“Escargot means snails? Hell nah — I don’t wanna eat there!”

“Watch your language, Rafiq,” Mr. Stone snapped, leveling a mean glare at Raph’s outburst.

Together, they faced the restaurant Daniel had picked out from his and Carmen’s bet: L’Escargot Montorgueil, a place close to their hotel known for their snail cuisine. The sun had gone down long ago, leaving the streets with the ambience of lampposts and string lights over restaurants and stores.

“I’m not a fan of Escargot either, Rafiq,” Cedric said. “You can come eat with me at this other place I like if you want. My treat!”

“Yeah, that’s just where we’re eating,” Daniel said, pointing between himself and Carmen. “Because I won our bet.”

Carmen huffed and crossed her arms. “Since he got the last hit in our fight, this is where he wants to go, for some reason.”

“Oh, there’s a reason. Don’t worry, y’all, I’ll record her reaction so you don’t miss out!”

“There’s not gonna be a reaction to miss out on! I already said it. You’re not getting me to eat snails!”

Despite her words, Daniel caught her faint smile, a hidden laugh.

“I think I’ll side with Cedric on this one,” Mr. Stone said. “As much as I would love Carmen’s reaction, I would also like to eat something actually appetizing.”

Rafiq shuddered. “Whew. Yeah, I’m wit’ them, as long as I don't gotta eat no snails.”

“What’s so wrong with snails?” Daniel asked.

“What do you mean? They’re snails!”

“Are you scared of them?” Carmen pointed a thumb at the restaurant.

Rafiq scoffed. “No. Nah, what? I mean, my uncle got paralyzed by one he found in his backyard for a week, and I dropped my mom’s vase when I saw one in our garden, but that don’t mean I’m afraid of them!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe from the snails and Le croque-mitaine. You two have fun while we find somewhere else to eat. Have some candy, too.” Cedric opened his palm, handing both Daniel and Camren spearmints.

“Thanks! We will!” Daniel said, popping the mint into his mouth.

Carmen sighed. “I’ll try. Let me know what you guys get.”

Mr. Stone and Raph strolled away, but Cedric followed for a bit and paused. “Oh, Daniel?”

“Yeah?”

He leaned in closer, whispering. “You’ll be able to see the yearly fireworks show in about fifteen minutes from their back outdoor seating. Many people use it as a backdrop for proposals here every year.”

“Hold on, what? Huh? That’s not my—”

“Sure, sure. Have fun, you two!”

With that, they left Daniel and Carmen to tackle L’Escargot Montorgueil. It had a cozy and elegant atmosphere on the inside, with red velvet seats and golden mirrors and golden frames outside paintings of presumably famous, old guests. Alongside the front terrace of seats, like Cedric described, a back balcony had a perfect view of the river.

As a waiter guided them to their outdoor seats, his soft tone describing their menu and the tantalizing scents warmed Daniel’s heart.

Was this the night?

A moment like this was exactly why he picked out Paris — a chance to be alone with Carmen, in a nice setting, with no obstacles stopping her from asking her about what he said that night.

But, the words of his friends in that glimpse of his home dimension still weighed in his mind like a roadblock. through his mind. He was just known as a romantic coward, back home. How was he any different?

The waiter interrupted his thoughts, returning for their orders. They both got lemonades, and decided on a single plate of six pieces of traditional-recipe escargot.

Once the waiter left, Carmen tapped on the table. “Can I see the clue again?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Daniel placed the tablet of stone between them.

The clue. Right. Distract yourself.

He still didn’t have an idea on what the emblem really meant. An eye stretched from corner to corner of a rectangle outlined with an elaborate border. Daniel furrowed his brow, trying to match Carmen’s concentration.

“Do you have any ideas?” Carmen asked. Chip fluttered onto the table and perched beside the stone clue, peering down at it at the same time.

“I was hoping you would. Can’t really tell what’s important about an eye in a rectangle, though…”

“Maybe it’s a crest.”

“Those medieval pictures they’d have on shields?”

“Yeah! Back then, different families would have different symbols they’d place on their shields and flags and whatever to identify themselves.” She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the stone tablet, but frowned soon after. “Dang. Nevermind. It’s not matching any.”

“Shoot.” Daniel leaned on his fist, staring out into the river. “Maybe it’s…a metaphor?”

Carmen chuckled. “A metaphor? Really?”

“What? I’m just tossing out ideas, here!” he laughed.

Their waiter returned soon after that, but Daniel’s stomach dropped at the sight of their plate. Six snail shells were perfectly laid out on the plate, sprawling to round openings with gooey masses inside. The waiter also brought bread, and extra garlic and butter, and individual smaller plates for them to eat from.

And it smelled good.

