The morning air was crisp,almost sharp against Lyra's skin,but she didn't notice it. She walked the campus grounds with her notebook clutched against her chest, footsteps quiet but deliberate.
Talia had already disappeared ahead, laughing with some dorm friends who were clearly her kind of people—vocal,easy, unbothered.Lyra preferred shadows,she always had.
But shadows couldn't hide everything.
It started when she reached the library.
Kael Draven was already there,leaning casually against a tall bookshelf, arms folded,expression neutral,but alert.
At first,she told herself it was a coincidence. He always seemed to appear at the right—or wrong—time.
Then she noticed her first encounter with her "side chick."
The girl was impossibly poised,standing just a few feet from Kael,eyes tracking Lyra the second she entered.
She was beautiful—too beautiful to be ignored.Dark hair slicked back,a quiet elegance that immediately contrasted with Lyra's soft,understated presence.
The way she moved, every step calculated, every glance deliberate,screamed: I know Kael. I belong here.
Lyra froze, notebook tightening in her hand.
Kael's eyes flicked toward the girl briefly before returning to his neutral gaze. He didn't smile. He didn't speak. But the subtle tension in his shoulders told Lyra everything.
She's important.
To him.
Lyra tried to ignore it.
She sat at her usual corner table, pretending to focus on a book, though her mind spun faster than she wanted to admit.
She didn't take her eyes off them. She couldn't.
The side chick spoke quietly, leaning in to Kael's ear. He nodded. Then, almost casually, Kael reached forward, fingers brushing hers for a second too long. The contact was subtle—nothing for the world to notice—but it burned in Lyra's awareness like a brand.
She had seen enough.
Lyra packed her notebook carefully, heart racing.
Stay invisible. Stay invisible.
The day dragged. Every time Lyra looked up, she caught fragments of them together: a shared joke, a quiet glance, a smile too private to be anything other than exclusive.
By the afternoon, whispers began to rise again.
"Did you see Kael with her?" someone said across the hall.
"They've been together since last semester, I think."
"She's… intense."
Lyra walked faster. She had no idea what she felt—jealousy? Curiosity? Unease? But the pull of attention was undeniable.
That evening, Talia found her in the dorm common room, quietly sketching the campus courtyard in her notebook.
"You've been avoiding me," Talia said, slumping next to her. "And everyone else. Something happened?"
Lyra hesitated. "Nothing happened. I just… wanted to be alone."
Talia rolled her eyes. "Lyra, you can't live in a bubble. People are talking. About him. About you. About them."
Lyra frowned. "Them?"
Talia nodded. "Kael's… other girl. Everyone's noticed her. And somehow… they're both watching you too."
Lyra's jaw tightened. She didn't like it. She didn't want attention. She didn't want drama.
And yet… it was happening anyway.
That night, she sat at her desk. Pen poised. Words forming like a shield, like armor against everything she didn't want to face.
Dear Stranger,
There is someone else.
I saw her today. The one who stands near you, the one everyone seems to know.
I don't like it. I don't want it. And yet… I notice everything, like you do.
You keep your distance, and I… keep mine.
But boundaries feel fragile here. Be careful with them.
— L.
She left the notebook closed, staring out the window. The campus lights flickered faintly against the night. Somewhere, Kael was moving, alert, observing, planning.
Madame Selvara's presence brushed against him like a shadow of warning.
"Remember," she said, voice sharp as ever, "humans are not pawns. And she is more than she appears."
Kael exhaled slowly. "I know," he murmured, though the tension in his shoulders betrayed the truth. I want more than I should.
The next morning brought rain.
Lyra walked briskly across the wet quad, notebook tucked under her arm. Puddles reflected gray clouds, fractured by students' footsteps.
She saw the side chick again, emerging from the same building as Kael. They moved together seamlessly, a fluid partnership that made Lyra's stomach twist with quiet frustration she didn't want to admit.
She ducked into a shadowed doorway, heart pounding. She had to remain unseen. Invisible.
But even there, in the safety of darkness, she felt it:
Eyes. Watching. Calculating. Waiting.
And she was only beginning to understand how entangled her world had become.