"Alright, class, settle down," Mr. Parker, the school's history teacher, called out. "Today, we'll discuss the Renaissance period. You've all been assigned partners to work on this project, and I expect thorough research."
Students were sitting at the back of the class, Matteo kept his head down, his fingers tapping soundlessly against his desk. His presence was quiet and almost ghost-like. Most students ignored him as he always acted weird, but a few couldn't help but glance at his way.
There was something odd about him: the way his gray eyes were, was different, more like an unnatural intensity, and his voice carried a deep, melodic tone that made people listen even when they didn't want to. He didn't fit in, and he didn't try to.
Matteo, or as he now called himself, Jaytee, was here for one reason, to blend.
The groans filled the room, but Jaytee remained still and uninterested. He had lived through more history than these students could ever imagine. The Renaissance, the wars, the revolutions, he had seen them all. And yet, here he was, pretending to be a normal nineteen-year-old, stuck in a high school classroom.
"Jaytee, you'll be paired with Nora," Mr. Parker announced, looking up from his list.
A few murmurs spread across the room. Nora Hathaway. The girl who never backed down from an argument. She was known for being rude and sharp-tongued, wild and fearless. If there was one person who wouldn't be intimidated by Jaytee's presence, it was her.
Nora wasn't so happy with the announcement and let out an annoyed sigh as she crossed her arms. "Seriously? We don't even talk," she murmured under her breath.
Jaytee didn't respond, even from where he sat, he could hear clearly her murmur. Jaytee could hear voices from a distance. He simply glanced her way, his expression was unreadable.
"Alright, get into your pairs and start brainstorming ideas," Mr. Parker instructed.
Nora grabbed her notebook and reluctantly moved toward Jaytee's desk. She sat down across from him, tapping her pen against the table. "Let's just get this over with," she said. "I was thinking we could cover art and literature during the Renaissance. What do you think?"
Jaytee didn't answer right away. He leaned back slightly, observing her with a neutral expression.
Jaytee on the other hand, Nora, unlike others who saw Nora as rude and sharp-tongued, saw her differently. Nora would always go to the orphanage for donations and she liked children. Jaytee, who was always in a hoodie, would recognize her from a distance, and for some reason decided to enroll in her school. Disguised herself as a student just to be close to her.
"Do whatever you want," he finally said, his voice was calm but very distant.
Nora raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? This is a two-person project. You can't just sit back and let me do all the work, for both of us."
Jaytee exhaled quietly, his patience counting on him. "Then pick a topic and tell me what to do."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you always this detached, or am I so unlucky?"
Jaytee's lips twitched slightly, uncertain of the right word to say, almost as if he was amused. "Neither," he said simply.
Nora frowned "Great. This is going to be fun." She said loudly.
She turned back to her notebook, jotting down ideas while Jaytee remained silent. He could feel her irritation, sense the fire in her spirit. She wasn't afraid of him. She was different, it was dangerous, but somehow he liked it.
It was launch time and everyone had gone out to get something. Nora sat at a table with her friends, stabbing at her salad with unnecessary force. "That guy is impossible," she huffed.
Emma, her best friend, smiled. "Jaytee? Yeah, he's... weird."
Nora glanced across the cafeteria, her eyes landing on him. He was sitting alone, as always, staring out the window like he was lost in another world. His presence was both intriguing and unsettling, and she hated that she was even thinking about it.
"He barely talks. It's like he doesn't care about anything," Nora muttered.
Emma spoke playfully. "Maybe he's just mysterious and brooding. Some girls love that."
Nora rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I'm not one of them."
Yet, for some reason, she couldn't stop watching him.
After lunch, it was time for the remaining section of the day, Matteo Adams, now Jaytee, sat at his usual desk in the back of the classroom, his gray eyes ran toward the doorway the second he felt it. Something ran through his spine, it was like ice in his veins. He didn't need to look to know who had just entered.
Adel, walked with so much elegance, her eyes scanning the room, her presence commanding attention without her saying a single word. She was stunning, with auburn hair that cascaded down her back like flowing silk. Her uniform, just like everyone else's, seemed to fit her too perfectly, as if designed for her alone.
