The sun tried to rise, but the clouds hadn't moved on.Gray light spilled through Velithra's curtains, the kind of half-light that made everything look colder than it was.
She sat on the edge of her bed, still in her pajamas, hair tangled from sleep she didn't really get.Her mind wouldn't stop replaying the night before — Kai's expression, his voice cracking when he said "That's all I can say right now."
She'd seen him break open for just a moment. And now that she had, she couldn't pretend not to care.
Velithra got dressed slowly, mechanically. Her reflection looked tired — dark circles, pale lips, eyes that carried too many questions.She caught herself wondering if he'd show up to school. If he'd even want to see her.
The thought made her chest ache in a way she couldn't quite name.
By the time she reached campus, the usual noise of morning chatter was already echoing through the halls. Her so-called friends — the ones who had turned gossip into a sport — were huddled by the lockers, whispering.
"Did you hear? Kai didn't come home for a whole night.""Apparently someone saw him with her.""Velithra? No way. She's not his type."
Velithra kept walking, face blank. Their words slid over her like dull blades.
When she got to her classroom, the door creaked open — and there he was.Kai.
He looked… different.Still sharp in his black uniform and hood pulled halfway up, but something about him had softened. His eyes were tired, but when they met hers, they held something wordless.
Something that said thank you.
Velithra looked away quickly, pretending to dig through her bag, but she could feel his gaze linger — steady, unreadable.
The room filled with murmurs. People whispered about them, about the strange tension that had begun to spark between two people who never used to speak.
When the teacher called roll, Velithra's name was followed by Kai's, and even the way their names were said together made her pulse quicken.
By lunch, she hadn't spoken a word to him. She wanted to.But every time she thought about it, the words died in her throat.
Then, just as she was leaving the classroom, she heard his voice behind her — low, rough, familiar.
"Velithra."
She turned. He was standing by the window, light brushing across his dark hair, his eyes calm but distant.
"Meet me after school," he said quietly. "There's something I need to tell you."
Her breath caught. "What is it?"
He shook his head. "Not here."
And then he walked away, leaving her standing in the doorway, heart hammering, mind spinning.
The whispers started again as soon as he was gone, but Velithra barely heard them.
All she could think was that something was shifting — something real — and she wasn't sure if she was ready for it.