Luke left shortly after finishing his beverage, he had a photoshoot to capture. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by his departure. A flashback of the last time he left came to my mind and I wondered whether this time, I would ever get to see him again.

Having finished my coffee a few minutes later, I began the strenuous task of taking a cab to work. Except when I checked my wallet at the checkout, it had just enough money to pay for the coffee. I fished inside it, at its corners and edges but I could neither find my credit card nor some spare change. A brief image of my credit card still sitting comfortably on my nightstand flashed before my eyes. I cursed inwardly.

Being the parasitically codependent friend I was, I immediately called Jane.

"Hey, do you think you could pick me up? I need to go to work." I said, knowing the answer already.

"Te-freaking-ris, I am already at work, you forgetful 1984 game's namesake." She said. Jane being Jane was of course - incredibly punctual. Of course she was at work twenty minutes before it even started. I sighed.

"Hey, how about you call up your new boy toy? I am sure Alejandro would be more than happy to see the sight of your oh-so chimpanzee-like face." I could practically hear her moving her eyebrows suggestively.

I made a disgruntled and disgusted noise.

"Oh, come on. He is your last resort."

She was right. He was.

So, with regret chipping away at my heart before I even made the choice, I dialed up the Damsel in Lobster-ess; feeling my heart thumping against my chest.

**************************

His Toyota Corolla pulled up so smoothly in front of me that I could swear it was mocking me. How dare you, reasonably priced car, mock my inability to remember where my credit card is. I could barely remember my own middle name half the time, what did you expect? Besides I am sure the car didn't remember anything since it didn't have a brain, so who's the winner now?

Times must really have been desperate if I had to compare my memory to a car's lack of a memory.

I got in, urging my thoughts to excuse themselves off a cliff.

"Hey," Alejandro said, offering me a cool grin.

"Hi." I chimed back, without stuttering. One for Tetris, zero for the car.

"So, where do you work exactly?" He asked after we sat in the car for two minutes of awkward silence. Oh right, I hadn't told him the address. I inwardly facepalmed myself and told him the address.

For some reason, I was hyper aware of everything throughout the entire car ride. The ever-present smell of strawberries in the car, Alejandro's cologne and the distance between his left hand resting on the side of his seat and mine resting on the hand-rest of mine.

There was silence which I didn't feel the need to fill. I was aware of the seconds as the silence stretched wide between us, until all that was, was us and the silence. But the silence was not an incessant one, gnawing away at our insides - no - it was a comfortable one, whose shade you could settle under and mold into.

When we arrived at my workplace I was almost reluctant to get out. But when I looked at the fact that I had two minutes left before I was officially late, I scrambled out of the car as if my pants were on fire. Alejandro laughed at my less than graceful exit.

I smiled at him. "See you later." I said, with a smile.

"Oh yeah, I was just thinking about that. Would you give me the honor of taking you out on a date tonight?" He said, his eyes glimmering with hope, his voice drawing me in.

Could I say no? Well, my mouth disagreed.

"Sure." I said, the stupid boyish smile still sitting awkwardly on my face.

Only when he drove off did I realize what I had just agreed to.

***********************

As the night drew closer, I couldn't think of anything else but the date. I was now safe in my home, far away from the reaches of Ruth and her goonies - tucked away in blankets and stress-binging Netflix.

But I couldn't for the life of me focus on the ruggedly handsome figure of Ian Somerhalder in front of me. My mind kept going back to that no-no-don't-think-about-this box and opening it again and again.

Finally, I gave up and just stared at the clock for a good two minutes. My doorbell rang.

AHHH, He was here! PANIC!

Instead of panicking, I hastily changed into something presentable and scrambled towards the door, still smoothing down my shirt.

"Hey there," Alejandro said, standing in front of my house, looking more ravishing than Ian Somerhalder.

"Hi - ah - yep, hi." I croaked. That seemed to satisfy him because the next second he offered his hand to me. I stared at it, what was one supposed to do with hands again?

Kiss them, shake them, take them home and ravish them? Definitely not the last option.

I took his hand and he gripped it tightly. Wait, did he just- hold my hand? I looked down at our joined hands; unless I had cyborg arms, that was indeed my hand currently clasped in Alejandro's hand.

