Selene Aris lived in the corners no one paid attention to.
In classrooms, she chose the seat by the window, where the sunlight dappled her notebook and the hum of the outside world was a comfort. In hallways, she walked with her head down, blending into the crowd, careful not to make a sound. In the cafeteria, she claimed the farthest table, where the chatter of students dulled to a low, meaningless buzz.
It wasn't that she was invisible. People noticed her—they just never looked long enough. And Selene was fine with that. The shadows were safer.
But her best friend had other plans.
"Not today," Lila Monroe declared, dropping her tray with a crash that made Selene flinch. Her cheer uniform glittered under the harsh fluorescent lights, her blonde ponytail bouncing as if it had a rhythm of its own.
Selene sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "What are you plotting now?"
"Cheer tryouts. After school. You're coming."
Selene nearly choked on the sip of water she had just taken. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Lila's grin widened, a mix of mischief and confidence. "You've got potential."
"In tripping over my own feet?" Selene asked, her tone dry.
"Don't play dumb. I've seen you dance when you think no one's watching." Lila's eyes softened. "You hide too much, Sel. You're meant for more."
Selene shook her head, amused but unconvinced. "Your world isn't mine, Lila. Leave me in the shadows where I belong."
Before Lila could argue, the cafeteria shifted. Voices dropped. Chairs scraped. Even the air seemed to pause.
Selene felt it before she saw him.
Damien Veyre.
Captain of the basketball team. The boy who broke rules like they were written for him alone. His dark hair fell into storm-grey eyes that seemed to pierce the world around him. His jacket hung open, tie loose, as though he couldn't be bothered to care—and maybe he didn't.
The room bent around him, a mixture of admiration and fear. Girls leaned forward, whispering. Guys straightened, wary. Teachers pretended not to notice, but even they glanced up, almost instinctively.
Damien didn't smile. He didn't need to. That faint smirk, sharp and unreadable, made the air itself electric.
Beside her, Lila sighed dreamily. "God, he's perfect."
Selene rolled her eyes but said nothing. She wasn't impressed. Not yet.
Then it happened.
Damien's gaze swept the cafeteria… and locked onto hers. Not past her. Not through her. On her.
Her breath caught. His stare was steady, almost predatory. Like a wolf studying prey that thought itself hidden. The cafeteria seemed to shrink, voices fading until only the pounding of her own heart remained.
Selene froze. She told herself it was a coincidence. That he wasn't really looking at her. That someone else must have caught his attention first.
But then—he smirked.
It wasn't a friendly gesture. It wasn't playful. It was knowing. Dangerous. Magnetic. And it made the shadows she clung to so desperately feel like they had evaporated.
Every instinct she had screamed at her to look away, to duck, to vanish into the crowd. But she couldn't. His gaze had rooted her to the spot.
As Damien passed her table, he leaned close enough for only her to hear, his voice low, deliberate, and chilling:
"Found you."
The words weren't a threat—at least, not in the usual sense. They were a declaration. A claim. And something deep in Selene's chest tightened in response, a mixture of fear and something else she didn't yet understand.
She swallowed hard, blinking up at him as he walked away, leaving a trail of whispers and tension behind. The shadows she had thought were her sanctuary… had just been stripped away, leaving her exposed, uneasy, and inexplicably alive.
Selene Aris realized, in that moment, that nothing would ever be the same again.