Aria hadn't been in school for two days.
Not because she was sick at least not in the way you could explain with a doctor's note. Her chest still felt heavy, like something inside her kept folding and unfolding unevenly. The noise of school felt like too much, but staying at home felt worse.
So she forced herself through the school gates, trying to steady her breathing as students streamed around her. The chatter, the laughter, the footsteps it all sounded too loud today.
She kept her head down until she reached her classroom.
Almost instantly, she felt it.
Something different in the air.
Whispers.
Excited ones.
"Have you seen him?"
"He's so fine!"
"Someone said he's nineteen—like a whole senior."
"He transferred here today."
Aria barely looked up. New students arrived sometimes. People always talked. She didn't care. She just wanted today to pass quietly.
But then her teacher entered with a stack of papers and cleared her throat.
"Class, settle down. We have a new student joining us. He's transferring from Westview Academy and will be starting as a senior here."
The class leaned forward collectively.
"Please welcome Malik Ford."
Aria's breath caught completely.
Malik walked in with the same quiet confidence he had the night she met him.
Tall. Dark-skinned. Sharp features softened by calm eyes. He didn't walk like he wanted attention; he walked like he'd learned long ago that attention simply followed him.
Conversations died instantly.
Girls straightened in their seats.
Even boys looked impressed.
But Aria didn't move.
Malik's gaze swept across the room slow, observant, curious.
And then… it found her.
His eyes paused.
Recognition flickered subtle, but unmistakable.
He didn't smile.
He didn't react openly.
He just knew her.
And that made her heart skip.
"Take a seat in the senior section," the teacher said.
Malik nodded once and headed to the back of the class. Aria stared at her notebook, pretending she didn't feel his presence like a warm weight behind her.
Throughout the morning, Malik blended into the school but stood out without trying. Every hallway he walked through filled with low murmurs.
"That's him."
"He's so cool."
"He doesn't even talk to anyone!"
"He's different."
During break, Aria stepped into the courtyard to get some air, only to see a group of senior girls gathered around the far bench. Malik sat with them, listening quietly as they talked too loudly, trying too hard.
He wasn't rude.
But he wasn't engaged either.
He didn't laugh.
He didn't lean in.
He just sat there, polite and distant, like someone used to being watched.
Aria tried not to look too long.
She turned away, but before she could take two steps, someone bumped into her, spilling her books.
"Sorry!" a younger student squeaked.
Aria knelt to pick them up.
When she stood, Malik's eyes were on her again from across the courtyard.
Not in a dramatic way.
Just noticing.
Seeing.
She quickly looked away.
The rest of the day felt long, heavy, confusing. Every time she thought she'd finally stopped thinking about Malik, she'd catch someone whispering about him, or see him quietly walking through a hallway with his hands in his pockets, head lowered, mind somewhere far away.
As the final bell rang, Aria tried to slip out of class early. She didn't want another moment of the day to overwhelm her.
But fate had its timing.
She left the classroom or thought she did right as Malik stepped out of the senior room next door.
They almost collided.
He stopped first.
She froze second.
For a moment, the hallway felt too still.
"Aria."
He said her name quietly, like he wasn't surprised to see her at all.
She swallowed. "You're… a senior?"
His expression didn't change. "Yeah."
"You didn't tell me."
"You didn't ask."
His tone wasn't sharp just truthful.
Students passing by slowed down, eyes flicking between them, curious but pretending not to be.
Aria stepped back, nervous under all the attention. "People are… talking about you."
Malik looked around briefly, taking in the whispers and stares.
Then he shrugged lightly.
"Let them," he said, voice calm.
He shifted slightly to the side, giving her space to walk past. Not crowding her. Not blocking her path. Just… present.
Aria hesitated not because she didn't want to move, but because something felt different. Something strange. Not romantic. Not dramatic.
Just a feeling.
Like maybe she wasn't invisible right now.
Like maybe someone actually saw her, even when she didn't want to be seen.
She walked past slowly.
And Malik didn't follow.
But she felt his eyes on her steady, observant, not demanding anything until she turned the corner and disappeared.
For the first time since Kade left, her chest didn't feel completely empty.