My Middle School Crush (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 37

(A/N: Get ready for a very long chapter)

Chapter 37: Carnaval del Barrio

Mark had just pulled the keys out of his car and turned to find that Mason was already running for the entrance.

"Come on!" He yelled impatiently, looking back over his shoulder at Mark who still wasn't out of the car. "Let's go!"

Mark chuckled to himself, slipping his keys and wallet into his pockets before leaving the car. Mason watched this all, standing there with an impatient frown on his face. He had to stop because Mark wasn't going to run and he didn't feel like talking to the employees alone. Finally, Mark caught up to him and they started walking together to the carnival entrance.

As they approached the stands where they had to pay to enter, Mason began to bounce on the balls of his feet. Mark watched this all with a mirthful smile.

"I thought you had organized this date to be nice but now I think you just wanted someone to come with you." Mark commented with a laugh when Mason went up on his toes to get a better view of the front of the line.

Mason dropped to his heels with a huff, rolling his eyes at Mark.

"Fine then, you don't have to come. I can just pay for myself." Mason retorted, raising a brow at Mark, betting him to protest. Mark pursed his lips but remained quiet to Mason's satisfaction. "Good. Let's get inside, shall we?"

As Mason had planned, he did end up paying the entrance fee and buying a ton of tickets. Mark had planned many dates for them before, taking a more dominant role in their relationship, but Mason wanted to do something for him this time. So even though the prices were a bit unreasonable--why was there an entrance fee and a ticket fee? Come on--Mason was going to handle everything.

With the stack of tickets making an awkward bulge in his back pocket, Mason led them into the carnival.

"So, what should we do first?" He asked Mark, smiling softly. Mason looked around the open space with a smile. There were throes of people, from friends to families to other couples on dates. The place was packed full of people excited for a day of fun. Staring ahead of them where the concrete ground was covered with people, stands, and rides, Mason grew all the more excited.

Mark, on the other hand, took a more logical approach. Without Mason noticing, he had grabbed the map and was looking at all of the stands, rides, and vendors the carnival had to offer. After a few minutes of looking over the map, Mark had come up with a plan.

"How about we play some games first?" Mark suggested, showing Mason where the different games were situated throughout the large space. "The lines are probably extremely long around the rides. We can play some games while we wait for people to start heading home."

"Huh." Was Mason's extremely intelligent response. "Okay then, let's go."

Mason was actually really excited to play some carnival games. It was a classic romcom moment to go to a carnival or fair, play some games, and leave with several prizes for your date and vice versa. Not considering his lack of coordination or athletic skill, Mason was hopeful that he would win several prizes for Mark.

The first thing they went to was the balloon and dart game. The premise was really simple: they were given three darts and the more difficult the balloon was to hit, the better their prize would be.

Mason went into the game with all the confidence in the world.

"Just watch me, Mark. I'm about to get the smallest balloon. Right there." He boasted proudly. Mark laughed while Mason got into an awkward stance, ready to start throwing.