After Mia and Noah stepped onto their bus, the school lot gradually emptied, leaving behind a scattering of students waiting for rides or lingering in small cliques. I stood at the curb, pulling my jacket tighter around me. Looking at the surroundings. The town i lived incalled Everveil. Everviel is the kind of town that smiles at you in daylight and watches you in the dark. On the surface, it's just… ordinary neat houses, creaky porches, kids riding their bikes down cracked pavements. But if you stay long enough, you notice things. How the forests press too close to the edges of the streets, as if listening. How the old roads wind in circles like they're trying to keep you from leaving. And those landmarks the rusted clock tower that hasn't ticked in decades, the statue in the square with eyes that seem to follow you, the field where flowers never bloom no matter the season. People here don't talk about the missing, or the things that move just out of sight… but they feel it. The air tastes like secrets, and the shadows… they remember your name."
The early morning wind nipped at my skin like little icy fingers, and sleep clung to my bones from the nightmare I couldn't fully shake. My eyes burned. I hadn't slept well. Again.
Just then, I heard the low, throaty growl of an engine familiar and arrogant. Rayan's new car glided into view, sleek and cocky, just like him. It was a black Dodge Challenger, fresh from the showroom, all shine and speed. He drove like it was an extension of his ego.
Of course, Oliver was in the passenger seat, gesturing wildly about something probably arguing, again.
They screeched to a halt in front of me. The tinted window rolled down and Rayan leaned out with a lazy smirk on his face, his sunglasses pushed into his unruly dark curls.
"At your service, madam," he said in a posh, ridiculous accent, bowing his head dramatically like a sarcastic butler.
I laughed. "Very funny."
"I try," he grinned, pushing open the back door.
"You look good today, Iris," Oliver chimed, peeking at me from the front seat. His soft, analytical voice was always such a contrast to Rayan's cocky sarcasm.
"Lies," I muttered, slipping into the back seat. "Can you see my eyeballs? They're practically purple. I haven't slept in God knows how long."
Rayan started driving. "But you do look nice though," he added casually, glancing at me through the rearview mirror. "In a messy, just-fought-a-nightmare sort of way."
"Gee, thanks."
He smirked again.
The car's leather seats were warm, and the scent of Rayan's citrus cologne mingled with the faint hint of Oliver's vanilla-scented hand cream. The two of them were total opposites. Rayan, the sarcastic storm with a fast mouth and faster hands. And Oliver, quiet but razor sharp, always observing, always calculating. Both undeniably hot, but they were my best friends since we were in diapers, basically. I didn't see them like that. At least, that's what I told myself.
As we pulled out onto the road, Rayan turned up the music some alt-rock band he was obsessed with and Oliver immediately lowered it.
"Do you want to go deaf before college?" Oliver asked, eyebrows raised.
"Do you want to shut up before I eject you?" Rayan shot back.
They were bickering. Again.
I leaned my head back with a tired sigh, letting the sounds of their voices blur together. It was comforting in a weird way. Predictable.
"We're going to be late," I mumbled.
"Relax," Rayan said. "I drive like a god."
"More like a demon with a license," Oliver muttered.
Rayan chuckled.
"Guys," I said, interrupting their banter, "It's our last year. Our senior year. Can you believe it?"
"Honestly? No," Oliver said, twisting in his seat to face me. "Feels like we blinked and now it's the end."
"And the beginning," Rayan added with an exaggerated voice. "Of adulting. Bills. Depression. Yay."
"Shut up," I laughed. "Let's at least try to enjoy it."
"That reminds me," Oliver said. "Your birthday is coming up. In what… two weeks? You're going to be eighteen, Iris."
I groaned. "Ugh. Please don't remind me."
"What are we doing?" Rayan asked, flicking his turn signal.
"We?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Yes. We." They both answered in sync, and I rolled my eyes.
"Clubbing?" Rayan offered.
"House party?" Oliver added.
"Are you two nuts?"
Rayan grinned. "Absolutely."
Oliver turned in his seat again. "You could host something low-key. Music, lights, just people we actually like."
"You might even find your prince charming," Rayan said with mock sweetness.
"Prince charming, my ass," he then muttered, giving Oliver a side-eye. "She already has two."
I choked on a laugh. "Please. I don't even have one. And if you're referring to yourselves, you both need therapy."
"Therapy and wine," Oliver nodded solemnly.
"Speak for yourself," Rayan said. "I'm her dark prince. You're the... nerdy sidekick."
"Bold of you to assume she'd choose you," Oliver retorted, raising an eyebrow.
I groaned again and leaned my head against the window, hiding my smile.
This was home. The chaos, the teasing, the banter. In the middle of my sleepless nights and haunting dreams, they were the only stable thing I had.
But still, something heavy lingered in my chest. Like a whisper I couldn't hear. A warning I couldn't understand.
As we neared the school, my phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
I froze.
No name. Just those five words.
My fingers trembled slightly as I read it again.
"Everything okay?" Oliver asked, noticing the sudden shift in my expression.
"Yeah," I said quickly, locking my phone and slipping it into my bag. "Just... a spam message."
But I lied.
Something was wrong. Something had followed me from the nightmare.
And I had a feeling it wasn't going to let go anytime soon. I mean not sooner than i expected.