LOGINAriana POVThe moment Sean said it, I felt it too. This was not part of the system. The structure behind us did not just open. It shifted in a way that felt wrong, like something inside it was not supposed to move but did anyway. The sound that followed was deeper than before, heavy and slow, like something dragging itself forward after being held back for too long.My chest tightened as I turned toward it. "What did I just release?" I asked.No one answered immediately. That silence said more than words could. Nick’s hand stayed locked around mine, but I could feel the tension in him now, sharper than before. He pulled me slightly back, placing himself just a little in front of me without fully blocking my view."We don’t move closer," he said."I need to see it," I replied."You can see it from here," he said.The opening widened. Not fast. Not sudden. But steady. Something shifted inside the darkness beyond it. Not light. Not reflection. Movement. Mark stepped to the side slightly,
Ariana POVThe words hit harder than anything else in the room. "You’re too late."The voice was not calm like my father’s. It was not guiding or steady. It was sharp, cold, and certain in a way that made my chest tighten instantly. The light around us flickered the moment it spoke, like the system itself reacted to it.My grip tightened around the device. "What do you mean too late?" I asked.No answer came immediately. But the silence didn’t feel empty. It felt watched. Nick stepped closer to me, his voice low and tense. "That’s not your father," he said."I know," I replied.The device pulsed again. Harder this time. Not steady like before. Unstable. Sean’s expression changed slightly. For the first time, the control he carried cracked just a little. "That voice shouldn’t be in the system," he said.Laura turned toward him sharply. "You said this was contained," she said."It was," Sean replied.Mark stepped forward, his tone firm. "Then explain how something else is talking throug
Ariana POVThe darkness did not feel normal.It wasn’t just the lights going out. It felt deeper than that, like something had swallowed the entire room at once. For a second, I could not see anything at all, not even the shape of my own hand. My heart started racing instantly, faster than before, because this silence felt different from every other pause we had faced."Nick?" I said quickly."I’m here," he answered immediately.His voice cut through the dark, steady and close, and I felt a small wave of relief. A second later, his hand found mine again, warm and firm, like he wasn’t going to let go no matter what happened next."What just happened?" Mark’s voice came from somewhere ahead."No idea," Laura replied, her tone tighter than before. "But this is not a normal shutdown."The device in my hand was no longer glowing. That scared me more than anything else. Just seconds ago, it had been alive, pulsing, responding to everything. Now it felt completely still, like it had gone sil
Ariana POVSean moved so fast that for a second, my mind did not catch up with what my eyes were seeing. One moment he was standing across from me, watching, calculating, waiting. The next moment, he was already closing the distance between us, his hand reaching straight for the device."Sean!" Nick snapped, his voice sharp and immediate.Everything inside me reacted at once. My body moved before I even thought about it, my hand tightening around the device as I pulled it slightly closer to myself. My heart started pounding harder, faster, like it was trying to keep up with everything happening at once."Don’t touch it," I said.Sean stopped. But only because I said it. That realization hit me instantly. It wasn’t Nick blocking him or Mark stepping in. It was my voice that made him pause. His eyes locked on mine, and for the first time, I saw something different there. Not just focus. Not just control. Something closer to urgency. "You don’t understand what you’re holding," he said."
Ariana POVThe voice was soft, but it cut through the silence like nothing else could. It wasn’t just familiar. It was unmistakable. My entire body went still as the sound echoed again, clearer this time, like it was coming from somewhere both near and far at once."Ariana...can you hear me?"My breath caught in my throat. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. For a second, I couldn’t even think properly."That’s…" I started, but the words didn’t come out fully.Nick’s hand tightened slightly around mine. "You know that voice," he said quietly.I nodded slowly, my chest rising and falling too fast. "It’s him," I whispered.The device in my hand vibrated again, softer this time, like it was waiting for a response. The light beneath my fingers pulsed gently, steady and controlled, completely different from the chaotic energy before."Ariana," the voice said again. "If you’re hearing this, then you made it further than I expected."My eyes burned slightly as I stared at the device. I didn’t rea
Ariana POVThe moment the case opened, the air around me felt like it changed. It was not loud or dramatic, but something shifted in a way that made my chest tighten instantly. My eyes locked on what was inside, and for a second, I could not even breathe properly.It was not what I expected.Inside the case was a small device, simple in design, but placed so carefully that it felt like it carried more meaning than anything else in the room. It was smooth, almost too perfect, like it had been protected for a long time."What is that?" Nick asked quietly beside me."I don’t know," I replied, my voice barely steady.But even as I said it, something inside me told me that was not fully true. Sean stepped closer, his attention sharp now. "That’s it," he said. "That’s what everything connects to."Mark moved in slightly, careful not to get too close. "It doesn’t look like much," he said."It’s not supposed to," Sean replied. "The power isn’t in how it looks."That answer made my chest tight
Nick* * * *I loved this part. I loved meeting the fans, loved the selfies and jokes and words of praises. I loved the look in all of their eyes as they looked at me, it told me that I wasn't just a player, I was part of their lives. And I lived for it.The team and I walked into the crowd a
"She's gay." He blurted out.I narrowed my eyes. "Gay?""Yes, she's involved with some girl, okay! We're just pretending to be a thing because her parents doesn't approve her sexual choices, and I need her father's influence in growing my career."I swallowed. "But that only complicates this... wha
Sofia and I decided to have a sleepover at her house since we haven't had one of those in a while and it was also the only way of getting Nick out of my head. We decided to watch a marathon of sisters because it's the only show we could agree on watching. Sofia popped down next to me on her comf
The words hung in the air, surprising me as much as him. There were bigger issues to address, but that question tumbled out first. And suddenly, I needed to hear his answer.He fell silent, thoughtful, as though weighing the question before answering. "Once," he said after a pause. "In my sophomore







