There they were.
The two of them.
After making it through the entrance, they were now standing in line to buy their tickets. All around them, the amusement park seemed to be in constant motion. Families walked from one place to another, groups of friends laughed as they argued over which ride to visit first, and couples walked hand in hand, some wearing the same nervous expressions Jean and Tesia were trying their best to hide.
Jean looked toward the ticket booth.
"Two, please."
After paying, he received the tickets and handed them to Tesia.
She took them carefully, as if they were something far more important than a couple of pieces of paper.
Finally, they made it through the entrance.
And then they stopped.
The entire amusement park stretched out before them.
The lights from the rides shone against the darkening sky, splashing colorful reflections across people's faces. A Ferris wheel turned slowly in the distance, its illuminated cabins looking like tiny stars moving across the city. Closer to them, a roller coaster raced through a massive metal structure while the screams of its passengers echoed through the park.
Music came from different directions.
The sounds of the machines.
Laughter.
The sweet smell of food stands.
And in the middle of all of it, Jean and Tesia simply stood there for a few seconds, taking it all in.
"Let's go."
Jean held out his hand.
Tesia lowered her gaze.
Her eyes widened slightly.
It wasn't the first time they'd walked together.
It wasn't the first time they'd been alone.
But it was the first time Jean had done something like this.
She stared at his hand for a moment that seemed to last much longer than it actually did.
Really...
That tiny gesture finally made it sink in.
I'm on a date with him.
This wasn't an outing between friends.
It wasn't a coincidence.
It wasn't just another afternoon where they could pretend nothing was happening.
It was a date.
Tesia smiled.
She gently took Jean's hand.
"Let's go."
She immediately looked away.
Her cheeks had turned red.
Jean felt a small jolt of nervousness in his chest too, but he tried to act as if this were completely normal.
They started walking.
And for a few minutes, neither of them said much.
Not because they had nothing to say.
They were simply too aware of each other's hands.
Tesia's fingers rested between Jean's.
Every now and then, their hands moved slightly as they walked, and whenever that happened, Tesia felt a little rush of excitement run through her.
Jean, meanwhile, tried to look absolutely anywhere except at their hands.
"Look."
Tesia pointed toward a ride.
It was covered in lights and slowly spun around before beginning to rise into the air.
"Would you go on that?"
Jean looked at her.
"Would you?"
"Of course."
"You really do have an advantage from always flying through the sky. It lets you avoid the fear of heights most humans have..."
Tesia looked at him with a proud smile.
"Of course. It's a piece of cake for me. I don't think there are many things that could scare me..."
Jean looked at the ride again.
"Let me prepare my heart before I try getting on something like that... okay?"
They continued walking.
They passed stands filled with toys, stuffed animals, and enormous prizes that looked practically impossible to win. Somewhere else, a machine sprayed water at small targets while several children tried to beat each other's scores.
Tesia seemed to want to stop at every single one.
"What about that?"
"That's a duck pond game."
"I know it's a duck pond game."
"So..."
"I wanna try it."
Jean let out a small laugh.
"Okay."
It turned out picking the lucky duck from the moving water was harder than it looked. Still, as they walked away empty-handed, neither of them could stop smiling.
///
They kept walking.
Tesia talked about practically everything she saw, and Jean found himself enjoying something he hadn't expected to enjoy quite so much.
Watching her get excited about everything without letting go of his hand for even a moment.
She wasn't the confident, daring Tesia who always tried to act like she had everything under control.
She was simply Tesia.
A girl enjoying a night at an amusement park with someone she liked.
And perhaps that was why Jean couldn't help looking at her for a few seconds longer than he should have.
Tesia noticed.
She slowly turned her head.
"Jean."
"Yeah?"
She smiled mischievously.
"You've been staring a lot."
Jean froze completely.
"Eh?"
Tesia looked down at herself, then back at him.
"I know what you're looking at."
Jean felt his face getting hot.
"I..."
Tesia glanced around to make sure nobody was nearby.
Then she gave her chest a little playful bounce right in front of him.
"Hehe..."
Jean immediately looked for an emergency escape route.
"Do you want something to eat?"
Tesia blinked.
"Jean?"
Jean pointed toward a nearby stand.
"Look! Cotton candy!"
"Cotton candy!?"
"Yeah."
Jean started walking with considerably more enthusiasm than necessary.
"Let's go."
Tesia followed him, laughing.
"Jean!"
"What?"
"Your face is red!"
"It's hot today."
"It's pretty cool out."
"Shut up."
Tesia burst out laughing.
"You're so stupid."
"I know..."
"And you really like my boobs..."
"TESIAAA!!!!"
///
After walking around for a while, they ended up in front of one of the most popular attractions in the park.
A haunted house.
The entrance was decorated with rather unpleasant-looking figures, red lights, and a huge wooden door that slowly opened and closed on its own.
Jean looked at it.
"Wanna go in?"
Tesia raised an eyebrow.
"Aren't you scared?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Completely."
"Hmm..."
Tesia smiled.
