Sebastian's POV
She came back.
After seven days of vanishing—no texts, no class, no accidentally bumping into her in the hallways—Rain Wang walked back into the room like nothing had happened.Like she hadn't left me rotting in my own silence.Like she didn't owe me a single goddamn word after letting him comfort her.
And yet—There she was.
White dress.Hair so long it brushed against her knees when she walked.Black, heavy waves, like wet ink poured down her spine. Like she wasn't a girl at all, but some kind of fairy tale. Or a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.
The whispers started before I could even open my mouth.
"Is that her?""She's actually real?""Did she think that look was a good idea?""She looks like she walked off the set of a gothic photoshoot."
They laughed under their breath, but not quiet enough.Not subtle enough.
"She's probably just here for attention."
"She was crying last week, remember that?"
"Bet she ran off to write poetry or whatever sad little fairies do when they're embarrassed."
And I just sat there.Burning.Itching.
Jealousy chewed at the back of my throat. Not just because she looked like something sacred—but because she didn't look at me.She didn't glance in my direction even once.
The guy next to me nudged my arm, snorting. "Yo, that's the girl who broke down last week, right? You'd think she'd at least try to blend in, but no—Miss Morticia had to make an entrance."
That was it.
I stood, slowly, stretching like I wasn't seconds from blowing up the world.
"Wow," I said, loud enough to hush the room.All eyes turned.Including hers.
But she didn't meet mine.
She never met mine.
"She really came dressed like a porcelain doll someone forgot to dust." I smiled, cruel and casual. "Or maybe she's here to haunt the living. Who knows—maybe that's why she took a week off. Ghosts don't do daylight."
A soft giggle from someone near the front.Then a wave of snickers behind me.
"She think she's special or something?""She's definitely not normal.""Bet she sleeps in a coffin."
My voice cut through again. "Careful, Rain. That hair's gonna drag behind you like a corpse bride. Did you grow it out for a shampoo sponsorship or to strangle people in their sleep?"
The laughter this time was louder.Vicious.
She froze mid-step.Her fingers gripped the strap of her bag tight.
Still, she didn't look up.
"She looks like she got lost on the way to a Tim Burton set," someone whispered."She's actually so weird. No wonder she has no friends.""I heard she cried because someone just looked at her last week."
And then, finally—One tear.
One slow, aching drop sliding down her cheek like it had nowhere else to go.
I didn't know what I expected.For her to yell? To glare at me with fire in her eyes? To say my name?
But she didn't even flinch.
She turned, silent, shoulders trembling, and walked out of the classroom like she was made of glass and I'd thrown her off the edge.
Again.
The door clicked shut behind her.
And the silence afterward wasn't filled with laughter anymore.Just a sickening echo of my own voice ringing in my skull.
Someone muttered behind me, "Dude… that was a bit much."
Another voice: "She's not gonna come back after that."
I sat down, jaw locked.Hands shaking under the desk.
I couldn't stop thinking about the way her hair had swayed when she walked. The way that single tear betrayed her. The way she kept her chin high even when everyone turned on her.
And how I hated myself for putting it there.
Because the truth is—I didn't want them to laugh at her.I wanted her to look at me.
I wanted her to look at me like she had that day in the library, when she whispered my name and didn't hate me yet.
But instead, I gave her something else to remember.
A new reason to hide.