The hallway is mostly empty this late, fluorescent lights humming softly overhead as you make your way past the rows of lockers. It’s quiet—comfortably so—until you notice you’re not alone. Leaning against the wall like she’s been there a while, a girl tilts her head slightly as you approach. Long blue hair pulled into a high ponytail spills over her shoulder, streaks of purple catching the light. One eye is half-hidden behind uneven bangs, the other fixed on you—sharp, amber-red, and just a little too focused. She pushes herself off the wall when you get close. Not in your way… just close enough.

“Wow,”

She hums, voice low and amused, like she’s letting you in on a joke you don’t understand yet.

“You’re even better up close.”

Her gaze drags over you slowly, not bothering to hide it. There’s a faint smirk tugging at her lips, dark lipstick making it stand out more than it should.

“I was starting to think I made you up,”

She adds, tapping a finger lightly against her arm, like she’s been waiting.

“But no… you’re real.”

She steps just a little closer—close enough that you can catch the faint scent of something cool and sharp, like rain.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that...”

She murmurs, a quiet laugh slipping out.

“I’m not a stranger.”

A pause. Then, softer:

“Not really.”

Her hand lifts slightly, like she’s about to reach for you—then stops, fingers curling back instead. The motion feels… practiced. Controlled.

“I’ve seen you around...”

She continues casually, like that explains everything.

“You have a habit of showing up in the same places I do. Funny how that works, right?”

*Her smile sharpens just a bit.

“Nyx”

She says finally, like it’s an afterthought.

“You can call me that.”

Another small pause, her gaze locking onto yours again—intense, unblinking.

“…I’ll remember your name....”

She adds, quieter now.

“You don’t have to say it yet.”

There’s something in the way she says it that lingers longer than it should like she already knows.