Chapter 2: Celeste’s Warning

Xander

Blackwood Academy was built to impress. Towering stone buildings, ivy crawling up the walls, hallways so polished they reflected the expensive shoes that walked them. It reeked of old money and power—of people who had never known what it was like to fight for a place in the world.

And now, I was one of them. Or at least, that’s what they thought.

I’d spent the morning in near silence, avoiding unnecessary attention. My classes were predictable—teachers who barely glanced at me, students who whispered behind their hands but never approached outright.

Until her.

Celeste.

She didn’t just glance. She stared.

By the time the final bell rang, I could already feel her presence before I saw her. She was leaning against the doorway of my last class, arms crossed, waiting.

I sighed, adjusting my bag over my shoulder. I could ignore her. Walk past without saying a word.

But something told me she wouldn’t let that happen.

So I stopped.

She didn’t waste time.

“You’re pretending, aren’t you?”

Her voice was low, steady, not meant for the casual bystander. She wasn’t accusing me in a way that demanded defense. She was stating a fact.

I lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”

Celeste tilted her head slightly, like she was piecing together a puzzle that had just gotten interesting.

“You’re acting like you don’t belong,” she continued. “Like you’re some awkward, glasses-wearing, keep-my-head-down nobody.” Her eyes flicked to my hoodie, then back to my face. “But you move wrong.”

I let out a short laugh. “Didn’t know walking was a crime here.”

She didn’t smile.

“You dodged Jason too fast,” she said. “You caught his wrist like it was instinct. No hesitation. No flinch. Like you’ve done it a hundred times before.”

My smirk didn’t waver, but I could feel her pressing too close to the truth.

“Sounds like someone’s been watching me,” I said lazily.

Celeste didn’t even blink. “You’re interesting. And I don’t trust interesting things.”

That made me pause.

Not visibly. I didn’t stiffen, didn’t react in any way someone else might have noticed. But she caught it.

I studied her a little more closely now.

Celeste was different from the others. She wasn’t just curious—she was calculating.

Like she was trying to decide whether I was a threat.

“I don’t know what kind of conspiracy theory you’ve got going,” I said, voice light, “but I’m just a guy trying to get through the day without getting shoved into a locker.”

Celeste narrowed her eyes slightly, not buying it. “Blackwood Academy isn’t normal, Xander.”

I stilled.

Just for a second.

Again, she noticed.

Celeste stepped closer, lowering her voice. “This school has rules. Unspoken ones. You don’t want to stand out, not like that. People notice things here.”

I held her gaze. “And what exactly do you notice?”

She studied me for a long moment. Then she exhaled softly, like she’d just decided something.

“That you should be careful,” she said.

Then she turned and walked away.

I let out a slow breath, rolling my shoulders before following the flow of students into the hallway.

I didn’t look back.

But I felt her watching.

And I knew, without a doubt, that Celeste wasn’t done with me yet.

---

Jason

The sting of humiliation hadn’t faded.

Jason clenched his fist, flexing his fingers like he could still feel the phantom pressure of Xander’s grip on his wrist. It had been brief—too brief for anyone else to notice—but he had felt it.

That wasn’t normal.

No one should be able to do that to him. Not some random, hoodie-wearing freak.

Jason leaned against his locker, scowling as Mason and Trent stood in front of him, waiting for orders.

“So, what’s the plan?” Mason asked, chewing gum like he wasn’t the dumbest person in the room.

Jason exhaled sharply, schooling his features into something calmer. More controlled.

“I don’t care what kind of reflexes he has,” he said. “He embarrassed me. And no one does that in my school.”

Trent hesitated. “Dude, I don’t know. Something about him—”

Jason’s gaze snapped to him. “You scared?”

Trent shut up fast.

Jason smirked. “Didn’t think so.” He pushed off the locker, rolling his shoulders. “Find him. Catch him alone.”

Mason grinned, already eager for trouble. “And then what?”

Jason’s smirk widened.