“Ayoko ng cliché date, okay?” sabi ni Zoe habang nakapila sa entrance. “Walang balloon, walang matching shirts, walang heart-shaped glasses.”

Soren, wearing a sweater that said “I paused my game for you”, nodded solemnly. “Understood. No cliché. Just mild public chaos and potential vomiting.”

“Exactly.”

They walked in like soldiers.

But fifteen seconds later, Soren was holding a giant pink cotton candy.

Zoe stared.

“Okay,” Soren said, deadpan. “This wasn’t my choice. The lady just handed it to me and said ‘pang-swerte sa love life.’ I panicked.”

“Fair. Carry on.”

****

First ride: the infamous Heart Drop.

A vertical ride that launches you up like a fake sense of security then drops you like your ex's apology.

“Soren, sure ka ba?” Zoe asked habang hinihila ang harness.

“I’ve watched a YouTube tutorial.”

“That’s not how gravity works.”

Too late. The ride shot up.

Soren: “Oh wow—this is—THIS IS TOO HIGH.”

Then the drop hit.

Soren screamed in multiple octaves.
Zoe? She laughed so hard, akala mo comedy bar.

Pagbaba nila, lutang si Soren. “I think I saw the afterlife. It was shaped like your face, and it was judging me.”

They took a break sa arcade. Zoe challenged him to the claw machine.

Zoe: “Bet tayo. Kung sinong makakuha ng plushie, libre nila ang dinner.”

Soren: “Easy. You’re on.”

Thirty minutes later…

Zoe: zero. Soren: also zero.

Soren glared at the machine. “This is rigged. Capitalism is evil.”

“Spoken like a true nerd.”

Then suddenly—klik!
Zoe’s claw dropped a plushie into the hole.

A tiny pink bunny.

Soren looked betrayed. “You cheated.”

Zoe: “Nope. Just emotionally manipulated the machine using rage.”

She handed him the plushie.

“For surviving the Heart Drop.”

Soren took it like it was a sacred offering. “I shall treasure this forever and name it Bun-Bun the Brave.”

Last ride: Ferris wheel.

Because of course.

Zoe didn’t want to admit it, but her heart was doing jumping jacks. Soren, on the other hand, looked... terrified?

“You okay?” she asked, sliding into the gondola.

“I’m fine,” he said, gripping the side like it owed him money. “Totally calm. Very romantic. Also scared of heights.”

As the wheel turned, Zoe smirked. “Wanna distract yourself?”

“How?”

“Kiss me.”

Soren choked on air. “That escalated.”

“Just kidding,” Zoe said. “Unless?”

Soren blinked. “Zoe.”

“Yes?”

“I—uh... I didn’t prepare a speech. But I just want to say… you make everything chaotic and terrifying, and I love that.”

Zoe snorted. “Romantic. In a chaotic-neutral kind of way.”

They leaned in. Just a bit. Not dramatic. Not a movie moment.

Just soft. And hilarious. Because halfway through the almost-kiss, the Ferris wheel jerked and Soren let out a scream that startled the next gondola.

Zoe: laughing her guts out

Soren: clutching Bun-Bun like a security blanket

****

As they left the park:

Soren: “That was the scariest day of my life.”

Zoe: “You’re welcome.”

He looked at her. “So… same time next Valentine’s?”

Zoe grinned. “Sure. Next year, we try the haunted house.”

Soren paled. “Please. No ghosts.”

Zoe handed him a heart-shaped lollipop. “Too late. I’m already haunting your life.”

Soren smiled, then offered her a bite of cotton candy.

It was sticky. It was weird. It was them.

And it was perfect.