Luckily for Percy, he managed to catch Ruby in his arms as she stumbled down. The tone in which she had said his name had wiped the smile right off his face. It never implied anything good, and for a moment, he worried about what had been coming on the other end of it. Despite his curiosity, he helped her down the rest of the way. He moved back toward the center panel and flipped the switches back to off, there was no use running the carousel until it broke.
"What's next," he asked, his hand slipping into Ruby's as the ride began slowing down until it was crawling to a complete stop. Maybe he could distract her from the seriousness of the way she had said his name. It was a thought, at least.