The next morning, Elowyn woke with a question clinging to her thoughts like morning mist — was this reality or still some thread of that dreamworld?23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HWkMpqdt8
She blinked against the soft light streaming through the curtains, her mind replaying fragments of yesterday like a glitching film reel.
Downstairs, her mom handed her a cup of tea with a smile.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFkeS4SiCP
Elowyn paused.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23vjd7dNXn
The steam had already vanished — as if the tea had been sitting out, waiting for her.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRXaSi8URL
Odd.
“Good luck on your physics test,” her mom said, not looking up from the newspaper.
Elowyn froze. Mid-sip.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrNKgtOTDE
“I don’t… have physics today,” she whispered.
Her mom didn’t seem to hear.
Later, at school, things only got stranger.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdZnsMzBeM
The air felt different — denser, maybe. Nyxy waved at her by the lockers, but didn’t mention yesterday. Didn’t even ask if anything had happened.
And then came the note.
Crumpled at the edges, like it had been read too many times. Shoved into her locker door.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VHWHXUzKR
Written in handwriting that mimicked her own — but jagged, hurried, almost scared:
❝ Don’t trust the next version of him. ❞23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzZ4oDu2sZ
—E23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcEw8Tn0YP
No date. No explanation.
She flipped it over. Blank.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQFjaJxYqH
Her chest tightened.
Click.
A subtle sound behind her — unmistakable.
She turned.
And there he was.
Arden Vale.
Like sunlight trapped in human form, his golden skin caught the flicker of the hallway lights just right. His honey-brown eyes held a warm, unreadable intensity, locked on hers as if weighing a secret he wasn’t sure he should share. That crooked smile appeared again — the one that made her skin prickle, like he knew more than he was letting on.
His hoodie hung loose, hands tucked deep in the pocket, as if he had all the time in the world — as if nothing around them was unraveling.
A faint scent of something like warm cinnamon drifted past her, oddly comforting yet out of place.
“Hey,” he said, casual and calm, like he hadn’t just stepped out of her dream.
Like he hadn’t appeared in her room the night before.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMJGRFo1Ag
Like he wasn’t part of the reason her grip on reality was starting to loosen.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndlMrtk4Dm
Like he wasn’t the one the note was warning her about.
“Hey,” she echoed, voice thin.
He smiled.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74a90J2gCs
And she smiled back — out of habit, maybe. Out of fear.
Even as her fingers stayed cold.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJw9wGEXGCi
Even as the tea, back home on the table, still hadn’t steamed.
She turned to head to class — but the hallway had changed.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9giE6odRv
Not physically, not really. The posters were the same, the walls still beige and chipped. But something was off.
The people around her started to move… slower.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvRYadVj6t
Like a film stuck in half-speed.
Except Arden.
He remained clear, untouched by whatever was happening.
“Elowyn?” he asked, like he hadn’t noticed the shift.
Her books felt heavier. The lights above flickered, even though no one else reacted.
Then: a buzz. In her pocket.
Her phone screen lit up with a message from an unknown number:
❝ If he offers to show you anything, say no. ❞
She looked up. Arden was watching her.
He smiled again.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5QV14UYKd
“Come with me after class?” he asked, voice low.
“I found something weird. And I… don’t know why, but it made me think of you.”
She hesitated.
Her phone buzzed once more:
❝ SAY NO ❞
She looked at Arden.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHRgX46QDi
Then at the message.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3PX2ZtTzP
Then back at him.
He tilted his head, waiting — calm, expectant.
Something in her chest pulled tight.
Say no.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUimwYd9rwu
Say yes.
Trust the boy who felt like a dream spun into life?23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtgXlpXny4
Or trust the version of herself begging her not to?
She parted her lips to answer—
But the bell rang.
And just like that, the moment slipped.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZziMRCTAEF
She still hadn’t decided.
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