Chapter 6: Jester

Luke and I were walking through the park, enjoying the warm sunshine and the gentle breeze. As we strolled, Luke suddenly turned to me and asked, “Lycans or vampires?”

I blinked up at him in surprise and then let out a laugh. “Are we back on this? I thought we agreed that they weren’t real.”

Luke shook his head. “No, you agreed they weren’t real. But have you ever thought that maybe they’re not just myths? That they might actually exist?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Luke, are you serious? Lycans? Vampires? That’s ridiculous. There’s no way they could be real.”

Luke shrugged, undeterred. “You never know. There are a lot of things in this world that we don’t fully understand. And who’s to say that there aren’t things out there that we’ve yet to discover?”

I shook my head, still laughing. “I’m sorry, Luke. I don’t mean to be rude, but I just can’t take this seriously. Lycans and Vampires are just a fantasy.”

Luke smiled, seeming amused by my skepticism. “Okay, fair enough. But just imagine for a moment that they are real. Wouldn’t that be something?”

I shrugged. “I guess so. But I just don’t see how it could be possible.”

Luke chuckled. “Well, who knows? Maybe one day you’ll see for yourself.”

I rolled my eyes, thinking that he was just teasing me. He’d had a lot of free time recently to catch up on his reading and it seems he’d gotten too into those books. I found it both adorable and concerning. But as we continued to walk and talk, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to his words.

We continued our path through the park and sat down on a bench. I turned to Luke and asked, “Hey, do you know any jokes?”

Luke raised an eyebrow, looking amused. “Jokes? Why do you want to hear jokes?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, just for fun. I bet you have some good ones.”

I didn’t think he had any good ones, but I still wanted to see him try. Luke thought for a moment, then grinned. “Okay, here’s one. Why did the tomato turn red?”

I looked at him skeptically. “I don’t know, why?”

"Because it saw the salad dressing!" Luke burst out laughing at his own joke, while I just stared at him in horror.

"That was terrible, Luke," I said, but couldn't help giggling anyway. His smile was infectious and it made mine grow.

Luke just shrugged, still laughing. "Hey, I never claimed to be a professional comedian. But admit it, you laughed."

I smiled and nudged him playfully. "Okay, fine. You got me. But if you're going to keep telling jokes like that, I might have to reconsider this whole dating thing."

Luke stilled and looked over at me. “So, we’re dating?”

My face burned with embarrassment. We hadn’t officially put any labels on our relationship, but in my head, we were already together. I put my face in my hands, hiding away from his gaze.

He laughed, putting his arm over my shoulder and rubbing my arm. “I’m only teasing, Kiara.”

“You seriously suck!” I groaned into my hands.

Luke laughed even harder. "Don't worry, Kiara. I promise to work on my material before our next date."

“I’m not going on any more dates with you,“ I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

His gaze lingered on my mouth a little longer than I would consider friendly. He cleared his throat. “Come on! I was kidding.”

“Tell me a better joke, to make up for it.”

He placed his index finger on his chin, and the crease that only appeared when he was thinking about something deeply, showed between his eyebrows. He was adorable, I had to hold my hands together to stop myself from pinching his cheeks.

"Okay, here goes," Luke began. "Why don't scientists trust atoms?"

I looked at him quizzically. "I don't know, why?"

"Because they make up everything!" Luke burst out laughing at his own joke again, while I just shook my head and chuckled.

"You're such a nerd," I teased.

Luke just grinned. "Hey, I can't help it if I love science and bad puns. Here's another one for you. What do you call an alligator in a vest?"

Kiara laughed. "I have no idea, what?"

"An investigator!" Luke said, laughing.

I couldn't help but join in his laughter. "Okay, okay. You win. You're officially the king of jokes."

Luke just shrugged, still smiling. "Hey, somebody's got to keep you on your toes."

Later that evening, I sat on my bed, staring out the window as I thought about Luke. It’d only been a few weeks since we had met at the bookstore, but I felt like I was falling for him fast. I couldn’t explain why I felt so strongly about him, especially since we had only been on a few dates.

I had always been a cautious person, taking my time to get to know people before opening up to them, but with Luke it was different. There was something about him that drew me in, something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I had never felt this way before, and it scared me.

I told myself that it was just infatuation and that I need to slow down. But every time I saw him, my heart raced and my palms grew sweaty. There was a spark between us, a connection that I couldn’t ignore. I just hoped that he felt the same way and that we could take things slow and figure out where our feelings would lead us.

As I sat there lost in thought, my phone buzzed with a text from Luke. It was a simple message, telling me goodnight. I smiled to myself. Maybe it was crazy to feel so much for someone I had just met, but it felt like the most natural thing in the world.