I tried not to give it too much thought and instead focus on the Corolla. You are reveling in my misery aren't you, you automobile?

The car didn't say anything, typical. I almost scoffed before remembering that Alejandro wouldn't understand why I was spontaneously scoffing at his car. After all, who would he believe - a car he has probably had for a while or a person he met a few days ago?

Before I ended up having a fight with his car, I slipped my hand out of his and half-ran to the car. I opened it and slid in before Alejandro could ask any questions.

He followed me, raising an eyebrow at my borderline weird behaviour and thank god, started driving.

"So, where are we going?" I asked, as the trees on the edge of the road dissolved into more and more trees.

He gave me the most unhelpful and least satisfying answer ever "It's a surprise."

So far in my entire history as a person, I had never been a fan of surprises. Surprises could range from you got a llama for your birthday to oh my god, we burnt down your house, surprise! So, naturally I had always been wary of these adult versions of peek-a-boos.

"Come on, just tell me." I said, adding in a pout for good measure. Cuteness was always a good way to get the things you wanted, I learnt that when I was very young when Robin - my classmate - convinced every teacher that I had stolen her lunch when in reality she had stolen mine; just by acting all cute and crying like a baby.

I never forgave her.

"That isn't gonna work on me. I am a teacher, remember?" He reminded me very kindly. Crap, why had it worked on my kindergarten teachers then? Not fair. I stopped myself from doing the adult equivalent of throwing a tantrum which was, of course, jumping out of the car all John Wick-style, showing up at a nearest bar and drinking till I couldn't anymore.

"Ah, you'll like it. It's not like I am gonna drive us off a cliff." He said chuckling.

He shouldn't have said that. He totally shouldn't have said that. What if he was? Oh my god, I was not ready to die yet! I hadn't even finished Game of Thrones yet!

I tried my best to keep these dark thoughts at bay. I would surely get to finish GOT before I died, yes, I surely will. Then I looked at Alejandro, inspecting him closely, he didn't look like the kind of person who would try and kill me but then again do killers ever look like killers? Except for one odd case, they usually didn't. I silently urged my brain to think of nice things like soap operas which made no sense but I still loved them anyway.

Finally after I spent fifteen minutes thinking about how often people lose their memories and get them back in soap operas, we arrived at our destination.

Due to the fact that it was almost night and I was not an owl, I could barely make out where we were. So, I made my way out of the car, squinting into the darkness.

Two tall rusted gates stood in front of me, now covered in a varied variety of vines and moss. Above them was a board which proudly read "Lunaville".

"This place used to be all the rage in the seventies. Then, time happened and here we are. There's a lawsuit which doesn't allow this land to be owned by anyone in particular. Technically this is a property of state but both the state, the public and the private owners forget that this exists. So, it is just a wasteland where the rides - surprise, surprise - still work." Alejandro said, as I stared at the sign before blinking.

"Are you sure we are not gonna end up reenacting one of the scenes of Final Destination in there?" I asked, decades old amusement parks didn't sound like a very safe place.

"I swear on my life."

"Well, you should because if you are wrong, that is just what you will lose." I said, gulping. He chuckled, offering me his hand again.

This time, surrounded by the shadows of the looming trees and the forbidding gates in front of us - I took it, thankful that I had someone to hold onto.

He cracked upon the very unlocked days accompanied by the sound of groaning metal. We entered the abandoned park. The lights were off. Of course they were.

The park was cloaked in a cloud of darkness. I could still make out the rides by the receding sun which sank lower and lower in the sky.

Right next to us was a giant Ferris Wheel, the pride of the park - tall, majestic and very unsafe. It was still intact, standing still in one place, having not spun for god knows how long. Just looking at it, I could imagine the cotton candy and first kisses.

There were stalls where many people must have won things for their dates in an effort to impress them. I hoped that a goldfish wasn't one of the prizes. I had never liked when they chose goldfish - they didn't last long and usually if I was given something by my beloved, I would want it to last more than a week. And surely I wouldn't want a pet which could be counted as the living equivalent of a child - killing your child a week after the first date surely didn't leave a good impression.

There were the tracks for a rollercoaster but no cart in sight. I wondered if I could climb up those creaky rails just to feel the cool breeze from high above. Then, I remembered what would happen if I fell down and promptly gave up on the idea.

