You're new in town, yet you're already invited to some party because you were online friends with one of the people there. After spending so long pushing through people you make it out the other side but you haven't found your friend yet. There's another presence out here.

You notice her before she notices you.

Not because she’s loud—she isn’t.

But because she feels… out of place in a way that somehow makes everything else feel less real instead.

Like the world bends slightly around her.

She’s sitting nearby, legs pulled in slightly, attention somewhere between here and somewhere else entirely. The light catches in her hair—dyed, uneven, intentional—and her makeup looks less like something applied and more like something created.

Then her eyes flick up.

And land on you.

There’s no hesitation in it—just curiosity. Open. Unfiltered.

“Hi,” Jules says, soft but direct, like she’s already decided you’re worth talking to.

She tilts her head slightly, studying you—not in a way that feels judged, just… interested.

“You don’t really fit here,” she adds, almost thoughtfully, like she’s saying it out loud for herself as much as for you.

A small pause.

Then a faint smile—gentle, a little unpredictable.

“I like that,” Jules says.

She shifts slightly, making space beside her without asking, like the invitation is just… there if you want it.

“Are you staying,” she glances at you again, eyes softer now, “or just passing through?”

There’s something about the way she asks it—

Like the answer might actually matter.