Chapter Two: The Boy with Blue Eyes
Kai Black walked through the school gates with the same quiet stride he carried every morning. Students spilled across the path in every direction, their chatter rising like the buzz of restless bees. Some were laughing too loudly, others dragging their feet in half-sleep, backpacks hanging from their shoulders. Kai slipped between them like smoke—present, but untouchable.
Everyone knew who he was. The quiet genius. The one who never stumbled, never let emotions get the best of him. Teachers praised him, classmates whispered about him, but few actually reached for his world. Kai preferred it that way. Distance was easier. Silence was safe.
He pushed open the classroom door. The space was alive with noise: chairs scraping, pens tapping, voices tumbling over one another. He headed straight toward the back, not the very last row but close enough to fade into the background. He sat down with practiced ease, setting his books neatly in a stack. Arms folded, head lowered, he allowed himself to drift just enough for the classroom to blur.
Then the bell rang.
The teacher strode in briskly, arms full of files. The noise cut off in an instant. Kai sat straighter, glasses catching the overhead light as he prepared for the day's usual rhythm. But then—three sharp knocks sounded at the door.
"Come in," the teacher called.
The handle turned, and a girl stepped inside.
She wasn't timid, though her movements were careful, deliberate. She stood tall, her dark hair brushing against her shoulders, her gaze sweeping across the room. Whispers rose in a wave.
"Class," the teacher said, "we have a transfer joining us today. Please welcome her."
She moved forward until her face caught the full light. Her voice, when it came, was steady and sure. "Eva."
Kai's pen froze mid-stroke. His pulse skipped. The name alone wasn't what struck him—it was her. The slope of her cheek, the quiet fire behind her eyes. His mind jolted back to neon lights and sharp words, to a night that had burned itself into his memory.
She crossed the room to take a seat two rows ahead of him, oblivious to the weight of his stare. Kai lowered his head quickly, but inside, the recognition pressed harder and harder until it was undeniable.
When the lesson ended, chairs screeched and footsteps thundered toward the door, but Kai didn't move. He stayed, letting the tide of students rush past him. And then she stood—Eva.
Light spilled across her figure through the window, and the memory snapped into full clarity. Raised voices, a boy's angry grip, her defiance slicing through the chaos. He had been nothing more than an observer in the shadows that night, but he hadn't forgotten.
It was her.
The girl from the bar.
Kai exhaled slowly, steadying his pulse. She didn't see him—not yet. She slipped out with the crowd, her dark hair swinging as the door shut behind her.
For a moment he remained frozen, the realization echoing in his chest. Then, quiet as always, he packed his books and followed the thinning stream of students toward the cafeteria.
---
The cafeteria was a storm. Voices clashed with the clang of trays, chairs scraped across tile, laughter rolled like waves against the high ceiling. The air smelled faintly of fries and pizza, comfort food smothered in noise.
Kai collected his meal—sandwich, apple, water—without thinking, his body running on habit. He headed toward his usual table where Jace already sat, larger than life, telling a story with booming gestures. Their friends laughed, tossing jokes like tennis balls across the table.
Kai slid into his seat, peeling the label from his water bottle as Jace's voice carried on. He wasn't listening. Not really. His attention was elsewhere, pulled by an invisible thread.
"Whoa," someone at the table said suddenly, "who's the new girl?"
Kai's head snapped up before he could stop himself.
And there she was.
Eva.
Standing in the cafeteria line, tray balanced in her hands. She didn't shrink under the chaos around her; instead she carried herself with a quiet defiance, as though she refused to be swallowed by the storm. Her hair caught the fluorescent light, her steps deliberate, unhurried.
For Kai, the room dulled into background static. His world narrowed to her.
Memories rushed in—her voice cutting through music, her eyes sparking with strength, her body refusing to bend even under someone else's grip. That fire hadn't left her. He saw it still, glowing steady beneath her calm exterior.
And then, as though pulled by some unseen force, her gaze lifted.
Their eyes met.
Blue locked with brown, unflinching. The cafeteria noise vanished, laughter melted away. The world slowed to a painful, deliberate beat. Kai's stare was sharp, unreadable, but fixed entirely on her.
Eva's steps faltered. Her chest tightened, breath stuttering. Those eyes. She knew those eyes. They weren't imagined. They weren't a dream blurred by neon and anger.
It was him.
The boy in the glasses. The one who had stood in the shadows, who had seen everything, who had burned himself into her memory without a single word.
Her tray trembled slightly in her hands. She tore her gaze away, scanning quickly until she found an empty table at the far side of the room. She hurried over and sat down, forcing her hands to steady as she placed the tray on the table.
But the food blurred before her. All she could feel was the weight of those eyes.
---
Eva tried to breathe, tried to ground herself. She opened her juice box, but her fingers fumbled. She stabbed at her salad with a fork, but her appetite was gone. In her head, she was back at the bar—the pulse of music, Tio's grip on her wrist, and those eyes catching her in the aftermath. Watching. Judging. Or maybe protecting? She hadn't been able to tell then. She couldn't tell now.
The chair across from her scraped loudly, and Eva startled.
"Hey! You're Eva, right?"
A girl dropped into the seat across from her, tray clattering onto the table. She had a warm smile, all sunshine and freckles, her hair tied into a loose ponytail that bobbed with her every movement.
Eva blinked, momentarily thrown. "Um—yeah. That's me."
The girl leaned forward, grin widening. "Thought so! I'm Lila Summers. I figured you could use a friend. It's your first day, right?"
Her voice was bright, easy, the kind of warmth that filled the space like sunlight breaking through clouds. Eva found herself softening despite the storm in her chest.
"Yeah," Eva admitted, forcing a small smile. "First day."
Lila popped a fry into her mouth, speaking around it. "Well, don't worry. I'm basically a professional at guiding lost souls. New school can be… overwhelming." She waved a hand around the chaos of the cafeteria. "This zoo doesn't exactly make it easier."
Eva let out a quiet laugh before she could stop herself. "That's one word for it."
Lila's grin widened. "See? You're laughing already. I'm good at this."
They talked—about teachers, about which hallways smelled weird, about the never-ending gossip that floated through the school. Lila was easy to listen to, her chatter a steady stream that didn't demand much in return. Eva answered where she could, grateful for the distraction.
But still, she felt it.
That gaze.
Even as she smiled politely at Lila's jokes, even as she nodded through her descriptions of the "cafeteria hierarchy," Eva's skin prickled with awareness. She didn't need to look. She knew. Across the room, those piercing blue eyes hadn't let her go.
Her fork hovered over her salad. Her laughter thinned. She told herself not to check, not to give in—but her eyes flickered anyway.
And there he was.
Kai.
Sitting among friends, untouched by the chaos of their conversation, his attention fixed on her as if nothing else existed. He didn't smile, didn't look away. Just watched.
Eva's pulse quickened. She turned back to Lila, nodding at something she said about the math teacher, but the words barely landed.
It was unbearable, that stare. Not cruel, not kind. Just… steady. Like he saw through the layers she kept locked tight. Like he remembered more of last night than she wanted anyone to.
She bit her lip, forcing herself to stay engaged. Lila's warmth was real, grounding. Eva clung to it like a lifeline, yet every second, she felt those eyes burning holes in her defenses.
Her chest burned with the truth.
The boy from last night wasn't gone. He wasn't a stranger she could forget.
He was here.
At her school.
And no matter how hard she tried, Eva couldn't escape the weight of those blue eyes.
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