Chapter One: The Boy Who Bent the Rules of Reality

Adrian Reed liked to think he was ordinary. Ordinary was safe. Ordinary meant classmates barely remembered his name and teachers never called on him unless absolutely forced. Ordinary meant books, tea, and living life so quietly that nothing unexpected ever dared approach him.

So when the classroom door slammed open like a thundercrack, it nearly knocked him out of his comfortable bubble.

Mr. Hawthorne cleared his throat. “Class, we have a new student.”

In stepped a boy who seemed allergic to being ordinary. Elias Harper. He held himself like every step was a secret dance step only he knew. His dark-silver hair looked ruffled by a breeze that wasn’t there, and his storm-colored eyes carried a spark that made the world slow for a heartbeat… or three.

Whispers swirled around the room, but Elias didn’t care. His gaze drifted over every student like he was searching for something. Or someone.

Then his eyes found Adrian.

A strange flutter erupted in Adrian’s chest, as if his heart forgot its usual rhythm and tried on jazz instead.

“There’s a seat by Adrian,” the teacher said.

The universe must have been laughing, because moments later Elias sat beside him, close enough that Adrian could notice the smallest details. Like the faint scent of rain that clung to Elias’s clothes. Or the curve of a smirk that suggested he was used to surprising people.

“Hi,” Elias said, voice warm and impossibly calm.

Adrian pushed sound out of his throat. “Hey.”

He hoped it didn’t sound like he was choking on air.

Chemistry class resumed. The periodic table blurred. Adrian tried focusing on the board, but the heat creeping up his neck refused to cool.

His emotions stirred like a shaken soda can… and that was when his pen lifted from the page again.

It didn’t just hover. It spun slowly above his notebook, as if gravity decided to take a snack break.

Adrian’s pulse skyrocketed. Embarrassment. Panic. A flash of curiosity. The mixture tugged at something deep inside him, something he didn’t understand.

Elias leaned slightly closer, their sleeves nearly brushing. “Breathe,” he whispered.

Adrian inhaled sharply. His emotions stumbled, and the pen clattered back onto the desk. Ink splashed across the paper in a starburst pattern.

“Did you… do that?” Adrian whispered.

The corner of Elias’s mouth curled. “No. That was all you.”

Adrian stared. His brain desperately searched for logic, but logic had left the building.

Elias continued in a soft tone only he could hear. “Your powers respond to what you feel. You just have a lot of feelings right now.”

Adrian’s face flamed red. “I don’t— That’s not— I mean—”

Elias’s chuckle was quiet lightning. “It’s cute.”

It was a miracle Adrian didn’t explode on the spot. The teacher’s voice might as well have been background music now. Every cell in Adrian’s body was too busy trying to process the supernatural, the blush, the boy with eyes like thunderclouds… and the fact that his emotions apparently had magic attached.

The bell rang, freeing him from his own spiraling thoughts.

Elias stood, but paused. “Meet me behind the old library at lunch.” His eyes held a promise. “You deserve answers.”

Adrian couldn’t speak. He only nodded.

The moment Elias left, the room’s air felt emptier. Quieter. Too normal.

Adrian pressed a hand over his heart. Still beating too fast. Still buzzing like it had borrowed electricity.

Ordinary had officially been ruined.

And deep down, beneath the fear, a tiny spark of excitement glowed. Elias had appeared like a storm on a sunny day… and Adrian could already feel his world tilting toward something extraordinary.

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