A/N: Finally, chapter 3! Sorry it's taking me so long to write this. School tends to get in the way of a lot of things. Anyways, read, review, and enjoy!

~Larien~

Nathan pulled his Murdercycle to a slow stop on the gravel parking lot. It was mostly empty, except for a few of the carnival workers' vehicles. He had expressly told Ofdensen that he wanted the carnival to be empty. His last date with Serena had almost been a disaster, thanks to crazy fan ladies flashing their breasts at him and photographers snapping pictures every five seconds. Serena squeezed Nathan around his middle before she slid off the back of his bike, bringing him back to reality. As he took her hand in his larger one, she said, "It's very sweet of you to have this carnival made private for our date, Nathan." She stopped him so she could stand on her tip-toes and plant a chaste kiss on the singer's cheek.

Nathan blushed, grinned, and mumbled, "Yeah, you said you liked…carnivals…And I hate the fans. They're stupid. And those guys with cameras are…worse." He thought about how satisfying it had been to punch that unfortunate photographer who had decided getting close-ups of Nathan and Serena was a good idea. The redhead had later told him it was a thoughtful gesture, but violence didn't always solve problems.

The pair strolled through the admissions gate with hardly any problem. The man working the gate did make a lewd gesture towards Serena, though, causing her to cling tighter to Nathan's arm. The dark-haired singer growled at the carnival worker and he quickly found something on his shirt to be much more interesting.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Nathan asked, grinning down at his date. He felt like a fourteen-year-old boy all over again: awkward, nervous, and very self-conscious.

Serena took in their surroundings. Her eyes lighted on the game alley. More specifically, her eyes lighted on a giant stuffed wolf hanging over the Touchdown Toss game. Nathan followed her gaze and chuckled. This was going to be too easy. Football was his best subject in high school. They made their way to the stall and Nathan hurriedly shoved the money into the man's hand. The game attendant gave Nathan three small foam footballs and told him that if he got all three balls through the tire, he'd win a small prize.

"How many footballs do I have to throw to get that big wolf? Up there?" the burly front man growled.

The attendant rolled his eyes and replied, "You have to get ten in a row for the wolf." Nathan gave the man more money and the man placed seven more footballs on the counter. Nathan effortlessly threw all ten footballs through the tire. The attendant seemed a bit taken aback, but he got the large wolf down and gave it to Nathan. Serena threw her arms around Nathan's neck and placed a lingering thank-you kiss on his lips, causing the attendant to roll his eyes again and mutter, "God, get a room!" Nathan turned back to growl at the man, but Serena quickly pulled him away from the stall and towards the hall of Mirrors. On their way, a klokateer came and took the giant wolf from Nathan, so His Lordship would not have to lug it around all over the park.

Nathan looked down at the demure redhead and said, "That guy was a douche bag. Why can't I, uh, hit him?"

"He may be that, but I told you violence is not always the answer," Serena said, smiling up at him. "Besides, I'll kiss you wherever and whenever I want. As your girlfriend, that is my right." She pulled him down by his shirt collar and kissed him on the lips playfully. He grinned wolfishly at her as she broke away and ran towards the Hall of Mirrors. She stopped just outside suddenly, her playful mood dissipating.

As they entered the building, Serena pressed close to Nathan, throwing her arms around his middle. He looked down at her, puzzled as to why she might be frightened, and then threw his arm around her shoulders. Something in the back of his mind told him he should be on guard and very protective. He couldn't bring himself to look at the silly images flashing by them as they walked through the building. They finally came to a stop in a room walled in entirely by mirrors that reflected normal images. Serena was trembling and hiding her face in his side. He stared at their reflection for a few moments before looking down at her.

"What's wrong? There's, uh, not really anything to be afraid of," Nathan said as soothingly as he could.

Serena pried herself from the dark-haired man's side and looked up. "Do you remember when I explained to you how I could sense people's auras? Well, there's someone in this building that has a black aura. They've been following us through this entire building. I…I want to go home now." She hugged her arms to her chest and turned away from him. She took to studying the reflection in the mirror and saw what looked like a white gorilla dropping down from the ceiling.

Nathan noticed the gorilla of a man in the mirror a half a second after Serena. He whipped around to face the man and was met with a crowbar to the forehead. As the darkness of subconscious took him, Nathan heard Serena begging, "Please, no, don't hurt me!"