Conan woke up the same morning as always. The sun peeking through his curtains, the still air sitting in his lungs, eyes heavy from a night of sleep that would not come. It was when he looked over to see the empty side next to him that he remembered last night. He remembered the demon attack, feeling his ghost powers once again, and Luna. His heart slightly fluttered at the thought of her again. Conan closed his eyes and decided to feel for a second. He enjoyed the warmth of his bed and for once, waking up not feeling empty. He had something to look forward to today.

Conan cycled through his routine in a daze. He could only think about hustling back to her apartment and spending his day with her. After Conan had his coffee mug in hand, he debated his plan again. It was a Saturday, so he assumed she would be sleeping in. Her roommates were probably hungover, and her apartment would be quiet. He would go and wait in the lobby of her complex and hopefully catch her on her way to her Saturday activities. He could just wait outside her apartment, but he wanted to refrain from the “psycho stalker killer” response. He was thinking of going and getting some pastries for breakfast to meet her with and for the two of them to share. He wanted to head over early before they sold out of all the fine monkey breads.

As Conan walked out into the open breeze, he another person smacked into him and fell directly on top of him. When he got his bearings, he looked up to see Luna. Her face was deep red, and her forehead and neck glistened with sweat. She was only wearing a light blue sports bra and running shorts. She was breathing heavily. Her face became even redder when she noticed Conan was the one she plopped into.

“Holy shit I am so so sorry,” she exclaimed and hastily pushed herself off him. Conan sprang up and offered his hand to help her stand. He laughed at her.

“I was literally on my way to go see you,” Conan remarked. “I wanted to make sure you were okay after last night. I never got your number, so I was going to wait in the lobby with donuts and hope you came down eventually,” a half-truth Conan thought.

“Oh dang, that is really sweet,” she sighed. “Yeah, I am feeling okay. Or was at least, but then I ran into you so maybe I should have taken it easy this morning,” she remarked.

“I don't mind walking you home again,” Conan said, a little enthusiastically.

“That is alright, I am a mess anyway,” Luna gestured to herself. But Conan could only focus on her chest moving with every breath and her skin was glowing. Without all the bulky winter wear, Conan saw her natural curves and her toned physique. She truly was stunning.

“She noticed Conan staring and smiled sheepishly. “Do you have a pen by chance?”

Conan reached into his pocket, and sure enough, had an old ballpoint pen. Luna uncapped the pen and dug it into Conan's left forearm. She wrote a few scribbles and handed the pen back.

“I will go on that date you proposed, but only if you tell me your name,” Luna said slyly.

Conan smiled. “I’m Conan. It's a pleasure to officially meet you.”

Luna nodded in acknowledgment. She winked and began running down the sidewalk again. Conan looked at his arm to find a phone number written in typewriter-like handwriting with a small heart at the end.

_______________________________________

Conan waited patiently outside the Italian restaurant. It was one of the nicer restaurants most students only went to for big events. Usually, it was booked out for the entirety of Valentine's and Graduation weekends. Conan knew the cooks very well and they made some excellent meatballs. Conan was very early as he was desperate to get out of his apartment. He even drove the extremely long way in hopes it would waste more time and speed time to their dinner date.

When he texted her, he was half expecting a fake number. However, she responded rather promptly. Conan decided to screw formalities and simply asked her out that evening. She responded with an “Absolutely.”

Conan heard the click of boots and turned to see Luna approaching the restaurant. She was wearing a long, red skirt that flowed in the wind. She had on a white tube top with a wrap over her hair. She had on big, dangly gold earrings and a gold thin necklace. Her skirt whooshed to reveal black, heeled booties that matched her leather jacket.

“You resemble a goddess,” Conan said longly to her. Luna smiled shyly.

“You clean up good too mister,” she responded with a smile as she looked him up and down. He was wearing shined dress shoes, black linen dress pants and a black, long-sleeved button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled and the top two buttons unfastened. All the black flowed nicely into each other, making Conan’s features more defined and striking. Conan loved getting dressed up, and he loved how Luna looked for the occasion as well.

Conan smiled and reached for the door and held it open for her. They both walked in and the smell of oregano and basil fragranced the air. Old jazz music played on the radio and the hostess welcomed the couple in. The hostess grabbed two menus and led the two through the nearly empty restaurant to a booth in the back. The lighting was dim with a small candle illuminating the small space on the table. As they sat down, a server presented them with glasses of chilled water and asked if there were any other drink preferences. Without looking at the menu, Conan asked for a bottle of their juiciest Syrah. The waiter bowed his head and fled to the kitchen.

“What if I didn’t like red wine?” Luna asked after the waiter left.

“Well, then we could end the date right here. We would never work out,” Conan joked.

