I had been on exactly zero dates before this.

  And, according to Astrid, that number was still accurate.

  “It’s not a date, Henry,” she said, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall outside my house. “We’re just two people who like each other and happen to be at the same pce, at the same time, doing couple things.”

  I stared at her. “That’s literally a date.”

  Astrid scowled. “Shut up.”

  I smirked but said nothing, locking the door behind me before shoving my hands into my hoodie pocket. “So, not-a-date—where are we going?”

  She hummed, rocking back on her heels. “Arcade first, then food. Then, if you behave, I’ll consider letting you hold my hand in public.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Am I allowed to do that now?”

  Astrid smirked, stepping closer—so close that I could smell her perfume, something warm and vanil-like.

  “You could always try,” she murmured, her voice teasing. “See what happens.”

  I swallowed.

  Astrid was dangerous.

  She knew exactly what she was doing—hovering in my space, daring me to do something.

  So I did.

  I grabbed her hand.

  Astrid blinked.

  Then, slowly, she looked down at our hands like she was actually surprised I had done it.

  I smirked. “What, not so cocky now?”

  Her lips parted slightly, her fingers twitching against mine.

  For a second, I thought I had won.

  Then, before I could fully process it, she grabbed my hoodie, yanked me down slightly, and pressed a quick kiss to my jaw before pulling away like nothing had happened.

  I froze.

  My brain shut down completely.

  Astrid grinned. “There. Now we’re even.”

  I exhaled, rubbing my face. “I hate you.”

  She ughed. “And yet, here you are, on a not-date with me.”

  I sighed. “Let’s just go before you kill me.”

  Astrid smirked but didn’t let go of my hand as we started walking.

  I definitely didn’t mind.

  ***

  The arcade was loud, crowded, and filled with fshing neon lights.

  Astrid, as expected, dominated most of the games.

  “You’re cheating,” I accused, watching as she somehow nded yet another perfect shot in the basketball game.

  She grinned. “You’re just mad because I’m better than you.”

  I scoffed. “I don’t see you beating my high score in the racing game.”

  Astrid rolled her eyes. “That’s literally the only thing you’ve beaten me at so far.”

  I shrugged. “Still counts.”

  We pyed for another hour, bouncing between games, stealing each other’s tickets, and—at one point—Astrid demanding a rematch in air hockey after I accidentally won the first round.

  She won the second.

  And the third.

  And the fourth.

  I sighed. “I think I’m done now.”

  Astrid smirked, twirling the air hockey paddle in her hand. “Admitting defeat, are we?”

  I crossed my arms. “No. I’m just tired of watching you cheat.”

  She ughed. “God, you’re such a sore loser.”

  Before I could retort, I heard a very unwelcome voice behind me.

  “Well, look who it is.”

  I turned slowly, already knowing exactly who it was before I saw him.

  Jared.

  Of course.

  He stood a few feet away, arms crossed, smirking like he owned the pce.

  I felt Astrid tense beside me.

  Jared’s eyes flickered between us, his smirk widening. “Wow. So what, you downgraded to Henry?”

  I barely had time to register the words before Astrid moved.

  She lunged, gripping the front of his hoodie and shoving him back hard against the nearest arcade machine.

  The smack of his back hitting the machine was way louder than expected.

  I blinked.

  Jared looked genuinely startled, his smirk instantly wiped off his face.

  Astrid leaned in close, her voice low and sharp.

  “You do not get to talk about him like that.”

  I swallowed.

  The entire arcade suddenly felt way too quiet.

  Jared scoffed, but there was a nervous edge to it. “Rex, it was just a joke.”

  Astrid’s grip tightened.

  “Try it again,” she murmured.

  Jared opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it.

  Astrid exhaled sharply, shoving him back one more time before letting go.

  Jared stumbled slightly before straightening, brushing himself off like he hadn’t just nearly been decked by his ex-girlfriend in public.

  He shot me a look, his expression unreadable, before scoffing and muttering, “Whatever. Have fun with your pity date.”

  Astrid tensed again, but before she could react, I grabbed her hand.

  She blinked, looking at me.

  I shook my head slightly. “He’s not worth it.”

  Her jaw clenched.

  I squeezed her hand. “Astrid.”

  She exhaled slowly, her shoulders still rigid, before finally stepping back.

  Jared smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

  I sighed. “Dude, you seriously need to get over yourself.”

  Jared gred at me.

  I just smirked and turned away, tugging Astrid along with me.

  She followed, still tense, but I could feel her slowly calming down as we walked away.

  We didn’t say anything at first, the fshing arcade lights passing us in a blur.

  Then, finally, I murmured, “You didn’t have to do that.”

  Astrid huffed, her grip on my hand still too tight. “Yes, I did.”

  I gnced at her.

  Her jaw was set, her expression stormy, but there was something else there—something raw, something vulnerable.

  She hated that Jared still had the power to make her angry.

  I sighed, squeezing her hand again. “Hey.”

  She looked up, her gre softening slightly.

  I smirked, tilting my head. “So… am I a downgrade?”

  Astrid stared at me.

  Then, in a fsh, she shoved me hard against the nearest cw machine.

  “You absolute dumbass,” she muttered.

  I ughed. “I had to ask!”

  Astrid groaned, dragging a hand down her face before grabbing my colr and yanking me down into a kiss.

  I barely had time to react before her lips crashed into mine, fierce and frustrated.

  By the time she pulled back, I was definitely dazed.

  She huffed, brushing some imaginary dust off my hoodie. “There. That answer your question?”

  I swallowed. “…Yeah.”

  Astrid smirked.

  ***

  Astrid pulled me along like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t just kissed the hell out of me in the middle of an arcade with zero hesitation.

