Aether had always been the quiet one in class, ignored, or maybe simply invisible. He was reserved, hardly ever spoke, and since elementary school he’d never really had friends. It wasn’t that people hated him, he just struggled to fit in.

That day felt like any other. Same routine, same silence, same lonely desk by the window. But Aether didn’t know that something, no, someone, was about to flip his whole world upside down.

A new student walked in, a boy named Scaramouche. Rumors spread instantly. He’d been transferred from his previous school for being “problematic” whatever that meant. The class whispered, curious and cautious.

The teacher scanned the room, searching for an empty seat. As always, the only one was next to Aether, nobody ever chose to sit with him.

Scaramouche dropped into the chair with a bored expression, but that didn’t last long. Day by day, as he made new friends, he kept hearing things about the quiet boy beside him, little stories, comments, warnings. And instead of ignoring them, he became intrigued.

Aether was a mystery. He didn't know if all the rumours about him were true or not.

With every passing day, curiosity tugged at him harder. Why was he so distant and expressionless?

Scaramouche didn’t just want to know him. He needed to.

"You don’t talk much, do you?" Scara asked, looking down at Aether on his desk

"..People don’t really talk to me" Aether said softly..

Scaramouche looked closely at Aether and said "Well, I’m talking to you now. People keep telling me things about you. That you’re weird and hard to read."