"Then let's go."
Jean swallowed.
"Let's go."
The entrance closed behind them.
At first, nothing happened.
A dark hallway.
A flickering light.
A figure that moved slightly in the distance.
Jean continued walking with as much dignity as possible.
"This isn't scary."
"I know. It's probably meant to scare kids."
Tesia walked calmly beside him.
A door suddenly flew open.
Jean jumped slightly.
"...!"
Tesia looked at him.
"You okay? Did something happen?"
"Nothing."
"Don't tell me you got scared? Hehehe."
"No."
"Uh-huh..."
"It was a reflex."
"Sure."
They continued.
A creature suddenly appeared from behind a wall.
Jean jumped again.
Tesia simply stared at it.
"Come on, Jean. That scare was pretty pathetic."
"Thanks for the support."
"You're welcome."
It seemed like nothing could scare her.
Until they reached a particularly dark room.
Tesia took one step.
Then another.
And then she saw something on the floor.
She froze completely.
"..."
Jean looked at her.
"What is it?"
Tesia slowly raised a finger.
"Jean..."
"Yeah?"
"There..."
Jean followed the direction of her finger.
"What?"
The cockroach moved.
Tesia went pale.
"..."
Jean barely had time to react.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Tesia launched herself at him and hugged him so tightly that Jean nearly lost his balance.
Jean briefly lost control of his emotions—not because Tesia's scream had scared him, but because her chest was pressed against his left arm, and he could feel all that softness sending a shock through his entire body.
"Tesia?!"
"A C-COCKROAAAAACH!"
"What?!"
"THERE!"
Jean looked toward the floor.
The cockroach moved again, threatening to take flight as it fluttered its wings.
"What the HELL?!"
Now they were both terrified.
"LET'S GO!"
"YEAH!"
They practically ran out of the room.
The haunted house, which was supposedly meant to be the place where the two of them confronted their greatest fears, had instead turned into a competition to see who could escape an insect the size of a fingernail the fastest.
When they finally made it outside, both of them were breathing heavily.
Jean placed his hands on his knees.
"..."
Tesia was breathing deeply as well.
"..."
They looked at each other.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Tesia paused.
"What about you?"
Jean gave her a thumbs-up.
"My pride isn't."
Tesia started laughing.
"I'm sorry I screamed in your ear..." she said, embarrassed.
"It's fine."
Jean smiled.
"Although I think we just found something that can actually defeat a vampire."
"Don't mention it again."
"Understood, Captain Bloodsucker!"
///
Later, Tesia was sitting on a bench waiting.
The park had taken on a different appearance as the night went on. The lights seemed brighter against the dark sky, and the shadows of the trees stretched across the ground illuminated by the streetlamps.
The screams from the roller coasters could be heard in the distance.
The music continued playing.
People came and went.
Tesia quietly watched everything around her while she waited for Jean.
Finally, she saw him coming back.
He was carrying two drinks.
"Sorry it took so long."
"It's okay."
Jean handed one to her.
"Here."
"Thanks."
He sat down beside her.
For a few seconds, they simply drank.
It was a cola from a brand so famous that practically everyone on the planet knew it, although for some reason, in this story, we weren't about to give them free advertising.
IT WAS A CO—
Tesia took a small sip.
"It's good."
"Right?"
Jean took a drink.
"And to think that when I first met you, I thought vampires only drank blood."
Tesia looked at him.
"Want me to suck it out?"
Jean's face turned bright red.
"Tesia... that sounds really..."
Tesia immediately realized how bad that had sounded and turned red all the way to her ears. She lowered her head slightly, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Jean let out a laugh.
It was a pleasant silence.
Tender.
Awkward.
The kind of silence that somehow felt comfortable.
Tesia looked at the lights of the park.
"Despite what happened with the cockroach..."
Jean looked at her.
"Yeah?"
Tesia looked forward again.
"I'm having a really good time."
Jean smiled.
"Me too."
He leaned back slightly against the bench.
"Honestly, I'm not even as nervous anymore."
Tesia looked at him.
"You were nervous?"
"Very."
"Why?"
Jean lowered his gaze toward their hands.
"Because I've never done this with you before."
Tesia remained silent.
Jean smiled.
"It actually took me quite a bit of courage to ask you to hold hands."
Tesia's eyes widened slightly.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Jean raised the hand that was still holding hers.
"I thought about it way too much before doing it."
Tesia smiled.
"You didn't look nervous. You looked very confident."
"That was the plan."
They both laughed softly.
Then the silence returned.
But this time, it was different.
Tesia stopped looking at the lights.
So did Jean.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them looked away.
For a few seconds, the noise of the amusement park seemed to fade into the background.
The voices.
The music.
The rides.
Everything else became secondary.
Tesia tilted her head slightly.
Jean did the same.
Little by little, almost without realizing it, they began moving closer.
The distance between them grew smaller.
A few inches.
Then a little less.
And for the first time that night, neither of them seemed to have any intention of being interrupted by another cockroach—or of making another joke just to escape the moment.