  I, on the other hand, was still processing.

  We reached the prize counter, and Astrid dumped our combined tickets onto the counter like she was closing a business deal.

  “Alright,” she said, scanning the prize shelf. “What are we getting?”

  I barely heard her.

  My brain was still stuck on the way her lips had felt, the way she had grabbed me like I belonged to her.

  Astrid turned, raising an eyebrow at my silence.

  “What?” she asked, tilting her head. “You look like you just had an out-of-body experience.”

  I blinked, clearing my throat. “I… did not.”

  She smirked. “Mm-hmm.”

  I exhaled slowly, shoving my hands into my pockets. “You really have no concept of personal space, huh?”

  Astrid hummed, stepping just close enough for me to notice.

  “Nope,” she said simply.

  I sighed. “Figures.”

  She grinned. “So? What do you want?”

  I blinked. “Huh?”

  She gestured to the prizes. “You helped win the tickets, so you get a say.”

  I stared at her.

  She was acting like this was completely normal. Like she hadn’t just kissed me senseless five minutes ago.

  I frowned. “Astrid.”

  She hummed in acknowledgment, still scanning the shelves.

  I hesitated.

  Then, before I could stop myself, I reached out and grabbed her hand.

  Astrid froze.

  It wasn’t a big move. I didn’t yank her toward me or pull some grand romantic gesture.

  I just… held her hand.

  Deliberately.

  Like I had made the first move for once.

  Astrid looked down at our hands, then up at me, her expression unreadable.

  I exhaled, keeping my grip steady. “Are we gonna talk about it?”

  Astrid blinked, her mouth parting slightly.

  For the first time all day, she actually looked caught off guard.

  And I liked it.

  I squeezed her hand slightly, tilting my head. “Well?”

  Astrid swallowed, visibly flustered, before forcing a smirk.

  “I mean… we could talk about it,” she said slowly. “Or…”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Or?”

  She tugged my arm slightly, stepping closer—so close that I could feel her warmth, hear the soft hitch in her breath.

  “…We could just keep doing whatever this is,” she murmured.

  I stared at her.

  Astrid never hesitated. She was always confident, always sure of herself.

  But now?

  Now, she looked like she was waiting for me to decide.

  I swallowed, feeling the weight of her expectation, of everything unsaid between us.

  I could tease her. I could brush it off like usual, keep pretending that whatever this was didn’t mean something.

  Or…

  I could just go with it.

  I sighed dramatically. “God, you’re so annoying.”

  Astrid’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

  I smirked and, before she could react—

  I leaned down and kissed her.

  Gently.

  Just for a second.

  Astrid stilled completely.

  When I pulled back, her expression was pure shock.

  I shrugged, fighting a smirk. “There. Now we’re even.”

  Astrid gawked at me.

  Then—

  “Oh my God, I hate you,” she muttered, covering her face.

  I ughed. “And yet, you still like me.”

  She groaned loudly, shoving me, but her face was bright red.

  I definitely won this round.

  Astrid groaned, shaking her head as she crossed her arms, trying to gre at me through her obvious embarrassment.

  “You are so full of yourself,” she muttered, but there was no real bite behind her words.

  I smirked. “And yet, you were the one getting all flustered.”

  Astrid scoffed, rolling her eyes before turning back toward the prize counter like I was the one being ridiculous.

  I let my smirk linger, but something about the moment sat differently.

  It wasn’t like all the times she had teased me.

  This time, I had surprised her.

  And I kind of liked that.

  The guy behind the counter cleared his throat, looking mildly annoyed that we were just standing there flirting instead of picking something. Astrid snapped back into focus, tapping her chin as she eyed the shelves.

  “Alright, I’m feeling generous,” she said. “I’ll let you choose what we get with our hard-earned winnings.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Suddenly, it’s my decision?”

  She waved a hand dismissively. “Consider it a reward for actually having the guts to kiss me first for once.”

  I sighed. “You really can’t just let me have this, huh?”

  She grinned. “Absolutely not.”

  I shook my head but scanned the prizes anyway.

  There were the usual options—cheap pstic toys, stuffed animals, weird novelty keychains. Nothing really stood out until I spotted something near the back of the case.

  A small, ridiculous, neon-pink plush octopus.

  I smirked. “That one.”

  Astrid followed my gaze. “Seriously?”

  I nodded.

  She snorted. “You’re such a child.”

  “And yet,” I mimicked, “you still like me.”

  Astrid groaned again but didn’t argue, handing over the tickets to the cashier. A minute ter, I was holding the tiny pink octopus in my hands, and she was shaking her head like she could not believe she was seen in public with me.

  Still, I caught the small smile pying at the corner of her lips.

  I turned the plush in my hands. “I think I’ll name it… Henry Jr.”

  Astrid choked on air. “You did not just say that.”

  I grinned. “I totally did.”

  She sighed dramatically, rubbing her temples. “I really should’ve chosen someone else to have a not-date with.”

  “But you didn’t,” I pointed out, smirking as I nudged her shoulder.

  Astrid rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

  We left the arcade, the cool evening air wrapping around us as the sky dimmed into a deep orange.

  Astrid shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, walking a little closer to me than usual.

  It was nice.

  Quiet.

  Comfortable.

  I gnced down at the plush in my hand, then at her.

  Without thinking, I held it out to her.

  Astrid blinked. “What?”

  I shrugged. “You should keep it.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

  I smirked. “So you don’t get lonely when I’m not around.”

  Astrid scoffed, but her ears definitely turned a little pink.

  Still, she took the plush from my hand, turning it over thoughtfully.

  “…Fine,” she muttered.

  I grinned, but I didn’t say anything.