The next morning felt different.Even the sky seemed hesitant — the gray clouds drifting lazily, unsure whether to break or stay stitched together.
Velithra walked through the school gates, her backpack heavy on her shoulder, the strap digging into her skin. The world buzzed with its usual noise — laughter, shouting, the metallic screech of lockers — but something about it all felt quieter, as if muted behind glass.
When she entered the classroom, Kai was already there.He sat by the window, his chin resting on his hand, black hair messy in the morning light. The glow from outside caught in his eyes — dark, unreadable, but softer than usual.
He didn't look up right away.But when he did, it wasn't a glance — it was recognition.A silent I remember everything we didn't say last night.
Velithra quickly looked away, her heart thudding against her ribs.Her seat felt colder than usual. The desk — smaller. The air — thinner.
She could feel the eyes of her so-called friends flicking between her and Kai. The whispers started almost immediately."Did you see the way he looked at her?""Wait… are they—?""No way. Velithra? With him?"
She tried to ignore them. She always did.But the difference this time was that Kai heard too.
When one of the girls behind them snickered under her breath, Kai turned his head slowly.He didn't say anything, didn't glare, didn't smile — but the air shifted anyway, heavy and sharp. The laughter died mid-breath.
Velithra exhaled quietly.He had that strange power — the kind that didn't need volume to be loud.
Classes dragged on. The teachers' voices became background noise. Every time Velithra tried to focus, she'd catch herself glancing at Kai — at the way he tapped his pencil, how he stared out the window like he was somewhere else entirely.
At lunch, he waited by the vending machines.He didn't say her name, didn't wave her over — but she went anyway.
"Hey," he said softly, handing her a drink.She blinked. "You… remembered what I liked.""Of course I did."
For a moment, they just stood there, both unsure how close to stand.
Kai looked down at his hands, then at her. "I didn't sleep much.""Nightmares?" Velithra asked.He gave a faint, humorless smile. "You could say that. But this time it wasn't about the past."
"Then what was it?"
He hesitated. Then, voice low — "You."
Velithra froze.Before she could respond, the bell rang, echoing through the hall like a lifeline and a curse all at once.
Kai looked toward the noise, then back at her. "See you after class?"She nodded slowly, still reeling from the word you.
He turned to leave, his steps calm, measured. But Velithra noticed the faint shake in his hand as he pushed open the door — the smallest crack in the armor.
And though the hallway swallowed him, the feeling stayed — like static in her chest, impossible to ignore.
She didn't know what she was walking into after class.But she knew, deep down, that something was coming.Something big.Something she wasn't ready for.