The warm scent of coffee and freshly baked pastries filled the air as Evan stepped into the cozy café, Finn following close behind. This was their usual spot—tucked away from the busier streets, a pce they had come to rely on for quiet conversations and much-needed breaks from their schedules.

  Evan rolled his shoulders, adjusting his bag as he gnced around. It had been a long day of csses, and he was more than ready to just sit down and unwind. Finn, who had come straight from one of his coding lectures, looked equally relieved to be somewhere warm and comfortable.

  Sienna was already waiting at a corner booth, a cup of coffee in hand as she scrolled through her phone. She gnced up at the sound of the cafe door, her sharp eyes immediately nding on them. A slow, knowing smile spread across her lips.

  “Look who finally decided to show up,” she teased, setting her phone aside. “I was starting to think you two got lost.”

  Evan huffed, dropping into the seat across from her. “We came straight from css. Some of us actually have things to do, you know.”

  Finn followed suit, offering a small smile. “Sorry for making you wait.”

  Sienna waved off the apology, her gaze flicking to Finn. She studied him for a moment, taking in his soft brown eyes, the gentle way he carried himself—almost like he was careful not to take up too much space.

  “You must be Finn,” she said, leaning back against the booth. “Evan’s talked about you.”

  Finn blinked, surprised. His gaze darted to Evan, as if checking to see if she was joking. “He has?”

  Evan shrugged, picking up the menu. “A little.”

  Finn’s lips twitched, looking pleased. “Well, it’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a bit about your work at Lancaster Group—it's impressive how involved you are already.”

  Sienna leaned back, amusement flickering in her eyes. “A fan, huh?”

  Finn chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not exactly. I just keep up with business news here and there. Your name comes up sometimes.”

  Evan groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Great. Now there are two of you.”

  Sienna shot him a smirk. “I like him already.”

  Finn gave a small shrug. “I’ve always been interested in leadership roles, so it’s interesting to see someone our age stepping into that world so early.”

  Sienna tapped her fingers lightly against her coffee cup, clearly pleased but not lingering on the praise. “It’s demanding, but it’s what I was raised to do.”

  Finn nodded. “Makes sense.”

  Sienna’s expression softened slightly, her usual calcuting gaze shifting into something more neutral. “Huh. Not bad.”

  Evan shook his head. “Alright, alright. Can we dial back the Sienna appreciation club for a second?”

  Sienna chuckled, but she turned her focus back to Finn. “Since you’re interested in business, what about your family? What do your parents do?”

  Evan instantly recognized the shift in her tone. The easy, teasing mood was gone—now she was evaluating him.

  Finn, however, didn’t seem fazed. “My mom works in corporate. She’s an office worker,” he answered smoothly. “And my dad is a househusband.”

  Sienna nodded, taking in the response without reaction. “And after college?”

  “I want to go into software development,” Finn replied. “I’m particurly interested in AI integration and machine learning. I think it’s going to py a huge role in the future of business.”

  Another approving nod. “That’s a solid pn.”

  Evan frowned slightly, noticing the pattern. She was nodding whenever Finn’s answers met her expectations.

  “Alright, that’s enough,” Evan said, setting his menu down.

  Sienna gnced at him. “What?”

  Evan exhaled, keeping his tone neutral. “Stop grilling him. He’s my friend, not an interview candidate.”

  Finn smiled easily. “I don’t mind, Evan. I get why she’s doing this.”

  Evan raised a brow. “You do?”

  Finn nodded. “She’s worried about you. It makes sense that she’d want to understand the people around you.” He turned to Sienna. “I don’t mind answering your questions.”

  Evan hesitated, then sighed. Fine. If Finn was okay with it, he wouldn’t argue. But he still shot Sienna a look.

  Sienna just smirked, clearly unbothered.

  With that, the conversation drifted into more casual territory. Finn was curious about Evan’s home life, asking what it was like adjusting to the Lancaster family. Sienna, meanwhile, was more interested in Evan’s work in the robotics club.

  Between the two of them, Evan found himself answering way too many questions, feeling less like he was catching up with friends and more like he was the topic of a research study.

  “You two are way too interested in my life,” he muttered.

  Finn chuckled. “You never talk about it otherwise.”

  Sienna smirked. “Exactly. Consider this catching up.”

  Evan groaned but eventually let it slide.

  As they finished their drinks, Evan stretched, gncing at the time. “We should probably head out.”

  Finn nodded. “Yeah, I have some assignments to finish.”

  Sienna was already gathering her things. “I have a meeting soon.”

  As they stood up, Evan casually tossed out, “We should do something on our next day off.”