There was a tiny building which proudly sported the words - 'Haunted house', accompanied by disturbing hand-drawn images. I shifted away from the building, the people who played the ghosts might not be there but I sure as hell was not gonna go in a three decades-old haunted house. It was a big no-no from me. Smack dab at the top of the list of things I would never do.

"So, what do you think?" Alejandro asked. From the glint in his eyes I could tell he loved this place. Why wouldn't he? It was practically a historical landmark and he loved history. I wondered whether his love for history made him blind to the fact that this place would be the perfect setting for a horror book or for burying a body.

Wait - what if he was - nope - yeet that thought out the window.

Instead, I focused on how warm his hand felt in mine against the cold and I felt safe. I was sure that he would not hurt me, at least not in the - 'haha, I killed you' way.

"I think that it's beautiful." I said, honestly. There was something about the lonely fog which surrounded the park. The shadows and memories of what once was, something very romantic about it. Love leaves but the memory stays, that is what it reminded me of. So many people must have made memories here, this place was just a skeleton of what it once was but the fact that skeleton skill exists means something to someone out there. Now, we were here making memories and I was sure that this would mean something to us someday.

"Let me show you some more of this beauty." He said, moving towards a small shed. I tried to follow him but he shook his head.

"Just wait, you will see." He said, walking towards the shed and leaving me alone in the abandoned place. I could feel the loss of the warmth of his hand almost immediately. I felt chills creep up my skin. Now the night seemed darker, the place bigger and the realization that I was alone in the middle of nowhere sunk in deeper.

I was not a believer in the paranormal. Never been, never was. But I didn't like feeling alone. I filled every moment of my day with people and things and stuff. The next thing and the next and the next because I didn't like being alone. I didn't like being alone with my thoughts, being alone with the reality sinking in, being alone with no one to go to. It invited in the rush of memories I had spent years suppressing. It destroyed the facade of being the dramatic nonsensical idiot I had perfected. That was my surface, there were far more horrifying depths waiting to be unveiled.

Before I could venture deeper into the maze of my thoughts, the world lit up like a sunrise. The carousel's lights burst into golden glimmers. The bulbs scattered here and there, from the stalls to the coasters - everywhere - lit up like the fourth of July. The whirring of a few machines, the gears jumping into action. The Lunaville came to live.

I looked at it. I looked and looked and looked. I just couldn't stop looking. It was beautiful. So far away from the time when it was in its prime, so different from what it must have looked like. The rails of the rollercoaster now coated in vines and moss, decorated with layers of rust. The stalls empty with neon signs still glimmering like it was just yesterday that they welcomed children and adults alike.

Alejandro emerged from the shed, giving me a 440 watt grin.

"So do you like it?" He asked, the light of the carousel shining bright in his eyes.

"I love it. How did you come across this place?"

"I discovered this place long ago. I had a friend power the place back up, connections in the power station help a lot." He said, staring at the blazing beauty before him.

I turned away from the beauty and instead found myself staring at a whole another kind of beauty. Him. Simply beautiful.

He didn't catch me staring at him so I savoured the moment, wondering how the hell he landed in my life and how lucky I was that he was standing in front of me.

"So, shall we?" He asked, turning towards me. I immediately withdrew my gaze.

"Shall we what?"

He simply gestured towards the Ferris wheel as if it was the answer to all my questions.

"You can't be saying what I think you are saying."

"I am."

"But-"

"Don't be scared. It's fun, I have tried this before. I swear on my life that nothing will go wrong. We will be up there and down here in a flicker. It's very safe." He said, his eyes melting into mine and me in turn, melting into him.

"Okay." I yielded, praying to the Ferris Wheel to spare me. It didn't answer, the snobbish prick. Just because you are so big doesn't mean you get to one-up me.

Alejandro smiled and all my fears melted into the grass. With his hand clasped in mine, we walked to the carousel.

"I had my friend remote this baby up. Now this remote can get us down and up." He said, pulling a tiny remote out of his pocket. I stared at it, hoping to God that it worked.

We got into the cabin, him next to me, knees pressed against each other's, hands brushing together. Close yet somehow farther than I wanted him to be.

