The bell's final chime dissolved into the corridor, and the doors burst open.
Students spilled out in clusters—polished shoes clicking, laughter ringing sharp and careless.
Watches flashed. Rings caught the light. Even the way they moved—unhurried, assured—spoke of lives that had never known lack.
Kaiden and Colton lingered until the hallway thinned. When they finally stepped out, their pace was slower, their expressions easier—like the day had surprised them by not going wrong.
They turned toward the quieter wing without discussing it. The library had already made that decision for them.Colton nudged him as they walked.
"So—what's it today?"
Kaiden's shoulders lifted in a small shrug. His gaze drifted ahead, unfixed.
They passed glass cases and polished floors that reflected their movement back at them—new uniforms, unfamiliar space, yet their steps didn't falter.
Adjustment, it seemed, had come quicker than expected.
Colton's grin widened.
"Or we could ditch the silence and head to the café. People. Noise. Actual life."
"No."
The word dropped flat.
Colton winced theatrically, clutching his chest.
"Don't do this to me. You're freezing over."
Kaiden didn't slow.
"…Library it is," Colton sighed, falling back into step.
Still the same, he thought, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
The double doors parted with a soft push. Inside, the air shifted—cooler, quieter.
Rows of shelves stretched into stillness. Dust motes drifted lazily through shafts of light.They split without a word, fingers grazing spines, scanning titles they didn't quite see.
Colton glanced around, then leaned back toward Kaiden, lowering his voice.
"You notice something?"
Kaiden didn't look up.
"It's empty."
A page flipped somewhere in the distance—or maybe it was just the building settling.
"There's a librarian," Kaiden said, calm as ever.
Colton turned, walking backward now, arms spread slightly as if presenting the silence. "Do you see one?"
Kaiden's mouth curved, just a little. "That helps."
Colton groaned. "You're impossible."
He didn't see her.The collision snapped through the quiet—sharp, sudden.Books scattered across the floor in a loose storm of paper and hardcovers.
"Ow—"
Colton blinked, disoriented, before his focus dropped.She sat among the fallen books, one hand braced against the ground, the other still curled as if it hadn't quite let go of what it had been holding. A few strands of her hair had slipped loose, brushing her face as she looked up.
For a second, he just stared—then crouched quickly.
"I'm sorry—are you okay?" His hand hovered before he offered it properly.She hesitated only briefly before placing hers in his. Light. Careful.
As she rose, a voice cut across the aisle.
"Kim?"
Her head turned. "Over here!"
Footsteps approached—quick, purposeful. Another girl appeared, taking in the scene in a single sweep: the books, the distance between them, Colton still half-leaning forward.
"What happened?" she asked, already dropping to gather the fallen pile.Kim brushed dust from her sleeve, a small smile playing at her lips.
"Nothing serious, we just had a minor accident "
"We?" The second girl's brow lifted slightly as she finally looked at them.
Recognition flickered—then something else. Her gaze lingered a fraction longer than necessary.
_Not again_.
She stacked another book, though her attention had shifted.
Her eyes moved—from Kim… to the boy still standing too close… then past him.
She paused.
For a moment, she didn't move at all.There was something about the other one—quiet, still, like he hadn't needed to react to be noticed.Her grip tightened slightly on the book in her hand.
That's… a person, right?
Because no one just stood like that—and looked like that—without being drawn first.