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Luna is happy. She's so happy that she could spend her entire day with Ambar and Jasmine ridiculing her, and it still wouldn’t ruin her mood. Luckily, that’s not on her agenda. In reality, she’s going with Simon to meet up with Underwheels again.
They spent a good amount of time yesterday practicing the Serpent of Fire, and they can almost execute it perfectly. She cannot wait to show Tamara the move- and with enough luck, she'll manage to convince her to let them perform it.
“Where are you, Luna?” says Simon, looking a bit worried.
“What do you mean? I’m right here, am I not?”
“Are you sure about that? Because to me it looks like you’re somewhere far away-like on the moon,” he says with a big grin, the worried expression from earlier long forgotten.
“SIMON!” she shoves him playfully. “Sorry, sorry! I just couldn’t resist. Are you okay, though?” “Yes, I was just thinking about the competition.” She hopes her tone is light, because she really isn’t worried-and she doesn’t want to dampen the mood.
After a few more minutes, they meet with Underwheels. As Luna starts asking rapid-fire questions about the technical aspects of the move she and Simon are trying to master, Mar drifts away and starts a conversation with her partner.
A weird feeling grows in Luna’s stomach, but she chalks it up to stress.
“You’ve almost perfected the move!” says Mar, excited. “I know! It’s pretty impressive how fast you’ve learned it,” responds Toni. “Thank you, guys- really, we couldn’t have done it without you. How about a race? Last one to the finish line buys everyone ice cream!” Luna proposes.
“Oh, you’re on!” says Ali, already sprinting. “See you at the center of the park!” Luna takes off too, enjoying the adrenaline that comes with the race.
She loves dancing on skates, but sometimes she really misses the thrill of racing. Back in Cancún, she was the fastest person on skates at her old job. Lost in her memories, she isn’t paying attention and crashes into someone, sending them both flying to the ground.
“Luna, are you okay?” someone shouts, but she isn’t sure who- it could be Simon, or maybe Oscar. She’s disoriented, and the ringing in her ears isn’t helping.
Another second passes before she suddenly remembers she bumped into someone. “Oh my God! Are you okay? I’m so sorry- truly! I swear I didn’t mean to bump into you!” she almost shouts, panic rising in her chest.
“I’ve got to say, this is your best crash so far, chica delivery. I mean- wow. Truly impressive,” responds a very familiar voice. As much as she wants to retort, she knows she did hit him pretty hard.
“Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you.” “It’s fine. After all, I’ve gotten used to running into you.” He picks himself up and extends a hand to help Luna. Only then does she notice he’s wearing roller skates too.
“No way! Matteo?! What are you doing here?” someone from Underwheels practically shouts.
“Oh, you know, I’m here for a competition. Don’t worry, I’m not returning to the streets.”
“Still a prick, like always,” Ali retorts, but her face betrays her as she breaks into a big grin.
Luna and Simon remain utterly confused, staring at each other, then back at the scene in front of them. “Wait- you know each other?” asks Simon, dread already filling his chest. Matteo somehow always ends up taking everything he cares about.
“Know each other? We practically grew up together!” says Mar, suddenly even more animated. “Well, only for two years, before he had to move again,” adds Oscar.
Matteo looks at Luna, studying her face for any sign of emotion, then puts on his usual cocky smile. “I mean, who do you think taught these guys everything?” “Hey, hey! Not everything" says Toni, now fired up. “But to be fair, this guy’s a beast. He does some moves on skates that you’d think were impossible for a normal person!”
“Of course, because I’m not a normal person. Now... what were you two learning?” “The Serpent of Fire! Do you know it?” asks Luna, now excited too.
Matteo grins even wider.
“Oh, I know it,” he says, tilting his head smugly. “I invented it.”
Luna’s mouth falls open, and for a moment, she doesn’t know whether to laugh, gasp, or roll her eyes.
“You what?” Simon blurts, his voice a mix of disbelief and suspicion.
Matteo shrugs, skating backwards a little as if to show off without trying. “Well, maybe not the name, but yeah- I came up with the sequence years ago. Called it the Dragon’s Tail back then. Looks like it’s made the rounds.”
Mar nods, eyebrows raised. “He’s not lying. As unbelievable as that souds he really did invent it.”
“I can’t believe this,” Luna mutters, shaking her head with a laugh. “We’ve been sweating over this for days and you just... show up claiming you made it?”
“I did make it,” Matteo replies with a wink. “But you know what? I want to see you do it.” They share one of their intense looks where neither of them dare to look away, a look where only the other person seems to exist.
Luna lifts her chin, never one to back away from a challenge. “Fine. Watch and learn, original creator.”
