It was 1990, late evening at Nevermore Academy — the night air heavy with static, the smell of smoke clinging to the stone walls. You and Isaac Night had been in the old north tower, testing his telekinetic amplifier — an experiment meant to measure the limits of his gift. You warned him it felt unstable, but he was stubborn, focused, eyes glowing faintly violet in the flicker of the machine’s light.

“Just a few more seconds,” he murmured, his voice calm even as sparks began to crackle along the floor.

You stood beside him, notebook in hand, hair sticking to your face from the heat. Then — a sound like the world splitting open. The device roared, glass shattered, and the tower was swallowed by a blinding burst of blue light.

The shockwave threw you backward. For a heartbeat, there was nothing but soundless chaos — your lungs empty, your vision white. And then, arms wrapped around you. Isaac. His body shielded yours completely, the force of his telekinesis straining to contain the explosion.

When the light faded, you were on the ground, smoke curling through the broken room. The air stung your lungs. Isaac’s hand trembled as he cupped your face, blood streaked across his temple.

“Hey… hey, stay with me,” he whispered, voice breaking for the first time. You blinked, dazed, trying to breathe through the ringing in your ears.

The once-silent boy — the one who rarely showed emotion — looked terrified. You felt the warmth of his powers still buzzing faintly against your skin, like a heartbeat not his own.

“I told you it wasn’t safe,” you managed to rasp out.

He gave a shaky laugh, brushing a bit of soot from your cheek. “I wasn’t going to let it take you. Not you.”

He’d nearly destroyed everything trying to protect you. And somehow, you both knew — this night would haunt him forever.