  Finn brightened. “That sounds fun.”

  Sienna gave a small nod. “I’m in.”

  And just like that, the pn was set.

  ***

  A few days ter, Evan found himself sliding into the passenger seat of Sienna’s sleek bck car as they pulled up in front of Finn’s house.

  Finn was already waiting outside, leaning casually against the doorframe with his arms crossed. As soon as he spotted them, he pushed off and strolled over, opening the back door and slipping inside.

  “Morning,” he said, settling into the seat with practiced ease.

  Despite his rexed demeanor, there was always a faint tension in the air whenever he was around Sienna. It wasn’t outright hostility—just an unspoken challenge that neither of them acknowledged but both seemed to recognize.

  Sienna started the engine, the hum of the car filling the space between them. “So,” she said, adjusting her mirrors, “what’s the pn?”

  “I figured we’d just wander around the city for a bit,” Evan said, stretching in his seat. “See where we end up.”

  Finn nodded in agreement. “Spontaneous pns are the best pns.”

  Sienna hummed, clearly skeptical. “You two are lucky I’m in a good mood today.”

  With that, she pulled out of the driveway, smoothly merging onto the road.

  After some aimless wandering through the bustling streets, stopping at a few stores and grabbing a light snack, they eventually found themselves standing at the entrance of one of the rgest amusement parks in the region.

  Evan’s eyes widened as he took in the towering rides, the fshing neon signs, and the sound of ughter and excited screams filling the air.

  It was… surreal.

  In his past life, he had never bothered with amusement parks. He always had something else to focus on—work, studying, scraping by. Even in this world, his memories didn’t hold anything quite like this. He had been to smaller fairs as a kid, but nothing of this scale.

  Sienna gnced at him and smirked. “What, never been to an amusement park before?”

  Evan cleared his throat, quickly masking his awe. “I’ve been to pces like this before,” he said, brushing it off. “Just not one this big.”

  Finn chuckled. “This one’s the best. We came here st year, and it was amazing.”

  “Then let’s not waste time,” Sienna said, already leading the way inside.

  It wasn’t long before they found themselves standing in front of a towering drop tower ride. A massive ptform with rows of seats was slowly rising up a tall pilr, carrying its screaming passengers toward the sky.

  Evan watched as, for a moment, the ptform reached the peak and hung there in silence—before suddenly plummeting down at an arming speed.

  His stomach twisted.

  “Perfect way to start off,” Sienna said, stretching.

  Finn nodded, grinning. “It’s fun. You’ll love it.”

  Evan eyed them both, noting how rexed they looked. His pride wouldn’t let him back down, especially not when they were so eager.

  “It doesn’t look that bad,” he muttered, stepping forward.

  Sienna raised a brow. “You sure? You can always sit this one out if it’s too much for you.”

  Evan scoffed. “I’ll be fine.”

  They secured their seats, and soon, the ptform began its slow ascent. The ground fell away beneath them, and Evan forced himself to keep his breathing steady.

  “This is nice,” Finn commented, enjoying the view.

  Sienna smirked. “Wait for it.”

  Before Evan could ask what she meant, the ride suddenly dropped. His stomach lurched, his breath catching in his throat as the ground rushed up to meet them.

  Finn and Sienna let out excited ughs, but Evan barely registered them. The sheer force of the drop had knocked the words out of him. By the time they reached the bottom and the ride slowed to a stop, his heart was hammering in his chest.

  “That was—” He swallowed, quickly regaining his composure. “Not bad.”

  Sienna gave him a look. “Oh? So you weren’t scared at all?”

  Evan crossed his arms. “Could’ve been faster.”

  Finn chuckled. “Then I guess we should go for something more thrilling.”

  Evan barely had time to react before they were dragging him toward the fastest rollercoaster in the region.

  Standing before the towering steel structure, Evan felt his confidence waver. The ride twisted and turned in ways that made his stomach churn just looking at it. The occasional screams echoing from the passengers only made it worse.

  “Ready?” Sienna asked, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

  Evan forced a smirk. “Obviously.”

  The line felt agonizingly long. Each passing moment gave him more time to think about the absolute terror he was about to experience. But there was no backing out now.

  Finally, it was their turn. Finn climbed in first, then Evan, then Sienna. The harness clicked into pce, and before Evan could mentally prepare himself, the ride lurched forward.

  The initial movement was smooth, almost deceivingly so. Then they began the steep climb.

  Evan gripped the safety bar tighter.

  “This is the best part,” Finn said, sounding completely rexed.

