Finding light in the darkest places—through love-Chapter 111 – First Official Date

"You're sure about this?" Adrian asked, adjusting the strap of his backpack as he and Evelyn stood just outside the campus gates.

She laughed, tugging her jacket tighter against the crisp afternoon air.

"You're the one who suggested it, remember?"

Adrian gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah, but... it's a little more chaotic than our usual coffee-and-library vibe."

That was an understatement.

Spread out before them was the pop-up autumn festival—bright tents, colorful flags, booths selling cider and kettle corn, music drifting from a live band across the field. Families, students, and couples meandered between stalls, their faces lit by the soft orange glow of hanging lights.

It was festive. Bustling. Alive.

And Evelyn, who normally preferred quieter places, found herself smiling wider than she expected.

"Chaotic sounds good," she said. "We deserve a little chaos."

Adrian looked at her for a long beat, something warm and fond flickering in his gaze.

Then he offered his hand without a word.

Evelyn slid her fingers into his, feeling that same, familiar jolt of warmth spread through her chest.

Together, they stepped into the noise and color of the festival.

Their first stop was the food tents.

Evelyn insisted they start with hot apple cider, and Adrian added cinnamon donuts to the order just because "no one should have to face an autumn festival without them."

They wandered between booths, sipping cider from steaming paper cups and laughing over ridiculously overpriced souvenirs—a knitted pumpkin hat, a hand-painted "Live Laugh Love" sign that Adrian dramatically posed with, making Evelyn laugh so hard she nearly spilled her drink.

Everywhere they went, the atmosphere buzzed with a kind of easy, golden energy.

It seeped into their bones, loosened the nervous edges between them.

It felt good.

It felt like them. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

When they passed a ring toss game, Adrian paused, eyeing it like a personal challenge.

Evelyn raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Feeling confident, huh?"

Adrian gave her a mock-wounded look. "I'll have you know, I have elite carnival game skills."

She snorted. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Alright," he said, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket with a comical level of seriousness. "What do you want if I win?"

Evelyn pretended to think it over, tapping her chin with one finger.

Finally, she grinned.

"A prize. You have to win me something ridiculous."

Adrian grinned right back. "Deal."

It turned out that Adrian's "elite skills" involved a lot of dramatic tossing, a few near-misses—and finally, barely hooking a ring onto one of the narrow-necked bottles on his last attempt.

Evelyn clapped and whooped like he'd just won the Olympics.

Adrian bowed with exaggerated grace and chose her prize: a hilariously oversized, fuzzy sloth plushie wearing sunglasses.

"For you, my lady," he said, presenting it with a flourishing gesture.

Evelyn laughed so hard her stomach hurt, hugging the sloth to her chest.

It smelled like cheap fabric dye and sunshine.

"I love him," she said solemnly. "His name is Professor Chill."

Adrian cracked up, slinging his arm around her shoulders as they moved on.

And just like that, with a giant plush sloth squeezed between them, it felt like the easiest thing in the world to be wrapped up in him.

To belong there.

To want to belong there.

As the afternoon slipped toward evening, they found themselves near the edge of the festival grounds, where a towering Ferris wheel spun slowly against the darkening sky.

Evelyn tilted her head back, watching the carriages rise and fall.

"You ever been on one?" Adrian asked, nudging her lightly with his shoulder.

She shook her head.

"Not since I was a kid. You?"

Adrian hesitated.

"I don't love heights," he admitted. "But... if you want to go, I'll brave it."

Evelyn bit her lip, considering.

It wasn't exactly something she'd planned for their first date.

It wasn't exactly safe, predictable, comfortable.

But maybe that was the point.

Maybe she wanted to do something new—with him.

She tightened her grip on Professor Chill and smiled up at Adrian.

"Let's do it."

His answering grin was pure sunshine.

They bought their tickets and shuffled into line, hands twined together.

As they climbed into their carriage, Adrian squeezed her hand once, tightly.

"You good?" he asked as the wheel lurched into slow motion.

Evelyn looked at him—really looked at him.

The steady brown eyes.

The nervous but determined smile.

The way he was trying to be brave for her, even in something small.

Her heart squeezed, full to bursting.

"I'm perfect," she said honestly.

And when the carriage rocked gently at the very top, the lights of the festival glittering like a river of stars below them, Adrian turned to her.

"I'm glad it's you," he said quietly.

Evelyn blinked, throat tight.

"Glad what's me?"

He shrugged one shoulder, his free hand fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve.

"Glad it's you I'm figuring all this out with," he said. "You make everything... better."

Evelyn stared at him, her heart so full it hurt.

She set Professor Chill carefully on the bench beside her.

Then she leaned forward, closing the small gap between them.

Kissing him was easy.

Kissing him felt like breathing.

Soft. Sure. Sweet.

When they pulled apart, Adrian's cheeks were flushed, his smile a little dazed.

"Wow," he said, voice soft.

Evelyn laughed quietly, resting her forehead against his.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Wow."

The Ferris wheel continued its slow, swaying arc through the starry sky, carrying them higher and higher.

And Evelyn thought—

If this is what falling feels like...

I don't ever want to stop.