But even as the thoughts bounced around inside his head, Hardy knew that none of it mattered. He felt it deep down. Miracle was a game changer. She was his game changer.

Several minutes later, Hardy was quiet as the attendant unlatched the metal bar that held them safely inside their cart and helped Miracle out onto the ground. Her contented demeanor seemed even more peaceful in contrast to the tumultuous sea of emotion raging inside him. Hardy found himself drawn to it, drawn to her, just as he had been the first time he’d seen her in the park so many months ago. There was a brightness inside Miracle that shed its light into the dark corners of Hardy’s soul, that illuminated the dim future his father had planned for him.

Hardy recognized what it was that she made him feel. Hope. Miracle gave him hope.

“There you are,” Hardy heard a deep voice say from his left as he and Miracle walked slowly away from the Ferris wheel. He probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought, thinking the guy was talking to someone else, if it weren’t for the fact that Miracle stopped. When he turned to look at her, she was frozen.

“What’s the matter?” Hardy asked. When she didn’t answer, he followed her eyes to a boy that was standing a few feet from where they were. He was smiling and Hardy disliked him instantly.

“Jonah?”

“Hey, baby!” he said familiarly, opening his arms as if she would run right into them.

Hardy’s heart plummeted into his shoes when Miracle left his side and walked slowly into Jonah’s embrace. It didn’t register with Hardy that she didn’t run or that she seemed stiff against him. It didn’t ease the pain in his chest that she pulled quickly away. He only saw the world’s most perfect tall, blond guy smiling the world’s most perfect smile down at the girl Hardy was pretty sure he’d fallen in love with.

“What are you doing here?”

“Your mom said you’d gone to the carnival with a friend from school to take some pictures,” Jonah said, reaching forward to tuck a wavy strand of Miracle’s hair behind her ear. Hardy’s stomach lurched at the intimate gesture.

“No, I mean what are you doing here, in Middleton?”

Jonah’s smile widened. “I decided to go to school at the University of Florida so I could be closer to you.”

Even though he felt like he was intruding on an intimate reunion, Hardy couldn’t bring himself to move. He felt as though he was standing on the shore watching his greatest treasure drift out to sea. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“But you said you—”

“I know what I said, baby,” Jonah interrupted, rubbing his hands up and down Miracle’s arms. “But I was wrong. I miss you. I want to be with you.”

Hardy’s heart skipped a beat when Miracle turned her head and glanced at him over her shoulder. It was then that Jonah acknowledged him, almost as though Hardy hadn’t even registered as a blip on the radar until that very moment.

“This must be your friend,” Jonah said, extending his hand toward Hardy and stepping forward as he draped his other arm casually (and possessively, Hardy thought) around Miracle’s shoulders. “Jonah Elliott. Nice to meet you, man.”

With a smile he knew was tight and forced, Hardy slipped his hand inside the other guy’s and squeezed it briefly. “Hardy Bradford,” he said abruptly, backing up a step and crossing his arms over his chest. Hardy knew the posture probably looked confrontational, but he didn’t care. He didn’t really care what this Jonah thought of him; he just wanted him to stay away from Miracle.

“So you’re one of those artsy types like Miracle, huh? Are you into photography, too?”

Jonah’s condescending tone wasn’t lost on Hardy, and he bristled. “Yep.”

Jonah frowned as he looked from Hardy to Miracle and back again. “Where’s your camera?”

Hardy looked down at his chest, which was free from the camera that should have been dangling there from its neat black strap. He looked up at Miracle and she was doing the same thing. When her eyes met his, they sparkled with mischief. He knew her laugh was coming before it bubbled from her lips. When it finally did, it gushed over him like a warm tide and he laughed, too.

“Oops,” was all she said, her smile letting Hardy know that the intimate, inside joke they shared was not all in his head. She’d been so enjoying herself, she hadn’t even realized they’d left their cameras in Hardy’s car.

Hardy would never forget that moment. It was the moment he realized he would fight to the death for her.

