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The clock struck midnight, and the school felt like it was holding its breath. The halls were quiet, the air heavy with the weight of secrets, and the moonlight outside cast long, eerie shadows against the walls.
Isabel stood behind the library, leaning against the brick wall, her boots scraping against the gravel as she waited. The cold air wrapped around her, but she didn’t care. The night was a familiar companion, just like the chaos she brought wherever she went.
She wasn’t sure what she expected, but she knew one thing for sure: Adam was different.
Not in the way people were different—more like he was a puzzle she hadn’t figured out yet. And the more she looked, the more pieces she found. Pieces she wanted to touch. To see if he would crack.
She heard the soft rustle of footsteps, and before she could turn, he was standing there.
He didn’t speak immediately. Just stood in the shadows, watching her with those sharp, calculating eyes. His hoodie was pulled low, hiding most of his features, but she didn’t need to see his face to feel his presence.
“Why did you want to meet me here?” she asked, her voice low, barely more than a whisper. The cold made her breath visible in the dark.
“I don’t know. Maybe because you’re the only one who doesn’t pretend.” His voice was steady, controlled—almost too controlled.
Isabel pushed off the wall, standing straight. “I’m not pretending. I’m just not interested in pretending to be like everyone else.”
“Exactly.” Adam stepped closer, his eyes flicking to the ground, then back to her face. “That’s why I’m here. You’re not like them. You’re something else.”
She took a step forward, her boots crunching on the gravel. “So what am I to you?”
He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know yet.”
But Isabel wasn’t finished. She was always the one who dug deeper, who exposed what everyone else tried to hide. “What is it about me, Adam? Why do you watch me? Why do you follow me?”
For a split second, she saw a flicker of something in his eyes—something raw, unguarded. But it was gone before she could catch it.
“I’m not following you,” he said, though his voice lacked conviction.
She stepped even closer, the air between them charged. “Then why are you here?”
He hesitated. “Because I know you’re hiding something. And so am I.”
Her lips curled into a knowing smile. “What are you hiding, Adam?”
Instead of answering, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer. His grip was firm, but not aggressive. It was more like an invitation. A test.
And in that moment, Isabel realized something.
Adam wasn’t like the others. He wasn’t looking to break her or to use her. He was searching for something too—something that had been buried so long, it had become part of his very being.
“Come with me,” he said, his voice low.
She didn’t hesitate. Isabel followed him into the night.
Back inside the school, Rose couldn’t sleep. She had been pacing in her room for hours, her mind racing. Every corner of her thoughts was filled with Isabel. The new girl. The one who had threatened her position, her control.
Rose wasn’t used to this feeling—being out of control. Isabel had been on her mind all day, and it wasn’t just because she was a threat. There was something about the way Isabel moved, the way she didn’t care, that made Rose... uncomfortable.
The clock on her bedside table blinked 2:00 AM. She had to do something. She had to regain her position. Isabel was the key, and Rose had been waiting for the right moment to strike.
Meanwhile, Mark lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The memory of Isabel’s words echoed in his mind: “You’re broken.”
Maybe she was right. Maybe he was more broken than he let on. But he wasn’t about to let her see that. He wasn’t about to let anyone see it.
And yet, Isabel had something about her that drew him in. That dared him to expose the parts of himself he never let anyone near.
He wanted to be stronger than that. He wanted to stay untouchable. But Isabel made him question that. She made him want to step outside his own self-made prison.
In the darkened corners of the school, Ryan was watching.
He had seen Isabel and Adam together earlier that day, and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.
Isabel had always had a way of slipping through his fingers, like sand. She never fully gave herself to anyone. Not like the others did.
But Ryan wasn’t about to let her slip away again. He knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way.
The pieces were in motion. The game had begun. And no one—not Rose, not Mark, not even Adam—was ready for the storm Isabel was about to unleash.
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