Midnight Carousel

By Forgotten Moments

Summary: The glowing sparkler, soft music, whispers of laughter, bright lights, and little kisses. It's all theirs. It's their little secret, the midnight carousel. It's their escape from reality to a place where it's just them, two teenagers in love.

She didn't know how it all began or how they find the carousel. She just knows that every moment they spend together at the carousel is her favorite.

It becomes a nightly tradition for them. Every night, without fail, he meets her under the streetlamp, the one that never seems to work. She sneaks out to meet him, climbing down from her room on the second story. (Why she originally thought that's a good idea, she doesn't know.) She always brings her iPod with her, because someday, they'll sit on their midnight carousel and make the soundtrack to their lives. (He promised they would and he never breaks a promise.)

Every time she sees him under their street lamp (might as well call it theirs, nobody else uses it, at least, not like they do), it's like the first time all over again. Every time he kisses her under their street lamp is like the first time. Every time he tells her she's beautiful is like the first time.

She still feels the butterflies.

They flutter around in her stomach, their wings making her tummy tickle and turn. Sometimes, they're the little butterflies that make her giggle. Other times, they're the big butterflies. The big butterflies make her queasy and nervous. When they flutter around in her stomach, her palms get sweaty and her face gets red. She doesn't tell anyone about the butterflies.

That would be embarrassing.

It rains today.

It isn't the light, misty rain that makes everything glow and sparkle. It isn't the heavy rain with the fat, wet raindrops that comes with black clouds and thunder. It's the light rain that makes everything glow and sparkle with fat, wet raindrops. The rain you see couples kiss in.

But it's still rain.

And rain makes everything inconvenient and wet.

Not that they care.

They still go to the midnight carousel. They always do. Its tradition and you can't break tradition. Everybody knows that.

It's why he waits for her under their street lamp. (It's still not fixed, but she secretly likes it like that.) It's why she sneaks out of her second story building. It's why there are butterflies in her stomach. It's why they are riding their midnight carousel in the rain.

It's tradition. (But she would go anyway, even if it wasn't tradition, just as long as he was there waiting under their street lamp.)

It's another night at the midnight carousel.

He still waits under their broken street lamp. She still climbs down from her room. He still kisses her under their street lamp. He still calls her beautiful. She still gets her butterflies.

But tonight is special. (Not that every night isn't special. This one is just more special,)

It marks their third anniversary as best friends.

He has a picnic all ready in thier gazebo by their midnight carousel. The lights are especially bright and colorful, bathing everything in a hypnotizing array of lights. Soft music plays as the carousel slowly turns, the painted wooden animals on it seemingly come to life. (In her mind they do.)

Everything is perfect.

He brings out sparklers and lights them up. That's how they spend the night. They run around their grassy field shielded from the outside world by surrounding trees. It's just them. Just the two of them with their glowing sparklers, soft music, whispers of laughter, bright lights, and little kisses.

Magical.

It is magical, like a dream. Some days, she expects to wake up to find that everything was just a dream. She hopes that never happens. She would miss the little kisses and butterflies in her tummy. She would miss their world away from reality and their midnight carousel.

But most of all, she would miss him.

Luckily for her, the magic is still there and it isn't a dream. There are little whispers of laughter and promises. The bright lights and sparks are still there. The animals on their carousel still wait for them at their field of grass. It isn't a dream.

She wakes up every night. And every night, he would be waiting for her. The carousel would be waiting for them. She breathes out a sigh of relief.

It's real.

And it's magical.

Her world crumbles before her eyes.

Everything starts to fall apart. Their relationship, their friendship, their bond…

…Their love.

She should've suspected it. Nothing lasts forever her father use to tell her. She never listened. (Why should she? He had left her and her mom when things got tough.)

She should have listened.

Then maybe, this wouldn't hurt. If she had listened, maybe her heart would still be in one piece. She wouldn't have fallen in love with him.

Maybe….

For the first time, he isn't there to wait for her under the street lamp. There is no kiss or a whisper about how beautiful he thinks she is.

There's no him.

But, she still goes to the midnight carousel in the grassy field with the bright lights and soft music. She uses 'the' now. There's no 'their' or 'them' anymore. It's just her, now.

Every single night she waits. She sits on the carousel, hoping he would come. Hoping he would appear and tell her he still loves her. She hopes with all her heart.

He doesn't come.

She is wrong.

She is never wrong. She hates being wrong. But she is wrong. And for once, she's glad she's wrong.

He does come.

It's been three months since their world crumbled, but he comes.

He is there, under their street lamp waiting for her. She can't believe it. He sweeps her off her feet and carries her to their midnight carousel. No words are exchanged, just him peppering her with little kisses, a reassurance.

Their carousel is already up and running, the animals waiting. Their grassy field glows with bright lights and dulcet music. Small flowers had found their way up their gazebo. Little lights are tangled in the vines. A box of sparklers sits next to the carousel, ready to be opened.

He sets her on one of the white horses decorated with intricate designs. He whispers his apologies, telling her how much he misses her. He tells her how he thinks about her ever day. He tells her how much he regrets letting her go, letting their bond break.

He tells her he loves her. Always had always will.

Forever and always, he says.

She believes him.

He fulfills his promise to her.

It's been four years, four years since they first find their midnight carousel. They both agree that the past four years are the best four years. Through the ups and the downs, they manage to come through in the end together.

It's why it's the perfect time to make the soundtrack to their lives.

They spend all night on their white, wooden stallions. They ride side by side, occasionally switching seats. It is the best night. Everything just seems better tonight under the star-filled sky. The black velvet sky only intensifies the lights on their midnight carousel.

It takes until dawn for them to finish their soundtrack, but it's worth it they deem. Every song on her iPod holds special meaning, whether it told the story of their silliest moments or told the story of their hardest times. It explains them.

It's their story.

And that's what makes it better and even more special.

Every night for the rest of their lives, they'll visit their midnight carousal. It's tradition. And everybody knows you can't break tradition, no matter what.

So they don't.

Maybe someday, they'll tell their kids. They'll tell of the glowing sparklers they use to write in the sky. They'll play their soundtrack, the first song being the soft carousel music. They'll tell their kids about the little whispers of laughter and promises they share and keep. They'll tell them all about the bright lights that bathe their grassy field and ivy gazebo in a warm, mystifying glow. They'll tell of the little kisses and bond they share.

But the most important story they'll tell their kids is about the midnight carousel.

They'll tell them how it's their escape from reality into their own little world, a world where they're just two teenagers in love.

It's a world of their own on their midnight carousel.

Meh, just a cute little one shot I whipped up. The idea came one of my favorite stories when I was little. The story was about a little boy who finds a broken and abandoned carousel. He fixes the carousel and brings back the magic that was lost long ago.

Also, you must have noticed how I sort of toggled between present and past tense a bit. I hope it's not too confusing. It's just a new writing style I was trying out. It's beyond my comfort zone, so I hope I didn't screw up. If you're wondering, this writing style was partly inspired by skwirelygurli. Check her out, she's amazing!

Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed it! And don't forget to review and favorite! Don't bother following, I won't be continuing this one shot.

One in a million, my lucky strike….

-Forgotten Moments