With a grim expression, Linus was dragged along behind Akira as they wandered through the park. His gaze was locked on Maya, whose happy attitude reminded him of why he's here.

With a deep sigh, he released himself from Akira's grip, who watched with eager anticipation as Linus approached her. Excitedly, he gave him a thumbs-up and silently mouthed the words, "You've got this!

Linus nodded, albeit less enthusiastic.

Walking closer to her, fighting against the tide of crowd washing against him, pushing him back over and over again, he reached out at her hand. "Maya! Maya wait!"

Streching his arm in a rush of movement, he finally grabbed it. But something felt off. The hand… it felt cold… almost dead.

With a certain premonition, he slowly raised his gaze upwards, where a disdainful look awaited him. He was looking right into Beyza's sunglasses-covered eyes.

Linus' gaze went back down to where his hand was holding hers. With every passing second, he felt like a part of him was dying. But whether it was from shame or her life-draining grip, he didn't know.

"I-"

Beyza pulled back her hand. "Well, I'll just go wash my hands with hydrochloric acid real quick." And left Linus standing there alone in awkwardness. Not even his 'date' wanted to hold his hand… But fortunately, Beyza was just an excuse anyway to organize this double date.

Now that she was gone it would be the perfect opportunity. As he spotted Maya at the edge of a new attraction that had caught her attention, he rushed over.

Abruptly stopping, Maya stared upwards where a dangerously epileptic triggering sign read 'The Sweet Spot'.

Standing in line at what seemed to be a candy shop, Maya bounced excitedly, pondering which flavor of cotton candy she should buy. "Woodruff, peach… or Cola…? I want all of them!! >.<"

Hesitantly, Linus stepped up, raising his voice in a somewhat squeaking tone. "I-I'll buy them for you!"

"What? Really?! OwO"

A nervous smile came over his face. "Yea!"

"Oh my god, did u hear that, Beyza?" asked Maya in excitement, not even realizing she wasn't around. "Linus is gonna buy all the flavors for me! O_O"

Linus startled. A-a-all?!

"Uh-Um, Maya, I think you-"

Suddenly, Maya grabbed Linus' hands and pressed them together gently. "Thanks, Linus! I'll always remember this! :3"

As Maya's excitement bubbled over, Linus couldn't help but feel joyful. Yet, it wasn't all good. Sure, he wanted to make her happy, but the thought of emptying his complete wallet on cotton candy left a bitter taste in his mouth.

As they waited in line, Linus watched Maya's excited gestures and infectious laughter. Like a child that had already eaten way too much sugar, now craving for more.

The vendor behind the counter greeted them with a warm smile. His apron was dusted with powdered sugar.

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"Hello there! What can I get for you today?" he asked, his voice cheerful and inviting.

"Hiii! I'll take one of each flavor of cotton candy, please! (⁀ᗢ⁀)"

The vendor chuckled at her enthusiasm. "One of each? That's quite the selection! Are you sure?" His gaze went to Linus, who almost looked as if Maya had kidnapped him, secretly holding a gun to his body.

Maya nodded vigorously, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "Absolutely! I want to try them all!"

With a concerned smile, the vendor set to work, deftly spinning wisps of sugary clouds into vibrant cones of cotton candy. The air was filled with the sweet scent of sugar and chemicals, making Maya's mouth water in anticipation.

It took multiple minutes to arrange all 17 flavors as he handed them out to the whole group.

As Maya pressed some of them into Akira's hand, he looked as if being insulted. "What? Do I look like a slave or what?!"

Maya continued to grin at him, skillfully ignoring his remark. Meanwhile, Linus tried to give him hidden signs in the form of a praying posture to convince him to do it. For him.

Akira sighed. "I want half of each that I'm gonna carry around for ya." Giving him an annoyed look, Maya seemed pretty unamused about his demands. But in the end, they came to a compromise.

Taking a bite out of 3 flavors at once, Maya's eyes sparkled with joy. She clutched the treats to her chest, a look of pure bliss on her face.

As they left the candy shop, she skipped ahead, her laughter echoing through the air.

Following her as if being a servant, Linus couldn't help but feel out of place. Besides being here with his friends, not even sure if that really was applicable, he felt lonely.

And empty.

Just like his wallet.

***

After not even 30 minutes, the situation had changed. Despite still carrying 11 of the 17 flavors around for her, Maya didn't seem interested in them anymore.

Instead, she ran toward yet another attraction that had grabbed her attention.

Feeling a rush of anticipation, Linus dumped the cotton candy from his hand onto Akira, who now served as a pack mule, and chased after Maya.

As they reached the towering Ferris wheel, Linus watched as Maya's staring at it. Linus couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

"That's quite high...😰" Maya said with a mix of fear and astonishment.

A sign of hope for Linus. Perhaps he wouldn't need to blame himself for not taking this ride. "Yeah, right? It's... it's okay to be scared."

"Scared?🤨" Maya looked at him in confusion. "The higher the better!!!🤩"

Linus' looked at her silently. Then came another feeling of unease. A dizziness that coursed through his entire body, bringing him to a boil. Suddenly, his body felt heavy.

Coming after them was Akira, who had freed himself from all the cotton candy by now. "Oh yeah! That's the stuff!" he shouted joyfully as he pointed at the wheel, sprinting toward them. "So, are you two gonna go?" He smirked encouragingly, but both Maya and Linus looked uncertain.

Confused by their reaction, Akira pondered. "I bet you don't dare to step in there... But if you do, I'll give you..." He pulled out his wallet, giving it a quick glance. "2... No, 2.30 bucks for it!"

Linus' expression worsened as Akira kept talking.

"Come on, I ain't got more than that! It's a one-time offer!"

For Linus the voice of Akira seemed to fade into the background as he struggled to regain his composure. He just stood there, his mind wandering to another place.

"The ride's about to start; I don't wanna miss it! >.<" Maya pointed out at the wheel, which was almost fully occupied with people.

As Linus kept staring into nothingness, Akira's concern kept growing. Looking at Linus' heavy breathing and complete absence of mind he asked: "Yo, Linus-Minus are you okay?"

"He's dried out," said a voice out of nowhere, making Akira flinch. "Wha!" Standing behind him was Beyza. "Do you always have to act so creepy?!"

Beyza kept staring at him. She had probably heard that way to many times already.

"What's that even supposed to mean, 'dried out?'", asked Akira, as a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Ooooh, didn't know you were up to such dirty jokes, Bey-Bey."

Despite opening her mouth, Beyza remained silent—unable to speak up against Akira's stupidity.

Watching the sweat drip down Linus' face, dropping to the ground, Akira blinked at him. "Well, he seems watery to me."

Suddenly snapping back out of his trance-like state, Linus' pupils widened. "Y-yeah, I'm fine... I'll go and get something to drink..."

Unsure of what to say, Akira's gaze followed Linus as he stumbled past the crowd, half-dazed and almost tripping over. Reaching out his hand, wanting to stop him, he hesitated.

Suddenly Akira's T-shirt was firmly grasped by Maya, who even tore a small rip into it as she pulled him towards her. "Akiii, I want to spend some time with you~ Just you and me! :s"