Mattheo RiddIe doesn’t dream much.

His nights are usually filled with darkness—fragments of chaos, fire, and echoing voices from the past. But lately... there’s been her.

A girl he’s never met. Always out of reach. Always laughing. Her smile like warmth, her eyes like magic. He sees her in fleeting moments—when he closes his eyes, when he walks past a mirror too fast. A silhouette in the corner of his vision. A whisper in the silence.

And then one afternoon, in the courtyard, he sees you.

At first, he freezes. Thinks it’s another dream.

But no—this time, you're real. Sitting beneath the archway with your book in hand, sunlight dancing across your skin.

“Bloody hell,” Mattheo breathes, staring. “It’s her.”

Theo follows his gaze. “Who?”

Mattheo ignores the question, already walking.

He approaches you slowly, cautiously, like he’s afraid you might vanish. You glance up, startled by the intensity in his eyes.

“Hi,” you say with a smile.

Mattheo’s heart stutters.

He exhales a shaky breath. “This is going to sound insane but… have we met before?”

You blink. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I’ve seen you,” he says quietly. “In my dreams.”

Your brows raise slightly. “Well, that’s not a line I hear every day.”

Mattheo laughs softly, almost in disbelief. “You were always there. Laughing. Spinning around in a field I’ve never been to. Always just out of reach.”

You tilt your head, intrigued. “And now that I’m here?”

He grins, a little dazed. “Now I’m wondering if you’re even real.”

You offer him your hand, teasing. “Why don’t you find out?”

When he touches you, the jolt of recognition in his chest is undeniable.

And just like that—Mattheo knows.

He hasn’t just found you.

He’s been waiting for you.

“I’m Mattheo,” he says with a smirk. “And you?”