The morning dragged on like any other. Chalk on the board, pages turning, the hum of air conditioning barely keeping the room awake. Raxian slouched in his seat, Bruce cracking a lazy grin from the row behind, Jake flicking a pencil between his fingers like he was on stage, Ava scribbling notes with that focus only she had. Just a regular school day.
His eyes drifted, almost on instinct, and landed on the desk behind him. Sable. Head tilted slightly down, bangs shadowing her expression, her pencil moving with quiet precision across her notebook. She sat beside Bruce, though she may as well have been in a different room. No chatter, no small talk, no attention. Like always.
Raxian leaned his cheek against his hand, remembering that Discord call—the one that still felt unreal. The one where AkarisLite finally spoke, and it was her. Cool, unshaken, as if she had just flipped her card over on the table without caring about the reaction. He'd thought—no, he was sure—things would feel different after that. But now? She was back to being Sable. The quiet girl who moved through school like a shadow. She didn't even glance his way.
---
When the bell rang for lunch, the class erupted in the usual shuffle of bags and voices. His gang moved as a unit toward the cafeteria, laughing about something Jake had said, but Sable—she slipped out quietly, as if waiting for that exact moment to disappear. Not fast, not sneaky. Just casual enough that no one noticed.
Raxian did.
"Catch you guys later," he told the group, waving off Marcus's questioning look. "Not hungry yet."
---
He trailed her at a distance, heart kicking harder than it should've. This wasn't him. He wasn't the type to follow people around—especially not someone like Sable. If she caught him, she'd definitely think he was creeping. Hell, hadn't he called her a creep when she was just AkarisLite? The irony wasn't lost on him.
Still, his curiosity burned hotter than his pride.
She stopped at her locker first, moving with the same calm rhythm she always had, pulling out a bento box like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Then she headed down the hall, toward the stairwell at the end—the one that led to the rooftop.
Of course. That's where she spent her breaks. Out of sight, above it all.
Raxian exhaled through his nose, dragging a hand through his hair. What the hell am I doing?
---
The stairwell door creaked faintly as she pushed it open. For a moment, Raxian hesitated at the corner, debating if he should just turn around and pretend this never happened. But his feet carried him up anyway, one step at a time, keeping a careful distance. The echo of her footsteps was steady, unbothered. She moved like someone who belonged in silence.
He stopped short at the top landing, the sunlight spilling in from the rooftop door. She was already out there, slipping into her usual seat near the railing. She unwrapped her lunch slowly, almost ritualistically, the wind tugging gently at her hair.
Raxian leaned against the frame, torn. Should he just walk out, act like he "just happened" to be here? Or was that even worse? He rubbed at the back of his neck, realizing too late how stupid this whole thing was.
And then—
"You know…" Her voice cut through the breeze, low and unhurried. She didn't even look up, still poking at her food with her chopsticks. "If you're gonna spy on me, you could at least try to be less obvious."
Raxian froze. His pulse kicked into overdrive.
Slowly, she tilted her head just enough to glance back over her shoulder, the faintest curve tugging at her lips. Her eyes caught his, sharp but not unkind. "TimeWrapped, right? That's what you called yourself."
His stomach dropped. "Wh–what the hell—" His words stumbled out too fast. "I wasn't spying, alright? I was just—" He gestured vaguely at the door, at the sky, at anything. "—just… here."
Sable turned back to her lunch with a small shrug, as if the whole thing was already forgotten. "Mm. Sure."
Heat climbed into his ears. She said it so casually, like she'd expected him. Like she was letting him squirm on purpose. And the fact that she'd dropped his in-game name so easily—like it wasn't a big deal—only twisted the knot in his chest tighter.
"Seriously," he muttered under his breath, stepping out onto the rooftop. "You could've just said hi, instead of acting like I'm—"
"A creep?" she supplied, finally lifting her chopsticks to her mouth.
Raxian stopped dead, remembering how he'd accused AkarisLite of being one. Remembering that it was her all along.
Sable chewed quietly, gaze fixed somewhere past the skyline. "Don't worry. I don't mind."
He didn't know if she was teasing him, or dead serious. Probably both.
Raxian shifted uneasily, stuffing his hands into his pockets as Sable gave the smallest flick of her wrist toward the empty spot beside her. Like it was nothing. Like she didn't just catch him sneaking after her.