Luna smirked at him and hungrily watched as the server walked back with two glasses and delicately popped the cork on the wine. He poured a tasting glass for Conan, and he completed the necessary steps of watching the legs and finding the fragrances before approving the wine. After pouring the two glasses, the server left to give them some time to discuss what they wanted.

Before she took her glass, Luna looked over at Conan. “Do you actually know how to taste wine or was that all bullshit?”

Conan smiled to himself. He had tasted wine in every facet of the world. He had made his own wine in Italy from grapes he picked. Yet, he still could not tell anyone the legitimacy of wine tasting. “Yes,” he responded honestly.

Luna giggled. She held up her glass and Conan grabbed his.

“Here’s to life,” Luna said as she clinked her glass lightly against his.

“Here’s to life,” Conan repeated and they both drank heavily.

Luna closed her eyes and basked in the flavors of the wine. Conan liked that she seemed to be enjoying it. He did not know what question to ask her first. He wanted to know everything about her. He could not remember the last time he went on a true date and began to stress slightly. He did not know how to proceed. He noticed that Luna sensed the tension.

“I am sorry,” Conan said, “It has been a while since I have been on a real date.” He decided honesty was the best policy.

“It has been a while for me too,” Luna responded. “Let’s not put so much on ourselves, we will start easy. Like, what is your favorite color?”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Conan thought for a moment. “Black,” he said.

“That isn't a color. It's a shade. It doesn't count, try again,” Luna said.

“It is too a color,” Conan fought. “Fine, then what is your favorite?”

“It changes every day,” Luna responded coolly.

“That is more wrong than my answer,” Conan joked. “Well, what is it today?”

Luna looked at Conan and slightly leaned in. “Green,” she said while staring into his eyes. Conan felt the closest thing he could to a blush and smiled.

The server approached the table again, and without missing a beat, Luna requested they would like to split a dessert before their meal. The waiter looked at her curiously but wrote down her request and went on her way. She smiled back at Conan and simply said, “Life is short, eat dessert first… Plus the ad for the pizza cookie was mocking me.”

Conan laughed at how she was truly challenging to him.

“Tell me about your family,” Conan asked her.

She looked at him with a slight sadness. “It is a little complicated,” she responded. “But, neither of my parents is in the picture. My dad is currently off with my step-mom in God knows where with her family, and he pretends I don’t exist. I just get a check in the mail every month to help with school to not contact them,” Luna opened. She took a deep breath and continued, “My mom’s name was Annalise. She died right after I graduated high school.”

Conan looked at her with deep sympathy. He wanted to hold her hand, but he knew better when he knew his core temperature had not warmed from the wine yet.

“It is both haunting and beautiful to one day know everything about a person, and the next you can know nothing,” Luna said to him.

Conan reached out to graze her hand lightly, and despite his cool skin, she took it and smiled lightly at him. The server then came back with a steaming plate of chocolate chip gooeyness covered in ice cream, and Luna’s mood instantly lifted. The server handed them each a spoon, and before Conan had grabbed him, Luna was already going to town.

_______________________________________

Conan was driving Luna back to her apartment after their date had concluded. He refused to let her leave without them getting a real meal as well. Thus, they ended up staying at the restaurant past when the buses ran, and he decided to take her home.

Throughout their evening, Conan discovered many quirks about Luna. Her favorite memory was playing video games with her mom in the hospital. She loved Chinese food and anything involving chocolate. She always wanted a sister growing up. She would be graduating soon but she did not know if she even wanted to use her degree. She loved being a barista and her favorite part was getting to make people smile. She wanted to have a family one day. She loved to read, write, draw and take pictures. She loved her roommates and was usually the designated sober buddy as she wanted to make sure everyone always got home. She was smart, caring, beautiful and creative. However, Conan noticed she had some fire in her soul as well. She had some spunk and sass.

She represented every quality Conan found attractive. He was so engrossed in learning about her during their date, and they seemed to talk for hours. They talked so long that they had to, embarrassingly, get kicked out as the restaurant was closing. They drove to Luna’s in delightful silence. Once Conan arrived at the main parking structure, he pulled into a spot and they listened silently to the radio.

“Well, thank you for a surprisingly wonderful night,” Luna said.

Conan nodded, “I would love to do it again sometime.” They sat in silence for another moment. “See you in class.”

Luna’s eyes dropped and she opened the door of his car. But, she suddenly slammed it shut again and stared at him.

“Are you really not going to kiss me right now?” she asked him honestly.

Conan was taken aback. He had wanted to take things slow with her, but apparently, it was too slow for her liking. He smiled back at her and she shared a giggle in return. Conan leaned in over the middle seat and Luna closed the distance as they shared a delicate and tasteful first kiss. Conan pulled back and couldn't not hold in his smile. He placed his hands on the side of her face and kissed her deeper. They shared a few moments of intimacy before Luna pulled away. She smiled brightly and headed out of the car. She was walking back to the main building and turned around a few times to smile back at Conan. Once she scanned her ID and was through the door, Conan let out a long and satisfied sigh. However, that sigh also brought a frost to his lips, and he watched as a wisp of his breath poured out of his mouth. He felt his eyes blaze and power rush to his fingertips. There was danger was near.

