"What do you mean, you want to see other people?" 

Bryan shrugged, his blue hair falling into his eyes. "I just think it would be more fun that way." 

"Aren't I enough fun?"

"Yes, Annabelle, of course, but... dates are just fun." 

Annabelle threw up her hands. "Then go on dates with me!" 

For a moment, she felt heat creep up her neck as everyone else in the café turned to glance over at their table. She stared down at her hands, clutching onto her hot chocolate, hoping the dim golden lighting would be enough to hide her flushed face. 

"You've cancelled on me three times because of exams," she added softly. "Which is fine, by the way. I don't mind that you have exams and I get that you have to study. But it's just that... how do you think you'll have time for more than one person when you can't even make time for that one person?" 

He shrugged again, lips curled in a frown. "I just think an open relationship would be good for us."

"Well, I think a break up would be good for us." 

"Seriously? You're not even going to give this a go?" 

Annabelle stood. Her grip over the hot chocolate mug was so tight that her hands had gone pale. "Nope." 

"Your loss, then." 

"And then he said it was my loss," Annabelle cried out, pacing across her kitchen, the hissing of the kettle squealing over her steps. 

Luca sat on the counter, watching her. "I think it was his loss." 

"Do you think he actually had exams? Or was he avoiding seeing me?" 

"I don't know." There was a moment of cutlery clinking, and Annabelle realised that he was pouring the water into the cups. Within moments, there was a cup of herbal tea in her hands, while he said, "Either way, I think you did the right thing."

"Really?" 

"You said he made you feel stupid. Someone as smart as you should never feel stupid." 

He gently touched her hand and eyed her. As if he was making sure she had heard him clearly. 

Annabelle felt, for a moment, like she couldn't breathe. 

"Thanks, Luca," she said, ever so faintly. "How's Christina?" 

His face lit up. "She's good. She's meeting my pet turtle tonight." 

"You have a pet turtle?" 

"Yeah. His name is Scabious." 

"That's the most ridiculous name I've heard." 

Luca feigned hurt, gripping onto his chest. "Well, this is why you don't get to meet Scabious. You'll hurt his feelings with your rude remarks." 

"Scabious probably hates his own name, too!" 

"Don't you have other people to harass, dearest Annabelle?" 

Annabelle rolled her eyes, fishing her phone from her pocket. 

He was right. 

She did have other people to harass. 

Then, clicking on Tinder, she gestured for him.

"Alright," she told him. "As my friend, you're helping me find some dates." 

The first guy she went on a date with seemed nice enough. 

While his mullet was certainly an interesting choice, and his glasses seemed ten times too big for his face, he had a sweet smile. Besides, his profile did say he was a nature lover. 

Still, when Annabelle went on her first date with him at his home, she hadn't expected him to hand her garden gloves, a spade, and a sack of soil. 

"You want... to do some gardening?" she asked dubiously. 

He was in a fully buttoned up shirt, as if he was about to go for a job interview, and yet he was wearing bright yellow gumboots. 

"Yeah!" he said brightly. "I thought it'd be a cute idea as a first date. I do like myself some gardening. Do you?" 

Annabelle shook her head, staring down at the spade in her hands. "No. I'm terrible at it. I've never had a garden." 

"I'll teach you." 

If she was honest with herself, it wasn't horrible. He played some old tunes on a crackling radio, offered her a little scarecrow hat, and even laughed politely when Annabelle accidentally ripped out his favourite flower because she had somehow mistaken it for a weed. 

Besides, it was still cold and crisp outside, so the occasional warm breeze felt welcoming.

"I'm a huge fan of bees," he told her. 

Annabelle slammed the spade into a dry patch of mud. Winced. "That's cute." 

"You're pretty cute." 

"Oh. Thanks." 

"You'd look really good in overalls." 

She tried not to wince again. "Thanks?" 

She plunged the spade deeper into the ground, scooping up the mud and tossing it over her shoulder. 

Then, she saw the strange, white rock. 

She picked at it with the spade, dusting off the mud. Then, when the rock stretched into something as long as a finger, and kept stretching into what looked to be part of a hand--

She realised it was a hand. 

A skeleton hand. 

Annabelle jumped onto her feet. "I need to go." 

"Should we organise another date? Annabelle? Annabelle?" 

It was safe to say that she never went on another date with him. 

"Was it a real skeleton?" Luca asked. 

Annabelle gave him an exasperated look. "I don't know! I wasn't going to ask him if he had a dead freaking body in his backyard." 

There were a few other kids at the park, giving them curious looks as Annabelle said the words 'dead freaking body.' Still, none of them stopped to stare too long as Annabelle and Luca lay against a picnic mat, tossing grapes into their mouths. 

"You could have called the police and solved a mystery," Luca pointed out. 

"Do I look like Scooby Doo to you?" 

He propped up onto his elbows, lowering his sunglasses. The light made his eyes seem brighter than the lush grass around them. "Well, now that you mention it..."

Annabelle reached out and punched him gently along the arm. 

The next date did not involve dead bodies.

Instead, she met a man with the palest skin she had ever seen. Hell, he could have been a vampire -- dark hair, sallow eyes, and completely donned in black. She could have even swore that he had fake fangs stuck onto his teeth. 

Still, she hopped into the car with him, ignoring the dark smell of old pizza and rust. 

"So, what band are we going to see?" she asked him. 

He grinned at her. Then, as a car honked at him for swerving too close to another lane, he snapped his attention back onto the road. "My favourite. Trust me. You'll love them." 

