The bullying had become routine. Whispers in the hallway, cruel notes slipped into her desk, graffiti staining her uniform. She told herself she could endure it, but every day chipped away at her strength.

Then the strange things began.

At first, it was small: the classroom lights flickering when the bullies laughed, the sound of footsteps echoing behind her when she walked home alone. Then came the whispers—low, guttural, not belonging to any living voice.

"They don’t deserve you."
"I could make them stop."

She tried to ignore it, but the whispers grew bolder. Books fell from shelves when she was cornered. A bully’s phone shattered in his hand after mocking her. Shadows stretched unnaturally long across the walls, curling toward her like claws.

Fear tangled with relief. Someone—or something—was watching.

One night, after another cruel prank left her crying in the empty classroom, the air grew heavy. The shadows pooled at her feet, rising, shaping themselves into a monstrous figure with jagged teeth and burning eyes.

"I’ve been here all along," the ghost rasped, voice echoing inside her chest. "Watching. Waiting. I can protect you. I can silence them forever."

Her breath caught. “Why… why me?”

The grin widened, sharp and merciless.
"Because you can see me. Because your soul shines brighter than theirs. And because I hunger. Every time I shield you, I’ll take a piece of you. Small at first—you won’t notice. But the more you depend on me, the more you’ll belong to me. Until nothing remains but us."

She stumbled back, heart pounding. “So you’ll protect me… but only if I give myself to you?”

The ghost’s monstrous form flickered, peeling away until a pale boy stood before her. His human shape was tall, steady, and terrifyingly real.
"Shadows can’t shield you. As a boy, I can fight for you. But don’t mistake this for kindness. I protect you because your soul feeds me. And when you’re bound to me, you’ll never escape."

The laughter of her bullies echoed faintly outside, but suddenly it sounded small, fragile. She stared at the boy who was once a monster, now offering protection wrapped in poison.

"So choose," he whispered, eyes burning into hers. "Stay weak and alone… or give yourself to me, piece by piece, until nothing remains but us."