Conan looked around again after dropping off Luna. There was no one in the streets. Everyone was either at a bar or in bed at this hour. Conan exited his car and let the transformation happen as he felt the sparks re-electrocute his body. He felt his eyes shine and watched the familiar trail of blue smoke follow his hands. He bent his knees and leaped out into the sky. Conan followed the trail of black smog that traced the demons scent. The path led slightly off the main road of the city and into the surrounding wood. Conan followed the trail back down and stealthily crept along the ground. Conan saw a blaze of light from his head and glided over. The light grew brighter as Conan got to a clearing of the woods. In the spring, the meadow was probably full of wildflowers. Now, a few tufts of grass poked through the melting snow, and Conan saw a blanket of white drawing his eye to a campfire in the middle of the clearing. Conan flew over to the fire carefully, and as he touched his feet back down on the snow, he froze.

For the first time in a long time, he felt cold. Vines crept from under the icy snow and began to wrap around his boots. Conan tried to fly back up, but the vines were strong and pulled him back down to the Earth. Conan felt a fluster of fear and tried to use the electricity he built through his veins to shock and burn the vines, but they continued to pull him down. Soon, the snow drug under his knees. Conan wanted to yell for help, but he knew no one would hear, let alone possibly find him in time. Conan was so mad at himself for falling into such a childish trap. This was day one of stuff he was falling for. Conan kept trying tactics to release himself from the toxic vines, but he truly did not have the strength anymore. He had been so out of touch with this part of his being for so long he had lost most of his instincts. Maybe whatever the vines were trying to drag him to would be his end? Conan decided to conserve what little strength he had left and felt his waist plummet into the snow.

Conan felt a pull on his right hand. Was it more vines? No, the pull came from upwards. He felt the light pull again. Conan opened his eyes to see Luna, as small as she was, pulling with all her little body on his arm. Conan yelled and tried to yank his arm back, but Luna's hands held firm. She continued pulling and grunted in his direction, “I could use some help.”

Conan felt a sudden surge of energy and began kicking at the vines again. He did not know if it was her presence that strengthened him or simply the vines were not as powerful as he thought, but they loosened their grip, and Conan pushed hard off the ground to feel them slip off his boots. He watched them shrivel back beneath the powder, and he levitated above them. Conan breathed a sigh of relief and glanced cautiously at Luna.

Luna was, not shockingly, staring back at him. Her mouth was agape and she crossed her arms in on herself.

Conan rested his feet back on the ground and walked over to her. He held out his hand to put it on her shoulder, but Luna shed away. Conan was hurt. Could she not see it was him? The same guy she shared a kiss with not 20 minutes ago? She looked up at him with tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. She looked so frightened, but yet brave at the same time.

“Conan?” She asked.

Conan hesitated, this could be it for him. He had not told anyone his secret since the accident, and that was over fifty years ago. He would be letting in Luna fully. He would potentially be endangering them both by making them both vulnerable to new worlds. Conan was scared.

“Yes,” he finally replied.

Luna put a hand over her mouth, probably trying to hide her trembling. She immediately fatigued to shake it off and wipe a calmer look on her face, but her eyes always gave her emotions away.

“What happened? Why were those vines attacking you? Why can you fly, and why are your eyes different colors? What…” Luna could not finish the last thought.

Conan reached out a hand again, this time he was able to lightly touch Luna's cheek. She shuddered slightly at his ghostly cool skin. She slowly reached out her other hand to touch Conan's chest, but it slipped right through and was only met with cool smoke. She almost screamed again but grabbed her hand with the hand that was previously cupping her cheek.

“Just focus on me,” Conan pleaded.

Luna kept looking at him, fear in her eyes, but she wanted to trust him. She breathed out a shuddering breath and lightly shook her head.

“You are owed an explanation, but not here. Can we go back to your apartment and just talk?” Conan asked.

All Luna could do was shake her head.

“Okay. I am going to change back. Just stay relaxed,” Conan said softly.

Conan let his body shift and transform back to his human appearance. He felt the power loosening and slightly wiggled his fingers as he felt warmth return to them.

Luna continued to stare. She reached out her hand again to touch his chest. This time, her palm lay flat against his right peck. Conan felt his heartbeat quicken. She looked into his eyes for a moment, then nodded and took her hand back.

Luna turned on her heel and began slowly walking back through the forest. Conan trailed directly behind her, his head hung, and asked himself, “What the Hell am I going to tell her?”