EIRA'S POV
Something was wrong.
The laughter around me slowly faded, becoming distant and distorted. The bright lights above blurred together, smearing into streaks of gold and white. A dull ache pulsed behind my eyes.
"Tessy?"
My voice sounded strange. Weak.
I turned, searching through the crowd, but faces melted together. Music echoed inside my head. The room felt too warm.
Maybe I just needed some air.
I pushed through the guests, trying to find Tessy, Jake—anyone familiar. Instead, I found myself outside.
The cool night breeze hit my face.
For a second, relief washed through me.
Then everything tilted.
The ground swayed beneath my feet.
A group of familiar college students appeared nearby. I recognized them vaguely. Relief made me move toward them.
"Eira, you okay?" one of them asked with a grin.
"I think..." I swallowed hard. "I don't feel—"
The rest of the sentence never came.
My legs gave out.
Strong hands caught my arms.
At first, I thought they were helping me.
Then I realized they weren't letting go.
Fear crawled down my spine.
"Let me go."
The words came out weak.
Nobody listened.
The laughter around me changed.
It sounded wrong now.
Cruel.
Mocking.
My heart began pounding.
I tried to pull away.
Tried to fight.
But my body refused to obey me.
The drug clouding my mind made every movement feel slow.
Heavy.
Useless.
Before I knew it, I was being dragged toward a car.
"No... let me go..."
My protest barely rose above a whisper.
The door opened.
I was shoved inside.
The engine roared to life.
Music blasted through the speakers.
Voices filled the car.
Loud.
Careless.
The world spun around me.
My vision blurred further.
Panic clawed at my chest.
Something was terribly wrong.
Then suddenly—
The car jerked violently.
Everything stopped.
A tense silence fell.
Someone cursed.
A door slammed.
"Who the hell is that?"
Another voice answered with nervous laughter.
Then silence.
Heavy silence.
The kind that makes your stomach drop.
A shadow stood in the middle of the road.
Still.
Silent.
Terrifying.
Something about the figure made the night itself feel darker.
The others exchanged uneasy glances.
Then panic erupted.
One of them rushed forward.
A second later, he was thrown backward with a cry.
Another tried to run.
He didn't get far.
Fear spread through them instantly.
Whatever confidence they had moments ago vanished.
The laughter.
The arrogance.
The cruel amusement.
Gone.
Replaced by pure terror.
The night filled with shouts and desperate scrambling as they tried to escape.
None of them succeeded.
Within moments, silence settled over the road once more.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Final.
Then the car door beside me was ripped open.
Cold air rushed over my skin.
Through my blurred vision, I looked up.
And my breath caught.
Adrian.
He stood there like something carved from darkness itself.
Tall.
Motionless.
Terrifyingly calm.
His expression was unreadable.
But his eyes—
His eyes burned.
Not with anger alone.
With something far more dangerous.
For one terrifying moment, I almost felt sorry for the people behind him.
His gaze swept over me slowly.
Checking.
Searching.
Making sure I was unharmed.
The tension in his shoulders eased only slightly.
Then his eyes returned to mine.
The world seemed to disappear.
The night.
The road.
The fear.
Everything faded beneath the weight of that stare.
I shivered.
A soft laugh escaped my lips.
The drug clouding my thoughts made everything feel distant.
Unreal.
I pointed at him clumsily.
"You're not Adrian..."
Another giggle escaped me.
"He would never save me."
My chest tightened.
"He hates me."
For the first time, something flickered across his face.
A tiny crack in the cold mask he always wore.
Gone almost immediately.
His jaw tightened.
His eyes never left mine.
As if he wanted to say something.
As if he couldn't.
As if the words were trapped somewhere inside him.
My eyelids grew heavier.
The darkness pulled harder.
I tried to keep looking at him.
Tried to stay awake.
But I was losing.
The last thing I saw was Adrian reaching for me.
The last thing I felt was his arms around me.
Strong.
Steady.
Unyielding.
And then—
Everything disappeared.
The next morning, I woke up with a groan.
Every muscle in my body ached.
My head felt heavy, and a dull pain throbbed behind my eyes.
For a moment, I simply stared at the ceiling.
What happened?
The question floated through my mind as I slowly pushed myself upright.
Then—
Fragments flashed before my eyes.
The party.
The strange drink.
The car.
The darkness.
And him.
Adrian.
Those impossible black eyes.
The memory sent a shiver down my spine.
My breath caught.
No.
It couldn't have happened.
Could it?
I pressed my hands against my face.
Maybe I had imagined everything.