He hesitated, but sat anyway. The concrete was warm from the midday sun. The silence between them stretched for a while—only the wind and the faint chatter of students drifting up from the courtyard below.
He didn't know why he'd come up here. Why she was lodged in his head since last night's match. Why he cared enough to follow.
Finally, she spoke, not looking at him. "So… what's your deal?"
Raxian blinked, caught off guard. "My what?"
She glanced sideways at him, the corner of her mouth tugging faintly. "Your deal. You asked AkarisLite that, didn't you?"
His chest tightened. She remembered. Of course she did. He rubbed the back of his neck, stalling. "I—uh… yeah. I guess I did."
"So now I'm asking you," she said simply, returning her attention to her food.
He let out a quiet laugh that came out more nervous than he wanted. "Honestly? I don't even know. This—" he gestured vaguely between them, the rooftop, the distance he'd closed—"it all feels hella strange. Like, one second we're just usernames, and the next…"
"And the next what?"
"…the next it feels like you wanted to connect outside the game, too," he admitted, voice low, the words tumbling out before he could reel them back.
That earned him a proper glance, her chopsticks pausing midair. "And what makes you think that?"
He held her gaze, even though his ears burned. "I mean… isn't that a natural next step?"
Sable's eyes softened just enough to register before cooling again. She set her food down neatly. "I was just curious about the guy behind TimeWrapped. You shared so many similarities. Nothing more, nothing less."
The words hit sharper than he expected, though she hadn't said them cruelly. He leaned back against the railing, exhaling through his nose. "…Right. Got it."
Silence again. He glanced at her lunch, then out at the sky. "…So do you always eat up here? By yourself?"
She didn't answer right away. Just picked up her chopsticks again, chewing thoughtfully. "Most days."
"Why, though?" he pressed before he could stop himself. "I mean, there's people downstairs. You could—y'know—talk to them. Socialize a little."
That earned him a sidelong look, one brow raised. "You sure ask a lot of questions."
"…Is that bad?"
"They're not exactly your business."
Her tone wasn't harsh, but it was final enough to make him lean back, biting his tongue. He felt like an idiot for pushing.
Still… she hadn't told him to leave.
Still… she surprised him with how direct she was. Almost careless in the way she cut straight to it, like it didn't matter if he knew.
After a pause, she set her food container down beside her and leaned back against the rooftop fence."There's no point in trying to make friends," she said flatly, her gaze wandering to the sky. "I've moved around a lot. My father's… 'business' makes sure of that." She hesitated on the word, as if weighing whether to call it what it really was, then left it at that. "Usually we don't stay anywhere for long. So… attachments just feel pointless. You learn to stop bothering after a while. Knowing you'll have to say goodbye eventually."
Raxian blinked, caught off guard by how casually she admitted it. It wasn't the kind of thing you expected from someone who guarded themselves so closely. He shifted a little, resting his arms on his knees, watching her while she stayed focused on the sky like she didn't care how he took it.
He didn't expect her to be this honest. With him, of all people."…That's pretty heavy," he muttered, not quite knowing what else to say at first.
Her lips curved into the faintest, ironic smirk. "You asked."
Fair enough. Still, he wondered why she chose to tell him this. It wasn't like she owed him anything. He thought about how hard it must've been—leaving places behind over and over, knowing from the start nothing would last. Maybe that explained why she felt so different from everyone else. Detached, but not cold. Just… resigned.
And even though she tried to act like it didn't matter, he could tell it did. Otherwise, she wouldn't have admitted it at all.
So instead of pressing, he just sat there, letting the silence stretch. Listening.
---
Once Sable finished her lunch, she stood and brushed herself off. Without a word, she started toward the rooftop door. She didn't look back to see if Raxian followed—didn't seem to care either way.
Raxian lingered, watching her go. The way she'd spoken still echoed in his head. Honest, blunt—like she'd dropped a truth that most people would guard with their life. But she hadn't said it to reach him, or to scare him off, or even to make him understand. She just… didn't give a damn whether he carried it or forgot it.
It was strange. People usually hid things like that, softened them up, pretended they cared how you saw them. Sable wasn't pushing him away or pulling him closer—she just existed, letting him decide what to do with it.
And maybe that's why it stuck with him.
He sighed and shook it off, realizing his stomach was still empty. Heading downstairs, he fished out some coins for the vending machine.
As he bent down to grab the sandwich, two familiar figures showed up—Ava and Logan. They didn't say anything at first, just exchanged a glance before casually lining up behind him.