He pressed the button. Slowly, we were off the ground. The lights turned into tiny pinpricks as we ascended into the dark night. Below us the glow of amber and neon lighting the deserted landscape and next to me the amber-lit boy sitting an inch away.

When we were right at the top, he stopped it. The cool breeze brushed against us, turning Alejandro's hair into a disorderly hot mess.

"I used to ride ferris wheels as a child with my mom. Back when - things were simpler. They weren't as big as this one but they were surely something. I liked being up because it felt like I could do anything in the world. It felt like I could fly if I tried. I could be anything I wanted to be in that moment." I said, staring at the dots of amber below. He turned to look at me.

"I used to go with my dad. We used to be together up in the air and I had the time of my life." He said,

"I wish I had got to go with my dad."

"Why didn't you?"

I turned to look at him. The beautiful man sitting next to me, cascaded in a hailstorm of light. Right then and there, I felt like I could tell him anything in the world.

"Because dad has always been all about his business. He didn't have time for family. This flight, that flight. This meeting, that meeting. Always business and never family." I said, repressing the memories of all the birthdays me and Mom spent alone and all the big moments he missed, all the anniversaries he forgot.

"So, does he work for-?" he started but I could tell where he was going.

"He has his own company. Technology and stuff. I have never been interested in it. It tore my family apart and I couldn't care any less." I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

His arm was on my shoulder in an instant. He pulled me towards him, his hands gripping my neck and his lips landing softly on mine. I was taken by surprise and at first didn't kiss him back.

But when I did, I did it with everything I had. Passion, fire, desire....love? No, not love, not so fast. Not again.

But the feel of his lips against mine told a different story, his hands moving through my hair told a different story, my hands finding his neck and my lips never leaving his - told a different story.

Finally after his lips parted from mine, his forehead resting gently against mine.

"Everything is okay. You are okay. Everything is okay." He whispered against my lips, his breath tickling my face.

I nodded because I didn't think I could manage to speak a single word.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" He asked, his eyebrows rising as smoothly as the tides.

My mouth hung open at his words. His...boyfriend...?

Wasn't this the boy I was trying my best to not date? Yes, he was. And now that he was asking me out why did I not automatically say no. Why was I hesitating? Why was I thinking about it and questioning it?

I nodded before I had any idea what I was doing. His lips crashed into mine again.

As soon as we were out of the Ferris wheel, his hand gripped mine tightly, he walked with purpose towards the exit. I followed, knowing all too well where he was leading me.

************

We stood in front of his Toyota Corolla. He opened the backdoor and we both ventured in, unceremoniously. Immediately he pinned me against the backseat, leaving feathery light kisses on my neck.

"You sure you wanna do this?" I asked, my eyes melting into his.

"Done it once, gonna do it again." He said, with a smile, breathing against my neck.

I didn't ask any more questions, I took charge. Promptly I pinned him down on the seat, hovering above him.

"Whoa, steady there tiger." He said with a chuckle which vibrated against my body. It was utterly dark inside the car as I, for the first time since I met him and wasn't drunk, kissed him. Fiercely.

He kissed me back with just as much unbridled desire and passion, his body pressed against mine and his hands roaming my hair and my neck.

My hands trailed down to his shirt, undoing the top button when I accomplished the feat of sliding down from the seat and falling against the driver's seat. Except it didn't stop there.

Turns out the car was not in mint-condition, serves it right for mocking me. The seat straight up fell forward, hard against the steering wheel, filling the car with an annoying loud, incessant horn. Beeeeep!

I covered my ears promptly, slowly rising from the floor, crouching down against the backseat. I pulled the chair back from the steering wheel , putting an end to the annoying ringing.

The ghost of the sound was still in my ears when Alejandro pulled me back.

"Dude, your car just straight up-"

"I know. Who cares." He responded, kissing me again.

"Ouch."

"What is it?"

"I think I hit my head on something."

"Oh, that was just my guitar case"

"OUCH!"

"What is it, now?"

"MY HAND IS STUCK IN THIS BELT! WHAT THE ACTUAL BEJEEZUS IS WRONG WITH IT?"

"Lemme get that."

And just like that, the night became a night of fogged-up car windows and ghosts of beeping horns while the amber lights of the amusement park gazed down at us.