Eadlin woke up slowly, the weight of the previous day lingering faintly at the edges of his mind. For a brief moment, everything felt normal, exactly the way he liked it.
Then he turned.
His eyes fell on the empty side of the bed
and he remembered her.
Gabrielle.
The strange, pretty girl who had somehow appeared in his room like she belonged there.
He stared at the space for a few seconds, his brows drawing together slightly, as if trying to make sense of something that refused to be explained.
He pushed the thought away.
"It was just… weird. Nothing more." He tried to convince himself, but we all know that it wont work.
He got out of bed, followed routine.
Predictable and precise. A quick shower. The steady rhythm of brushing his teeth. The quiet focus of getting dressed. Everything normal the way he liked it.
He walked toward his closet, reaching for the handle, already thinking about the day ahead.
He pulled it opened it, he froze.
The handcuff.
His hand paused mid-air.
For a brief second, the memory flashed vividly—
Her struggling, her shouting, the tension in her body as she fought back the weight of her when he carried her, her look,
He blinked.
Then shook it off.
Like it didn't matter.
Like none of it mattered.
He grabbed a shirt and shut the closet.
He sat at the edge of his bed, he looked at the side Gabrielle stayed and it was like she was still there to him.
He adjusts his sleeves carefully, when another memory slipped in without permission.
Her biting him.
A small laugh escaped his lips.
Unexpected.
He tried to hold it in but it came out anyway.
"She actually bit me…" he muttered.
He paused.
Then cleared his throat quickly, forcing his expression back into its usual composed state.
Ridiculous.
A knock came at the door.
"Come in," he said.
One of the maids stepped in quietly, her head slightly bowed.
"Good morning, sir. Your father is around. He asked to see you."
Of course he did.
"I'll be there shortly," Eadlin replied.
"Also, should we pack your breakfast?"
"Yeah" He replied as he packed his laptop.
She nodded and left.
He exhaled softly, straightened his posture, and stepped out of his room.
His father's study felt exactly like the man himself.
Well structured and arranged..
Eadlin entered, His father didn't look up immediately when he entered.
"Good morning, sir," Eadlin said.
Slowly, his father raised his eyes.
Direct.
"That girl," he began without wasting time. "The one found in your room."
Gabrielle.
Eadlin said nothing.
"She is a thief?" his father continued.
"I doubt she was" Eadlin defended.
"No one gets into this house without a reason. Or how did she pass by the security without a trace?" His father, Mr. Yungie asked.
"That I don't know. If she was a thief," Eadlin replied calmly, "then why was she sleeping on my bed?"
Silence.
"And nothing is missing," he added. "So what exactly did she steal?"
"You are being careless, Eadie," his father said, turning his attention back to the book in his hands.
"No," Eadlin replied evenly. "I'm being logical. Maybe the security should be improved."
Mr. Yungie raised his head like he has been challenged. "The girl, she is the one with the mark?"
Eadlin wears his jacket to cover the mark.
"I have to get to school," he said, turning slightly. "We can continue this later if you want."
He walked away and left.
He enter (describe the car) and drives to school
On his way, his mind kept going back...
Gabrielle.
The way she spoke.
The way she fought back
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Why was a, I even thinking about her? She is nothing special" He whispered.
He pushed the thought aside as he pulled into the university car park.
He packed his car in a place beside Fade's
She stands leaning against her car like she had been waiting forever.
He stepped out, shutting the door behind him. She immediately pushed herself upright and walked toward him.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?" she started. "You didn't call, you didn't text, and yesterday..."
He walked past her, not even a glance.
"…are you even listening to me?" she snapped, following behind him.
He said nothing. Her voice continued, echoing in his ears with complaints, accusations, questions. Noise.
That was all it was.
He wasn't interested. Not in the argument, her attitude nor anything she was saying, you know why? Maybe because somehow… His mind was still stuck on a girl who wasn't supposed to exist in his world and that was a problem bigger than whatever noise Fade was making behind him.
He stopped suddenly.
Fade bumped into his back.
"owwww"
He didn't even hear her.
Gabrielle.
She stood a short distance away, beside Joan, talking casually… like everything was normal. Like she hadn't appeared out of nowhere in his room or she wasn't part of something he couldn't explain.
His eyes locked onto her. He couldn't look away.
All that rang in his head was,
"How did she leave my house…Only to show up here? What a stalker"
This wasn't coincidence.
It couldn't be.
For a moment, he considered walking up to her—demanding answers, forcing her to explain everything.
But he didn't move, until...
Fade grabbed his hand, pulling him back to reality.
"I am sorry," she said.
He barely reacted. He didn't even know what she was apologizing for but he accepted it anyway. Maybe because it is probably the first time she would be apologizing.
However, to Gabrielle, the day felt normal, although, earlier that day, she stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection with narrowed eyes. Something was off.
Her hair.