"You were missing during lunch," Ava said finally, her tone calm but edged with curiosity.
Raxian unwrapped the sandwich, taking a bite before answering. "Yeah. I was… busy."
Ava arched a brow. "Busy?"
He shrugged, avoiding eye contact. "Just needed some air. That's all."
Logan slid his hands into his pockets, studying him for a second, then simply hummed in quiet acknowledgment. Ava didn't push either. The three of them just drifted off down the hall together, like nothing more needed to be said.
---
When Raxian arrived in the classroom, Jake was all over him, bouncing in his seat like he'd been waiting all period just to pounce.
"Where'd you disappear to, huh? You skip out on us for a secret date or what?" Jake teased, his grin obnoxious as ever.
"Jake," Tess sighed, already exasperated, "give him some space."
But Jake just leaned closer, poking at Raxian's shoulder like he was trying to peel an answer out of him.
Raxian brushed him off with a shrug, muttering something vague about just walking around. He didn't bother explaining—Jake would just spin it into some stupid joke anyway. His eyes flicked across the room instead, and there she was.
Sable. Seated behind him, arms folded on her desk, gaze tilted toward the window as if the class didn't exist. She didn't acknowledge him. Didn't even glance his way when he entered.
It was like the rooftop hadn't happened.
She really was… different. They'd shared something strange, something raw, yet here they were back to being strangers again. He took his seat, staring at her side profile, wondering if maybe that's all it ever was supposed to be.
It wasn't like it would change the upcoming days either. She'd sit there. He'd sit here. And then eventually, she'd be gone. Forced to leave. That was it, wasn't it? She'd just exist here until she didn't anymore.
---
Later that night, Raxian sat on his bed, the glow of his monitor dim behind him. His phone buzzed in his hand as he finally caved and typed out a message.
Raxian: yo. gotta tell you smth weird
Raxian: turns out AkarisLite's this girl at my school. Sable.
He hesitated, watching the little "sent" checkmark. A minute later, Raze's reply came in.
Raze: …no shit?
Raze: lmao i knew it. knew something was up w/ her.
Rax frowned at the screen, thumbs moving slow.
Raxian: she's kinda… weird tho. keeps saying everything's temporary. like nothing lasts.
Raxian: idk man. feels like she's already halfway out the door.
The three dots blinked, then stopped. Then blinked again. Finally:
Raze: and that bothers you.
Raxian scowled, typing back quick.
Raxian: tf no. i didn't say that.
Raze: yeah, u didn't have to.
Raze: look. maybe she's right. maybe it is temporary. but so what?Raze: doesn't mean it's not worth it. not everything has to last forever to matter.
Rax stared at the message longer than he meant to. His chest felt heavier than he liked.
Raze: if i were you, i'd try convincing her.
Raze: give her a reason to stay. even if it's just for now.
Rax didn't reply right away. He just dropped the phone onto his chest and stared at the ceiling, annoyed at how much the words sank in.
On the other end, Raze leaned back in his chair, grinning like an idiot at his screen. He wasn't gonna tell Rax outright, but he was already shipping the hell out of them.
If Rax was too stubborn to see it yet, well—that's what he was here for.
A new bubble popped up.
Raze: speaking of people running away from shit, i met fayne the other day.
Rax blinked at the screen, sitting up a little.
Rax: wait what. where??
Raze: outside the flowershop.
Rax: the fuck were YOU doing at a flowershop??
Raze smirked at his phone. He could already picture Rax's expression.
Raze: …just stepping by.
Rax: nah nah, hold up.
Rax: you don't just "step by" a FLOWERSHOP.
Rax: what, you secretly into tulips or some shit?
Raze chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
Raze: relax. i didn't buy anything. just ran into her there.
Rax: huh. wild.
Rax: so now you know fayne too, huh…
For a second, Raze didn't type. He just sat there, remembering the bench, the groggy weight in his head, Fayne's voice pulling him out of it. No need to tell Rax all that. He'd leave the details alone.
Raze: yeah. guess the world's smaller than it looks sometimes.
Rax stared at the dots on his screen, unsure what to say back. He just set his phone down again, exhaling through his nose.
It was weird. First AkarisLite turning out to be Sable. Now Raze and Fayne, of all people. Everyone's paths were crossing like threads knotted together.
Like fate had already decided where they were heading.