The bells rang out in a cacophony of tinny, resonant sounds, each one high-pitched in their wailing. Behind the colourful striped counter, a tall man in a worn white suit and frayed top hat cheered, announcing Damien as a winner to the frog catapult game. Grinning, one side of his mouth pulling up as he looked over at me, Damien pointed to the stuffed tiger hanging from the carnival booth's ceiling. I watched as the carnival worker unhooked the plush toy from the ceiling and passed it over to Damien, who was still grinning at me, and then walked away to serve another fairgoer.
"Told you I'd win it for you," Damien said, holding the tiger up to his chest and peeking over its head. "My frogapult skills are unmatched."
Rolling my eyes, I reached for the tiger, gripping it by its fluffy sides. "You're good," I admitted. Damien raised a brow, pulling the tiger back to him and forcing me a step closer.
"I landed all five of them in the lily pads," he countered. "I'd like to see you try it."
I couldn't help it, my mouth inched up in a smile. Damien's eyes glittered at my expression and he let go of the tiger, stepping to my side and putting a hand on my lower back, leading us away.
Somewhere in the distance, carnival-goers were readying for fireworks. They'd be set up in the stadium--which I could just see over the big top ahead--where a magician was likely performing tricks for restless kids and their parents.
Damien's hands grabbed at my shoulders, pulling me back as a fluffy-headed kid with glowing face paint cut a path in front of us, their mother rushing past with a hurried apology.
"I still can't believe you've never been here before," I said, looking up at Damien. Behind him, flashing blue and pink lights lit up at one of the stands, lighting the dark mass of waves on his head and highlighting the side of his face. Peering down at me, he shrugged.
"I lived too far out, and my mom's car was always breaking down, anyway," he said, steering us forward again, turning down between two booths and away from the bustle and din of the center aisle.
"Not even when you grew up, though? I've come here almost every year," I said.
Wrapping his arm tighter around my shoulder, he sighed. "I didn't really have friends that'd want to go here. And I don't mix well with crowded places on my own, you know that."
"We can head out, if you want," I offered, worried that I was keeping him here now.
Damien shook his head. "I don't mind. I like it here. I like being here with you," he said, squeezing my shoulder, then looked around. "What's down that way?"
I looked to our left, where a building sat abandoned behind a row of carnival booths, dark but for the dimly glowing sign painted above its entrance.
THE GLOWING GARDEN LABYRINTH, it read.
"I think it's closed," I said, but Damien was already tugging me toward it. "Damien," I hissed, looking around to see if anyone was watching.
"Let's just check it out," he said.
"It's closed," I repeated as we reached it. There was a low metal barrier sitting in front of the entrance in a half-hearted attempt at keeping wandering carnival-goers out.
Damien looked back at me. "Don't you want to have a little adventure? You come here every year, right?"
I nodded.
"So, then? Try something a little different this time. And besides, if anyone catches us in here, what are they going to do? Call the cops on a couple wandering college students?"
He had a point.
Licking my lips, I nodded. "Fine."
Damien smiled and stepped aside. "After you," he said, holding my hand to steady me as I stepped over the barrier, pulling on my skirt to keep it from rising too high.
Damien followed after me, and when we were both inside, I looked ahead.
All around us, the walls were painted in bright, glowing colours. Fantastical garden scenes greeted us in what seemed to be a small lobby.
"Huh, two paths," Damien said, drawing my gaze forward, where two entrances to the maze were marked off with big painted arrows.
Two paths, one destination, the walls read.
"That's a little ominous," I muttered.
"I was thinking cheesy, but you're not wrong."
And then Damien turned around, stepping back in the direction of the maze.
"Find me at the center," he said, drifting away a few steps until I was holding his hand by the fingertips and then his grip was gone.
"Damien..." I trailed, gaze still roaming the walls. "We shouldn't even be in here. We came, we saw, we should go."
"Trust me. Please," he said, gaze intent on mine. "And besides, you have a friend with you." He nodded at the tiger plush still in my arms.
It was ridiculous, but my shoulders started to relax a bit at his words. Straightening my spine, I nodded. "Okay," I said.
Damien grinned, but there was something almost sad about it. Before I could ask about it, he turned and started off the left path.
Left alone, I took a deep breath and looked around. The walls were dark--dark enough that I had trouble telling where they started and where they ended. The only hints were the spatters of glow-in-the-dark paint. A bit of worry gnawed at me but I shook it back.
Stepping to the path on the right, I put my hand on the inner wall of the path and started forward. "It's not a golden thread, but it'll do," I mumbled. You couldn't get lost in a labyrinth if you kept your hand on the wall, right? Eventually, you'd bypass all the dead ends and find the center.
I started down the path, going down twists and turns and a few dead ends. Turns out the labyrinth was bigger than I'd expected. But at some point, I'd walked so far that I knew I had to be getting close.
Clutching the tiger plush against my chest, I turned down one more corner and smiled.
A light was glowing up ahead.
Found you.
Letting go of the wall, I hastened my step, walking that last bit of distance and turning the corner--
Only to be met by hands on my upper arms and a clothed chest in front of me. Gasping, I stumbled back, my fall stopped by the person holding me. Looking up in shock, I let out a frustrated breath and smacked Damien on the chest.
"You shit. I thought you were going to mug me or something," I hissed, my heart beating in my throat.
Damien said nothing, instead searching my gaze.
"Damien?" I asked. "What's wrong?"
Instead of answering, his hand came up to cup my chin as he leaned down, capturing my lips with his. Frozen at first, my eyes soon fluttered closed. I melted into his kiss, shivering when his hands drifted from my arms to my waist, then under my shirt to press against the small of my back.
Pulling away, I looked up at him. In the blacklight, he was hazy, an impression of himself that was both unclear and beautiful. And despite not being able to see his expression all that well, his eyes shone bright.
"Damien," I tried again. "What is it?"
Sighing, he pulled back, turning his head to look around at our surroundings, which I just noticed were set up to look like a garden, with painted green floors, colourful rocks big enough to sit on, and a glowing, wooden apple tree.
"Do you ever get the feeling that life is just dragging on?" Damien asked.
I frowned. "Yeah, sure. All the time." Reaching up, I brushed a lock of hair from his face and cupped his cheek, running my thumb over his skin. "What's got you so contemplative all of a sudden?"
"I just...I feel like time keeps passing and no matter how hard I try, I can't catch up to everyone else. I can't catch up to you."
"Me?" I asked, my brows pinching together. "Why me?"
Damien shrugged. "You got a full ride to college, you've already had like three art exhibits."
"None of which translated to anything more than 'exposure'," I said, grimacing at the last word. "You have a steady job and your own apartment. If anything, I feel like I can't catch up to you."
Damien shook his head. "It's not that, sweetheart."
"So then?"
Stepping back, he ran a hand through his hair, pulling at it, and scrubbed his other hand over his mouth. "I want more than a steady minimum wage job," he said. "And I can't do that without going to college."
"You said you didn't want to go to college."
"I don't. I can't afford it, anyhow."