Unfortunately, his elation over their shared humor was short-lived. Every bit the opportunist Hardy suspected he was, Jonah jumped in to seize the chance to get Miracle alone. “Well, since you two forgot your cameras then you won’t mind me taking Miracle home now, right?”

To Hardy, Jonah’s smile seemed smug and shark-like, but there was little he could do wipe it away. He couldn’t argue his logic without admitting some sort of more-than-friendly feelings toward Miracle. And he couldn’t very well do that until he had more time with her, time to convince her that they belonged together. So, Hardy did the only thing he could—he gave in gracefully. For the time being anyway.

“Whatever Miracle wants to do is fine by me.”

Hardy thought he could see regret on Miracle’s face, but he couldn’t be sure. It was only a flash, one quickly replaced by her trademark serenity. She also looked like she wanted to say something, but again Hardy wondered if he was only imagining it because he wanted to see it.

Finally, after a few tense seconds, Miracle’s lips curved and she nodded, first at Hardy and then at Jonah. He grinned like the cat that ate the canary. Hardy hoped he choked on the feathers.

“I’m parked over there,” Jonah said, pointing in the direction opposite of where Hardy was parked. He tipped his head curtly at Hardy. “See you around, man.”

Hardy nodded once and watched as Jonah guided Miracle away from him.

“See you tomorrow, Hardy,” Miracle promised, smiling shyly up at him. “Thank you for bringing me out tonight.” Her eyes seemed to scream at him that she meant so much more, but that was just one more thing Hardy couldn’t be sure he wasn’t imagining.

They’d only walked a few yards when Miracle looked back at Hardy and smiled again. His heart broke and melted all at the same time, leaving him feeling unfulfilled and…lost. He stood watching them go until they were out of sight.

********

Never had Hardy so anticipated school before, much less a Monday. And yet on this morning, he was actually excited. But it wasn’t really school he was looking forward to; it was Miracle. He was anxious to see her again. Without the goon.

It wasn’t until he was turning the corner to make his way to his locker that Hardy happened to remember Cheyenne. Normally she would be there waiting for him. But they’d broken up on Friday. Since then, except for when she’d made it impossible to ignore her, he hadn’t given her a second thought.

Until now.

He was relieved to find only Nate standing at his locker. Their lockers were only three apart, but Nate wasn’t at his; he was at Hardy’s.

With a sigh, Hardy continued his approach. At least he’s alone, he thought. Thank God!

Hardy felt his eyebrows draw together as he remembered Nate’s blatant appreciation of Miracle. It was enough to dampen his mood, but only minimally.

“Details, dude! I want details,” Nate said with a lascivious grin when Hardy stopped in front of him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man,” Hardy snapped, ignoring Nate to reach around him and work the combination on his lock.

“Don’t get all girlie on me now, Bradford! You know I’m talking about that new chick, Miracle. Dude, if you don’t tap that, give me a shot at her. I bet she—”

Before Nate could even finish his degrading sentence, Hardy had his fingers curled into the collar of his rugby shirt and was hauling him up against the lockers.

“Shut your mouth, Nate. You’re my friend, but right now I’m not feeling very friendly.”

Hardy didn’t realize how inordinately irate he was until his friend started to laugh.

“Dayum!” was all Nate said as he watched Hardy with a surprised yet impressed expression on his face. “I’ve never seen you like this before, amigo. If you wanted me to back off, all you had to do was ask.”

“This is me asking,” Hardy growled. Nate raised his hands in surrender and Hardy released his hold. As Hardy peered into the face of his stunned friend, he sighed, recognizing his overreaction. “Sorry, man,” he said, stepping back and rubbing a hand over his face.

Nate laughed again, straightening his shirt. “You always did have a way with words.” Hardy glared at him, but Nate, ever the unflappable jokester, paid him little attention. Recovering quickly, Nate playfully punched Hardy in the arm and danced a circle around him. “You’re not gonna start writing ‘Hardy loves Miracle’ all over your notebooks, are you? Get a tattoo with her name in a heart? Sing her a song and post it on YouTube?”

