Lena's POV:
I don't remember the exact moment it happened.
People always ask that. Like there's supposed to be a clear line. A before and an after.
But it didn't feel like that to me.
What I remember is everything around it.
I remember how Irene always walked a little behind us. How she sat in the same seats. How her voice was so quiet you had to lean in to hear it. I remember noticing. I always noticed.
I also remember laughing.
Not because I thought it was funny. Not really.
But because everyone else was laughing, and stopping would've meant something was wrong.
I told myself I wasn't doing anything bad. I wasn't the one writing the notes. I wasn't the one whispering. I wasn't the one bumping into her in the hall.
I was just there.
And being there felt safer than being alone.
When Irene died, it was the same. The same place. The same way. The same shock spreading through the school like a sickness. I didn't watch it that time, but that didn't make it any better.
I stood there and felt hollow. I told myself I couldn't have known. That I didn't do anything. But doing nothing didn't make the guilt go away.
I stopped going to school after that.
At first, it was just a few days. Then weeks. My room stayed dark even when the sun was out. I slept too much or not at all.
People came to check on me. My parents. Friends. Classmates. Especially Elliot. He came by the most.
I smiled back.
"I'm okay," I told them.
"I'm just not feeling well."
They believed me. Or maybe they just wanted to.
Eventually, they stopped coming.
That was when it clicked. They hadn't been worried about me. I had just been there. Someone convenient. Someone familiar enough to visit when it felt like the right thing to do.
Once I wasn't useful anymore, they moved on.
Maybe I made it too hard. Maybe I wasn't fun anymore. I don't know.
What I do know…
I hate being alone.
Time blurred after that.
One morning, I woke up in my pajamas. Sunlight was spilling into my room through the curtains.
Then the world changed.
There was cold stone under my butt. Other people panicking around me. I was in another place entirely.
Another world.
My heart was pounding. My hands were shaking. I wanted to scream.
Instead, I smiled.
"It's fine," I said.
"I'm fine."
I always am.
Ayden's POV:
The gray sky remains, unmoving, stretched thin above us.
There's no longer any birds.
No wind. No sounds.
Not even the people from below can be heard anymore.
Nothing.
It feels like this place is falling apart...
And even with all this, he still won't show himself. Almost like he's punishing us.
Punishing me for interfering again.
Lena is sitting on the ground now, knees pulled to her chest. Her shoulders shake, but she doesn't make a sound.
I'm at a loss for words. Every sentence I think of feels wrong. I don't know how to comfort her.
I finally open my mouth.
"I'm sorry."
It sounds useless the moment it leaves my mouth.
She doesn't look at me. Instead, she stares at her hands like she's trying to remember how they work.
- Lena: "…This is a dream."
She says quietly. It isn't a question.
"Yes."
She nods slowly, like she's fitting the word into place.
- Lena: "And the way out… is the same for everyone?"
Her voice wavers just a little.
I don't answer right away.
She glances up at me then. Her eyes are red, but clear. Too clear.
- Lena: "…You wake up. Right?"
"Yes."
I speak but my throat feels tight.
"You wake up."
There's a long pause.
She exhales, something shaky leaving her chest.
- Lena: "Okay."
Just that. No panic. No pleading.
She presses her forehead against her knees.
- Lena: "I don't think I can stay here anymore."
I don't tell her she has to. I don't tell her she shouldn't. I don't even say anything.
Instead, I sit down beside her.
The concrete is cold even through my clothes.
She suddenly speaks up.
- Lena: "I didn't know. About Irene. About how bad it was. I noticed things, but I thought…"
She swallows.
- Lena: "I thought doing nothing meant I wasn't hurting her."
Her words burn into my mind.
Her fingers curl into the fabric of her sleeves.
- Lena: "I was wrong."
I don't correct her. I don't absolve her. That isn't my place.
She laughs quietly. A broken, breathless sound. She's completely lost her old cheery self. She's broken. And I don't know how to fix her.
- Lena: "I always thought if I stayed nice, if I stayed easy to be around, everything would work out."
She finally looks at me.
- Lena: "I was so scared of being alone."
The words hit harder than anything else. I barely know this girl, and yet I feel connected to her in ways I shouldn't be. Maybe it's because of Soul Touch, but it's almost like I can feel her struggle.
She takes another breath, Steadying herself.
- Lena: "…Can you stay with me?"
The question is simple. Terrifying.
"Yes."
I say this immediately.
She reaches out, hesitant, and I take her hand before she can pull back. Her fingers are cold. She grips mine like she's afraid I'll disappear if she lets go.
I sit with her for a little while, never letting go of her hand as the sky goes dark. She seems to finally calm down.
- Lena: "I won't remember this, will I?"
She asks this with a shakiness in her voice. I can tell she's praying to God that she won't. That this will all be forgotten. That she won't have to remember failing her friend twice.
I can't even bring myself to tell her the truth.
"I'm sorry…"
So I just apologize.
I'm such a weakling.
It takes her a bit to process all of this. After a few seconds, she nods.
- Lena: "That's okay."
And for the first time since I met her, she smiles without trying to make it look pretty.
- Lena: "Thank you for being here."
I hesitate, then reach into my pocket.
The metal feels heavier than it should.
I don't look at her when I bring it out. I just place it gently between us on the concrete. The cafeteria knife. Dull and unassuming. Something ordinary.
Her breath catches the moment she sees it.
- Lena: "That's… really the only way?"
I nod once.
"I won't leave."
I speak quietly.
"I promise."
She doesn't touch it yet. Her hands tremble in her lap, fingers curling and uncurling like she's trying to convince them to move.
She reaches for the knife at last, hands shaking.
I turn away immediately.
I sit with my back to hers, close enough that I can feel the warmth through the fabric of our clothes. She leans against me, tentative at first, then fully, like she's afraid I'll disappear if she doesn't hold on.
- Lena: "Thank you… for staying."
My jaw tightens.
I whisper lightly.
"You're not alone."
The world begins to thin. The rooftop blurs at the edges, colors washing out like wet paint. The air feels lighter, unreal.
She squeezes my hand once.
- Lena: "See you… on the other side?"
I don't answer.
I don't trust my voice.
Her grip loosens.
The warmth at my back fades.
I don't turn around.
I can't.
Her words don't leave when she does.
I thought doing nothing meant I wasn't hurting her…
They echo, over and over, until they stop sounding like hers.
Because that's exactly what I told myself too.
I didn't stop it.
I didn't interfere.
I didn't change what was "supposed" to happen.
I told myself I was being smart.
I told myself I was choosing the best path to save Lena.
But standing back didn't make me innocent. It just made me a witness.
Lena thought staying quiet would keep her safe. I thought staying distant would keep her intact.
And in the end, we were both wrong.
She did nothing and lived with it.
I did nothing and let her feel alone in it.
My chest tightens as the realization settles.
I didn't protect her. I prioritized the outcome over the person.
Just like them.
Just like everyone else who told themselves it wasn't their fault.
The thought makes my stomach twist.
I took the easiest route. The cleanest solution. The one that hurt me the least in the moment.
And she paid for it.
The disgust I feel isn't loud. It doesn't scream. It sinks in quietly.
I hate myself for understanding her.
And I hate myself even more for being the same.
A sharp pain blooms behind my eyes. I press a hand to my temple as the world starts to tilt.
That's when I see him.
Standing a few steps away, where the rooftop should already be gone.
The Dreamer.
He looks amused.
He raises a hand and gives me a small, cheerful wave, like this is all a game he's enjoying far too much.
My vision swims.
I try to speak.
I swear…
He smiles wider.
I'll kill you.
Darkness takes me before I can say a word.