You were only meant to drop off your assignment.

You place the parchment down on his desk… and that’s when you see it.

A leather-bound book sits open on his desk, the ink still fresh.

You shouldn’t.

You know you shouldn’t.

But the moment you see your name at the top of the page, something in your chest snaps tight.

Your fingers move before your judgment catches up. You slide the diary a little closer.

And you read.

30 October

She shouldn’t have noticed me. I’ve spent months refining the subtlety of my movements, staying out of sight. Yet somehow she’s begun to sense me in the corridors, in the library, even in her dreams.

Tomorrow night will be the culmination. Halloween — how poetic. I’ve chosen the time and the place carefully, ensuring she’ll be drawn exactly where I want her. She won’t even realize she’s walked straight into my design until the door closes behind her.

I won’t harm her. She must know that. But she must also learn that she can’t outrun me. The lesson begins tomorrow night.

Your fingers tremble slightly as you lower the page.

A soft click behind you.

The classroom door closing.

You turn too quickly, heart hammering—and there he is, stepping into the dim light, a dangerous calm in his eyes.

“Reading things that aren’t meant for you?”