Ethan liked school hallways about as much as he liked fire, lly prepared for.
Which explained why Ethan nearly had cliffs, and dangerous 18th-century diseases.
Mostly because hallways were unpredictable.
Someone could bump into you, a teacher could yell, and worst of all—
People could talk to you.
Especially people you weren’t emotiona a full heart attack when he turned a corner and came face-to-face with Lia Carter.
“Ethan!” she said, bright and breathless. “Perfect timing! I was literally just about to text you.”
He blinked. “You… have my number?”
“No,” she said proudly, “but I was going to ask for it.”
“Oh.”
His brain short-circuited for a millisecond.
She held her phone out expectantly. “Come on, partner. We’re interviewing people tomorrow for the project, so we need to coordinate.”
“Right.” He typed it in slowly, like the phone might explode if he hit the wrong number.
When he handed it back, she glanced at the screen and began giggling.
Ethan froze. “What?”
“Your contact name,” she said, showing him her phone. “I put ‘Mystery Boy 🕵️♂️✨’.”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
“Because you’re mysterious!”
“I’m not mysterious.”
“You absolutely are,” she insisted. “You look like you know everyone’s secrets.”
I do, Ethan thought darkly.
I know yours from twelve different lifetimes.
But he didn’t say that.
She kept walking beside him, swinging her bag lightly. “So! I had this weird dream last night.”
Ethan stiffened. “Dream?”
“Yeah.” She wrinkled her nose. “It was super random, but kinda… emotional? I don’t usually have dreams like that.”
“What was it about?”
She shrugged. “I was standing on this old hill — super windy — and I could hear someone calling my name. But I couldn’t see them. I was looking everywhere, and it felt so… important.”
Ethan stopped walking.
His heartbeat slammed into his ribs.
He knew that hill.
He knew that wind.
He knew that moment.
It was the life where they were shepherd kids in a tiny mountain village — young, innocent, always running ahead of him.
He remembered calling her name over and over as the storm rolled in.
Lia kept going, not noticing he’d frozen. “It was just a dream, but I woke up feeling… I dunno. Sad? Like something was missing.”
Ethan swallowed hard. “Do you… dream like that often?”
“Nope!” she chirped. “If I dream at all, it’s usually about losing my homework or falling into a hole. But this one felt different.”
Different.
Different always meant dangerous.
He forced a calm expression. “Dreams can be weird. Don’t think too much about it.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” she laughed. “Though you’re acting like it’s top-secret classified information.”
He looked away. “It’s just a dream.”
“Uh-huh,” she said sassily, poking his arm. “You say that, but you look like you’re about to fight the dream personally.”
He almost smiled. “Maybe I am.”
They parted ways after their second class, and Ethan tried — genuinely tried — to focus on his day like a normal student.
But his mind wouldn’t stop replaying her dream.
She wasn’t supposed to remember anything.
Not a single moment.
Not from any lifetime.
Their cycle depended on that.
If she remembered too much…
If her past-life consciousness started bleeding into this one…
Bad things followed.
He had learned that painfully well across twelve worlds.
But this is the life we succeed, he reminded himself.
I just need to stay calm.
Deep breath.
Relax shoulders.
Don’t panic.
He panicked.
At lunch, he sat across from Lucas, who was halfway through a plate of fries like a man who had never tasted food before.
“Dude,” Lucas said with his mouth full, “you look like someone told you you’re adopted by aliens.”
Ethan sighed. “Do I look that stressed?”
“You look like you’re planning a heist.”
He wasn’t planning a heist.
He was planning to survive fate.
But he wasn’t ready to explain that to someone whose biggest concern was whether fries were crispy enough.
“Hey,” Lucas said suddenly, pointing a fry at him, “are you sure you’re okay partnering with Lia? Everyone saw you freeze in homeroom. It was like someone pressed pause on you.”
“I didn’t freeze.”
“You did,” Lucas insisted. “Like, full frozen yogurt.”
Ethan groaned and dropped his head onto the table.
Lucas blinked. “Whoa. Okay. You like her?”
He jerked up. “No.”
“You totally like her!”
“Lucas—”
“It’s written all over your face.”
“It’s not—”
“You fell for her.”
Ethan rubbed his temples. “I’ve known her for one day.”
Lucas grinned. “Love at first sight.”
If only he knew it was love at first life.
Ethan sighed again. “Just… drop it.”
“Fine,” Lucas said, though the mischief in his eyes made it very clear he was absolutely not dropping it. “But just saying — if you start writing poetry in your notebook, I’m telling the whole class.”
After lunch, Ethan headed toward the courtyard, hoping the fresh air would calm him down. Instead, he ran into Lia again — literally.
She rounded a corner, collided with him, and dropped her folder. Papers scattered everywhere like academic confetti.
“Ah!” she yelped, kneeling. “Sorry! Sorry!”
“It’s fine,” he said, kneeling too.
They reached for the same paper and froze, hands brushing.
A shock ran through him — not painful, but familiar.
Warm.
Old.
Like touching a memory.
Lia blinked at him, eyes wide. “Weird… I just felt—”
“Static?” he blurted quickly.
“Yeah,” she said slowly. “Like déjà vu but stronger.”
He forced a laugh. “You probably rubbed your feet on the carpet or something.”
“We’re outside,” she deadpanned.
“…Right.”
He grabbed the last paper and handed it to her. She smiled gratefully, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Thanks, Ethan. You always show up at the weirdest times.”
Don’t say it.
Don’t say it.
Don’t say—
“I’ve always been good at catching you.”
She froze.
He froze.
The world froze.
Her voice softened. “…What do you mean by ‘always’?”
Ethan’s heart dropped.
He scrambled for an excuse. “Uh— like earlier. In the library. And now.”
Smooth.
Very smooth.
He was emotionally collapsing but smooth.
Lia squinted suspiciously. Then she shook her head. “You’re weird.”
He exhaled. “I’ve heard that before.”
“Anyway,” she said, brightening, “are you free after school?”
“Why?”
“We should brainstorm interview questions for the project. And maybe test a few on each other?”
He hesitated.
Rule number one of every past life:
The closer they got, the worse the tragedy hit.
But rule number two was louder now:
This is the life we succeed.
Ethan nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’m free.”
She beamed.
“Great! Meet me in the music room after class. It’s quiet there.”
He blinked. “…You play music?”
“Nope,” she grinned. “But the room has good vibes.”
He stared. “Good vibes?”
“Yes, Mr. Serious.” She patted his shoulder. “Try it sometime.”
He didn’t understand how she could be so effortlessly light, so full of sunshine, when he carried storms from centuries.
But he knew this:
He’d follow her anywhere.
Even if fate was watching.
After school, he walked to the music room with a strange heaviness in his chest. A mix of fear, hope, anxiety, affection — all tangled and pulling him in different directions.
He opened the door quietly.
And froze.
Lia was sitting at the piano, gently touching the keys, even though she clearly didn’t know how to play. Soft afternoon sunlight poured in, casting her in gold.
Her presence felt like déjà vu wrapped in destiny.
She turned and smiled at him — soft, warm, familiar.
“You came,” she said gently.
Ethan nodded, stepping inside.
“Yes,” he whispered.
In every lifetime… I always come back to you.
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