When Auren said he'd seen him too, something in me went still.
Not fear, exactly. Not relief either. It was like a thousand wires in my chest had suddenly crossed, and now I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to feel.
We just stood there for a moment in the silence of the library, books watching us like quiet witnesses.
"You've seen Noel?" I asked finally. My voice came out quieter than I meant it to.
Auren nodded slowly. "A long time ago. Before he ever spoke to you."
I shook my head, trying to make sense of it. "But why didn't you tell me? Why act like I was imagining things?"
He looked down for a second, then back up at me. His eyes didn't have that usual spark they always carried. "Because I wasn't sure if he'd chosen you… or if he was warning me."
That sentence didn't sit right with me.
"Warning you?" I echoed.
Auren leaned against the shelf beside me. "You're not the first person Noel has spoken to, Ethan. And you won't be the last. But you might be the one that changes everything."
My heart started beating harder in my chest. "I don't understand."
He didn't say anything for a moment. Then: "Noel isn't just a boy in a mirror. He's part of something bigger. And so are you."
I felt a chill run down my back.
—
Later that night, I couldn't stop replaying everything Auren had said. I sat on my bed again, staring at the mirror like it would speak if I looked hard enough.
It didn't.
I whispered his name.
"Noel."
Nothing.
I waited, even though I knew I shouldn't. Even though my hands were cold and my thoughts were too loud.
And then—like breath fogging glass—I saw the light return.
Not a face this time. Just words.
"He's lying."
I blinked, leaning forward. "What?"
The words faded and changed.
"He doesn't know the truth."
I swallowed. "Then tell me. What is the truth?"
This time, no words appeared. Just a shimmer of silver that moved slowly across the mirror's surface… and a new shape forming.
His hand.
He pressed it to the glass. Open, pale, almost glowing.
Without thinking, I raised mine and placed it over his. I couldn't feel anything but cold, but I stayed there anyway.
Just breathing.
Just being.
And then I whispered, "You're real to me."
His outline faded, but the mirror didn't go still right away. One last sentence appeared before it turned blank again:
"You'll have to choose. Him or me."
I pulled my hand back like I'd been burned.
Choose?
What did that even mean?
—
The next morning, I walked into school slower than usual. I felt like my head was full of fog and secrets I couldn't untangle. Auren wasn't in his seat when I got to class.
And for the first time, I didn't feel like asking why.
Nimra leaned toward me. "You look haunted."
I smiled faintly. "You have no idea."
She stared at me for a moment, then passed me a small folded note. I opened it under the desk.
> They're not going to let him stay much longer. Time's running out.
There was no name on it.
But I knew it wasn't from Nimra. It wasn't her handwriting.
It was Noel's.
Somehow… he'd found a way into this world again.
Even just a little.
And now, the cracks were beginning to spread.