dopamine : luke

carnival 2.0

FIFTH HOUR
9:30PM

"did you enjoy?" luke asks as they unbuckle their seatbelts.

clio was frozen.

not because she was shocked, not because she was scared, and not because she wanted to throw up.

but because she felt electrified.

they got off the rollercoaster, and clio still hasn't said a single word. luke was starting to get nervous.

"peach?" he chuckles nervously, "you alright?"

they start walking back towards the center of the carnival, and clio was still very much feeling the hard thumping of her heart.

"that was...." she gulps, looking at luke who still has the same worried facial expression.

"what?" luke asks softly, starting to grow more and more nervous.

"amazing!" clio squeals, jumping up and down, "can we go again? what should we ride next? that was easily the most excitement i got in three months!"

she continues jumping up and down as her eyes look around the carnival frantically, trying to look for the next possible ride.

luke breathes out a sigh of relief, immediately cracking a smile at the sight of clio smiling like an excited kid.

"i loved every second of it, luke," she pants once she stopped jumping, "you were right. all i had to do was scream!"

"i'm happy to hear that, clio," he smiles back at her, feeling his heart melt more and more at the sight of clio beaming at him, "but i'm afraid that we'll only get to ride one more ride. carnival hour's almost over."

"oh," she pouts, "can we go back here someday? maybe next week?"

luke immediately felt a tug at his heart. his smile faltered slightly, but he tried his best to hide it.

clio knows that her and luke live in the same apartment. and that luke has been living there for a year.

"of course, peach," he nods, "let's come back here and ride every ride there is."

he knew full well that that was something impossible, though. because he only had until sunrise to stay in this beautiful city.

when tomorrow comes, he'll be back to his normal, hectic, noisy, exposed life in the spotlight.

clio smiles up at him, her eyes twinkling along with the lights around them, causing luke to feel sad.

"can we ride the ferris wheel?" clio asks, "the view would be amazing."

"perfect." luke smiles.

they start walking towards the ferris wheel, and luke still feels his heart aching at the thought that he'd have to leave this beautiful woman as soon as the sun rises.

but, he needs to. because that's how his life is really supposed to be.

thankfully, there's a vacant cabin the second they arrive, so they didn't have to wait in line to get on the ferris wheel.

they take seats across from each other, giving them a clear view of each other's faces.

clio proceeds to look down on their view as the ferris wheel goes higher and higher, taking in the looks of different infrastructures spread out across the city.

shades of beige, white, and brown can be evident, and it's all indeed a calming sight to see.

luke, on the other hand, takes this as an opportunity to keep his gaze on clio.