He expected a disgusting assault on his nose, but the buttery, garlic-salted scent hooked him, urging him to indulge. Carmen’s face swirled through expressions, jumping from disgust to intrigue, to a reluctant curiosity in the way she slightly bunched her eyebrows.

“Is it just me, or does this…not smell as bad as I thought it would?” he said.

“It doesn’t, but…no. I’m still not eating any of these.”

“Oh, come on! There’s no way you really let me order all of these just to watch me eat on my own,” he said, grinning.

Chip flapped into the sky, and Carmen shrugged, watching him fly into a circle. “I’ll have some of whatever the others get. These are all yours.”

“Then why’d you agree to this if you weren’t gonna eat any?”

“Because I—” She cut herself off. “It was our bet. You got to pick the place we’d eat. I still never said I’d actually eat it!”

Daniel sighed. “You’re right. I guess you’re just not cut out for trying something new,” he muttered the last part.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing! Bottoms up, I guess.”

“No, wait. I’ll…okay, I’ll try them, too, but only if we eat it at the exact same time. I don’t want you to record me.”

Daniel grinned. “I didn’t know you hated being called a chicken that much.”

“Oh, you knew. That’s exactly why you said that,” Carmen said, pointing at him with her fork. “Now come on, let’s do this.”

Daniel picked up one of the warm shells, eyeing the green gooeyness on the inside of it. Carmen had the same apprehensive glare, but once she met his eyes, a firelike expression rose, and she nodded. Daniel grasped the small fork they gave them, to pick out the actual meat.

One, two, three!

At the same time, they both popped the snail meat out of the shell and into their mouths. The chewy texture felt foreign to his mouth, and Daniel locked eyes with Carmen as she likely felt the same sensation. Their eyes never left each other, even as the chewiness blossomed into a flavorful experience, like someone had cranked the tantalizing scent to a thousand.

“Thoughts?” Daniel asked, finishing his piece.

“I kinda feel silly for being so afraid of trying it. It’s actually not that bad!” Carmen said. “Like, if I had a blindfold on and you told me these were some well-cooked mushrooms, I wouldn’t know the difference!”

They both immediately went for seconds, scooping the snail meat from the shell and popping it into their mouths. A part of Daniel’s mind still couldn’t get over the idea of eating snails, but the sheer deliciousness quickly settled any hesitation.

Once they finished the last two pieces, only the other half of the bread remained. Carmen tore a piece off, jokingly holding it towards Chip before eating it herself. “I’m kinda glad you picked this for the bet. I wouldn’t have tried this if it wasn't for you.”

“Yeah…”

Daniel’s gaze drifted to a boat passing under a faraway bridge as he pondered the next alarming thought. There only one last pressing question on his mind, dying to make it out, yet stifled by the fear of what could happen afterwards.

Distract from it.

“Wanna play a game?”

“Like, Mary Kart? I also downloaded—”

“No, not on your phone. We could play, like, ‘Never Have I Ever’.”

“Oh. Sure, I guess.”

Daniel held up three fingers, and Carmen did the same. “Never have I ever lost fifty bucks betting on a Fight.”

They both dropped their first finger.

Carmen chuckled. “I did, just a little before we left for Paris,” she said. “Looking back, I don't know why I thought a C Class Grappler stood a chance against an A-Class Zoner!”

“Wait, did you bet on Crackdown against Goldenwing, too?”

“Yes! I should’ve known Crackdown didn’t have a chance of winning. But, is it my turn, now?”

Daniel nodded.

“Okay…never have I ever quit a horror game because I was too scared.”

Daniel dropped his second finger, letting his head hang in shame.

“Are you serious, dude?” She threw her head back in laughter. “It’s just a game! It couldn't be that scary!”

“Look, you can talk once I see you win Five Nights At Frank’s! I’ve never even seen you try it.”

“You’re right, I haven’t. I haven’t actually played a scary game before. So technically, I’ve never wimped out of one since I never started in the first place”

“What?! That’s cheating! But fine, fine. Try cheating on this next one.”

Daniel didn’t know what in the universe compelled him to say the next question. He never stopped to think, and once the words left his tongue, there was nothing he could do.

“Never have I ever been asked out before.”

Carmen’s face went blank. Immediately, Daniel cringed, wishing he could crawl under the table and never be seen again.

But, she chuckled and lowered her finger.

He gasped. Did she know?

“Yeah. It was this one time, like, last year, this guy told me he had a crush on me. But I didn’t even like him like that. I barely liked him as a friend.”

Daniel sighed in satisfaction. At least it wasn’t about him. “Really?”

Carmen tore off another piece of bread. “Especially because it was like he could only make jokes by making fun of someone.” She leaned on her hand, rolling her cross pendant in her fingers. “Teasing’s fun, but I can’t stand people who aren’t nice sometimes to balance it out. Otherwise it’s just mean.”

