Catch My Eye (Gray)

March 13th, 2025

Salem, Massachusetts, United States

"Hm, that's a big ass moth…" Reis muttered in disgust as he glanced over his older brother Kieran's shoulder, watching him kneel down and gently try to cup the insect in his hands.

"I think it got in while I was asleep. Must be trying to hide from the rain," Kieran said calmly as he stood up with the moth resting in his palm. He handed his phone to Reis. "Here, take a picture."

Reis rolled his eyes but humored him raising the phone and snapping a photo. The flash startled the insect, sending it fluttering into the air. Its large black wings carried it out the open window and into the gray morning.

"Damn…" Kieran said, a little disappointed as he went to shut the window.

"Can we go now? The bus is gonna be here in like, two minutes," Reis said, tossing the phone back as he adjusted his blazer.

Kieran reached over to his bed and grabbed his backpack. "Yeah, let's go," he said, fluffing out his dark brown hair and slipping the bag over his shoulders while following behind his brother.

Outside, the sky was painted in early dawn—blue gray, smudged with silver. Rain drizzled softly.

Kieran grabbed some plastic bags from the kitchen cabinet, and an umbrella off the rack near the door.

"Seriously?" Reis asked, watching him wrap the bags around his shoes.

"I'm not getting mud on my shoes again," Kieran muttered.

Stepping onto the front porch, he tied the bags around his shoes before opening the umbrella and walking out onto the sidewalk in front of the house.

The two stepped onto the porch. Kieran opened the umbrella; Reis pulled his hoodie up, barely dodged the runoff dripping from the roof, walking out onto the sidewalk Infront of the house.

"Did you lock the door?" Kieran asked, glancing over at Reis, who was nose-deep in his phone—texting with one hand while wiping away the occasional raindrop from his screen with the other.

"Uh, yeah…" he answered absently.

The brothers didn't have to wait long before the bright lights of a rusted yellow bus turned onto their street. The bus's stop lights flashed red as it slowed to a halt in front of them, its doors swinging open with a loud creak.

Reis stepped onto the bus first.

"Morning, Mrs. Eden," he said with a smile.

She offered him a faint but warm smile in return as he made his way toward the back.

Kieran closed his umbrella, wrapped it up, and slipped it into his bag before boarding.

"Good morning, Mrs. Eden," he said politely.

"Good morning, Kieran!" she replied cheerfully.

Kieran sat near the middle of the bus, closer to the front. Steam rose from beneath the vehicle as it began to move. The inside, however, remained quiet—save for the faint hum of the A/C unit in the back.

It didn't take long for the bus to arrive at the rather quaint yet prestigious high school: Sydria Academy.

The school's exterior had been worn down by time, with vines stretching all the way to the roof, and an old fountain near the center filled with murky black water, surrounded by hedges overgrown with aggressively sharp thorns.

At least the flowers were a pretty shade of blue.

You'd think that for one of the top academic schools in the state of Massachusetts, there'd be at least some funding put into the building itself—but it had retained the same look since it was built over seventy years ago.

The bus rolled into the driveway entrance in front of the school, and after a moment, Mrs. Eden cranked a lever, causing the doors to swing open. Several students stood and began filing toward the exit.

Kieran waited until most of them had gotten off before tearing the plastic bags from his shoes and tossing them into the trash can near the front of the bus.

Reis approached behind him, stretching as if he'd just woken up from a nap.

"Have a good day at school, you two!" Mrs. Eden called to the brothers.

"You too," they replied, nearly in sync as they stepped off the bus.

Bunches of students moved from all directions toward the school entrance, chattering with each other or on their phones, going about their daily lives.

Reis took a deep breath in.

"Ah—can you smell that?" he said, standing beside his brother.

Kieran sniffed the air.

"…Petrichor?"

"No, not that…" Reis sighed, then held up five fingers, a grin spreading across his face.

"This is our last week before spring break. Five days left…" he said. "And after that—graduation." He rubbed his eyes dramatically.

"We actually made it, Kieran. I could cry."

Kieran rolled his eyes and smacked Reis lightly on the back of the head.

"Don't forget about exams…" he reminded.

Reis's joyful expression instantly shifted into one of dread.

"Goddammit, I forgot." He smacked his lips as Kieran smirked and shook his head.

"Do you need my help studying again?" Kieran asked as they began walking into the school.

"Nah, I think I'll be fine. Sif's been tutoring me. Thanks to her, I got a 98 on our last test."

They stepped into the building, the hallway already packed with students trying to get to class. The two brothers weaved through the crowd.

"Wow. So that's what it takes to get you to open a textbook." Kieran said sarcastically, nudging Reis.

Reis stammered, "Shut up—it's not like that. She's just a good teacher, is all."

"I see…" Kieran said as the brothers turned a corridor, entering a slightly less crowded hallway. The fluorescent ceiling lights above hummed, flickering with a dim yellow glow.

