Valerie Storm always said romance was ridiculous.
She wrote horror novels, not love stories. Ghosts made sense. Murder mysteries made sense. Even cursed dolls made more sense than people falling in love over eye contact and dramatic music.
Unfortunately for Valerie, life had a strange sense of humor.
It happened on a quiet Saturday afternoon at Rosewood Bookstore, where Valerie was sitting behind a small table signing copies of her latest book. A banner above her head proudly announced VALERIE STORM - YOUNG HORROR AUTHOR, which made people stare at her like she was some kind of rare museum exhibit.
Across from her, her friend Luna leaned against a bookshelf, scrolling lazily through her phone.
Valerie sighed and tapped her pen against the table. "I swear half these people are only here to see if I'm actually 18 besides why are they staring at me like am a zoo animal."
Luna shrugged without looking up. "You write books about ghosts strangling people in their sleep. Curiosity is normal."
"i don't strangle people, the ghosts did and that ghost had a very tragic backstory."
"You say that about every murderer in your books."
Valerie was about to complain again when the bookstore door opened.
A boy walked in.
She didn't notice him at first. She was busy signing a book and trying to make her autograph look dramatic instead of like a tired scribble.
Then the bookstore owner greeted him.
And the boy smiled.
Valerie looked up.
Her brain immediately stopped functioning.
The smile wasn't even that dramatic. Just a simple, casual smile. But for some reason it felt like someone had pressed the pause button on her thoughts.
She stared.
Luna followed her gaze and quietly muttered, "what?."
Valerie stood up slowly.
"I've just discovered something important."
"That sentence usually ends in disaster," Luna said.
Valerie pointed across the bookstore.
"That boy."
Luna glanced over. "Okay... he's attractive. What about him?"
Valerie watched him for another few seconds before speaking again.
"After thinking about his smile," she said thoughtfully, "I want him."
The problem was that Valerie had never been good at whispering.
The boy heard her.
He turned his head.
Their eyes met across the bookstore.
Luna closed her eyes. "Please tell me you didn't just say that out loud."
Valerie didn't answer, because the boy had started walking toward them.
He stopped in front of her table and looked down at the stack of horror books.
"You're the author?" he asked.
Valerie straightened proudly. "Yes."
He picked up one of her books and glanced at the cover.
"The Girl Who Laughed at Ghosts," he read.
"Bestseller," Valerie added.
He flipped through a few pages before putting it back down.
"You look exactly like someone who would write something weird like this."
Valerie frowned slightly. "Weird?"
"That's the polite word."
Luna made a small choking noise behind her.
Valerie leaned forward. "You know, most people say congratulations when they meet an author."
"I'm not most people."
"That much is obvious."
He looked at her again, expression completely unimpressed.
"So you're the one who said you wanted me."
Valerie didn't even try to deny it.
"Yes."
The boy blinked slowly.
"You don't even know my name."
"That's a small detail."
"You've spoken to me for about ten seconds."
Valerie considered that.
"True."
"And you've already decided you want me."
She nodded seriously.
"You have a very convincing smile."
The boy stared at her like he was trying to understand what kind of human being she was.
Then he shook his head.
"You're strange."
"I prefer interesting."
"No," he said calmly. "Strange."
He stepped away from the table and started toward the door.
Valerie blinked.
"Wait."
He stopped but didn't look impressed.
"What."
Valerie pointed at him. "Smile again."
He stared at her like she had just asked him to perform a magic trick.
"Why?"
"I need to confirm something."
"What."
"That your smile really is the reason my brain stopped working."
For a moment he just looked at her.
Then he said flatly, "You might want to see a doctor."
Luna snorted behind her.
Valerie crossed her arms. "That's rude."
"You announced to a room full of strangers that you want a random guy you've never met."
"That's called confidence."
"That's called concerning."
He opened the bookstore door.
Then he paused long enough to add one more sentence.
"I'm not interested in kids ."
And with that he walked away
Valerie stood frozen for several seconds.
Finally Luna spoke. "Well... that went horribly."
Valerie slowly turned toward the door.
" Did he just reject me ."
"And called you a kid yeah."
"Ahhhhh!!!!", Valerie yells