•⋅⊰∙∘☽✼☾∘∙⊱⋅•
For the first time in what felt like ages, I was actually enjoying myself. I mean, genuine fun—the kind that made my chest feel light and my cheeks ache from smiling so much.
Ethan and I had just wrapped up our third round of this ridiculous balloon-popping game, and I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt. The air was filled with the smell of popcorn, sugar, and that faint metallic tang from the nearby ferris wheel.
In that moment, I forgot all the noise—those whispers at school, the way Adrien's words used to ring in my ears like a curse. Here, under the twinkling lights and the fading sky, I just felt… normal.
Then Ethan nudged me gently. "Hey, thinking about grabbing a funnel cake before we head out?"
"Only if you promise not to scarf most of it down this time," I joked, but before he could reply, a voice—sharp and too sweet to be sincere—sliced through the chatter around us.
"Well, well, well… if it isn't Noah fucking Valentine."
