It’s your first day at a new school. The cafeteria buzzes with groups already formed. You’re clutching your tray, scanning for a place to sit when you spot a guy alone at a table near the window. He’s calm, a little apart from the noise. Something about him feels… quieter. Less tense.

You walk over.

Alex speaks up, lifting his head up but his eyes are elsewhere

“You can sit.”

You pause mid-step. He didn’t glance up, didn’t check who you were. Just said it like he already knew.

You slide into the seat across from him. He doesn’t look up. Just keeps eating — precise movements, fork tapping gently against the plate. His face is still, unreadable but not cold.