See You Againㅤ

I entered the house. It was quiet, with the lights off. Only the footsteps of mine could be heard as I walked towards my room. I collapse on my bed staring at the ceiling blankly.

The silence of the house was almost deafening as I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. My thoughts drifted back to the park, to the boy with the sun pendant. I closed my eyes, his last words echoing in my mind.... "See you next time." A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "Next time," I thought. Will it ever come?

Before I knew it, sleep crept in, pulling me into its quiet embrace. 

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The next morning, sunlight streamed through the blinds, nudging me awake. I groaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before dragging myself out of bed. My morning routine was the same as always.... shower, brush my teeth, throw on my uniform, and grab a quick bite to eat. By the time I was out the door, the sun was fully up, and the streets buzzed with the usual morning activity. 

At school, the day felt like a blur of lectures and note-taking. The teachers droned on about things I was half paying attention to, my mind wandering back to the park more often than I'd like.

When lunchtime came around, I headed to the canteen. I spotted my usual group of classmates sitting together at a corner table, laughing and poking fun at each other. They weren't exactly my closest friends, but I'd gotten used to their company over the past few months. 

One of them was Vincent Cruz, the guy who always seemed to know what was happening around campus. He was a talker, always at the center of things, with his messy black hair and a casual smile that made him seem approachable. He had this confident, almost cocky air about him, but underneath it, he was a good guy. He could always make people laugh with his jokes, even if they were sometimes a little too much. He was the one who'd started the conversation. 

"Man, this chicken is dry as hell," Vincent said, poking at his lunch with a plastic fork. He was the type to say whatever was on his mind. 

Beside him was Martin Garcia, who wasn't as loud as Vincent but had this quiet charm about him. He was a little on the stocky side, his brown hair always kept neat, unlike Vincent's wild hair. Martin wasn't one to draw attention, but he always had a way of calming people down when things got tense. 

"Expecting gourmet food here?" Martin said, laughing lightly. His round glasses gave him a more serious look, but his easygoing attitude always kept the mood light. 

I just kept to myself, picking at my food. I didn't feel like talking much today. My mind was still heavy with thoughts of that park. 

"Hey," Vincent leaned in, lowering his voice like he was about to share some top-secret gossip. "You guys hear about the new kid?" 

My curiosity was piqued. "A new student? This late in the semester?" I glanced up from my lunch, genuinely surprised. 

Vincent grinned, clearly enjoying the attention. "Yeah, apparently, it's a guy. Word is, he's, like, really good-looking." 

"Is that supposed to impress us?" Martin smirked, rolling his eyes. 

"Who knows? It's just what I heard," Vincent shrugged, his grin widening. "I'm just saying, new face, new drama. You know how it goes." 

I couldn't help but wonder what this new guy would be like. School was small enough that everyone knew each other, but a new student could shake things up, especially if Vincent was right about the drama. It made me think about how out of place I felt sometimes, even in a crowd of people I'd known for months. 

"Well, I hope he's not a show-off," said Carla Rivera, another classmate who had joined the conversation. Carla was a few seats down, her blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and her sharp eyes always seemed to notice everything happening around her. She was a bit of a perfectionist, always striving to do well in everything. She wasn't exactly unfriendly, but she liked keeping to herself. 

"Maybe he'll be like you, Vincent," she teased. "A walking, talking drama machine." 

The group laughed, but I didn't join in. I wasn't particularly interested in this new student or the gossip that surrounded him. My thoughts kept drifting back to the moon pendant resting against my chest. "See you next time." I couldn't shake the feeling that the past was catching up to me. 

The conversation moved on to other things, but I couldn't stop wondering about this transfer student. Could it be that, just like the rumors, he'd stir things up? Or would he be another face I'd barely notice in the crowd? 

I leaned back in my chair, staring out at the busy cafeteria, but my mind was still a million miles away.

As I absentmindedly stirred my drink, trying to block out the noise around me, the conversation shifted.

"So, Aiden…" Vincent said, his voice laced with a mischievous tone.

I glanced up, but before I could respond, Martin leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, Aiden, when are you gonna get a girlfriend?"

The table erupted in laughter.

I froze for a moment, my stomach tightening. It wasn't the first time they'd teased me about it, but it always caught me off guard. To them, it was just a joke, but to me… it always felt a little more real.

"Yeah, you've been what? Eighteen? Nineteen?" Vincent continued, his grin widening. "And never even had a date, huh?"

I gave them a weak smile, trying to play it cool. "Guess I'm just focused on other things."

"Other things?" Carla raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "Like what, your moonlight obsession?" She gestured toward the pendant under my shirt, which I hadn't realized I was tugging at nervously.

I froze for a second, my fingers lingering on the pendant. I quickly pulled my hand away, forcing myself to laugh. "It's not an obsession. Just… something I like."

"Right," Martin said, smirking. "Something you like, huh? Still, when are you gonna stop hiding behind that moon pendant and get out there? You've got all this freedom, and you're wasting it."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, pushing my food around, suddenly less hungry. I didn't know how to explain that it wasn't about hiding behind anything.... it was just that relationships didn't make sense to me. The more I tried to understand, the more I felt lost in it all.

"I don't know," I muttered, my voice quieter than I meant it to be. "Maybe I just haven't found the right person yet."

Vincent snorted. "Come on, Aiden, at least try to find someone. Don't let all that 'focusing on yourself' stuff hold you back forever." He nudged Martin, who was still grinning. "You think he's ever gonna meet a girl, or is he gonna stay this way forever?"

The group laughed again, but I forced a smile. It wasn't like I didn't understand where they were coming from. It's just that.... I wasn't sure if I even wanted a relationship. Everyone around me seemed to move so easily from one connection to another, and I was just left wondering if I was missing something, or if I was simply not ready for it.

I let out a quiet sigh. "Maybe, I don't know. We'll see."

The teasing died down after a few moments, but the feeling lingered, nagging at me. I tried to focus on my food, but all I could think about was how easy it was for everyone else to figure things out.... while I, still clutching the moon pendant, couldn't even get a grasp on something as simple as love.

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Later that day, I trudged back home, my mind still tangled with the conversation from the canteen. I expected the usual.... quiet, empty house. My parents were still caught up in their busy careers, and the silence was something I had gotten used to. 

But when I opened the door, something felt... off. 

The front door creaked as I stepped inside, and I immediately froze. There, in the living room, was a guy.... standing by the couch, his back turned to me. His presence felt foreign, like an intruder. My heart raced as I took a step back, wondering if I'd somehow walked into the wrong house. 

But no, this was definitely my house. 

The guy turned slowly, his face half-hidden in the shadows of the dimly lit room. My heart pounded in my chest as I took an instinctive step back, my breath catching in my throat. The silence between us felt suffocating, the air thick with tension.

He didn't say a word. He just stood there, watching me, his dark eyes cold and unblinking. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.... this wasn't just a random stranger.

"Who are you?" I finally managed to force out, my voice barely above a whisper.