Yesterday, it was completely black before she went to bed but now,
Red strands ran through it. Though subtle, but impossible to ignore.
She exhaled slowly.
Weird.
But honestly?
Weird had been following her for days now. At this point, it barely surprised her.
She grabbed her bag and stepped outside.
Immediate regret.
Splatt. Like a greeting from a bird.
She froze.
She didn't even need to look up.
"Amazing," she muttered dryly. "Perfect start."
By the time she got to school, she had cleaned up…
Sort of.
"Where have you been?!" Joan snapped the moment she saw her, rushing over.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't do that!" Joan said, clearly annoyed. "I had to cover for you for two days! Do you know how hard that was?"
Gabrielle barely had time to respond before something else caught her attention.
A car.
Pulling into the parking lot.
Not just any car.
A sleek, matte-black machine—low, polished, and expensive enough to make people stare without realizing they were doing it.
The windows were tinted.
The body flawless.
It moved with quiet authority.
Like it owned the space it entered.
She knew that car.
Eadlin.
She quickly looked away.
"Come on," she muttered, grabbing Joan's arm lightly. "Let's go."
She wasn't in the mood for whatever that situation was.
They walked off before the car even fully stopped.
They entered the bathroom a few minutes later.
"I'll be right back," Joan said, heading into one of the stalls.
"Yeah," Gabrielle replied absently.
She stayed behind standing in front of the mirror. For a moment, she just stared at herself. The red strands. Her mind drifted back to his house. The food like she could still remember it, the taste the smell and how ridiculously good it was. It didn't feel real.
She closed her eyes so as to let the memory settle.
Just for a second or two—
She opened her eyes and froze.
It was there, right in front of her.
The food.
Exactly the same.
Perfect.
Real.
Her heart skipped.
Her breath caught.
And then—
She screamed.
The sound echoed sharply through the bathroom as she stumbled backward, her eyes wide, her hands trembling.
"What the—?!"
"Are you okay?" Joan called from inside.
"Ye… yes…" Gabrielle said, her voice shaking.
She stared at it.
Her mind racing.
Trying to make sense of something that made absolutely no sense.
She hadn't moved.
Hadn't touched anything.
So how—
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. "Whatever was happening to me…this was no longer just "weird."" She said under her breath.
And she is right, there was something else entirely.
Her hands hovered above the plate.
Frozen.
Don't touch it.
Don't touch it.
Her mind screamed at her but curiosity pushed her forward.
She took a shaky breath, closed her eyes, and reached out. Her fingers brushed the food. A jolt ran through her. It was real.
Every texture.
Every scent.
Every bit of warmth.
Exactly the way she remembered.
Her heart skipped again.
Her stomach growled despite everything but she pulled her hand back, staring at it. Unsure if she was dreaming…Or losing her mind.
"Gab?" Joan called out as she stepped out of the stall.
Gabrielle forced herself to stay calm.
Normal,she had to act normal.
Joan walked toward the mirror, washing her hands, then paused, she looked at the plate.
"What… is that?"
Gabrielle swallowed.
Think.
Think fast.
"Oh… uh… the janitor dropped it," she said, forcing a casual tone. "He thought it was mine, so I just… picked it up."
Joan raised an eyebrow but didn't push further. Instead, she returned her attention to her reflection.
Gabrielle let out a quiet breath of relief.
"Alright, let's get to class," Joan said, grabbing her bag.
Gabrielle nodded.
She glanced at the plate one last time then turned away.
Together, they walked down the hall.
Like everything was normal, like it was just another day but deep down, Gabrielle knew it wasn't.
Weeks passed, they didn't meet, not even crossing of path..like they got abandoned by their fate or it was not their fate to meet in the first place. Distant, it either kills love or strengthens it. That is their phase.
At first, Eadlin told himself it didn't matter.
Maybe, just maybe, she had been nothing more than a random interruption, those strange, one-time occurrence. Someone who appeared in his life for a brief, confusing moment… and disappeared just as quickly. He forced himself to believe it.
"Guy, are you even listening?" The voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Eadlin was walking down the hallway with a few of his friends, their voices overlapping as they talked, laughed, argued about something he clearly hadn't been paying attention to.
"Yeah," he replied casually. "I heard you."
"No you didn't," Freddie laughed. "You've been zoning out for like five minutes."
Eadlin shrugged slightly, slipping his hands into his pockets.
"I'm just tired."
"That's not what it looks like," Jason added with a smirk. "Ever since you and Fade ended things, you've been acting… different."
"I'm fine," Eadlin replied coldly and distant.
They didn't push further and neither did he because the truth was—
He didn't even understand what was going on with him.
They turned a corner.
And then….
Bang.
Someone ran straight into him, the impact was sudden.
Sharp.
She stumbled back slightly.
Eadin didn't move, annoyed, he looked down and froze.
For a moment… Everything else disappeared.
The hallway the noise, his friends.
Gone.
What did he see?