Mag-log inThe moment things started feeling normal again, Bella ruined it.Actually, strike that. Bella saved it.Because the second she came barreling down the hallway at a dead sprint, screaming my name like the building was on fire, both Kai and Nikolai were forced to stop their brooding staredown just to avoid being trampled.“ELIAS!”I turned just in time to see her nearly skid into my chest. She looked like she’d just finished a marathon, her hair a mess and her eyes wide.“What happened?” I asked, reaching out to steady her. “Is someone chasing you?”She grabbed my arm with the grip of a Victorian widow. “Lisa... held... my hand.”I blinked. Once. Twice.“That’s why you’re running? A moderate display of affection?”“You don’t understand the emotional subtext behind the grip strength, Elias!”Kai looked genuinely baffled, his eyebrows creeping toward his hairline. Nikolai, on the other hand, just looked irritated, like he was counting the seconds until he could get back to being mysteriou
Bella looked like she was about to pass out.Actually pass out. Like, knees buckling, vision spotting, emergency-room-visit pass out.Lisa stood there with the serene, terrifying patience of a predator waiting for a response, while Bella just stared at her as if her brain had hit a blue screen of death.I crossed my arms, leaning back against the lockers to enjoy the show. "You’re blushing, Bel. It’s actually impressive. You’re the exact color of a maraschino cherry."Bella didn't even look at me. She just slapped her hands over her face. "Elias, shut up. Please. Just... stop existing for five minutes."Lisa’s lips twitched. It was a tiny movement, the ghost of a smile, but it was enough to make Bella’s shoulders hike up to her ears.Interesting. Very, very interesting.Lisa shifted her gaze back to me, her expression unreadable but definitely amused. "Can I take her now?"I tapped my chin, pretending to give it some deep, philosophical thought. "Hmm. I don’t know. She’s technically m
It was that specific, heavy brand of silence where twenty-five people simultaneously pretend to study their notebooks while their ears are practically twitching toward the door. Even the lecturer, mid-sentence and marker poised over the whiteboard, went still.I couldn't even blame them for the theatrics.Nikolai looked like he had been copy-pasted from a high-end noir film into a bland university lecture hall. Between the tailored dark coat, the calm, predatory stillness, and the watch that probably cost more than my tuition, he radiated a level of "do not touch" that made the air in the room feel thin.Kai was on his feet before Nikolai could even take a second step. "You’ve got to be kidding me."Nikolai didn't even give him the courtesy of a glance. His focus was a laser beam, and I was the target. "Come with me."I blinked, my fingers tightening around the strap of my bag. "Absolutely not."The room exhaled in a flurry of hushed, frantic whispers."Is that him?""The guy from yes
The rest of the morning was a write-off for Bella. Actually, "recovery" wasn't even in her vocabulary anymore. She had officially transitioned from a functioning human being into a glitching NPC.The second Lisa’s lips left hers and the girl walked away, Bella froze in the center of the courtyard. She looked like she’d been struck by lightning, but instead of electricity, she was surging with pure, unadulterated panic.I waited five seconds. Then I snapped my fingers right in front of her nose.Nothing."Bella?"Still nothing.Riley let out a sharp bark of laugh from my left. "Check for a pulse. I think she’s actually deceased."That did it. Bella’s head swiveled toward us with the mechanical stiffness of a horror movie doll. Her eyes were dinner plates. "She kissed me.""We were there, Bel," I said. "So were about fifty other people."She lunged forward, grabbing my forearm with a grip like a drowning sailor. "Elias. She kissed me.""That’s four times now.""She. Kissed. Me!"Riley r
The next morning felt strangely normal.Not fully normal, obviously. My life was still a complete disaster, but for the first time in days, things felt quieter. Less heavy.I woke up to Bella yelling from the kitchen.“Elias! If you don’t wake up now I’m eating your share!”I groaned into my pillow. “You’re evil.”“And hungry!”I dragged myself out of bed slowly, still half asleep. The apartment smelled like toast and coffee already. Bella was definitely awake-awake.I grabbed my towel and headed to the bathroom while hearing her loudly singing some random song completely off-key.“Please stop singing,” I shouted.“I sound amazing!”“You sound sick!”Her offended gasp made me laugh quietly.I turned the shower on and stood under the water for a while, letting the warmth wake me up properly. Honestly, it felt nice focusing on something simple again.School.Breakfast. Getting ready. Normal things. Not gangs. Not secrets.Not Nikolai’s intense staring problem.Definitely not Kai confess
I didn’t stop running until I reached the apartment.By the time I got upstairs my chest was burning, my thoughts a complete mess. I pushed the door open so fast Bella barely had time to move aside before I walked straight past her.“Elias—”I ignored her.I went straight into my room and locked the door behind me.Then I slid down slowly against it.Silence.Real silence this time.No Nikolai staring at me like he knew things I didn’t.No Kai confessing feelings while casually admitting he was a gang leader.No Vane standing there looking guilty after lying to me for years.Just me.And my thoughts.Which honestly felt worse.I dropped my head against the door and closed my eyes tightly.How did my life even get here?A few weeks ago the biggest thing stressing me was school drama, assignments, Bella fighting with Lisa every other day, Riley gossiping too much, figuring out feelings I barely understood.Now suddenly everybody around me belonged to some dangerous organization connecte
I didn’t know how I was feeling.One minute I was driving back home to my parents like any normal Sunday, the radio humming quietly in the background, the late afternoon sun casting long golden streaks across the highway. My parents had specifically told me to bring Lisa home. They wante
Elias pushed the door shut behind him again.The soft click echoed through the quiet room.Nikolai hadn’t moved far from where he stood earlier, but the moment he saw Elias walk back in, something in his expression shifted. The calm amusement was still there… but now there was s
I’ve been staring at my phone screen for the last twenty minutes like it owes me money.No call from Elias.No text.Nothing.He’d promised he’d call once he finished unpacking. That was two hours ago. I kept refreshing the messages app, then locking the screen, then unlocking it again like the not
The Lisbon apartment had one good feature: the balcony overlooked a narrow street where people actually lived. Not tourists. Not expats. Real people—old women hanging laundry at dawn, kids kicking a deflated soccer ball until it rolled into the gutter, a guy in a stained apron smoking while he swep







