Moira sat in the front row of the lecture hall, the hum of voices around her barely cutting through the storm in her head. She hated that the scent of the masquerade still lingered in her mind—the music, the dim lights, the soft laughter that wasn’t hers. And above all, them.
Elara and Kaeli.
The image had been burned into her memory: Elara in that silver mask, moving like she belonged to a world Moira had never been allowed to touch. And Kaeli—his hand on Elara’s waist like it had always been hers. Moira's fingers clenched on her notebook, nails biting into the paper.
Everyone knew she liked Kaeli. It wasn’t some quiet rumor—it was gospel. From the way her eyes tracked him to the way her laughter softened when he was near. And yet, no one said it out loud. Why? Because Kaeli wasn’t someone you confessed to. He was the storm everyone admired from a distance but never dared to step into.
And Moira had lived in that distance for years.
Now Elara—that girl—had waltzed right into the storm like it wouldn’t burn her.
The thought made Moira’s jaw tighten as Kaeli strolled into the classroom, his presence effortlessly shifting the air. His friends followed, laughing about something Moira couldn’t hear, and then—her. Elara slipped in seconds later, hair loose over her shoulders, her uniform slightly rumpled like she hadn’t even tried. And somehow, that made her even more infuriating.
Moira forced herself to look away, but her eyes betrayed her. She caught Kaeli in her periphery—laughing, leaning back in his chair, like nothing had happened. Like the masquerade had been a fever dream.
Maybe it was.
Maybe she imagined it.
But then why did Elara look so calm? So unbothered?
Elara slid into her seat, pulling out her pen and notebook, ignoring the heat of Moira’s stare. She felt it like a blade grazing her back, but she didn’t care. Not today. Not when Kaeli was sitting two rows up, not when she had managed to hold her ground at the ball and leave with her dignity intact.
She glanced at him, just once. He didn’t look back. Not even a flicker of recognition. His face was carved in neutrality, like the memory of their dance had been erased.
Fine.
If he wanted to play that game, she’d let him.
The teacher swept in, and the lecture began—a blur of words Elara barely absorbed. Her pen danced across the page without meaning. Her mind was somewhere else entirely, tethered to the silence sitting two rows ahead.
Kaeli didn’t look at her. Not once.
Until the bell rang.
The sound fractured the room’s stillness, students scattering like startled birds. Elara packed her things slowly, deliberately, pretending not to notice the footsteps drawing near until his shadow fell across her desk.
Kaeli.
“Leaving so soon?” His voice was calm, almost lazy, but the glint in his eyes told another story.
Elara didn’t look up. “Class is over. That’s what people usually do.”
“People,” he repeated, leaning on the edge of her desk. “You make it sound like you’re one of them.”
She finally met his gaze, her breath hitching before she masked it with a smirk. “And what am I then?”
For a moment, he didn’t answer. His eyes lingered on her like they were searching for something—something he couldn’t name.
“Different,” he said at last, the word sharp and soft all at once.
Before she could respond, before she could demand what that even meant, Kaeli pushed off the desk and walked away, leaving nothing but the echo of that single word behind.
Different.
Across the room, Moira watched the exchange from behind her curtain of dark hair, her chest tight with something raw and jagged. She didn’t need to hear what they said. The way Kaeli leaned close, the way Elara’s lips curved—it was enough.
And in that moment, something inside Moira snapped.
Elara wasn’t going to win.
Not while Moira still had breath in her lungs.
As Elara stepped out into the hallway, a chill swept through her bones that had nothing to do with the drafty corridors. She didn’t see Moira trailing behind her, eyes burning with a promise only she understood.
But Kaeli did.
And for the first time that day, his calm cracked.
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