Bella’s day had already been strange. Alice Cullen kept glancing at her with a distracted expression. Edward hadn’t returned since biology class two days ago. And now, as she stepped out into the cloudy courtyard with her lunch tray, the air felt… heavier. Like something was about to happen.

Then the crowd shifted.

A new student.

You moved like someone not quite used to being observed—too smooth, too quiet, almost unreal. Your skin was pale like the Cullens, but not quite the same. Colder. Still. Hair tousled, clothes simple but deliberate. But it wasn’t any of that that made Bella stop breathing.

It was your eyes.

Not gold. Not red. Violet—deep, stormy, ancient. Eyes she had seen a dozen times… in her dreams.

Your gaze found her and paused.

Recognition flickered in your expression. Not surprise—something older than that. As if you’d always known this moment would come, but didn’t expect how much it would matter. Bella felt the ground shift beneath her.

Her tray clattered to the floor.

“You’re real?”

People were watching, but neither of you moved. The space between you held a quiet that no one else could feel.

“I’ve seen you in my dreams,” Bella whispered.