The air in ValeTech's common room was thick with whispers before Nyra even stepped inside.
She felt it the way she felt danger on the streets a shift, a tightening. Conversations dipped when she passed. Eyes followed. Some curious, some sharp with envy. Nyra didn't flinch. She had walked through worse rooms than this.
Her sneakers tapped softly against the tiled floor as she leaned against the counter, coffee in one hand, laptop bag slung low on her shoulder. She caught fragments of conversations drifting toward her.
"…always disappearing for smoke breaks…" "…no way she's that good without cheating…" "…mixed girls always get special treatment…"
Nyra exhaled slowly through her nose. Same old song. Different building.
"You're late again," a girl muttered as Nyra passed, voice tight with irritation.
Nyra didn't stop walking. "Traffic," she said lightly.
A few interns snorted behind her. She could feel it their need to pull her down, to explain her brilliance as luck or favoritism. Nobody liked anomalies. Especially ones who didn't beg for approval.
Elias appeared beside her like a shield, holding two drinks. "Ignore them," he said quietly, offering her one. "They're bored and insecure."
Nyra accepted the drink, taking a slow sip. "They can gossip all they want. It won't fix their bad code."
Elias laughed under his breath. "You're not wrong."
They moved away from the crowd, settling near the windows overlooking the city. For a moment, the noise softened.
"You've been taking a lot of smoke breaks," Elias said carefully, not meeting her eyes.
Nyra raised an eyebrow. "You counting now?"
"I'm just saying," he continued, lowering his voice. "This place eats people alive. You don't have to destroy yourself to survive it."
She stared at the city beyond the glass polished towers, glass dreams. "You don't know what destruction looks like," she said calmly.
Elias went quiet. He knew better than to push.
Later, they escaped to the rooftop their spot.
The door creaked softly behind them, shutting out the hum of servers and ambition. Up here, the city stretched endlessly, lights blinking like quiet witnesses. Wind tugged at Nyra's locs as she leaned against the railing, finally allowing herself to breathe.
"This place feels fake sometimes," she said softly. "Like it's pretending to be clean."
Elias leaned beside her. "Yeah. It's polished. But it's still sharp."
Nyra smirked. "Everything is."
For a moment, silence sat comfortably between them. No judgment. No expectations. Just two people standing above a world that demanded too much.
"You know," Elias said after a while, "people are starting to notice you. Not just the interns."
Nyra glanced at him. "That's not good."
"Depends," he replied. "Some of them are scared. Others are threatened."
She smiled faintly. "Good."
Below them, the city buzzed unaware of the tightrope she walked every day. Somewhere far away, the streets still whispered her name. Shark still ruled the Eastside. And here, in this glass-and-steel kingdom, eyes were starting to follow her movements.
Nyra flicked open her lighter, shielding the flame from the wind. She took a drag, smoke curling into the night air like a warning sign.
Two worlds. Still separate. Still dangerous.
But the gap between them was shrinking.