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?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYuOlpzcx2
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaVc7tp2Gq
Elowyn paused.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0r3jf1hBnp
The steam had already vanished — as if the tea had been sitting out, waiting for her.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7I2kLlxADO
Odd.
“Good luck on your physics test,” her mom said, not looking up from the newspaper.
Elowyn froze. Mid-sip.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uqt9uFNqE
“I don’t… have physics today,” she whispered.
Her mom didn’t seem to hear.
Later, at school, things only got stranger.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodfHOtbDlf
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFT9Oid2f9
Written in handwriting that mimicked her own — but jagged, hurried, almost scared:
❝ Don’t trust the next version of him. ❞24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdBdSz4OBo
—E24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEiQBzwIEY
No date. No explanation.
She flipped it over. Blank.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOn7k5KDgEn
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxZ3t0U9kF
Like he wasn’t part of the reason her grip on reality was starting to loosen.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAKnnBdOCx
Like he wasn’t the one the note was warning her about.
“Hey,” she echoed, voice thin.
He smiled.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvWBqY7Y5B
And she smiled back — out of habit, maybe. Out of fear.
Even as her fingers stayed cold.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupRpIWEIUe
Even as the tea, back home on the table, still hadn’t steamed.
She turned to head to class — but the hallway had changed.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGsuOQHceN
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzkshOpv1u
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd36bcHpXbL
“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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBoUmT8p3A
Then at the message.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvZdxt8BjB
Then back at him.
He tilted his head, waiting — calm, expectant.
Something in her chest pulled tight.
Say no.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIaeRfYIZL
Say yes.
Trust the boy who felt like a dream spun into life?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7XJEpCrnb
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mES5dl1Ar
She still hadn’t decided.
