Chapter 1: The First Spark
The rain had just ended, leaving the school grounds smelling of wet earth and drenched grass. Droplets slid down the window panes, catching the dim afternoon light like tiny diamonds. Students had already gone home, the halls eerily quiet except for the faint squeak of Aria's shoes against the tiled floor.
Aria clutched her books to her chest, her braids damp and clinging to her shoulders. She hated walking alone after the rain—it always made her feel as though the world was too big, too empty. But that day was different. That day, she wasn't alone.
At the far end of the hallway stood Kael.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with an expression unreadable as ever, he leaned casually against the wall, one hand in his pocket. His uniform, though slightly untidy, somehow made him look sharper than anyone else in school. His dark eyes flickered toward her as she walked, and Aria froze for a moment, her breath caught in her throat.
Kael. The boy no one really understood. Quiet, aloof, and yet… always there in the moments that mattered.
"Aria," he said.
Just her name, spoken softly, almost like a secret he wasn't supposed to share. The sound of it sent an unexpected warmth through her chest. Kael rarely spoke—especially not to her—and when he did, it was as if his words carried weight beyond their meaning.
Aria blinked, trying to steady her heartbeat. "Kael… you're still here?"
He shrugged lightly, glancing at the window where droplets slid down the glass. "The rain. Didn't feel like running in it."
There was silence between them, but it wasn't the uncomfortable kind. It was the type of silence that hummed, that carried an unspoken tension she couldn't quite name.
Just as she was about to speak again, a burst of laughter echoed down the hall.
"Aria!"
Her best friend, Lyra, came dashing toward her with her usual radiance. Her hair, though damp from the rain, framed her face like a halo. Lyra had always been like sunshine after a storm—bright, warm, and impossible to ignore. She threw her arms around Aria in a tight hug before spinning toward Kael.
"Oh—you're here too, Kael." Lyra's smile was dazzling, the kind that made people forget their troubles in an instant.
Aria watched carefully, though she tried not to. The way Kael's eyes softened, just slightly, at Lyra's presence… the way Lyra's laughter seemed to fill every corner of the hallway. It was a small shift, but it was enough to stir something uneasy inside Aria.
"Were you waiting for the rain to stop too?" Lyra asked Kael cheerfully.
Kael gave a faint nod. "Yeah."
Lyra tilted her head, brushing a strand of wet hair behind her ear. "You should've joined us earlier! Aria and I were stuck in class, but we made it fun. Didn't we, Aria?"
Aria forced a small smile. "Yeah… we did."
But her mind was elsewhere.
For weeks now, Aria had noticed it—the way Kael and Lyra's worlds seemed to collide naturally, as if gravity itself was pulling them together. She tried to shake off the thought, but deep down, she couldn't ignore the truth: the air always shifted when they stood too close.
Lyra laughed again, her voice light and melodic, and Aria felt the sharp sting of something she didn't want to name. Was it jealousy? Fear? Or… something even deeper?
Kael's eyes lingered on her then, just for a moment, and Aria's heart thudded violently. Did he notice the storm behind her calm smile? Did he realize how much his silence spoke to her?
She didn't know.
But she did know one thing—this wasn't just friendship anymore.
And as the three of them walked out of the school together, the sun breaking through the clouds above, Aria felt a spark ignite quietly within her. A spark that promised both warmth and destruction.
This was the beginning of something far more complicated than she was ready for.