Aralyn's POV
I didn't dare move.
From the moment I heard that first voice, I knew I was in dangerous territory.
"If you say that again, I swear I'll kill you!" The boy had shouted, and his tone wasn't just angry, it was also unhinged.
Whoever he was yelling at didn't sound scared, though, because the second voice came soon after, lower and calmer. "You wouldn't dare."
That made me suck in a quiet breath. Were they about to fight? Right here in the middle of the school? Was that a thing students did around here?
My heart pounded, and I leaned in just a little closer to the edge of the wall, trying to listen without being seen. My fingers gripped my room key like it could protect me, and for a split second, I actually considered turning back.
I didn't even know these people. I had no idea what kind of magic they had, and if they were anything like Serenessa, I was one bad step away from being lit on fire or turned into a frog, but just as I took a tiny step back, a hand tapped me on the shoulder.
I shrieked, not loudly, but just enough for it to escape before I could stop it.
I spun around, ready to either run or scream again, and came face-to-face with not one, not two, but three boys.
They were all tall, all good-looking, and all wearing expressions that were equal parts confused and amused.
The one in front, who I assumed had tapped me, had bright pink hair that was tousled like he'd just rolled out of bed. His eyes were a light brown, and his smirk looked way too confident for someone who'd just scared the soul out of me.
To his left was a boy with blonde hair, cut short and a little messy, and his bright blue eyes almost glowing in the hallway light. He didn't say anything and just raised a brow at me like I was a puzzle he hadn't expected to find.
And the last boy, on the right, had dark gray hair that fell over one side of his face, nearly covering one eye. He was the quietest of the three, standing with his hands in his pockets, and his shoulders were relaxed even though his gaze remained sharp, like he saw everything.
All three of them stared at me like I was a kitten caught snooping through their secret lair.
The pink-haired one tilted his head, smile widening. "You alright there, little girl? You looked like you were about to climb into the wall just to snoop around."
I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "I-I wasn't snooping."
"Really?" he asked, clearly entertained. "Because it kind of looked like you were pressed against that wall like a spy."
"I wasn't!" I said quickly, cheeks burning. "I was just… I was taking a walk, exploring, and then I heard voices. So I… I stopped. I just stopped to listen."
The pink-haired boy's grin stretched. "So… snooping."
"No!"
The blonde boy chuckled softly, and the one with gray hair let out a low and amused hum.
I groaned internally. This was not how I wanted to meet anyone today, jump-scared by a hallway ambush and accused of eavesdropping.
"I wasn't trying to hear anything private," I said, straightening a little, trying to hold on to what little dignity I had left. "I just heard yelling, and it sounded like something serious."
He looked at me for another long second before shrugging casually. "Alright, fair enough."
Then, still watching me, he added, "Haven't seen you before, though. Are you new here?"
"Yeah," I said quickly, grateful for the change of topic. "It's my first day, and that's actually why I was walking around. I was trying to get familiar with the place and didn't mean to overhear anything. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The blonde boy stepped forward slightly then, his tone calm but at the same time curious. "First day?" he repeated. "That's strange. I didn't think the academy was still accepting first-years this late in the term."
He looked me over, like he was trying to place me, and then tilted his head a little. "So… what are you?"
That threw me off. "What do you mean?"
"You know," he said, gesturing lazily with his hand. "Witch? Fairy? Elf? Phoenix? Well, you're clearly not a fairy, and I don't see any hint of wings, so… what exactly are you?"
I froze.
The third boy, the one with grayish eyes and a quiet posture, just stared at me, waiting and not saying anything, but I could feel his gaze just the same, and I panicked.
Because I had no idea how to answer that question without making myself look small and weak, like I didn't belong here.
The truth? I didn't have wings, I didn't glow, and I couldn't shift into some elemental form or conjure light from my fingertips. I was just… human.
Plain, ordinary Aralyn from Vasthral, but I couldn't say that out loud, not when the three boys in front of me looked like they belonged in some enchanted book, like the kind you read when you're trying to escape your own dull reality.
They'd see me as nothing, and I could already feel it, the judgment. The way people back in Vasthral used to look at me, like I was a stray dog begging for scraps. I just wasn't about to go through that all over again.
So I hesitated. My mouth opened, but no sound came out, and that was when I heard it.
A voice, deep and loud, shouting from just around the corner I had been leaning against earlier.
"Who's there?"
My heart jumped. It was one of the boys fighting, and from the sound of it, he wasn't just curious to know who it was, he was also angry.
I didn't wait to see who it was. I turned to the three boys in front of me, my voice rushed and shaky.
"It was nice to meet you," I said, already backing away, "but I really, really have to go."
"Wait, what—?" The pink-haired boy started, but I didn't let him finish.
I turned on my heel and ran down the hallway. Away from the voices, away from their questions, and away from the risk of someone else asking what I was, even though I couldn't possibly hide it forever.
I didn't know where I was going, but I didn't care. I just knew I couldn't handle being found by some angry upperclassman and explaining to three boys that I was a powerless nobody in a school full of magical beings.
No, thank you.