Simon gives her a glance- half supportive, half warning. But Luna’s already skating to the center of the path.
She takes a breath, the noise of the park melting away as she focuses. In seconds, she’s flowing into the first steps of the Serpent of Fire, her movements fluid and fast, each twist of her body tighter than the last. The final spin sends a ripple of cheers from Underwheels.
Matteo claps slowly, nodding with genuine admiration. “Okay... okay. That was clean.” “You didn’t think I could do it?” Luna says, breathless but grinning.
“I hoped you could,” he says, eyes locking with hers. “And you didn’t disappoint.” Simon shifts uncomfortably beside them, his arms crossed. “She didn’t learn it alone.”
“No,” Matteo replies, turning to him. “She didn’t. Props to you too, guitarist.” Simon gives a small nod, though his eyes linger on Matteo a second too long.
Then Matteo turns back to Luna. “Still, I think your landing could use a little more flair. You know, arms out, spin out dramatically, full diva energy.”
Luna scoffs. “I’m not doing a dramatic spin just to impress the guy who apparently invented everything.”
“Allegedly invented,” Ali chimes in with a grin. “Hey!” Matteo protests, mock-offended. “You of all people should back me up here. I gave you your first wheels!”
“Please,” Ali says, rolling her eyes. “You gave me old wheels. And then charged me three empanadas for them.”
“I stand by my prices,” he says, placing a hand over his heart.
“Besides,” she adds with a teasing smirk, “if I remember correctly, you wiped out in front of the pizza shop trying to show off and cracked a wheel.”
“That was strategic falling,” Matteo insists. “I was testing gravity that day. Turns out it still works.”
Everyone laughs, including Luna—though her smile tightens just slightly as she watches the easy back-and-forth between Matteo and Ali. There’s history there. She can feel it in their rhythm, in the way Ali lightly punches his shoulder like it’s instinct.
“Oh!” Ali says suddenly. “Do you still do that ridiculous toe-spin thing? The one where you think you're flying?”
“You mean my signature move?” Matteo says, puffing his chest out dramatically. “I perfected it now. Want a demo?” Ali grins. “Only if it ends with you face-planting again.”
“Wow, I missed you too,” he deadpans, and then suddenly shoots forward, spinning effortlessly on the tips of his skates. He lifts one foot, arms out dramatically like a bird, then skids to a sharp stop- just inches from Luna.
She blinks. “You nearly hit me!” “But I didn’t,” he says with a wink. “Catlike precision.”
Luna crosses her arms, trying to look unimpressed. “Yeah, I’m sure the pigeons are trembling.”
Matteo leans in slightly. “Jealous of my moves?” “In your dreams.” “Oh, she’s definitely jealous,” Toni sings from behind them.
Luna rolls her eyes. “Jealous of a guy who fell in front of a pizza place? Please.” “Again,” Matteo says, pointing upward as if quoting destiny. “Strategic falling.”
“Sure,” Luna says, turning to walk back toward the others, her voice cool. “Must be nice being so sure of yourself all the time.” Matteo follows her with a little laugh. “Confidence is 80% of skating. The other 20% is unimportant, when you're as good as me.”
Ali whistles. “Then you’re only skating at, like, 60% today.” Everyone laughs again, but Luna’s chuckle doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
Simon notices. “You okay?” he asks quietly. “I’m fine,” she says quickly. “Just... ready for that ice cream"
“Alright, enough showing off for now. Who’s still buying the ice cream?”
Ali holds up her hands. “Not it!” “I crashed. That should automatically disqualify me,” Luna says quickly.
“I think Matteo owes us for the dramatic entrance,” Toni suggests with a smirk. “Fine, fine,” Matteo says, hands raised. “Ice cream’s on me- but only if Luna promises to race me next.”
Luna raises an eyebrow. “You’re on.”
Still, as they skate off together, Matteo and Ali are skating side by side, laughing about something. Luna doesn’t know why, but it sits strangely in her chest. Not painful, exactly... but noticeable. Like a splinter she just realized is there.
She skates a little faster, suddenly eager to be ahead of them, if only by a few and if anyone were to ask it was simply to beat Matteo in the race, no other reason.
Simon doesn’t say anything. He just watches them skate ahead, Luna’s laughter doesn't quite reach her eyes as Matteo skates backward, teasing and showboating.
Oscar slides up next to him. “He’s always been like that, you know. Full of himself, but he's not a bad guy.”
Simon doesn’t look away. “I’m not worried about whether he’s a bad guy.” “No?” Oscar says, casually. “Then what are you worried about?”
Simon doesn’t answer. Because he doesn’t know yet, he just knows that something about Matteo feels like a storm on the horizon.