“Am I like that?”

“No. You’d have to actually be funny, first.”

He scoffed. Before he could retaliate, a streak of light shot into the sky from across the river, piercing the night before bursting into a shower of purple light, brightening the entire balcony. Carmen gasped and shot out of her seat, and Daniel quickly followed her to the balcony railing. Nearby conversations hushed in awe, and a second firework exploded soon after.

This one was an ocean-like cerulean, and Daniel watched, entranced by how the light framed Carmen’s bright smile, contrasting the warm yellow of the balcony string lights.

This was his chance.

But what if she said no? What if he was just like that guy she described? What if he ruined their friendship?

The next firework was even louder than the last, rattling the thoughts in his mind. They all felt familiar, like the last time Ryan and Alex had apparently set him up to talk to the Carmen Garcia from his own universe. The fear, the apprehension, the doubt — it was why he only stammered out nonsense, never able to tell her the truth.

But he was different. He was different. He beat Apex and ten of her underlings at their own game, and risked saving Carmen from the fire, even if he had no chances of lifting it up on his own. The threat of dying there never even crossed his mind, because he was too focused on protecting her.

How could he continue in this world without her?

Daniel took a deep, shaky breath. “Can we pause the game?”

She glanced up at him over her glasses, less than a foot away, shoulder to shoulder. “Yeah, why?”

Don’t listen to those thoughts. You’re better than that.

“I have a question.”

A firework went off at the same time. For a moment, he thought she wouldn’t have heard him, but Carmen turned to face him.

“Do you remember the day the dojo burned down?”

“I could never forget it. Both the real version, and the vision Demise showed me.”

Daniel took his jacket off, tossing it over on the seat. The last thing he needed was to be too hot and sweaty. “Do you…remember when we were alone in your room, while it was burning down?”

“Yeah, and you stopped my vision from coming true?”

“Do you remember what I said?”

Carmen pursed her lips, eyes tracing another firework that shot into the sky.

“Or, do you remember when we got back to the restaurant, and we…?”

She placed her back against the railing.

Heart pounding in his chest, Daniel slid his hand over hers, for the first time in over a month. “Because I do. I’ve thought about it every day, but I’ve been too afraid to ask you about it because you never responded and I was afraid you’d say no.”

A sweet tung sang from a man’s accordion on the sidewalk below, and a firework cast a white star over the sky.

“You…were afraid of me?”

He winced. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

Carmen smiled. She turned towards him, and her hand shifted underneath his as she held his shoulder with the other. “You could’ve just asked me, Daniel. You’re never afraid,” she said, lowering her tone. “That’s what I like the most about you.”

Daniel let his jaw fall.

“I do remember what you said. All of it. I just didn’t know if it was real. And you never brought it up to me after that, so I thought…maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was from a dream, or maybe I misheard you and thought you said everything I wanted you to.”

“And?”

She pursed her lips — the firework show continued, booming and exploding with every pound of his heart. “It’s my turn in the game, isn’t it?”

Carmen pulled her hand out from underneath his, raising one finger. Daniel raised his, too.

“Never have I ever dated anyone,” she said, her voice almost a squeak.

Neither of them dropped their fingers.

Daniel swallowed hard. “My turn?”

She nodded.

“Never have I ever had my first kiss.”

Her finger twitched for a moment. His did, too.

And her hand slid forward, lacing her fingers within his. Daniel’s breath caught in his throat. She stepped even closer — closer than Daniel thought anyone would ever get.

A galaxy of sparkles and stars lit the black sky in a blaze of cerulean and orange as they both dropped their last fingers, locking hands. It felt like home. He didn’t even feel his heart pounding anymore; he felt hers, thudding against his chest as she stood on her tippy toes to stay at the level of his lips. She brought her hand to the side of his face, and he brought his other arm down, supporting her at the waist.

Forever passed in those few spare seconds. He wasn’t a coward. He wasn’t the same Daniel as the one that first woke up in this new, strange world, and this was proof.

Carmen pulled back and pushed her glasses up, her smile like a light in the darkness. Daniel glanced down at their hands, fingers intertwined together. “Oh, look at that.” He squeezed softly. “Looks like I dropped my last finger. Doesn’t that mean I lose?”

“That’s the first thing you say? You’re so stupid,” she chuckled, but then gasped. “Oh my god. How are we gonna tell Rafiq, or Mr. Stone? Is he even gonna let us…you know…?”

“Date? Is he gonna let us date? You can say it,” he laughed.

“Why say it when you know exactly what I mean?”

“Because I think that makes it official. I’ll worry about telling them.”

He closed his eyes and leaned in, meeting her soft lips with a promise of his own. As fireworks lit up the night sky once more, she returned a tender squeeze of his hand.