*Sara's Pov
The morning sun streamed through the windows, but it barely touched my skin. It was just another ordinary day—or so I told myself. I sat at my desk, pencil in hand, notebook open, but my mind refused to cooperate. Instead, it wandered… and landed on him.
A new student had arrived today. He didn't make a fuss. Didn't announce himself. He just… existed. Sitting at the far end of the classroom, quiet, detached, almost invisible to everyone else. But to me? He wasn't invisible. He was everything. A presence that pulled my gaze like gravity, though I had no idea why.
He was tall, lean, and carried himself with a kind of silent authority. His hair fell in soft waves that shadowed his eyes, making them unreadable, like a secret no one was allowed to know. There was a weight to him—something heavy, something dangerous that I couldn't place.
I quickly looked away, pretending to focus on the notes in front of me, but my eyes betrayed me. I glanced at him again. And again. Each time, my heart skipped, though I didn't know why. I felt… drawn.
"Hey! Sara, are you even listening?" A voice snapped me back. My friend, Mira, leaned over my desk, eyebrows raised.
"Yes… yes, I'm listening," I mumbled, cheeks warming. My pencil scribbled words that didn't form sentences. My thoughts were consumed entirely by him.
He didn't look at anyone else. Not the chatterers, not the teachers, not even the friends who waved him over. Just… himself. And somehow, despite his silence, he seemed to notice me. A shiver ran down my spine, and I told myself it was just nerves. But deep down, I knew it wasn't.
Even as the class ended and the room emptied, my eyes kept finding him. He wasn't moving, wasn't talking, wasn't doing anything that demanded attention. Yet I couldn't tear my gaze away.
Why do I feel like I've known him forever? I asked myself, voice silent. Why does my chest feel like it's being pulled toward him without permission?
I didn't know it yet, but something had shifted. Something irreversible.
*Necole's POV
She noticed me. That much was immediately clear.
I had been through centuries of existence. I had learned that attention was dangerous. That attachment was death. That emotions were weaknesses to be discarded. I preferred shadows, solitude, and silence. Yet, there she was… staring. Not openly, not boldly—just quietly, delicately, as if she were trying to study me without really daring to touch my existence.
Her eyes… they were too soft, too warm. They held curiosity, but also fear. A kind of reverence I hadn't seen in a long time. Strange. People either feared me or ignored me. She did neither.
I did not know her name. I did not care to. Names were trivial. Yet, somehow, I was aware of her presence. Every heartbeat, every subtle movement, every glance felt like an echo that I couldn't escape.
I must stay away. I reminded myself. She will bring nothing but chaos.
And yet, even as my mind said to turn, my chest betrayed me. Even as the shadows around me whispered to vanish, I stayed. I watched her. Not closely—not like a predator—but like someone afraid of what would happen if they looked away.
There was something about her softness, something fragile yet unyielding. Something that made me… notice. Something that made me remember what it felt like to feel something other than emptiness.
*Sara's POV
The final bell rang, and students flooded the halls. I gathered my books, heart still pounding from… what? From simply looking at him? The thought was ridiculous.
And yet, as I moved toward the exit, our eyes met again. Just briefly. Just a flicker. But the world shifted. In that instant, I could feel everything I had ever tried to ignore—the loneliness I carried, the fear of being unseen, the tiny, quiet hope that maybe someone would understand.
His eyes were impossibly dark. Not angry. Not sad. Just… endless. Deep. Immeasurable. Like staring into a night without stars, yet somehow, feeling that light existed somewhere inside it.
He didn't move. Didn't acknowledge me. And yet… he had spoken without words. Something in the silence said:
You are not ready… but I am here.
I shivered, unsure if it was the cold air or the strange weight pressing against my chest. My heart felt too loud. Too fast. And I realized, with an unfamiliar pang, that my life had already changed—even though I had barely met him.
Why does my chest hurt just looking at him? I whispered to myself, walking faster down the hallway.
*Sara's Pov
She lingered in my vision longer than she should have. Most would have averted their gaze, feared me, or simply walked away. Not her. She stared, with that softness and quiet persistence that made me want to recoil and protect myself at the same time.
I didn't know her, and I shouldn't have cared. I had no place for anyone in my life. Yet… her presence lingered. Quiet. Persistent. Dangerous.
She is too delicate. She is too strong. I thought, almost aloud. She doesn't know what she's stepping into. She won't survive this if she understood.
And still, I felt something I had not felt in centuries—an ache that wasn't just curiosity, wasn't just caution, wasn't just instinct. Something… human. Something that whispered: Pay attention. Protect. Feel.
I looked away, forcing the shadows around me to swell and mask my heart, though the moment our eyes met again, I knew—distance would no longer protect either of us.
*Sara's Pov
— Closing the Day
By the time I reached my locker, I was trembling. Not from fear, not from cold. Something deeper, stranger, had moved inside me.
I didn't know his name. Didn't know his past. Didn't know why he made my chest ache with just a glance.
But I knew one thing.
This… was the beginning.
The start of a story I couldn't escape,
and a feeling I could not name.
And somewhere, deep down, I understood:
Nothing would ever be ordinary again.