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Amy was on assignment, her camera in tow as she drove to the location she'd been assigned to. It wasn't any big attraction, just the local carnival that was in town for spring.
Oh well... At least she could go on a few of the rides, see the animals and get some cotton candy and popcorn. As a kid, she had always loved amusement parks and carnivals. The thought of going on this assignment, while it was by no means glamorous, made her feel playful. Too bad she didn't have anyone to go on rides with her. After all, it really wasn't much fun to go it alone.
She pulled her Toyota into the parking lot, as she had finally arrived. Music and children's laughter as well as screams hit her ears as she got out of the car.
She made her way toward the entrance, reaching into her purse for her wallet. She yanked some bills out and explained who she was to the woman selling admission tickets. The way this normally worked was that she would get a discount into a place once they realized she was on assignment with the paper. It didn't always work, but she always made that attempt. And fortunately, this time she was allowed in at half price.
Smiling her appreciation to the woman, the redhead strolled in for the carnival. She fiddled with her digital camera, making sure her batteries had plenty of juice, and approached a kiddie ride.
Amy laughed as she snapped some pictures of the young man running the ride. She noticed a woman in a floral print sundress not too far away from her and struck up a small conversation. Although she herself wasn't a parent, she wanted to make sure it was okay with a mother before taking pictures of her kids to publish in the newspaper. The woman was friendly and had no problem with it.
Shortly thereafter, she moved on. The roller coaster looked like loads of fun, and she wanted to try it out herself, but later. She decided to head on over to the animal area. She wasn't going to snap any pictures out of respect for the furry and feathered cuties, but she loved animals and had to see them.
Amy slipped a quarter into the millet machine to retrieve a handful of the food. Afterward, she stepped inside the tent, a smile instantly coming to her face as she spotted all the winged and four-legged creatures.
She knelt by a pen to feed a baby lamb. It just about stole her heart as it bleated and slowly, tentatively approached.
"Come on, sweetie," she called. She made a soft kissing noise and held out her hand. The lamb gobbled up every morsel she held within. She pet its soft shearling and decided to get more food for other animals as well.
Amy turned around to buy more millet, her hand coming up to cup the grain. As she turned fully around to return to the animal tent, she collided into a very solid body and let out an exclamation of surprise, dropping the food. She looked up, shocked at the person's identity. She opened her mouth, intending on saying hello but was cut off at the path.
"What in hell is the meaning of this?!" He shoved a crumpled piece of newspaper in her face.
Amy was so stunned, she seemed to have momentarily lost her voice. She shook her head as she stared up at him, her mouth still open. Her gaze went to the paper and trailed back to his angry face. How had he found her here, anyway?
She still had not spoken, and people around them were beginning to stare. This was getting ridiculous - he was yelling at her, waving that stupid piece of newspaper at her and not letting her get a word in edgewise. She was starting to get annoyed.
"Enough!" she shouted, waving her arms as she glared up at him. "Just calm down and stop putting this thing in my face!" In a flash, upon those words, she tore the page of newspaper out of his grip. He looked even more angry as she held it in her hands. "That was the first shot I took from the day of the rockslide... Are you happy?"
Adam laughed sardonically as he shook his head and pointed to himself with both hands.
"No, I'm not happy!" he cried. "Or are you that clueless to people's emotions?"
The redhead pressed her lips together so that they became a thin line. She'd had just about enough of this.
"I'm leaving," she declared, and she started walking away. She made sure to drop the newspaper page into the first trash can she passed.
The tall blond man quickened his step, hurrying after her.
"You had no right to take my picture!" he insisted. "And definitely no right to print it in your ratty little paper!" He reached out and touched her on the shoulder.
Amy turned around, recoiling somewhat at his touch. She glared directly up into his green eyes, wondering exactly what horrible sin she'd committed that caused him to eye her with such contempt.
"Why is it so terrible that one crappy little picture of you made it into the local paper? And you can't even tell it's you unless you look extra closely."
"Oh, give me a break, lady," he snapped, his eyes narrowing as he fixed them on her. While he knew what she'd just said was true, he was still annoyed.
She rolled her eyes, then turned around and strolled out of the carnival. What a wonderful trip this had turned out to be.
The tall blond man followed her out. He kept pace easily behind her with his long legs and kept shouting at her until she couldn't take anymore.
"Look," she said as she reached her car, "what is it you want from me? I don't get it... You seemed so nice the day we met. You save my life twice. Then, you tell me to stay away from you. Well, I've been doing that!" she said, her voice raising. "And now, I'm just trying to do my job, and here you are, accosting me! What the hell did I ever do to you?" She stared at him with somewhat pained hazel eyes.
Copeland's anger began to abate at that look in her eyes. He probably was making a bit much out of this. Even he himself hadn't realized his picture had made it into the paper. Shawn had had to tell him it was him.
"Nothing," he admitted, finally answering her question. "You did nothing to me."
The redhead shook her head and posed her next question.
"Then why do you treat me like some sort of fatal disease?"
The blond man nearly flinched at her words. She really did sound hurt, and that was the last thing he wanted. He swallowed and looked down at the ground, then back up at her as he spoke again.
"I'm... I'm sorry," he said. "I really am." When she stayed silent, he closed the few feet of distance between them and neared her. "I've got so much drama going on in my life, and I guess I just took my frustrations out on you."
She merely eyed him in silence. She gazed up into his incredibly green eyes and knew he was being sincere in his apology.
"Would you mind if we... start over?" he asked. "Do you think you could forget about how much of a jerk I was today?"
Amy blinked and kept her gaze on him, and soon, she felt a small smile touching her lips. She could actually feel his warmth. He meant everything he was saying and genuinely felt bad for the way he'd been avoiding and treating her.
"Done."