𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 || 𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗳𝘁

Two .

I was standing there again, in that same hallway from the day before. The light spilling from the classroom door made everything feel distant, like I was watching from somewhere far away, not quite in control of my body. I knew what I was supposed to be doing, listening to Gracie and Sabrina, but all I could focus on was that crack in the door. The classroom beyond it. Her.

She was standing at the front of the room again, balancing a stack of papers in her hands, looking so... effortless, like she belonged there, like everything was within her control. I stood just beside the door, not enough to be seen, but close enough to watch her. I couldn't help it. There was something magnetic about her. Something that held me there, frozen.

And then, suddenly, she looked up.

Our eyes met across the distance just like last time. She didn't look away. Neither did I. It felt like an eternity in that one shared moment. Her gaze was sharp, and it cut through me. I felt it in my chest, like a jolt of electricity that traveled all the way to my fingertips. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move.

And just like that, I woke up.

My skin was slightly damp with sweat, the sheets clinging to my skin as I shot up in bed. My heart was racing, my mind spinning. I blinked into the dimness of the room, disoriented, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream. Her eyes. That damn look. Why couldn't I get rid of it?

I glanced around, realizing Gracie wasn't in the room. My head felt heavy, like it was full of fog. I rubbed my face with my hands, trying to collect myself. It was just a dream. Just a stupid, fleeting dream.

But even as I got out of bed, the feeling wouldn't leave. My feet were cold against the floor as I walked toward the bathroom, still feeling that strange pull from the dream tugging at me. The light was on under the bathroom door, and I could hear the faint sound of brushing teeth.

I knocked softly. "Gracie?"

The door cracked open, and there she was, toothbrush in hand, a sleepy grin tugging at her lips. She was wearing one of her oversized t-shirts that swallowed her whole, her hair messily sticking up in all directions.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." she said, her voice muffled by the toothbrush but still full of affection.

I smiled back, the odd tension from the dream slowly loosening its grip on me. "Morning," I replied, slipping past her to the sink. I washed my face, the cool water helping clear the fog in my brain, but the image of her, those electric blue eyes, still lingered, just at the edge of my thoughts, impossible to shake off.

I finished splashing cold water on my face, the chill helping to bring me back to the present, but the dream still clung to me, the image of her eyes refusing to leave. I rubbed my face again, trying to shake it off. It was just a weird dream, right? Nothing more.

The sound of the bathroom door creaking open pulled me from my thoughts, and I glanced up to see Gracie standing in the doorway, her toothbrush now set down in its holder next to mine on the counter. I found it almost comforting how our toiletries were in the same spot, like we'd unintentionally merged into each other's routines without even realizing it.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sighed. "Well, that's that."

I smiled faintly, finishing up my skincare routine. Gracie had this laid-back, carefree energy about her that made everything feel easy, something I noticed about her when we first met. I envied that about her sometimes.

Gracie walked out of the tiny bathroom, leaving the door wide open behind her, her footsteps light on the floor. I could hear her rummaging through her drawers in the other room.