"Where are we going?"

Chloe narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she walked beside Silas. The academy gates were already behind them, and he still hadn’t answered her question.

"Somewhere."

"That’s not an answer."

"It is."

"No, it isn’t."

"It technically is."

Chloe sighed. Silas smiled. The sight only made her more suspicious. Over the past few days, she had learned one important fact about him. Whenever Silas smiled like that, somebody was about to suffer. Usually Damien, and sometimes her curiosity. Today seemed to be the latter.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Silas."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Chloe puffed her cheeks cutely. Silas almost laughed. He had learned that laughing when she did that usually earned him a glare. A very adorable glare.

The streets of City A were lively. People moved through sidewalks lined with shops, restaurants, bookstores, and entertainment centers. Students from various academies wandered around in groups. Awakened individuals occasionally passed by. Everything felt surprisingly normal for a world living under the shadow of rifts.

Silas led Chloe through several streets before finally stopping.

"Here."

Chloe looked up, and her eyes widened slightly. A small café stood before them. It wasn’t luxurious nor was it flashy. In fact, it looked almost old-fashioned with its wooden walls, flower boxes beneath the windows, and warm lights glowing behind glass. This was the sort of place one could spend hours in without realizing it.

Above the entrance hung a sign: Moonlight Café.

"You brought me to a café?"

"Problem?" Silas nodded.

"No!" Chloe quickly shook her head and looked away. "...I actually like cafés."

"I know."

That made her blink.

"You know?"

Silas opened the door and led her inside, which was warm and comfortable. Soft music played in the background. The scent of coffee and pastries filled the air. A waitress immediately guided them toward a table near a large window.

There, Chloe noticed something. The table was already prepared with flowers, desserts, and a reserved sign. Everything.

"You booked this?"

"Maybe."

"You did."

"Maybe."

"You definitely did."

Silas grinned. The next two hours passed surprisingly quickly.

They talked about school, classes, the future, dreams, random things, and absolutely nothing. The sort of conversation that never felt forced. The conversation wasn’t awkward. At one point, Chloe laughed so hard that she nearly spilled her drink. Silas just watched her with a genuine smile, not the sarcastic one he used around teachers, or the mischievous one he used around troublemakers.

Eventually, they left the café, but the date didn’t end there. They visited a bookstore. Chloe spent nearly twenty minutes staring at a particular novel before Silas secretly bought it. She only discovered that later. They walked through a small park and watched how the trees swayed gently in the afternoon breeze. Children played nearby, while families enjoyed the pleasant weather.

For a little while, it felt like the world wasn’t constantly preparing for another apocalypse. At another point, they stopped near a street vendor selling handmade charms. The elderly owner insisted they take matching ones. Silas found it amusing, while Chloe nearly died from embarrassment. The old man found that even more amusing.

As the sun began setting, golden light painted the city. The two of them eventually found themselves standing atop a hill overlooking part of City A. The view was beautiful. Lights were beginning to appear across the city. Buildings glowed, roads sparkled, and the distant academy stood proudly against the horizon. Neither spoke for a while; they just watched, enjoying the moment.

Eventually, Chloe broke the silence.

"Today was fun."

"Good," Silas nodded. She smiled, a small, sincere one.

"I haven’t had a day like this in a long time."

Something softened in Silas’s chest, because neither had he. The journey back to Valecrest felt shorter than expected. Maybe because they spent most of it talking, or because neither wanted it to end. Night had already fallen when they reached the academy grounds. The campus lights illuminated the pathways. Most students were already returning to their dormitories. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Silas stopped walking. Chloe took several more steps before realizing he wasn’t beside her anymore and turned.

"Silas?"

He was standing beneath a lamp, looking at her with a completely serious face. Her heart skipped.

"Chloe," His voice was calm, yet somehow more nervous than she had ever heard before. "There’s something I want to ask."

The playful atmosphere disappeared. Her pulse quickened, as she already knew, or at least she thought she did. Silas took a breath.

"You’ve always treated me normally."

Chloe blinked.

"You never cared about the rumors. You never cared about what people called me. You never treated me like I was some monster."

Her chest tightened.

"Even when everyone else did."

Silas smiled softly.

"I like that."

The words felt simple, yet they carried more weight than any grand speech.

"I like being around you. I like talking to you. I like spending time with you."

Chloe felt her face growing warmer.

"And..."

Silas scratched the back of his head. The gesture looked strangely awkward coming from someone who could casually intimidate teachers and beat awakened students unconscious.

"I think I’ve liked you for a while now."

Her heart completely betrayed her.

"So."

He looked directly into her eyes.

"Would you be my girlfriend?"

The world seemed to pause around the two teenagers standing beneath a lamp on a quiet night. That made the moment perfect somehow. Chloe stared at him, then at the ground, and back at him. Her face was completely red. Silas waited patiently. Several seconds passed.

Finally, she gave a tiny nod and said in a very quiet voice.

"...Yes."

"Yes?"

"Y-yes!" Chloe immediately became flustered.

A grin spread across Silas’s face. Seeing it somehow made Chloe smile too. Neither noticed it, but at that moment, the future suddenly felt a little brighter for both of them.

Silas immediately closed the distance between them, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her. Chloe resisted for a few seconds and reciprocated the kiss, turning it into a long one. When they broke apart, she was already breathless. Her face was as red as a tomato, and her eyes were hazy.

But what she said next made Silas’s eyes widen in surprise.

"C-can... you make... me feel good?" She asked shyly, averting her gaze cutely.

"Are you sure?"