The first thing Eli noticed about Sunvale Academy wasn't the grand gates or the perfectly trimmed hedges.
It was the silence.
Not the kind that came from peace — but the kind that followed after someone whispered your name and decided you weren't worth saying it out loud again.
He had felt it before.
His new homeroom smelled faintly of disinfectant and pencil shavings. Students looked up when he stepped inside, eyes quick and assessing, like they were deciding where he belonged before he'd even spoken.
The teacher barely glanced at him.
"Class, this is Eli Grant. Transfer student. Make him feel welcome."
They didn't.
He made his way toward an empty seat near the window — but someone shifted their bag onto it before he could sit. The boy didn't even look at him, just smirked like it was a game.
Eli's chest tightened. He had promised himself this time would be different. No fights. No trouble. Just… survive.
He moved toward the back — and stopped.
Because someone was already watching him.
The boy sat slouched against his chair, dark hair falling into sharp eyes that didn't blink. His black jacket wasn't regulation, his tie loose like it was an afterthought. There was something about the way everyone seemed to sit just a little farther from him, as if an invisible border kept them safe.
Riven Hale.
Eli didn't know the name yet, but he could feel the weight of his presence.
The boy didn't look away when Eli met his gaze — instead, he tilted his head, like he was measuring him.
Eli took the seat in the far corner, two rows away.
The day passed slowly, whispers following him like shadows. He thought he was imagining it until lunch, when he slipped into the nearly empty courtyard for some air.
"You're sitting in the wrong place."
The voice came from behind him.
Eli turned.
It was the boy from class. The one with the black jacket. Up close, Riven's eyes were even sharper — not cold exactly, but… dangerous in the way a storm looks before it hits.
"I didn't know it was taken," Eli said.
"It's not. That's the problem."
Riven stepped closer, and Eli could smell faint tobacco smoke clinging to his clothes. "Listen carefully, transfer. Stay out of people's way, keep your head down, and most importantly—stay away from me."
Eli frowned. "Why? I don't even know you."
"Good. Keep it that way." Riven's mouth curled into something between a smirk and a warning. "You won't like what happens if you don't."
He walked off without looking back, leaving Eli staring after him.
The rest of lunch felt heavier. The courtyard seemed smaller, the air thicker. And for the rest of the day, Eli could feel Riven's presence somewhere behind him in the classroom — not watching, not speaking, but there.
It wasn't until Eli was packing his bag after dismissal that a folded note slid onto his desk. No name. No signature.
Just five words, written in jagged ink:
Stay away from Riven Hale.
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