There are many things I thought I'd do in life—fall in love, eat pizza while crying, accidentally set off minor explosions—but I never imagined hiding from the police inside a janitor's closet with a boy holding a wrench named Kevin.
Yet, here we were.
The building had gone into partial lockdown after what Kairo dubbed "The Successful Almost-Launch." Which, in reality, was a glorified firework test that ended with a melted mailbox and the landlord's cat now missing a few whiskers.
We ran.
Down the stairs, past confused neighbors, through a hallway that smelled like old cheese and forgotten dreams.
"In here!" Kairo yanked open a tiny door.
I didn't ask questions. I just dove in, nearly crashing into a mop bucket and what might've been a bag of expired onions.
The door slammed shut.
Darkness.
Only the faint sound of sirens outside and the soft drip-drip of a leaking pipe above us.
"I can't believe we're hiding in here," I whispered.
"I can," Kairo whispered back. "This is kind of my thing."
"Hiding from consequences?"
"No, hiding in closets with pretty girls."
I snorted, elbowed him in the ribs, and tried not to laugh. We were literally being hunted by building security and possibly the ghost of Mrs. Castellano.
"What if they find us?" I whispered.
"Then we tell them the truth."
"Which is?"
"That we're trying to go to the moon together. And sometimes, love looks like arson."
"…We're going to jail."
---
Time ticked.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
I leaned my head against the wall. Kairo was too close. I could feel his breath, his heartbeat, his sheer ridiculousness radiating like solar flares.
He looked over at me and smiled, even in the dark.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"I know this isn't exactly a romantic getaway, but…"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out… a squished granola bar.
"Dinner?" he offered.
"I hate how much I want that right now."
We split the granola bar in silence like it was some post-apocalyptic ration. Halfway through chewing, Kairo whispered, "If we die in here, I want you to know I once kissed a fish on a dare."
I stared at him. "I once ate deodorant because I thought it was mint."
He gasped. "You're so much weirder than me."
"Shut up and eat your granola."
---
Suddenly, footsteps outside.
My body tensed. We froze.
A flashlight beam flickered under the door.
Voices.
"…They said the explosion came from this floor."
"I heard it was some kids trying to build a rocket."
"Idiots."
Footsteps. Closer.
My hand gripped Kairo's. Tightly. Maybe too tightly. He didn't let go.
The beam passed again. Then, silence.
The footsteps faded.
We both exhaled in sync.
"I think… we're safe," I whispered.
"Yeah," Kairo whispered. "At least for now."
He looked down at our hands, then back up at me. "You know, if we don't get arrested tomorrow, we should go on a real date."
I raised an eyebrow. "Define real."
"No smoke. No sirens. Maybe just the stars."
I pretended to consider it. "Only if there are snacks."
"Non-exploding snacks."
"Obviously."
---
Eventually, we tiptoed out of the closet like guilty raccoons.
The hallway was empty. The building eerily silent, except for the faint buzz of a broken exit sign flickering like a lazy strobe light.
"I think the coast is clear," I whispered.
"Let's make it to the roof. We need to check the capsule."
We crept upstairs.
The rooftop was a disaster.
Burnt foil, melted wires, and Kairo's notebook pages scattered everywhere like confetti from a very nerdy parade.
The "capsule"—an old washing machine—was dented but intact.
Kairo knelt beside it and opened the hatch.
Inside? Two melted marshmallows, a pair of sunglasses, and a post-it that read: *"Don't die. Love, Luna."*
He smiled. "You left this here?"
"In case I wasn't around when you launched yourself to space."
He looked up. "You think I'd go without you?"
I froze.
The air shifted.
"Kairo…"
He stood, brushing soot off his hands. "I don't want to go to the moon without you."
I stared at him. Heart pounding.
"Even if we fail?" I asked.
"We'll fail together."
"And if we blow up?"
"We'll blow up romantically."
"…That's the most twisted thing anyone's ever said to me."
He stepped closer. "But it's true."
Then—
**BANG!**
A door slammed behind us.
We turned.
A man in a black jumpsuit stood there, holding a clipboard and wearing sunglasses… at night.
"Are you two the ones launching rockets from a residential building?" he asked.
Kairo straightened. "Maybe."
"Did you receive a package labeled 'Lunar Entry 8B Confidential'?"
I blinked. "No?"
The man flipped through his clipboard. "Huh. Then this is the wrong building. Sorry."
He turned around and left.
We just stood there, dumbfounded.
"What just happened?" I said.
"I think we almost got recruited into a secret space program."
"Or arrested."
"Or both."
---
I sat down, laughing until I couldn't breathe.
Kairo sat next to me, his arm brushing mine.
The stars sparkled overhead like they were watching, amused.
And in that moment, between the soot and sirens, I realized something terrifying.
I was falling for a boy with a wrench named Kevin.
And somehow… it felt perfect.
---
**[TO BE CONTINUED]**