Our last few months in Forks were spent spending time with everyone. We had officially decided we would leave after the new year, so everyone made sure the last time we were all together counted.
My favorite trip, however, was one that just included Jasper, Seth, Charlotte, Leah, and Nathan. It was a surprise trip that Jasper and Alice planned to the fair. Alice said there was absolutely no way the sun would come out because there was supposed to be a crazy storm the next day, so it was perfect.
As soon as our car pulled into the fairgrounds, Nathan and Seth were obsessed with the big rides. They kept making comments, but I could tell Charlotte was wary of them. There were a few rollercoaster-type rides and one giant Ferris Wheel in the center.
We got out of the car and made our way into the fair, where Charlotte was immediately drawn to the carnival-type booths. Every pop-up tent had a different game within, and I had a feeling we were about to try and play every single one of them.
Three hours of games later, I was proven correct. All of the kids had made it their goal to win as many games and gather as many prizes as possible. Charlotte won the least amount but ended up with the most prizes because the others would give them to her. Seth and Leah had won a good amount of games and had an equal amount of prizes. Nathan had won the most out of the four of them and had the biggest prizes to show for this. Jasper and I only played a few games, but I had a huge prize because of him.
We were playing a bottle toss game that was supposed to be nearly impossible. A ring had to be thrown and land perfectly on a bottle three times. Because of the terrible odds, our enhanced abilities were very helpful. Some may say we were cheating, but I think of it as using our gifts in a fun way. It also had the biggest prizes in the whole place, and I had decided I wanted one in particular.
The kids tried first.
"Dang it." Seth tried first but threw two of them off the board entirely and didn't land the third.
"Are you joking?!" Leah was next. She didn't land the first two on a bottle and wasted the third throwing it in anger.
"Shoot." Charlotte wasn't even close, but we told her she did a good job anyways.
"Well, that was stupid." Nathan tried to downplay how upset he was that he lost, but I could clearly see he was sad he lost the game like everyone else.
I tried next, wanting to see if I could do it. I managed to bounce all three of the rings off the bottles, but not a single one landed. I pouted slightly, making Jasper laugh at me. "You try," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's harder than you think."
"I'm sure it is," Jasper conceded, stepping up to try.
He threw all three rings, one after the other, and watched as they all landed. Every single one landed on a bottle, making him the ultimate winner.
"Wow, congrats," the worker told Jasper. "I've never seen anyone do that before. You get your pick for which prize you get."
Jasper pointed up at the top, saying, "I'll take that one right there."
"Sounds good."
The ultimate prize was now ours. It was a giant stuffed snake. It was literally the length of like three Jaspers', making it the biggest prize I had seen. The worker grabbed the huge snake and handed it to Jasper, who gave it to me.
"Here you go." He had a cocky smile on his face as he handed it to me, but I didn't care. It was the best thing I had ever seen, and I loved it.
With that, we decided we had enough prizes to last us a lifetime and took a trip to the car where we left most of the prizes. Charlotte insisted on keeping one with her that Seth had won her, and we were not going to argue with her.
We went back into the fair and grabbed some random food for the kids and me before changing tactics and going on the rides.
We started with a small spinning ride. All six of us fit in one cart, and Jasper and I smushed the four kids between us as a precaution. Charlotte had a death grip on the bar holding us in and on Seth's arm. Even though she insisted she was fine, we all could easily tell she was nervous. She had never done anything like this before, but I knew she would love it after it was done.
"Mom," she whispered to me before the ride started. "Are we sure this is fun?"
"We are," I told her. "But if it makes you feel better, your father is almost as nervous as you are about this ride."
"Why?" she asked me, looking down at Jasper, who was trying to mask his slight panic.
"I don't know if he's ever been on a ride like this either," I told her honestly. "So it's a first time for both of you."
That seemed to calm her down a little, and it was just in time because the ride was starting. After a brief ride full of spinning, our cart came back to a standstill. I turned to see everyone had wide smiles on their faces, letting me know the next few hours would be full of rides.
We rode every single rollercoaster type ride they had set up. Most of them were small, but they had exciting layouts with weird ride systems. We always sat together, even when we split up into smaller groups. Jasper had a death grip on my hand on a few of the rides as if he were a child. Sometimes I forgot how different of a life he had before he was turned, and I was happy he could experience the fun things life had to offer. The four kids all seemed to be having fun as well, and I hoped this random trip was a memory they would keep forever.
Our last ride of the night was the giant Ferris Wheel. All six of us fit into one carriage since people could sit on both sides. Jasper and I sat on one side while the four children sat on the other. As soon as we started to move, the four kids pushed each other gently, making our carriage rock slightly. Leah kept squealing at Nathan, while Charlotte kept pushing Seth to watch him laugh at her.
Jasper wrapped his arm around me as we watched the four kids mess with each other. I leaned my head on his shoulder, enjoying the peacefulness of their chaos. I turned my attention to the view, liking how the world looked from so high up.
As our carriage started to slow down, the four kids calmed slightly, realizing Jasper and I weren't really saying anything. Our carriage stopped as people in a different carriage down below started to get out.
"Can I ask you a question?" Leah asked, getting my attention once again.
"Of course," I told her.
"Are you guys really leaving?"
I gave Leah a small smile, understanding what she meant. It was already October, and we were going to leave Forks in January. When we originally made the plan to leave, Leah and Nathan weren't super close to us, so I didn't think to include them. But now, I knew they wanted to be part of our makeshift family.
"We really are, Leah," I responded. "But we'll be close enough that you guys can come and visit all the time."
Leah glanced at Nathan and Seth before looking back at us once more. "What if we wanted to stay with you guys permanently."
My eyes widened in shock, but a genuine smile took over my face. "Of course, you guys can come with us."
"You sure you're not just saying that?" Nathan asked, clearly not wanting to be a bother.
"We're not just saying that," I told him.
"We honestly never brought it up because we didn't want to force you to do something like that if you didn't want to," Jasper added.
Our carriage started moving again, slowly taking us back down to the bottom.
"We wouldn't be a burden?" Leah asked.
"You would never be a burden, Leah," I responded. "I would love it if you two moved with us. And, we'll be close enough that you can visit the pack, and they can visit us."
Both Leah and Nathan smiled as Charlotte let out a yawn. We all turned to see her falling asleep on Seth, who was looking at Leah in happiness. Our moving would keep the two siblings together, something I knew Seth was anxious about.
As our carriage reached the ground, the six of us got out. Jasper picked up Charlotte and wrapped an arm around Seth, leading him away from the ride. I placed both my arms around Leah and Nathan, following Jasper.
We all got to the car, where everyone got in and buckled up. As Jasper started to drive away, everyone slowly fell asleep, clinging to a random prize won earlier in the day.
"We've got some good kids," Jasper told me, glancing at them in the rearview mirror.
"That we do," I replied, taking his hand in mine. "That we do."