The next morning began the way most did—blurry, quiet, and loaded with tension David couldn't explain. He sat at his desk near the back of the classroom, hoodie up, earbuds in with no music playing, just white noise to soften the static always screaming in his head.
From where he sat, he could see the classroom from six different perspectives without even trying. The janitor polishing the hallway floor. The bored math teacher two rooms down. A cat sitting on a rooftop across the street. All different, all real, all fighting for dominance inside his skull.
But there was one perspective that kept pushing forward. Hers.
Chloe.
She was always quiet in class, the kind of girl who didn't raise her hand or laugh at dumb jokes. But today, her perspective was loud—bright with nervous energy, focused like a spotlight on him.
And then she turned around.
"David."
He looked past her like she didn't exist.
"I… I need your help," she said, voice quiet but steady.
Still no answer. He reached into his bag, pulled out a pen, and pretended to write.
Chloe frowned. "You don't even know what I'm going to say."
"I don't care," he said flatly, still not looking up.
A few students glanced their way, but she didn't back off. The teacher hadn't arrived yet.
"Please," she whispered. "It's important."
David finally met her eyes. And for a split second, he slipped—saw her world. Fear. A secret she hadn't told anyone. A hallway. Blood. A shadow that didn't belong to her.
He jerked his eyes away.
"Leave me alone."
Chloe's lips trembled, but she didn't argue.
Not then.
---
During lunchtime, David took his usual spot on the edge of the rooftop, back to the wall, sandwich untouched in his lap. The rooftop was his safe zone, the one place he thought no one else would go.
He was wrong.
"Hey."
He didn't need to look. He'd felt her coming. Her perspective had been rising the stairs with caution and determination.
Chloe stood at the rooftop entrance, holding a lunch tray.
"Seriously?" he muttered. "Do you not get the message?"
She walked over and sat across from him, setting her tray down with a faint clatter.
David sighed. "You're not subtle."
"I'm not trying to be. I'm trying to talk to you."
"Then talk to someone else."
Chloe leaned forward. "You saved someone last night."
He froze.
"You had a mask, but I saw it. You were fast. Too fast. You knew what that guy was going to do before he did it. You pulled her out of the way like you knew the future."
David didn't respond.
"I think you see things," she said quietly. "Not like dreams or visions. Real things. People. Paths. Outcomes. Am I close?"
He got to his feet slowly. "This conversation is over."
"But I need your help."
David glared at her. "And I need people to leave me the hell alone."
Chloe stood too. "I'm not going away. Not until you hear me out."
She didn't yell. She didn't beg. She just stood her ground. And that, more than anything, made him clench his fists in frustration.
"I'm not your hero," he said.
"I don't need a hero," she replied. "I need you."
---
Later That evening, David walked the city streets, trying to calm his mind. The weight of his powers always pressed heavier after class. Too many people. Too many feelings. Too many truths that no one wanted to say out loud.
He stopped at a small convenience store and stepped inside to buy an energy drink.
"David!"
He froze.
Chloe was standing outside the store window, waving at him awkwardly. He sighed and ducked behind an aisle. She entered the store seconds later, eyes scanning.
"I said leave me alone."
"You didn't mean it," she said, a bit too cheerfully.
David marched past her and out the door.
She followed.
"Seriously? You're following me now?"
"You're not easy to find," she said. "You don't post. You don't talk. You disappear after class like a ghost."
"That's the point," he snapped.
She jogged to keep up with him as he turned a corner. "Look, I know it's crazy, okay? But I know. I saw you last night. That alley—"
David stopped cold.
The air tightened.
"What did you say?"
"I saw you," Chloe said. Her tone shifted. Softer now. Honest. "You were wearing a mask, but… I saw how you moved. You knew what that man was going to do before he did it. You saved that woman."
David's fists clenched.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I do," she insisted. "And I wouldn't have followed you if I had anyone else to go to. I swear."
He turned, face blank. "So what? You think I'm some superhero? You think this is a gift?"
She flinched. "No. I think it hurts you, in ways that aren't normal. Am I right?"
David paused.
He turned away again. "You're wrong."
"I'm not," Chloe said, stepping in front of him now. She looked him straight in the eye. "I saw your nose bleed. You couldn't walk straight after. I know it hurts you. But I need your help. Please."
David stared at her, breath shallow.
"You have no idea what you're asking," he said.
"Maybe not," she replied. "But I'm asking anyway."