends."

"I didn't know he was friends with Jordan from Bradley."

"Neither did I."

"I don't like it." I said, as we walked away from where we hid. It was already time to leave.

"Like what?"

"Tyler's keeping secrets from us. And Kacey has her own secrets too.I usually tell her about anything without reluctance but now she's not telling me about this guy she's into. I'm the last person she should hold her secrets back from." I realised I sounded like a whiny child as I did so.

Chase draped an arm around me, drawing me nearer. "I don't know, Lu. But I believe secrets just need time to surface, and when they do, it's always at the perfect moment. Just like how your secret came out at the right time."

I wasn't sure if he referred to my confession of feelings for him or the issue with Della, but I nodded in agreement as we continued our walk.