The lad shrank away, hiding as best he could around the corner without fleeing the booth. Amber couldn't blame him; not everyone was up to facing Eric's sullen jealousy. Eric's show of space, together with her own flirting, might help seal the deal later, when the time came.

Amber ran a hand over her head, yanking her hair back. "Come mock me once you've made a hit," she snapped. Luck-based game or not, she wanted to win. She fired off again, just to wipe that smug grin off his face, and to her amazement, it worked. The duck fell over with a thud that was as satisfying as any compliment House doled out. Amber whirled back to Eric, smirking. "Who's laughing now?"

With one hand around Eric's and the other in her pocket, her fingers had been warm. But as the game progressed, they became more and more frozen, and now she could barely feel them as she pulled the trigger. Maybe that was why her bullet just skimmed the target, going to the left. Or maybe it was because she sucked.

But she still had the chance to win at least a small animal; she wouldn’t walk away completely empty-handed and shamed. Laying down the gun down for a second; rubbed her hands for heat. All it did was introduce an uncomfortable tingling in her fingers. It’d have to do. With pin-pricking digits, Amber took up the gun again.

And missed. “Fuck!” This stupid fair wasn’t fun at all. She dumped the gun onto the counter, who cared if it broke or not. If it did, it’d be a lesson to these cheating jerks.