CHAPTER 1- THE SILENCE

People think silence is peaceful.

It’s not. It just makes everything else louder. The hallway is too bright. Lockers slam. Someone laughs too loudly at something that probably isn’t even funny. A group of juniors runs past like they’ve got somewhere important to be.

No one notices me. Or maybe they do. They just don’t say anything. I’m not sure which one I prefer.

“Oi.” I don’t have to turn to know who it is. Only one person says it like that, like it’s both a greeting and a complaint. “Noah,” I say, still facing my locker.

“You planning on standing here all day,” he asks, “or actually coming to class?”

I shut the locker a little harder than necessary. “I am going to class.” “Right. Because it really looks like it.”

I glance at him then. Nothing about Noah Clarke has changed. Same calm face. Same steady eyes. Same way of looking at me like he’s not trying to figure me out—just waiting for me to speak.

He doesn’t ask how I am. He never does. That’s why he’s still here. “I’m coming,” I mutter.

“Good,” he says. “Because if I have to sit through another lecture alone, I might actually start paying attention.” I huff out something that almost counts as a laugh. Almost.

We start walking, side by side. He doesn’t fill the silence. Doesn’t push it away either. Just lets it exist. Most people can’t do that.

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“You look like you haven’t slept in a week.” That one, I didn’t need to guess.

“Good morning to you too, Leo,” I say flatly.

Leo Carter grins like he just said something clever. He’s leaning against the classroom door, arms crossed like he owns the place.

“You’re welcome,” he says. “I bring honesty into people’s lives.” “You bring noise,” I reply. “Same thing.”

Noah walks past him without a word, heading inside. Leo watches him go, then looks back at me.

“You gonna stand out here and brood, or—”

“I’m not brooding.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You say that, but your whole face disagrees.” I don’t answer. Because he’s not wrong. He just doesn’t need to say it out loud.

Leo sighs dramatically. “God, you’re exhausting.”

“And yet you keep talking to me.”

“Yeah,” he shrugs. “I like challenges.”

I shake my head slightly and step into the classroom. He follows, still talking, of course. He always does.

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“Martinez.”

I stop.

Not because of the name. Because of the voice. I turn slightly.

Iris Vaughn is standing a few steps away, a book tucked against her chest. She doesn’t smile. She rarely does.

“You’re late,” she says.

“I’m not,” I reply.

“You were yesterday.”

“That was yesterday.”

She studies me for a second longer than necessary. I don’t look away. She doesn’t either.

Then, quietly,

“You didn’t come to the rooftop.”

It’s not a question. I shift my gaze past her, toward nothing in particular. “I wasn’t in the mood.”

“You’re never in the mood anymore.” There’s no accusation in her voice. That somehow makes it worse. I shrug lightly. “Things change.”

Her grip on the book tightens just slightly. “Not everything,” she says. I don’t respond. Because I don’t know if I agree.

Or if I want to.

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“Move.”

I step aside without argument as Marcus Flynn pushes past, dropping into his seat like the world owes him space.

“You’re in my way,” he adds, like I needed clarification.

“Good to see you too,” I mutter.

He glances at me briefly, unimpressed. “You always this slow in the morning?”

“Only when people talk to me.”

“Then stop being interesting.”

I almost laugh at that. Almost. Marcus isn’t trying to be funny. That’s just how he is. Blunt, straightforward, no effort to soften anything. Sometimes it’s annoying.

 Sometimes it’s… easier.

At least with him, there’s no pretending.

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The class fills up slowly. Noise settles into something steady. Familiar. Distant. I sit down, staring at the desk in front of me without really seeing it.

Leo is talking again. Noah is listening, or at least pretending to. Iris has already opened her book. Marcus is tapping his pen against the table, like he’s counting something only he understands.

Everything is normal. It looks normal. It sounds normal. And for a second, I wonder if I’m the only thing that isn’t.

My gaze drifts toward the window. The sky is there. Of course it is. It always is. I look away before I can think about it too much.

“Hey,” Leo nudges my shoulder lightly. “You alive?” I blink once, then lean back slightly in my chair. “Unfortunately,” I say.

He grins. “Good. Would’ve been awkward otherwise.” Noah glances at me for a brief second. Not questioning. Not worried. Just… there.

I look away first. Because if I don’t—I might start thinking again. And I’m not sure I want to do that here. Not now. Not in a room full of people who wouldn’t understand anyway.

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