  Evan, meanwhile, was completely silent. His brain was too occupied calcuting his survival odds.

  As they reached the peak, the rollercoaster hesitated—just for a second.

  Then—

  “PLEASE, I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!”

  The words tore out of Evan’s mouth before he could stop them, his hands instinctively grabbing onto both Finn and Sienna’s hands in a desperate grip.

  And then, they dropped.

  Wind rushed past him at an unbearable speed. His heart felt like it was trying to escape his chest. Every twist and turn sent his body jerking in ways he wasn’t prepared for.

  By the time the ride finally slowed to a stop, Evan was too dazed to move.

  The harness lifted with a mechanical hiss, releasing the passengers from their seats. Finn let out a breath of exhiration, running a hand through his slightly tousled hair.

  “That was amazing,” he said, grinning as he turned to Evan. “Right?”

  Evan didn’t answer.

  Because Evan was still gripping both of their hands like a lifeline.

  His knuckles were white, his face slightly pale, and his body locked in a rigid position, as if he wasn’t entirely convinced that the ride was over. His wide eyes stared ahead, unblinking, as if he were experiencing some kind of post-traumatic shock.

  Sienna, completely unbothered, tilted her head and smirked. “Evan.”

  No response.

  She poked his cheek. “Earth to Evan.”

  Evan finally snapped out of his daze, blinking rapidly as he registered the warmth of their hands. His gaze flickered down, and realization hit him like a second drop on the rollercoaster.

  With a startled jerk, he ripped his hands away, rubbing them against his pants like they had personally betrayed him.

  “I wasn’t scared,” he blurted out, standing up so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet.

  Sienna caught his elbow before he could embarrass himself further, her smirk deepening. “Oh?”

  Finn, ever the kindhearted one, immediately tried to reassure him. “It’s okay, that was a pretty intense ride. You don’t have to pretend—”

  “I’m not pretending,” Evan said quickly, straightening his jacket like that would somehow fix his wounded pride. “I was just… caught off guard.”

  “Sure,” Sienna drawled, clearly enjoying herself. “That must be why you were screaming about how you’re ‘too young to die’ before we even reached the first drop.”

  Evan’s eye twitched. “That… was just an instinctive reaction.”

  Finn nodded in understanding. “That makes sense. Some people have reflexive fear responses—”

  “Finn please stop,” Evan muttered through gritted teeth.

  Finn paused, looking genuinely puzzled. “Oh. Okay…”

  Sienna burst into ughter, wrapping an arm around Evan’s shoulders and pulling him in slightly. “You’re adorable when you’re terrified.”

  “I wasn’t terrified,” Evan grumbled, trying to shake her off, but she had an iron grip on him. “And stop calling me adorable.”

  Sienna ignored him, grinning. “If you need to, you know, hold onto me next time, don’t hesitate. I promise to keep you safe.”

  Evan groaned, dragging a hand down his face. He knew that tone—Sienna was going to milk this for all it was worth.

  Finn, still attempting to be helpful, added, “At least you didn’t pass out. That happens sometimes.”

  Evan turned to gre at him. “You’re making it worse.”

  Finn blinked. “Sorry.”

  Sienna ughed even harder, shaking her head. “This is the best day ever.”

  Evan muttered something under his breath, too embarrassed to argue further. His legs still felt weak from the sheer speed of the ride, and he was convinced his soul had left his body somewhere on that first drop.

  And judging by the way Sienna was looking at him, this wasn’t something she was going to let him forget anytime soon.

  Maybe ever.

  He was doomed.

  And the worst part?

  They weren’t even done with the park yet.

  ***

  Surprisingly—Sienna didn’t drag him to another extreme ride after that.

  Instead, she steered them toward ones that were a little more manageable, picking attractions that Evan could actually stomach without fearing for his life.

  “See?” she said at one point, watching him rex after a retively tame water ride. “I can be nice.”

  Evan shot her a look, wringing out the ends of his damp sleeves. “Right. This is you being nice.”

  Sienna smirked. “Would you prefer another rollercoaster?”

  Evan paled. “This is perfect. Let’s stick with this.”

  Finn chuckled. “It’s actually kind of fun taking things slower for once.”

  Evan narrowed his eyes. “Were you guys pnning to ride every death trap in this park?”

  Sienna and Finn exchanged a gnce before simultaneously answering, “Yes.”

  Evan sighed. “Figures.”

  Still, as the day continued, he found himself enjoying it more than he expected. Even if Sienna kept teasing him, even if Finn unintentionally made things worse with his well-meaning reassurances, there was something… nice about spending time together like this.

  LunarEcho