The wind had a voice that day, cutting through the campus like a knife. Lila felt it against her skin, tugging at her hair and the hem of her skirt, as though it were trying to warn her. She didn't notice the shadow approaching until it fell across her notebook.
"Kieran?" she said, looking up.
He stood there, hands empty but clenched at his sides, his eyes unreadable. "We need to talk," he said, the usual ease in his voice replaced by something heavier, darker.
Lila swallowed, a cold knot forming in her chest. "About what?"
"About… this," he muttered, glancing around before leaning closer. The wind seemed to obey him, swirling subtly at his back, making his blond hair dance. "You can't just… ignore it. Ignore me. Ignore everything that's happening."
Her stomach twisted. She wanted to protest, to say she didn't understand, but his intensity pinned her words. The cafeteria buzzed around them, yet they were isolated in their own storm.
"You're… different," she whispered, more to herself than him.
"And you're… too stubborn to see it," he replied. A pause followed, thick and suffocating. "But it's not just me. There are things—things coming—that will change everything."
Lila felt the pulse of unease in her veins, the first real taste of fear and fascination mingled together. She realized, almost with horror, that her world had already started to tilt, and she had no idea how to stop it.
The bell rang, cutting through the tension like a shard of glass, and Kieran straightened, his gaze lingering a moment longer before he disappeared into the hallway.
The wind picked up again, carrying with it a whisper that seemed to promise both danger and something irresistible. Lila clenched her fists. Whatever this was, she knew one thing: nothing would ever be the same.