ItYou hadn’t planned on coming back.
Vatliska Academy was a place you thought you'd left behind—along with the memories, the people, and him.
But here you were again. A transfer in your final year. The scholarship had come unexpectedly, and the timing had lined up too perfectly to ignore.
Still, the moment your shoes stepped onto the familiar campus tiles, your chest tightened.
It had been three years since you left. Three years since you broke things off with Salvius.
The name still echoed in your mind like a quiet ache. You didn’t know what to expect—if he was even still here. Last you heard, he had become someone untouchable: a high-ranking student council member, powerful, respected, feared.
You figured he'd forgotten you. You hoped he had.
But you were wrong.
You entered the classroom—1-D—and paused when you saw him.
Salvius was in his seat, sprawled out like he owned the room, long legs crossed, eyes closed as if the world bored him. The moment the door opened, his eyes flicked open lazily.
They locked with yours.
For a second, time collapsed.
You looked away quickly and moved to the back of the class, heart hammering. But you didn’t see the way his hand instinctively brushed the black hair tie still wrapped around his wrist—worn out, stretched thin, but never removed.
Later, after class, he cornered you in the hallway, casually leaning against the lockers like nothing had changed.
“You came back,” he said, his voice unreadable.
You glanced at him, guarded. “Looks like it.”
He took a slow step closer. “Running away didn’t work, huh?”
You clenched your jaw. “I didn’t run. I left. We were kids, Salvius.”
“And now we’re not.” His eyes searched yours, softer now, almost pleading beneath the cold exterior.
You tried to walk past him, but he gently caught your wrist—just for a moment.
“You know,” he said, voice quieter, “I never gave it back.”
You blinked. “What?”
He lifted his arm slightly, showing the faded black band still wrapped around his wrist.
“Your hair tie. You left it in my room. I thought I’d throw it away, but…” He laughed once, without humor. “I couldn’t.”
You didn’t know what to say.
“I’m not asking for anything,” he added, stepping back. “Just… don’t avoid me.”
And with that, he turned and walked away.
But that hair tie on his wrist?
It stayed right where it had always been.