So, our friends practically forced me and Declan to ride the Ferris wheel by ourselves.

I don't think either of us minded it though, especially at this hour of the day when the sun was setting. The effect illuminated the skies in pinks and oranges and purples. A few stars were peeking from the darkening shades of the night that teased at the very top of the air space.

I looked down and spotted Evelyn and Parker as our cart slowly rotated to the top. Julie was watching them from outside the gate of the little airplanes they were riding.

"Julie seems nice," I said in my lame attempt to bring up the conversation. Maybe Declan felt like talking about it, maybe he didn't. I just wanted to understand him more, I guess.

"Yeah she's nice," He said back, following my gaze to where the three of them were.

"You don't sound like you mean it that much."

"I do mean it," He said, fixing his tone to sound more genuine. "She's just not my mom, that's all."

"That's why you two aren't close then?"

He looked at me as if he were thinking it over in his head. I tried to read his gaze, but he was guarded now. The only way he would let me in at this point was with his words. He took a moment too long to answer and I was worried he wasn't going to elaborate on it at all.

"I don't mean to be as closed off with her as I am," he says finally. "I know it's not fair to her, but I can't help it. She's just my dad's wife and to recognize her as anything but just feels off to me... like I'm doing something wrong towards my mom."

"Do you feel like she's trying to replace her?" I asked carefully.

"No, no that's not it. That's how I know it's not fair. She's a good person, it's just something I'm struggling with, I guess. Sometimes I wish she was an evil stepmother like those princess stories and shit, just to make it easy to dislike her. But, she's not and I don't." He shook his head at himself.

"You think she knows you don't hate her?"

He gave a breath of a humorless laugh. "Probably not, I don't know."

He went quiet after that and I bit my lip in hesitation before I asked him another question. "What about your dad?"

"Do I hate my dad?"

"Well I mean, what is he to you? You mentioned before that he was never around but, what does that mean for you?" I began to feel a little worried at the question that flowed out of my mouth. I didn't want to push him too much or make him feel uncomfortable. But then I realized that Declan didn't let people make him feel uncomfortable, he was the type that would say something about it. If he didn't want to talk about it, he would tell me. I knew him enough at this point to know that much.

He turned to look at me again before he inhaled a breath and spoke. "He's not bad a person either. He's a hard worker and he keeps a roof over our head, and I respect him for that. All that time he spends away though, I feel like I barely know the man."

I thought about what he said for a moment. "Do you think that could be another reason you don't want to be close to Julie?"

"What do you mean?" he asked with a slight furrow in his brows.

"I mean, what if you don't want to be closer to her than your dad? Because that would kind of suck, right? Being closer to a stepmom you've only known for a handful of years compared to your father who you've known all your life." I cut myself off for a moment there feeling unsure of myself. "I don't know, I guess I'm thinking about it based on how I would feel in your shoes. Am I making sense?"

"I never thought about it like that but that makes sense," He took a moment to process my words more. "What are you, a psychologist now? You're a perceptive son of a bitch, you know that?"

"Daughter of a badass," I corrected, and he let out a quiet laugh.

"So tell me if I'm overstepping but, the way you talk about your mom and the way you still love and care about her, she sounds like she was a really great woman." He smiled at that, but his eyes weren't smiling with him. "What do you think she would say about your hesitation with Julie?"

"Honestly? She would probably smack me upside the head and call me a dumbass."

I laughed a little at that and he smiled along, a little lighter this time. "Nah, but," he continued, "I'll work on it. I've known it's something I had to work on for a while now, so I will."

I nodded at his decision and studied him. My hand went up to brush some stray hair from his forehead without even thinking about it. It was almost covering his brown eyes, and I liked seeing his eyes.

"She would have loved you," Declan said so quietly I thought that maybe he had meant to keep it to himself. He reached for my hand and wrapped his fingers around mine. I looked down at our intertwined hands and then when I looked back up, his eyes were focused on me. I found myself leaning into him until our faces were joined at the lips.

He kissed me back as our cart rotated around the top, cliché I know, but it was hard to care with his lips moving around mine and his fingers curling through my hair as he drew me closer.

I pulled back with my cheeks most likely in a flush and I didn't bother hiding the smile on my face either. "Be my girlfriend," He said to me as he dragged the back of his fingers over my jaw.

I tried for a moment to think of a way to say no, to think of a reason to hold things back for a little while longer. I didn't want to rush things after all. But as my smile grew, I knew there wasn't a single reason I could say no, and honestly, I've waited long enough. I like this boy, I like him a lot.

I couldn't help but mess with him a little though. Rolling my eyes, I said, "You should have saved that question for later. Like when we did the fun slide, how romantic would it have been for you to wait until we were wrapped in potato sacks. You just had to ask me at the top of a Ferris wheel in a beautiful sunset, didn't you?"

"Damn it you're right, I should have thought of the potato sacks," He went along. "Oh well, this has more of a dramatic effect, what do you think?"

"I think I'll be your girlfriend," I agreed, and he kissed me again.

When we got off the Ferris wheel, Declan cleared his throat at the attendant who worked here. "That's my girlfriend," He said motioning to me.

"Nice man," He nodded to us.

"Yeah thank-"He glared at him then, "What you mean by that?"

"Declan, come on," I said practically dragging him behind me.

He didn't stop there though. He was now telling random strangers that happened to look in our general direction. "This is my girlfriend," He told an old lady walking with her grandson.

"This is my girlfriend," He told another couple as they walked by.

"Declan stop it. You're embarrassing me."

"Hah," He laughed and then motioned to a lady walking past us. "I embarrassed my girlfriend."

"You're about to be single again if you don't cut it out."

"I'm making my girlfriend mad, sir did you hear me? This is my girlfriend."

"Declan!"

A/N: this couple will be my favorite to write about.