"Do I at least get a hint?" 

Her date pressed the accelerate. She nearly screamed as they zipped onto the highway. 

"I mean," Annabelle added raising her voice so she could hear it over the engine, "I would like to know if I'm about to walk into, say, a concert with screaming teenage girls because it's for a boy band."

"No teenage girls," he reassured her. "Not sure about the screaming, though." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Let me play you their album." 

He reached out to his phone, the car squealing as he lost control of the wheel. Then, as he swerved back onto the road, he pressed a button to play the music. 

It wasn't a teenage boy band, nor was it country or pop or jazz.

It was hard metal. 

Screamo. 

"What did you do?"

Annabelle leaned back in the passenger seat, rubbing her temples. "I asked him to pull over. Duh.  And that's when I called you to pick me up." 

"Right," Luca said. He was a much gentler driver than her screamo date, and his eyes never left the road as he asked, "So, are we heading to your place?"

"Could we stop over somewhere and pick up some food? I'm hungry." 

Luca thought on this for a second. "How about we go out for dinner?" 

"Would Christina be okay with that?" 

"We're just friends, aren't we?" 

"Right." 

Annabelle tried not to feel her heart deflate a little. Instead, she looked out the window, watching as oak trees and little white cars whizzed past them. 

"We should eat at that new restaurant down the road from my house," Annabelle said. 

Luca blanched. "Absolutely not." 

"Why not?" 

"I checked their menu before. They serve turtle meat there." 

"Turtle meat?" 

Luca nodded solemnly. "Scabious would never allow me to eat his family." 

"Scabious is a turtle, Luca. He won't know, and he won't care." 

"Geez, Annabelle. Each day I consider letting you meet Scabious, you somehow make me change my mind again." 

"Are you sure you don't want to try that restaurant? You can tell Scabious what his grandmother tasted like." 

"We are not eating Scabious' grandmother." 

"But what if she's delicious?" 

"Annabelle!" 

She laughed as he reached out and whacked her arm. 

Her next date actually was... normal? 

Curly dark hair and soft blue eyes. He was dressed well, and instantly pulled the chair out for her as she made her way into the restaurant. There was a flash of concern on his face as she tripped on her heels, and he caught her, both of them laughing nervously. 

"So, what do you do for work?" she asked him as they found their seats. 

"I sell cocaine." 

Just like that, she realised she had spoken too soon. 

"Well, did you buy any for us?" 

"Luca."

"Yes, Annabelle?" 

"Piss off." 

He laughed at that, spooning the sugar into their teacups. Annabelle couldn't help but notice that he was becoming way too comfortable and familiar with her kitchen.

"I mean, it would be interesting to try it," he said. "Could make you less uptight." 

"You think I'm uptight?" 

"Well... you do sometimes walk like you have a stick shoved up your ass." 

"Thanks, Luca."

He chuckled again, reaching across the kitchen counter to place a warm hand on her cheek. "I'm kidding. You're perfect." 

Annabelle felt the warmth spread up her face. Felt her stomach burst into little fires. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she tried to say, waving away his hand. "I would say the same about you, but you still can't grow chest hair." 

"That was a low blow, Annabelle. You don't get to see Scabious today." 

"As if I was ever going to see him," she pointed out, rolling her eyes. "You know, I'm starting to think Scabious is made up."

He spat out his tea at that. And Annabelle couldn't help it -- even though it had splattered all over her dress, she laughed aloud. 

She tried one more Tinder date. 

And honestly, it went perfectly. 

It was at the Italian restaurant, and not only was he an engineer, but he also told her that he would help her when she eventually started her degree. He laughed at her jokes. He was witty. He was sweet. He even knew how to pronounce the fancy Italian names on the menu. 

Luca had been serving them, too. Her friend had spent the whole night shooting her encouraging winks and pretending to examine her date thoroughly. 

And, at one point, Annabelle just went for it. 

She kissed the date. 

He had nice lips. Sure, they were a little thin and didn't quite fit well with her own, but he was gentle and warm. For now, that was enough. She had even laughed as his ginger beard had tickled at her mouth. 

But, after that kiss, Annabelle noticed that Luca had stopped serving her table. Instead, another man had come along, sliding dessert menus into their hands. 

Later that night, Annabelle stood outside the restaurant, staring up at the stars as her date held her hand. 

"That was nice," he said.

Annabelle nodded. "Yeah, it was. Thanks for paying, by the way." 

"Of course. My dad is a traditionalist. He would have killed me if I didn't pay for a lady's meal on the first date." 

"Are you close with him?" 

"I am. I love my family." 

She smiled warmly at him. "That's sweet. I miss mine." 

With a look that seemed somewhat like pity, he squeezed her hand. 

"So, do you want to find a time next week?" he asked her. "I'd love to do this again." 

Annabelle frowned. Took a deep breath. 

"You're a great guy," she told him. "You really are. But... I'm just not feeling it." 

She waited for him to  snap, to retort, to insist. 

Instead, he just bowed his head and released her hand. 

"I understand," he told her. 

Then, they parted ways. 

Later, Annabelle hovered around the restaurant, watching as Luca wiped down tables. 

"So, you rejected him?" he asked her. His voice was flat. Quiet. 

Annabelle shrugged. "Well. Yeah. I did." 

"Why?" 

"I dunno. I just wasn't feeling it."

But she did know why. 

It was because she was in love with Luca.