Somewhere In Between (Between Shadows #1)

02

02.

Collide

I don't even know how long I stood frozen in that hallway, clutching my notebook like it was the only thing keeping me upright. Parang nagtatagpo 'yong kaba ko at inis ko at the same time, refusing to move until my breathing finally started to slow down. I didn't even want to admit it, pero the moment Dashiell stepped away, leaving nothing behind except the heavy memory of how his eyes looked at me, almost studying me, almost seeing too much. I felt my whole body react in a way that was both annoying and terrifyingly unfamiliar.

I wasn't used to this, hindi ako sanay na may taong nag-a-approach sa 'kin nang ganu'n ka-direct, lalo na't halos hindi ko naman siya kilala. But then again, Dashiell Vernon wasn't exactly the kind of guy you could ignore or categorize easily. He didn't fit neatly into the boxes I'd always built around people para hindi ako ma-overwhelm. He was something else entirely, like a sudden shift in weather, like a cold wind that forces you to pull your jacket tighter, not because it's unbearable but because you're too startled to understand why it affects you at all.

"Elle?"

Halos napatalon ako when Lira gently tugged my wrist, reminding me that the world around me hadn't paused just because that guy decided to exist in my line of sight. "Next subject na natin. Baka ma-late tayo."

Right.

Class.

Real life.

Reality check.

I nodded, trying to shake off whatever weird energy was clinging to me like static. "Yeah, let's go. Ano nga ulit next?"

"Science. Nasa kabilang building. Tara na bago pa umulan."

Isa pa 'yon. This province had the strangest weather patterns. One minute everything looked perfectly sunny, the next you'd feel that subtle drop in the air na parang may nagbabadya. But honestly, kahit pa biglang bumuhos ang ulan, I wasn't sure if it could wash off that moment earlier. It stuck to me too deeply, too stubbornly, like a stain I hadn't expected.

We walked across the open courtyard, and I tried my best to steady my breathing. Every step felt like I had to force my mind to switch gears, reminding myself that this was supposed to be a normal day, supposed to be quiet, supposed to be just another page in this fresh start I was trying to build.

Pagkapasok namin sa Science building, the familiar smell of wood, old books, and faint chalk dust greeted us. Kahit bago sa 'kin lahat, somehow this room made me feel grounded. Maybe because it was quieter.

We found seats near the center, and I placed my notebook on the desk, pressing my palm flat over the cover para ma-stabilize 'yong utak ko. The professor wasn't inside yet, so everyone was talking in soft clusters, the kind of noise that's low enough to be background but alive enough for you to feel slightly comforted.

"Ano'ng nangyari doon sa hallway?" Lira asked softly, leaning closer, genuinely concerned. "Parang... nagulat ka."

I looked at her, trying to find the words without revealing too much. "Wala. May nakabangga lang ako. Tapos parang... weird."

"Weird saan?" she insisted.

"Weird in a way na hindi ko ma-explain," I whispered back, twirling my pen slowly.

Lia's eyebrows creased for a moment. "Sino?"

I shrugged, almost too quickly. "Just some guy."

The professor finally entered, carrying a stack of folders and her usual thermos. "Good morning, class."

The room quieted instantly, and I was grateful for the shift in atmosphere. Academics, I could deal with. Emotions... not so much.

"Today," she began, writing on the board with neat, firm strokes, "we will be discussing the principles of energy transformation before we proceed with your first laboratory rotation next week."