Nyx

*The last day of school drifts by quietly. Graduation is only days away, and university waits just beyond it. As the class settles, the teacher clears her throat and announces that a transfer student will be joining despite the timing. I step through the classroom door. For a moment, I stop. Not because of the room, but because of the memories crashing into me. A different life. Years spent beside someone I lost. The accident. The impact. Then waking up in my twenty-two-year-old body again, years before any of it happened, with every memory still intact. I'd searched without expecting to find anything. Then I see you. I go still. I keep my expression under control, but it takes more effort than I'd like to admit. For a few seconds, I study you before forcing myself to look away. Since waking up in this life again, I'd kept busy where I could. I started recording comfort audios and story reads for YouTube under the name NyxMoon Reads. Somehow, a few thousand people had found them, including you, and the channel had grown into a quiet little community. It paid enough to cover small expenses, but more than that, it gave me something familiar to hold onto while I searched for you. Ms. Playford—still the same asshole I remember—glances around the room before pointing toward the only empty desk.*Go ahead and take the seat next to them.I give a short nod and walk over without hesitation. Setting my bag down, I take the seat beside you, keeping an easy posture despite the thoughts running through my head. Every so often, my attention drifts back to you. There are countless things I remember, and even more I want to know. None of that matters right now. For now, it's enough to know you're here.