The cafeteria buzzed with voices, hollow laughter, and trays clattering against the metal tables. Gabriela walked in with her own tray in hand, as if it were far too heavy for her arms. She had barely taken two steps when a murmur slithered down the aisle:
"Look at her… who wears sunglasses in here?""She must be a weirdo."
The muffled laughs scraped against her ears. It was the same feeling as her old school—the hostility hidden in whispers, the sharp cruelty of staring eyes. She pressed her lips together tightly, fighting to keep her face from trembling, and continued toward the back of the cafeteria, where an empty table waited like a silent refuge.
But before she could sit down, her eyes found him.
Osue Draven.
He was surrounded by a small circle of students: two couples that looked like they'd stepped out of a picture-perfect portrait, and a girl whose laughter rang out too brightly, like tinkling bells. Yet Gabriela's attention wasn't on them—it was on him.
The blond boy looked at her for a few seconds, with that loaded indifference that carried more weight than any smile. Then he looked away, but the impression lingered—the sense of an aura around him, sacred and untouchable. Not just him, but all who surrounded him radiated that same otherworldly presence, as if an invisible line separated them from everyone else. And yet, Osue… he was different. There was something in his silence, a dark magnetism that caught her and refused to let her look away.
Gabriela sank into the empty seat. Her eyes fixed on her plate, as if hiding from the pressure in her chest. Only a few seconds passed before a gentle voice broke her isolation.
"Mind if I sit here?"
She looked up and saw the same girl who had given her a kind smile in class.
"Sure," Gabriela replied, her voice tense with shyness.
The girl set her tray down and sat across from her."I'm Ana," she said brightly. "You're Gabriela, right?"
Gabriela nodded."Yeah, Gabriela."
Ana extended her hand with ease. Gabriela hesitated for an instant, then accepted it. The handshake was brief, but warm.
"Where are you from?" Ana asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"New York."
"No way!" Ana's eyes widened with genuine surprise. "I've never even left this town."
She paused for a moment, then leaned in."So… what brought you to a place this far away?"
Gabriela lowered her gaze, fidgeting with her fingers on the table as if trying to catch something invisible."It's… a really long story."
"Well," Ana said with a smile, "I'd love to hear it someday."
Gabriela gave a small nod, but her eyes—traitorous eyes—had already drifted back toward Osue and the group around him. There was something about them, a dark nobility, as though they didn't belong to the same world as the rest of the students.
"Who are they?" she finally whispered.
Ana followed her gaze and smiled knowingly."They're the Dravens. Their family founded this town. They're rich, powerful… pretty much everyone here worships them."
"And him?" Gabriela couldn't stop herself. Her eyes were locked on the blond boy.
Ana sighed, as though sharing a secret too tempting to keep."His name's Osue. And yeah, he's gorgeous." She laughed with a nervous, admiring edge. "But don't get your hopes up. He's super quiet, distant… like he lives in another world. You'll only ever see him with his family. He doesn't talk to anyone else."
Heat flushed Gabriela's cheeks, and she quickly looked away, trying to hide it. Still, her heart kept hammering with a painful rhythm.
Then the cafeteria doors burst open.
The boy with jet-black hair walked in—the same one who had stared at her with unsettling intensity on her first day. Three others followed behind him, wearing their varsity jackets, arrogance in every step.
"That's Aaron Sandlers," Ana murmured, leaning closer. "Football captain. Popular, charming… and dangerous. Total ladies' man. His girlfriend is literally the hottest, most wanted girl in school."
Gabriela barely had time to absorb that when the atmosphere shifted. As soon as Aaron and his group sat down, the Dravens rose almost in unison, as if his presence was intolerable. They left with measured steps, not sparing a single glance behind.
Sunlight streaming through the windows caught Osue's face as he passed through the doorway, and that's when Gabriela saw it.
A mark.
A dark line that ran down the right side of his face and disappeared into the skin of his hand. So stark, so pronounced, that her heart skipped.
"Did you see that?" she whispered to Ana, eyes wide.
"See what?"
"That mark…" Gabriela faltered, suddenly feeling foolish. "Forget it."
Ana glanced at her sideways but didn't press.
Gabriela pressed her palms flat against the table. The cafeteria still buzzed with voices, stares, and whispers, but inside her there was only silence. That mark, that aura, that strange sense that she had seen him somewhere before—in another moment she couldn't yet piece together…
Osue noticed the instant Gabriela's gaze lingered on that mark he always kept hidden. He saw the flicker in her expression—surprise, doubt, something unnamed. His own eyes locked onto hers, cold and piercing, as though trying to wrench the secret of her reaction straight from her. He said nothing, but in that heavy silence, Gabriela felt the air itself thicken, as if he were asking her without words: Who are you? How did you notice the mark I carry?
Leaving the cafeteria, Osue's strides were firm, his jaw tight. He still felt the imprint of her gaze seared into him. There was something in her eyes that unsettled him—something that drew him in with a force he didn't understand, and didn't want to accept. It was as uncomfortable as it was addictive. For a fleeting moment, his thoughts darkened, and his pupils reflected the abyss he carried inside. He turned sharply, heading away from the classrooms.
The cheerful voice of one of his companions broke through his storm."Osue!" she called with a bright smile. "Class isn't over yet, where are you going?"
He didn't answer. Didn't even look at her. He just kept walking, leaving an awkward silence in his wake. His figure receded down the hall, carrying a gravity that warned anyone not to get too close.
From inside the cafeteria, Gabriela watched him go. She didn't fully understand why, but the boy, with his distant, enigmatic air, unsettled her. There was something broken in him, something he didn't want anyone to uncover.
What Gabriela didn't notice was the steady gaze fixed on her from across the room. Aaron was watching her with a calm, deliberate intensity, as if waiting for her to notice. It was Ana who nudged her gently with an elbow.
"Look, Gabriela… Aaron hasn't stopped staring at you."
Surprised, Gabriela turned her head just slightly, hesitant, but her eyes inevitably met his. Her cheeks flushed with involuntary shyness, though deep down, curiosity pushed her forward. Aaron smiled warmly when she met his gaze.
Almost without thinking, Gabriela returned a faint smile of her own. Something stirred inside her chest—a new feeling, like a world of unknown possibilities opening before her. Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all, she thought silently, while that small spark of connection wrapped itself around her.
But deep in her chest, a quiet voice whispered that nothing about what lay ahead would be easy… or safe.