Nate stopped, put a hand dramatically over his heart, and started to sing in an incredibly offensive falsetto. He crooned something about lights guiding her home and trying to fix her. The more he twirled around singing like a girl, making a spectacle, the more attention and strange looks he attracted.

Hardy held back his smile until he could hold it no longer, finally laughing outright. He begged Nate to stop, a plea with which he thankfully complied.

“That was almost painful, dude.”

“You know I sing like an angel. Don’t be a hater,” Nate teased as he turned to spin the knob on his combination lock.

When he opened the door, two books and a slew of papers fell out. Hardy just shook his head. He had no idea how Nate managed to keep his grades up as disorganized as he was. Hardy doubted he could even find some of his books, let alone take them home to study or complete his homework. Somehow, he did it, though.

Hardy retrieved his own books for first period and shut his locker, turning to Nate just as he was haphazardly stuffing the fallen books and papers back in his locker.

“So,” Hardy began conversationally. “No Cheyenne?”

Nate gave a bark of laughter and threw Hardy a sidelong glance. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

Hardy rolled his eyes. “Please.”

“That’s what she said,” Nate quipped, snorting in amusement.

“Yeah, right. ‘Please stop’ maybe.”

“More like ‘Please, God, don’t let this be Hardy’.”

Hardy grinned. “What happened? Really?”

“You know I can’t be tamed.”

“Come on, Nate. Seriously, what happened?”

Nate shrugged his wide shoulders uncomfortably. “No offense, man, but I don’t know how you put up with her as long as you did. That chick is psycho!”

“Nah, she’s just high maintenance.”

“Hardy, seriously, she scratched me. Hard! Look at this.” Nate pulled the neckline of his shirt down and to the side, exposing three long gashes across his chest. “That freak’s got claws, dude!”

Hardy laughed. “What’d you do to her?”

“Nothing she didn’t like before.”

Hardy cackled. “It’s my curse, man. Once they’re with me, every other guy is just—”

“Shut up, you ass!” Nate griped lightheartedly, jabbing his elbow into Hardy’s ribs. “I make ‘em purr.”

“Those aren’t the marks of someone who was purring. Hissing maybe, but not purring.”

“Eh, with Cheyenne, sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference,” Nate declared, unconcerned.

Hardy laughed. “Good point.”

“No need to worry your pretty little head over it, though. She’ll be back. Trust me.”

Hardy rolled his eyes again. Nate was probably right; Cheyenne had a pathological need to chase that which was not easily obtained and, in some ways, Nate was unattainable. Hardy supposed that was why he’d always been able to keep her attention. Although he’d thought he loved her at one point, since meeting Miracle, he realized his feelings for her had been lukewarm at best. There was a very good chance Cheyenne knew that, fueling her fascination with him.

Not wanting to think about Cheyenne anymore, Hardy bid his friend goodbye and headed to the first class of the day. He knew he’d be counting the minutes until Chemistry, until he could see Miracle again.

By the time Chem Lab rolled around, Hardy’s mood was much more morose. He hadn’t felt like himself since about ten minutes into first period. He’d quickly discovered all he could think about was Miracle. All he could do was count the minutes until he got to see her. He could’ve kicked himself for not finding out more about her classes and where her locker was, anything to give him enough information to “run into her” more often. The word stalker came to mind, but he pushed it ruthlessly aside, reasoning that he was no stalker.

But, time would only go so fast, so he was practically panting by the time he breezed into the lab. He was a full three minutes early, which was a full five minutes before his usual arrival time—which was normally “late.”

Hardy took his seat and pulled his book from his backpack, flipping it open to a random page so that he’d have something to feign interest in until she arrived.

Only she never showed.

The bell rang and there was still no sign of Miracle. Hardy felt prickly and raw and sorely disappointed.

“What’s the matter, Hardy? Did she have to change classes so you’d stop stalking her?”