Sebastian demanded that Rayne had to be blindfolded to see the destination. They drove for about 40 minutes to get there. So, she complied. That was the least she could do.

They were still inside the car, which was about a 5 minute walk from the place, or so that's what Sebastian told Rayne.

He had brought a black satin cloth. Rayne chuckled at how everything was completely thought through. He had everything under control. When he handed it to her, their hands brushed for a split second. It was electric. Suddenly, Rayne felt her cheeks heat up.  She did try to blindfold herself. But, let's face it. She's horrible at these situations. She could never do the right thing. So, as usual, she was struggling to do her one sole task. 

"Looks like you might need my help," Sebastian stated as he came closer to her.  She turned to face him, only to find him already staring at her. A smile was dancing on his lips. 

"Hi," Rayne spoke softly.

"Hey, Ray," he cooed.

Dork.

They were both facing each other now. With only a few centimetres of distance between them. Rayne became aware of his breath. Hers hitched at the thought of it. The space between them felt heavy, as she inhaled his cologne. It brought back memories of him being close to her the day she had helped him with his sprain and how that left her flustered to the point where she was blabbering about heat and cold.

That ought to be the day I'd blushed the most in my life. 

Rayne was brought to her senses when he held out his hand. She wore a confused look on her face, wondering as to why he was showing her his hand. 

"The blindfold, silly." Sebastian laughed at her reaction. She mumbled a quick 'sorry' as she handed it over to him. "Don't apologize for this, Ray." He smiled softly, as he brought his hands to envelop her. She melted under his touch. His body was right in front of her. The first time ever in this position. She found refuge in his broad shoulders as she tilted her head to meet his chest. She listened to his heart rhythmically beating under his shirt. She could not say the same for hers, as she heard it running wild inside her. At that, she only wished for that moment to last forever.

What she didn't know was that, Sebastian was thinking the exact same thing - for that moment to last forever.

Rayne could feel him knotting the blindfold against her hair. She hoped that he wouldn't pull back, she hoped that they would stay a bit longer in the same position - her head on his chest, which felt so right to her all of a sudden. "All done, Ray," he whispered and took her hands into his, pulling away. Sebastian didn't want to pull away. But he didn't trust himself enough, to be in such close proximity to her. And hence, he did. He pulled away from her.

Though, Rayne couldn't see him, she felt him staring at her. Probably with a smile on his face, she guessed. 

"Now, I'm gonna open the door for you, and you're gonna take my hand and walk beside me, okay?" Rayne listened to Sebastian's voice. He was still sitting near her. It wouldn't take a moment to grab him by his face and kiss him. But she dismissed those thoughts out of her head and nodded as he brushed a strand of her hair out of her face. She could hear him getting out of the car. In a second, he opened the door on her side and lifted her hand. Rayne felt sparks for the nth time that day.

Rayne grasped at Sebastian's hand like he was the last remaining human on Earth. With one of her senses masked, the others seemed to have heightened. Her nose picked up the fresh smell of daisies. She had always liked daisies. Depriving her of her eyesight seemed to brighten the world around her, somehow. She also heard the chirping of birds afar - something she hadn't experienced in years.

There lay a comfortable silence between the two humans - her hand in his remained the only connection. Yet, each of them felt like they were holding their worlds in their arms.

Even after experiencing the purity of the nature - the smell of daisies and the chirping of birds - Rayne's focus laid with Sebastian. She listened to the way he breathed - slow and steady. She felt his hand envelope hers despite how moist it was. She could faintly smell his cologne regardless of how there were a variety of scents around her. She felt her world full of him even without being able to see him. Her thoughts were filled with him - even when there were much remarkable things around her.

At that moment, Rayne realized. Her world was full of him. She was full of him.

At the fear of him somehow being able to read her mind, she pushed those thoughts out of her head and concentrated on the surroundings.

Soon after, a number of sounds seemed to fill the environment. Rayne couldn't concentrate on one since there were so many. She could hear children gleefully talking and laughing. She could hear yelling, shouting and screaming - but there was nothing bad about it, instead it imparted a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. The same went for the smell - she smelled a mixture of caramel and cotton candy. She smelled french fries and donuts. And a small smile made its way upto her lips.

Sebastian stopped, and with him, Rayne. He removed his hand from hers - and almost immediately, she missed the feeling. Before she could sulk, he walked behind her and slowly untied the blindfold.

Rayne watched the world come into life before her. The first thing to catch her eyes was the Ferris Wheel - it stood majestic and left her feeling a rush of adrenaline just by looking at it. After that, she spotted the Roller Coaster, tea cup ride, haunted house, merry go round, bumper cars, boat rides and the various carnival games.

Somehow, even after looking at the majestic things Rayne felt the need to turn back and look at Sebastian. So she did. Sebastian stood sporting a bright grin on his face. The faint evening sunlight left a beautiful glow on his face. She took in the view in front of her. She smiled brightly as an epiphany hit her - the sight of the carnival was nothing compared to him.

He was everything.

Sebastian froze in his place at the sight of her. As soon as she smiled, he took her hands into his and whispered, "what do you think? Do you like it?"

Even before the question, he knew that she would love it. But he wanted her to voice it for a confirmation.

She nodded her head enthusiastically. He tried so hard but couldn't stop himself from hugging her. He felt his shoulders relax only when she hugged him back.

Rayne gave in to Sebastian. They hugged each other and the world stopped around them. The Ferris wheel stopped whirring, the roller coaster froze mid air, there was no more screaming at the haunted house, the caramel on the popcorn didn't melt. All over the place, there was silence. Only silence, except for the two hearts that were beating in unison.

✵