Chapter 1 – "Invisible"
The hallway buzzed with noise—laughs, footsteps, lockers slamming shut like a rhythm no one could escape. Claire Rivers moved through it like a ghost. Same black hoodie. Same blank stare. Same silence.
She liked it that way.
No one noticed her, and no one asked questions.
Sliding into her seat at the back of the classroom, she pulled out her notebook—half math, half poems no one would ever read. Outside the window, grey clouds loomed. A perfect match for the cold pit sitting in her chest.
"Morning, class," said Mr. Ross, his voice too cheerful for 8 a.m.
Claire didn't reply. She didn't need to. He'd stopped trying to make her talk after the second week of school.
The door creaked open mid-roll call.
"Sorry I'm late," a voice said. Male. Smooth. Casual.
Claire didn't bother looking—until she felt it. A shift. A few stares. Some whispered giggles.
Then she looked up.
He was tall, with messy black hair and a smirk that looked like it got him out of trouble. A silver chain hung from his neck, catching the light. His uniform was slightly off—shirt untucked, tie loose.
"Class," Mr. Ross said with a sigh, "meet Liam Carter. He just transferred in."
Liam scanned the room like he already owned it—until his eyes landed on her.
Claire.
And for a second—just one—he stopped smiling.
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