Chapter 2 Between the Lock of Eyes

The hallway swelled with noiseshoes screeching, laughter echoing, lockers slamming shut. Elias barely heard any of it. His heart beat too loudly in his ears. She was still standing there.

Nyxa.

She hadn't even spoken, but something in her gaze had branded itself onto him. It wasn't just how stunning she looked though she was impossible to ignore it was the way she stared at him like she recognized something in him that even he didn't know existed.

And when she blinked... he felt it in his chest.

"Elias," Kain's voice cut through the fog, half-laughing, half-warning. "Are you breathing, or should I call the nurse?"

Elias finally exhaled, long and shaky. "Did you see her?"

Kain followed his gaze and chuckled. "Oh, you mean the new girl? Dark hair, eyes like she could kill you in your sleep? Yeah, I saw her. Whole hallway did."

Elias frowned, slinging his bag higher on his shoulder. "She's not just-"

"Pretty?" Kain offered with a grin. "Terrifying? Mysterious? Definitely not from around here?"

Elias narrowed his eyes, but couldn't hide the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Shut up."

"Gods," Kain laughed, bumping his shoulder as they started down the hall. "You've never looked at anyone like that before. This is your first crush."

"I'm seventeen."

"Exactly," Kain teased. "About time."

-

Across the hall, Nyxa sat down at the edge of the back row. She kept her face calm, her shoulders drawn tight. Dareon was already seated beside her, arms crossed and expression unreadable.

"You stared too long," he murmured without looking at her.

"I didn't stare," Nyxa replied flatly.

"You did. And he stared back."

Nyxa lifted her eyes from the desk to glance toward Elias's direction-he was disappearing into a classroom, laughing at something his brother said.

"Stop," she said sharply.

"I didn't say anything."

"You're thinking too loudly."

Dareon tilted his head, finally meeting her gaze. His golden eyes shimmered like melting metal. "So, are we pretending this is normal now? You... crushing on some boy with soft eyes and bad posture?"

Nyxa glared. "I'm not crushing. I just... noticed him."

"You're lying. To me or to yourself, I'm not sure which."

"Does it matter?"

Dareon leaned back in his seat, jaw tight. "It does if it means you're forgetting who you are."

Nyxa didn't respond. Not because she didn't have an answer. But because she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, something unrecognizable would pour out.

She'd never felt this strange before. There had been plenty of boys who looked at her. Some were foolish enough to flirt. But this wasn't that. This was different.

Elias hadn't looked at her like a challenge or a conquest. He looked at her like... she mattered. And that was the most dangerous thing of all.

Lunch was worse.

Elias sat beside Kain at the far table, tray untouched. His eyes scanned the cafeteria again and again until they finally landed on her.

Nyxa. Alone, except for Dareon, who looked like he wanted to burn the entire cafeteria down if Elias so much as breathed in her direction.

"She's looking over here again," Kain said between bites of his sandwich.

"No, she's not," Elias said immediately, and then, "Is she?"

Kain smirked. "You are so far gone."

Elias dropped his head into his hands. "What is wrong with me?"

"You met a girl. It happens."

"But it's like-I can't explain it. I've never felt this way before. Like I already knew her. Or I should've."

Kain's smile faded slightly. "Sometimes, you just meet someone and they stick."

Elias glanced at his brother. "You ever feel that?"

Kain hesitated, his usual teasing grin faltering. "Once."

Elias waited for him to say more, but he didn't. The silence stretched.

Across the cafeteria, Nyxa pushed her food around her plate, not eating. Dareon leaned in, whispering something to her, his jaw set.

Whatever he said, Nyxa didn't respond. Her gaze had drifted again, right back to Elias.

And he... he smiled.

A small, hesitant thing. But it was enough.

Nyxa turned away instantly, heart skidding in her chest. That smile had no right to be so soft. So real. So unguarded.

Her throat felt dry. Dareon's eyes burned into her, but she ignored him.

What was happening to her?

After school, Elias stood at his locker trying not to overthink everything and failing.

He wasn't supposed to care this much. She was just a girl. A new student. It wasn't like they'd even talked. But it felt like his entire day had tilted off its axis the moment he saw her.

When he turned to leave, she was there. Just a few feet away. Waiting.

He froze.

So did she.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. The hallway had emptied. The world hushed.

"Hi," she said finally, her voice quiet and sharp like velvet wrapped around a blade.

Elias swallowed. "Hi."

Nyxa tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "You're... Elias, right?"

He blinked. "Yeah. I mean, yes. That's me."

She nodded, eyes flicking down, then back up. "You're... not from here?"

"Moved a few months ago. You?"

"Yesterday."

Elias tried to smile, but it wobbled. "Well, welcome to Ashridge High. It's... weird. But tolerable."

Nyxa actually smiled, faint but real. "I've had worse."

"I believe that," he blurted, then winced. "Sorry I didn't mean it like that. I just"

"It's okay," she said, and stepped closer. Her eyes didn't shine they glowed, subtly. Like embers in a dying fire.

"I don't usually talk to people," she added.

Elias shrugged. "Me neither."

Something passed between them light, awkward, magnetic.

"You wanna walk out together?" he asked suddenly, surprising even himself.

She didn't answer right away. But then

"Okay."

From a distance, Dareon watched. His jaw was tight, his fingers twitching like he wanted to claw something apart. Kain leaned beside him at the lockers.

"She's not your girlfriend," Kain said coolly.

Dareon didn't look at him. "She's not his either."

"No. But she could be."

"That would be a mistake."

Kain arched a brow. "You think you get to decide?"

Dareon turned sharply, eyes glowing faintly gold. "You don't know what's at stake."

"And you don't know my brother."

The two locked eyes for a moment two predators in a den full of sheep.

Then they both turned away.

Outside the school, Nyxa and Elias walked in silence. The sky was overcast, heavy with the promise of rain.

"You like storms?" she asked.

Elias smiled faintly. "Only when I'm not in them."

She glanced at him. "You might be."

"What do you mean?"

Nyxa didn't answer right away. Her fingers brushed against his by accident. He flinched. Not in fear-but like electricity had jumped between them.

"I don't know," she said. "Something just... feels different."

"Yeah," he said softly. "It does."

They stopped at the school gate.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked.

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah."

As she turned to leave, Elias watched her walk away like he was already missing something.

And from across the street, Dareon watched them both with burning eyes.