A murmur of appreciation swept through the classroom. Some of the boys exchanged glances, nudging each other. A few girls straightened in their seats, already forming silent opinions about her. But Adel didn't acknowledge any of it. Her gaze swept over them dismissively before landing on the only person in the room who mattered.
Jaytees jaw clenched. He could feel the weight of her stare, the ghost of a past he had buried clawing its way back into his reality.
Adel blinked once with a beautiful smile, then turned away, walking to an empty seat near the window, acting as though she had never seen him before in her life.
That was the first mistake.
Jaytee wasn't human. He could read between the lines, and hear the silent beat of her heart that wasn't as steady as it should have been. She was pretending. She wanted him to believe she didn't know him.
But he wasn't playing her game.
Nora sat two seats away, watching the silent exchange with growing curiosity. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she wasn't blind. The new girl had barely been here for five seconds, and Jaytee looked ready to explode. That was unusual.
Jaytee was always calm, collected, and indifferent.
But right now, something in his demeanor had changed.
His fingers were pressed against his desk, his shoulders tense beneath his black hoodie. His eyes, usually unreadable, burned with something unreadable.
Hatred? Shock?
Whatever it was, Nora wanted to know.
Mr. Parker walked in again, He clapped his hands once, silencing the murmuring voices.
"Alright, class. Before we begin, we have a new student. Introduce yourself."
All eyes turned to Adel.
She stood, steadying her head. "Adel….. Adel Lancaster."
Her voice was smooth and confident.
No hesitation. No tremor. No acknowledgement of Jaytee, whatsoever.
Nora glanced at Jaytee again, expecting some kind of reaction.
He knows her.
The teacher wasted no time diving into the day's lesson.
"Today," he said, pulling out a stack of books, "we'll continue where we had stopped earlier."
She placed a copy of Frankenstein on her desk. "Are monsters born, or are they created?"
The class erupted into discussion. Some students argued that monsters were made, and sculpted by society, rejection, and cruelty. Others believed some creatures were simply born evil, beyond saving.
Then, Nora spoke.
"I think loneliness makes monsters," she said.
Jaytee, who had remained silent until now, turned his head slightly again, to study the girl he had earlier been paired with.
Nora continued. "People, or creatures, become something else when they have no one. When they're forced to live in the shadows, they forget what it means to be human."
The teacher smiled. "An interesting perspective. What do you think, Jaytee?"
The classroom fell silent.
Jaytee rarely spoke in class unless necessary. He never participated in debates. But today, he did.
"I disagree," he said, his voice was smooth but laced with something cold. "A monster is a monster. It doesn't matter if it's alone or surrounded by people. Loneliness doesn't create monsters. Weakness does."
His words sent a ripple through the classroom.
Adel turned to him from where she sat, scanning and observing.
Nora frowned. "That's ridiculous. Not everything is so black and white. If a person is treated like a monster long enough, they become one."
Jaytee's lips curved slightly, but it wasn't a smile. "That sounds like an excuse."
"And you sound like someone who doesn't understand how people work."
A few students exchanged glances, sensing the sudden tension between them.
Adel, for the first time, looked amused.
Mr. Parker, however, cleared his throat before the conversation could go further. "Good. I like the passion. Now, let's move on to the next part of the lesson."
The discussion shifted, but the air remained thick with tension. Nora kept glancing at Jaytee, noting the way his shoulders had stiffened, the way his fingers drummed against the edge of his desk as if he were holding something back.
He wasn't just arguing about monsters, he never even spoke in class.
And the way Adel smirked at him, concealing the amusement flickering in her sharp green eyes, told Nora that whatever this was, it wasn't new.
Adel wasn't an ordinary transfer student.
She knew Jaytee.
Not in the casual, we-met-once sort of way.
No. She knew him the way a predator knows its prey.
The way a shadow clings to a person.
And what was worse?
Jaytee knew her, too.
He refused to look at her, but his entire posture screamed restraint, as if one wrong move would set something in motion he wasn't ready for.
Was Adel was here for a reason?
And from the way Jaytee's hands curled into fists beneath the desk, Adel wasn't welcome.
Nora wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure she'd like the answer.
Just as she was about to steal another glance at Adel, something caught her eye…, Adel was already looking at her.
A chill ran down Nora's spine. Adel wasn't just looking at her, she was watching her. He was studying her. As if she knew something Nora didn't. As if she had already decided what would happen next.