Chanyeol walked into Dahlia’s tent as one of her customers left, carrying a paper tray of doughnuts and a carrier with two paper cups of coffee.

“Here,” he offered the tray towards her. “You didn’t get to have breakfast and I figured you’d be hungry.”

“Oh my god, Chanyeol; you’re an angel,” Dahlia cooed, taking the coffee from him a slurping down as much as she could without burning her tongue.

The corner of his lips turned up in a light smile. “I wouldn’t go that far, but thanks.”

Dahlia hummed as she took another sip of the coffee and reached over to grab a doughnut from the tray Chanyeol was balancing on his lap as he sat on a small bench in the corner.

“So,” he continued, “what exactly am I supposed to be doing today? I mean, I don’t want to hang around you all day ‘cause that might annoy you, but this place is big and…a little scary.”

She gave a soft chuckle, “You can stay here; it won’t bother me. Besides, it’ll make it easier when we go talk to Alma during my lunch break and I don’t have to track you down.”

“Alma?” Chanyeol repeated, unfamiliar with the name.

“She’s the one that owns the carnival,” Dahlia explained. “She’s the one we need to talk to about getting you and the others a trailer.”

There were footsteps and the sound of chatter growing closer to Dahlia’s tent; she brushed the doughnut crumbles off her hands, hid the coffee under her table, and straightened out the velvet tablecloth.

“It’s show time,” she said, giving Chanyeol a wink.

***

Chanyeol watched as Dahlia went through the readings with every person that walked into her tent. Just from talking to her on a personal level, Chanyeol expected her to be…tackier was the only word that came to mind...to play up the ‘psychic’ act and take whomever walked into her trap for a ride.

But she didn’t.

Maybe she wasn’t even aware of how attentive she was to the people she was speaking to; it might have been a side effect of her abilities, but she truly connected with each person and spoke to them on a very truthful level. There were people who walked in expecting a hack and walked out feeling like their problems had actually been solved, or at least they knew how to take steps to solve their problems.

He didn’t expect it, and he was pleasantly surprised. Even though Dahlia ended up not being the chosen one, he didn’t totally mind. That wasn’t to say he didn’t want to find the real chosen one – he absolutely did. But there was a small niggling feeling in the back of his mind that made him think it’d be okay if it took a while.

He only hoped his brothers would have the same opinion.

Dahlia stretched and cracked her back, giving a small groan of relief.

“Okay, lunch time,” she stated, rising from her seat and indicating with her head that she wanted Chanyeol to follow her.

Once she flipped the sign on her tent to read Out for Lunch, she led her new friend to the trailer that Alma worked from. The owner typically ate lunch in her trailer since she spent the majority of the day on her feet.

“Hey, Alma,” Dahlia gave a quick knock on the trailer door. “Can I come in?”

“Sure, hon,” came the voice from inside. When Dahlia walked in, Alma’s eyes immediately locked on to the tall boy behind her and her eyebrows raised high as she gave a half-smile. “Who’s this?”

“Chanyeol, a friend from back home,” Dahlia answered smoothly. “You know how you keep saying you need people to run the booths in the games division? Well, Chanyeol and his friends have volunteered to help out.”

“Volunteer?” Alma asked, quirking her eyebrow.

“Okay, they may have been volun-told,” Dahlia grinned. “But does that sound okay to you?”

Alma gave Chanyeol the once-over, pondering the younger girl’s suggestion. “He looks like he’s your age – shouldn’t he and his friends being in college, given that it’s in the middle of the school year, and all.”

“They’re all taking a year off to travel and explore the world,” Dahlia lied seamlessly. “But, given that they’re college students, their funds are somewhat limited. That’s why I suggested the carnival.”

“Well, it’s not a bad idea,” Alma admitted. “How many will there be and how soon can they get here?”

“There are