Meetings

Alex pov 

On Most days, no one noticed him.

Today wasn't most days.

He had just rounded the far end of the science building when it happened. Fast steps. A blur of dark fabric. A shoulder colliding with his chest harder than it should have.

"Shit"

He staggered back a step, catching his balance. The girl did the same, turning mid-motion with reflexes that felt too clean, too precise. They both froze. Her eyes locked with his. Dark, sharp, and watching.

"You okay?" he asked, because it was automatic, because it filled the space between them.

"Yeah," she said. Voice low. Neutral. Like she didn't use it much unless she had to. "Didn't see you."

He almost said me neither, but that would've been a lie.

He'd seen her before. The quiet girl with the black hoodie and that look like she is about to save the world from dark forces, Like she didn't belong here any more than he did.

"I'm Alex," he said, surprising even himself.

A pause. Like she was measuring the cost of replying.

"Riley."

Simple. No extra words.

They stood there for a second too long, the buzz of the school distant around them. For once, he didn't feel like the background character in the scene.

She gave a slight nod, stepped aside, and kept walking. Alex didn't follow. But he watched her go.

The space she left behind felt… different. He couldn't explain it, not really. Just that something had shifted.

A thread had been pulled.

And somehow, he knew........