Great 🌸 Let's continue straight into **Chapter 2: The Transfer**, where Eli meets Kai for the first time. I'll keep it atmospheric but also add that first spark of tension between them.
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# đź“– *Echoes of Us*
**Chapter 2: The Transfer**
The classroom buzzed with morning chatter when Eli walked in. Sunlight streamed through the windows, catching in the dust motes that drifted lazily in the air. Everything was the same as always—his classmates laughing, teachers preparing their lessons—except for one thing.
"Class," the homeroom teacher announced, "we have a new student joining us today."
"A new student?At this time of the year?"some students murmured.
But as the new student enter,the room hushed with curiosity.
Eli barely looked up from his notebook until the teacher spoke again.
"This is Kai. He transferred here just this week. Please make him feel welcome."
Eli's pen stilled.
The boy who stepped forward was tall, calm, and carried himself with quiet confidence. His uniform fit neatly, his posture was straight, and when he lifted his head—Eli's breath caught.
Those eyes.
Dark, steady, and achingly familiar.
It was him. The man from his dreams.
Eli's fingers trembled against the notebook. "No… that's impossible. Dreams aren't real."
But Kai scanned the classroom, his gaze sweeping over rows of curious faces, until it stopped—on Eli.
For the briefest second, Kai's composed expression faltered. His eyes widened, just slightly, like he had been searching and had finally found what he'd been waiting for.
Eli's heart pounded in his chest. Heat crept up his neck as he looked away quickly, staring hard at the desk as if it could swallow him whole.
The teacher assigned Kai the seat by the window—right beside Eli.
The sound of footsteps grew closer. Eli kept his head down, but he could feel it—the quiet weight of Kai's presence settling next to him, steady as the dreams that never left.
When the bell rang and class began, Eli dared a glance.
Kai wasn't looking at the board.
He was still looking at him.