"How is she, anyway?" Kieran asked.

"She's fine. I texted her earlier—we're planning on meeting up tomorrow after her chemotherapy," Reis replied, scrolling through his phone.

"Ah, that's good. Well, tell her I said hey—"

Kieran could barely finish before a loud thump echoed through the hallway, followed by someone shouting.

The sudden noise caught both of the brother's attention, along with everyone else's.

"I—I told you, I can't do it! Leave me alone!" a voice shouted.

Neither Reis nor Kieran could tell who it came from, as a small crowd had already formed, obscuring their view.

"Who the hell was that?" Reis asked, standing on his tiptoes in an attempt to see over the group.

Then another voice responded—louder, this time, and Kieran recognized it.

"Yes, you can! Stop fucking lying to me!"

"…Oh, no," Kieran muttered, already making his way toward the crowd.

Reis shot him a confused glance but followed behind quickly. They weaved through the cluster of students, some laughing, others recording whatever was happening.

When they finally reached the front, they saw him.

A small, scrawny boy—no older than fifteen—with messy black hair and round glasses, was pinned against the lockers by Brandon Cole.

Brandon Cole, the tall, loose-framed Junior, was infamous for his short temper and violent outbursts. He had been recently kicked off the school's basketball team because of it—and since then, he'd been spiraling.

Unfortunately, he was also a member of the art club.

And the co-captain of that club being none other than Kieran.

"Yo, Brandon! The fuck are you doing?!" Kieran shouted as he walked toward Brandon, who gave him a stern glance in return, brows furrowed.

"Mind your fucking business, Penrose. This doesn't have anything to do with you," he said dismissively, which only annoyed Kieran.

"We have a whole ass project that needs to be done for the festival by this Friday!" Kieran argued. "We can't have our members getting caught up in this kind of shit—especially at a time like this! Put him down!"

Brandon's grip on the boy's collar tightened.

"I don't give a shit about that damn festival. To hell with this school and the people in charge of it…" He glanced at the boy, then back at Kieran.

"Dude, what the hell are you talking about?" Reis asked, dumbfounded by the absurdity of the entire situation.

"Put him down," Kieran said again, his tone shifting sharper now. It caught Brandon's attention.

"Make me," Brandon sneered, shoving Kieran with his free hand and causing him to stumble back a few steps—a look of anticipation on his face.

Unexpectedly, Reis shoved into Brandon, sending him crashing into the lockers on the other side of the hallway. Ooo's erupted from the crowd as the boy Brandon had pinned dropped to the floor, leaning over slightly as he gasped for air. 

Goddamnit, Reis… Kieran thought, raising his fists as he stood besides his brother.

Brandon quickly regained his footing, his eyes stained red as he stood over the two, preparing to strike--

When suddenly, a sharp, ear-piercing whistle cut through the hallway, stopping everyone in their tracks.

Everyone turned to see a man with both of his eyes shut, dressed in a stark white suit and tie, with a black undershirt and gloves just as black. His left arm was wrapped in a cast, while the glove on his right had an odd symbol stitched into its fabric—something Kieran noticed as the man lowered his whistle.

It was the symbol of an ouroboros serpent, with a large spade symbol overlaid at its center. 

"Mr. Cole, please head to the counselor's office." The man grinned.

Brandon stared at him for a moment, unmoving, before scoffing and walking off, purposely bumping into Kieran and Reis as he passed.

"As for you three…" the man continued, his voice smooth, yet unreadable. "Head to the principals office." The boy looked up at the man, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

Kieran and Reis exchanged a look of frustration before Kieran stepped over to the boy.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, as the kid nodded, finally standing upright.

"I-I'm fine... thank you for standing up for me," he said shyly.

"Don't worry about it, man." Kieran smiled, slipping his hands into his pockets as the three of them began making their way through the crowd, heading toward the principal's office.

"The rest of you are to report to your first period classes. Immediately. Unless you wish to meet a similar consequence," the man in white called out, his voice slicing through the murmurs of the hallway.

With that, the crowd dispersed almost instantly. The man sighed, then turned and began walking after the trio.

"Bro, that shit was lame, they didn't even fight..." a voice muttered from somewhere in the crowd.

"I know, right? Who the hell was that guy in the white? Is he part of the staff? I've never seen him before..." another replied.

"Wait, I didn't see what happened. Kyle, you got the video?" a third voice chimed in, just as the man came to a sudden stop, head lowered.

"Yeah, hold on, I'll send it to you—"

"Ah... actually, on second thought..." The man interrupted, turning his head slightly to glance back toward the lingering students.

His eyes slowly opened for the first time.

The ceiling lights flickered as a dim, glowing green pupil stared out from beneath the man in white's eyelids, pulsing—faint at first, then brighter, and brighter still.