One second, I was standing in an alley, face-to-face with the granddaughter of Zeus.
The next?
Outside the arcade.
No lights. No warning. Just—zap—there I was.
Still dizzy. Still shaken. Still wondering if I imagined it all.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Anna: "I'm here."
I looked up.
And there she was.
Same caramel skin, dark curly hair in a ponytail, soft brown eyes behind her glasses. Baggy hoodie, leggings, black Converse. Simple. Cute. Comfortably her.
She smiled when she saw me.
But it was… tight. Forced.
My stomach twisted.
"Oh no. I know that face."
"Hey, Trey," she said, voice soft.
"Hey."
We stood in silence for a second, then slipped into the arcade. The neon lights, coin machine buzzes, and game sounds felt weirdly muted.
Everything felt muted.
"Come on, say something. Anything."
"You okay?" I asked.
She nodded too fast. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
Liar.
We sat at our usual booth in the back—away from the kids screaming at the basketball machine, the guys trash-talking over Mortal Kombat.
This was our spot. Where we hung out all summer. Where we laughed, chilled, argued, made up.
And now?
It felt like a graveyard.
"Say it already, Anna. Rip the Band-Aid off."
"I'm sorry I didn't see you today," she finally said.
"It's fine. First day and all. Chaos."
"No. I mean… I saw you."
My brows furrowed. "Wait, what?"
"I saw you. A few times, actually. I just… couldn't bring myself to talk to you."
That hurt.
More than I thought it would.
"Why?"
I didn't say it out loud. She kept going.
"I've been thinking about this for a while," she said, voice trembling a bit now. "And I didn't want to text it. Or say it over the phone. You deserve better than that."
My heart dropped.
Here it comes.
"I… I don't think I can be with you anymore."
Boom.
Silence.
I stared at her, mind blank.
She wouldn't even look at me.
"After everything?"
"All summer. All the late calls. The jokes. The 'I miss yous.'"
"Was all of that just practice for this moment?"
"Why?" I asked quietly.
Her eyes welled up. "Because I'm not who I was this summer. And neither are you."
"What does that even mean?"
"You're… different, Trey."
I blinked. "Is this about the dream I had? Or the fact I almost died in an alleyway because some demigoddess wanted to flirt?"
I didn't say that last part out loud.
But something told me Anna would've known what I meant anyway.
She leaned forward, finally meeting my gaze.
"You're being watched," she whispered.
My blood froze.
"What?"
"I've felt it for weeks now. Something's been around you. Hovering. Waiting. You think this is just about school or relationships or being a teenager?"
She shook her head.
"It's bigger. Way bigger. And whatever it is… it's already chosen you."
"Chosen me for what?"
She reached across the table and grabbed my hand.
It was the first time she'd touched me all day.
Her hand was cold.
"Trey," she said, voice shaking, "when it begins… don't trust anyone."
Then she stood up.
"I'm sorry."
She turned. Walked away.
I didn't stop her.
Couldn't.
Because in the pit of my soul…
I knew she was right.