"Lexi had a way of making love sound like the greatest adventure in the world. Full of stolen glances, midnight calls, and heart-fluttering moments that made life feel cinematic. I wished I could see it that way."
"But for me, love wasn't a grand story—it was a word that felt distant, unfamiliar, like something I had lost before I ever truly had it."
'Breaking news,' Lexi announced as she twirled a strand of her hair. 'I may or may not be falling in love.'"
"I barely glanced up from my coffee. 'Again?'"
"'Urgh you don't get it, Allie! This time, it's different. This time, it's fate.'"
"Lexi said that about every crush, but I let her talk anyway. It was her favorite thing to do, and honestly, it was nice—her world was so full of certainty, while mine felt like a puzzle with missing pieces."
So, tell me, Allie," Lexi smirked, twirling her straw in her iced latte. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"
I nearly choked on my coffee. "What?"
"I mean, look at him." She tilted her phone toward me, revealing a blurry picture of a tall guy with sharp features and an annoyingly perfect jawline. "Doesn't he just scream 'soulmate' material?"
I sighed. "Lex, you said the same thing about the last guy."
"Yeah, but this time, it's different. I swear, when I looked into his eyes, it was like—"
"Allie? Hello?"
I nodded absently, sipping my coffee.
Lexi loved drama, but my mind was elsewhere.
Something felt… off.
It wasn't the coffee shop, which was as warm and cozy as always. It wasn't Lexi's ranting—I was used to tuning that out.
It was something else.
Like a pull.
A presence.
I scanned the café, my eyes brushing past the usual crowd of students and tired office workers. Then I saw him.
The guy from the other day sitting alone near the window, staring at his untouched drink like it held all the answers in the world.
Tall. Dark hair. A presence that felt too big for the space he occupied.
The moment my eyes landed on him, his head snapped up.
And our eyes met.
The air in my lungs turned heavy.
It wasn't just that he was ridiculously good-looking. It was something else, something deeper.
Something in the way he looked at me—like he was just as confused as I was.
Like he recognized me.
But I didn't know him. Did I?
"Allie?" Lexi waved a hand in front of my face, dragging me back. "You okay? You totally spaced out."
"Yeah," I mumbled. "Just... thinking."
I wasn't thinking. I was trying to breathe normally.
When I dared to glance back at the guy—he was still watching me.
---
(Adrian's POV)
I had felt it before I saw her.
A strange pull. Like something in the universe had shifted, redirecting my attention to her.
And when our eyes met—everything inside me screamed that I knew her.
But I didn't.
Did I?
The confusion was instant, a sharp contradiction in my head.
I had never seen her before atleast apart from that one time in school. I was sure of it.
Yet, there was something.
A familiarity that shouldn't exist.
And that meant one thing:
Something supernatural was at play.
But what? And why her?
I barely noticed her friend talking, barely noticed anything but the way she looked at me—like she felt it too but didn't understand.
Then she turned away.
And I was left with more questions than I had walked in with.