CHAPTER ONE

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐬

𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 .

𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑢𝑟. 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑛.

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡.

𝑁𝑜 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝑁𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒.

𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦 , 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒.𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠.

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒ℎ𝑜𝑤...

𝑤𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦.

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"ASTER!"

The shout echoed across the university courtyard.

Heads turned.

A pigeon flew away in panic.

And, as if the universe had been waiting for perfect timing—

Aster Vale tripped over absolutely nothing.

"Ow!"

Her books slipped from her arms and scattered across the stone pathway.

"...Seriously?" she muttered, glaring at the completely innocent ground. "What did I ever do to you?"

A burst of laughter rang through the courtyard.

Ivy Hale was already clutching her stomach.

"I swear," she laughed between breaths, "one day you'll trip over air."

"I didn't trip."

"You literally attacked the floor."

"The floor attacked me first."

"That's exactly what someone losing an argument with gravity would say."

Before Aster could defend herself, another pair of hands quietly began picking up the fallen books.

Alice Winter smiled as she dusted one off before handing it back.

"You two have been arguing for less than thirty seconds."

"We're setting a new record," Ivy said proudly.

Alice sighed with the practiced patience of someone who had accepted long ago that this was simply her life now.

"You skipped breakfast again, didn't you?" she asked, looking directly at Aster.

"...Maybe."

"Aster."

"I had coffee."

"Coffee isn't breakfast."

"It believes in itself."

"It also explains why you're losing fights with the ground."

"Ivy."

"I'm just saying!"

A soft giggle drifted between them.

Angel Moreau finally caught up, slightly out of breath.

"I'm not late... right?"

"No," Alice smiled warmly.

"You are," Ivy replied at the exact same time.

Angel blinked.

"So... am I?"

"No."

"Yes."

"...I'm confused."

Aster reached over without a word and gently patted Angel's head.

"Ignore them."

Angel smiled instantly.

"Okay."

Alice watched the four of them with quiet affection.

Different personalities.

Different habits.

Different ways of seeing the world.

Yet somehow...

they fit together perfectly.

If Ivy was the chaos...

Alice was the calm.

If Angel was the sunshine...

Aster was the night sky.

Completely opposite.

Completely inseparable.

"You know," Ivy said, crossing her arms dramatically, "if anyone ever wrote a book about us, I'd obviously be the fan favorite."

Aster raised an eyebrow.

"Delusional."

"I prefer 'confident.'"

"I prefer 'delusional.'"

Angel giggled again.

Alice only shook her head, unable to hide her smile.

For a brief moment, the world felt wonderfully ordinary.

No hidden questions.

No forgotten memories.

No shadows from years long gone.

Just four girls laughing in the middle of a busy campus, convinced that this was where their story had begun.

None of them noticed Aster's gaze drifting toward the old clock tower standing beyond the courtyard.

For the smallest fraction of a second, her smile disappeared.

Something unreadable crossed her eyes.

Gone as quickly as it came.

"Come on," Ivy announced, throwing an arm around Angel's shoulders. "If we're late again, Professor Hayes is going to murder us."

"He can't murder students," Angel said.

"He can emotionally."

"I agree with Ivy," Aster replied with complete seriousness.

Alice laughed.

"Let's just go before either of you says something worse."

The four girls walked away together, their laughter fading into the morning air.

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Behind them, the old clock struck nine.

One...

Two...

Three...

Its sound echoed across the campus.

Steady.

Patient.

Almost as though it had been counting the years.

Waiting.

For the past....

to remember them.

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