Maybe it was a dream.
But no matter how hard I tried to convince myself, I remembered him too clearly.
The way he looked at me.
The way he carried me.
The way his eyes burned into mine.
"What is happening to me?" I whispered.
Then my gaze landed on the clock.
My eyes widened.
My eyes widened.
"Oh God!"
I jumped out of bed.
I was late.
Again.
By the time I reached college, students were already flooding the hallways.
I hurried through the crowd.
"Eira!"
I turned.
Tessy came rushing toward me.
The moment she reached me, she crossed her arms.
"Where were you yesterday?" she demanded. "I looked everywhere for you! Then Jake disappeared, and nobody knew what was happening."
"I—"
Before I could answer, someone suddenly appeared behind me.
"Boo."
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"JAKE!"
Both Jake and Tessy burst out laughing.
"Your face!" Jake wheezed.
I glared at him.
"I almost died."
"Bit dramatic."
"I hate both of you."
"No, you don't," Tessy said cheerfully.
Before I could argue, the classroom bell rang.
"Come on," Jake said. "We're late."
The classroom buzzed with conversation as students settled into their seats.
The teacher walked in.
"Everyone sit down."
The room slowly quieted.
"Today's topic is—"
His voice faded into the background as I opened my notebook.
Jake sat beside me.
I focused on taking notes.
Writing.
Listening.
Trying very hard not to think about yesterday.
Trying very hard not to think about Adrian.
Then suddenly—
The entire classroom fell silent.
My pen stopped moving.
Something felt wrong.
Slowly, I looked up.
And froze.
Adrian.
He had just walked into the classroom.
A wave of whispers instantly spread through the room.
"He came back?"
"Where was he?"
"I thought he dropped out."
"He's been gone for days."
Nobody even tried to hide their staring.
Adrian ignored every single one of them.
As if they didn't exist.
As if the entire room didn't exist.
His expression remained cold.
Unreadable.
Arrogant.
He walked toward the back of the classroom and dropped into his usual seat.
Without explanation.
Without apology.
Without a single word.
The teacher looked stunned.
Then annoyed.
"Mr. Blake."
No response.
Adrian didn't even look up.
The teacher's face darkened.
"Would you care to explain your repeated absence?"
Silence.
The entire class held its breath.
Adrian slowly lifted his eyes.
The room somehow became colder.
"I wasn't aware my schedule required your approval."
Several students nearly choked trying not to laugh.
The teacher flushed red.
"This is a classroom, not your personal property."
Adrian leaned back in his chair.
Completely unbothered.
"And yet somehow I still learn more than most people here."
A few gasps echoed through the room.
The teacher looked ready to explode.
I immediately looked back down at my notebook.
Trying.
Failing.
Not to smile.
Only Adrian could insult a teacher while sounding completely serious.
I forced myself to focus on my notes again.
Yesterday was real.
He was real.
Everything was real.
The realization settled heavily inside my chest.
Beside me, Jake leaned closer.
"You know," he whispered, "if you keep writing this fast, the notebook might ask for overtime pay."
I blinked.
Then laughed.
A genuine laugh.
Jake grinned proudly.
"There it is. I was beginning to think someone stole your sense of humor."
I rolled my eyes.
"Very funny."
"I know."
In an exaggerated gesture, he lightly placed an arm around my shoulder.
"Thank you. I work hard."
I laughed again.
Then suddenly—
A strange feeling crawled up my spine.
Like being watched.
Intensely.
Dangerously.
Slowly, I turned.
My breath caught.
Adrian was staring.
Not at Jake.
Not at the teacher.
At me.
His expression remained unreadable.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Yet something about the look made my pulse stumble.
The moment our eyes met, his jaw tightened.
Then he looked away.
As if nothing had happened.
As if he hadn't been watching at all.
My heart continued pounding anyway.
A few minutes later, the teacher finally lost his patience.
"If you're not interested in participating, Mr. Blake, perhaps you should leave."
The classroom went silent again.
Everyone waited.
Adrian slowly stood.
Collected his notebook.
Then looked directly at the teacher.
A faint smirk appeared.
"If I wanted lessons from someone who stopped learning years ago, I'd visit a museum."
Several students gasped.
One actually laughed.
The teacher looked seconds away from a heart attack.
Adrian simply walked toward the door.
Unhurried.
Untouched.
As though none of this mattered.
As though nobody in the room mattered.
Just before leaving, his eyes flickered toward me.
Only for a second.
Then he walked out.
And somehow the classroom felt emptier after he was gone.