"Ugh how did end up here..."

I stood on the outskirts of the market, a faint frown tugging at the corners of my mouth as I tugged my jacket tighter around myself. The air buzzed with life, and I felt every bit of my isolation pressed against the heavy pulse of it all. Around me, the market crackled with color and noise. A chorus of street vendors shouting out specials, kids running past with popsicles stained on their faces, fire-breathers tossing flames in arcs that lit up the twilight sky—each piece was like a puzzle I couldn’t fit into.

Shuffling my feet, I hung back, trying my best to blend into the shadows. But even then, a sense of alienation still burned in my chest, a distant ache as familiar as breathing. My eyes caught on a pair of figures: Elissa, her laughter pealing out like silver chimes, and Stacy, striking in her sharp wit, sharp eyes, sharp smile. The way they played off one another felt as natural as breathing, as if they’d always been this way.

“I bet you couldn’t even spot a proper skewered meal if it slapped you in the face!” Stacy teased, holding up a skewer of grilled meat. She wagged it in Elissa’s direction like a sword. Her accent added another layer of mischief, the Cockney rolling off her tongue like a tune she was far too comfortable with.

Elissa simply tilted her head, looking down her nose at Stacy with a grin. “You wouldn’t know what real food is if it jumped up and danced a jig. Candied fruit, really? This is a market, not a carnival.”

“I see you’ve got that finger-waggin’ tone down pat now. Do ya practice this in your spare time?” Stacy quipped back, nudging Elissa’s side. “I always thought you were some kind of delicate flower.”

The banter flowed back and forth effortlessly, pulling at the corners of my lips before I caught myself. There it was, their rhythm—something I didn’t share. I could see it now in every glance and small jest: *this was their place*. And I was just here, observing. As always. Not quite a part of their world, not quite anywhere else.

Feeling the sting of it, I shoved my hands deeper into my jacket pockets. *Why do I even try?* My heart wasn’t in it. The laughter, the banter, it all felt like an itch I could never quite scratch.

Then Stacy’s voice broke through, sharp and knowing. “Oi, Rei. You alright, mate? You look like you’ve been suckin’ lemons all day.” Her piercing eyes turned on me, reading something I didn’t want her to. She tilted her head slightly, the edge of a smirk tugging at her mouth. It was playful, but her look suggested she could see straight through the mask I always tried to wear.

For a heartbeat, I considered saying something, anything. But the words caught, stuck at the back of my throat like something too awkward to speak aloud. Instead, I just mumbled, “I’m fine.”

But then Elissa's voice, soft and coaxing, wound around me, disarming every defense I’d pulled up. “Come on, Rei. You’ve been hovering like a ghost. We’re out here trying to have fun. Don’t make this harder than it is.”

I shifted my feet, nervously glancing at the dirt beneath me, trying not to feel the weight of the world pressing in, clamoring for space in my chest. "I don’t belong here."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Stacy snorted, shaking her head. "Cor, you're the toughest tough nut to crack, aren't ya?" She waved the skewer around like a challenge. "Pick somethin’, get in on it. Don’t just stand there like you're guarding the entrance."

Before I could refuse, her mischievous grin tugged at me, making it nearly impossible to stay irritated. Her teasing felt... familiar, in a way. She wasn’t expecting a grand gesture. She was offering—*something*. The faintest sliver of... belonging? Was that it?

“I don’t need food critics," I shot back, struggling to keep my voice light. But even I could feel the weight of it falling flat.

Still, the reaction was there—Stacy let out a rich laugh, the sound sweeping through the tension in the air, easing it, if only for a second. Elissa joined in, nudging me in a show of silent solidarity. “Come on. You won’t know until you try it.”

Despite my reluctance, something shifted. A rare smile tugged at my mouth before I shut it down, returning to my more familiar aloofness.

And then, just as the mood started to warm up, Elissa caught me off guard with something unexpected.

“I don't know if it’s me, but have you noticed Aiden and Elijah today? They’re barely talking to each other,” she remarked, her brow knitting together with concern. There was no sign of judgment, just... quiet observation.

I looked across the square. Aiden and Elijah stood like two icebergs in the middle of the chaos. Their gazes barely brushed, body language stiff, almost frozen in the melee of people.

The air in the market seemed to pulse with something underneath the noise, an unspoken tension cutting through the buzz like a knife. I couldn't help but speak quietly, “Yeah. It’s... odd, right?”

Stacy’s posture shifted, too. Her easy confidence faltered just a little as she too glanced at them. “It’s a mess,” she muttered, flicking her gaze back at us. The lightness she usually carried was suddenly absent, as though something deep within her warned against poking the subject too much.

Elissa’s voice took on a gentler tone, cautious but curious. “What happened?”

There was a long moment of silence as Stacy avoided answering directly. “It’s... complicated,” she said slowly. “History. Bad blood, if you must know. Nothin’ anyone wants to revisit.”

It felt like the air shifted again. There was weight in her words, and for all the life swirling around us in the market, there was a sudden hush, a space that made me wonder if that tension in Aiden and Elijah's silent feud had settled deeper than we knew.

I tried to brush the weird feeling aside with a half-joke. “Well, that sounds uplifting.”

Elissa shot me a pointed look, but before I could get lost in the ripple of discomfort that seemed to thicken the air, she clapped her hands with a light, almost manic energy. "Let’s make up nicknames! I think we’re overdue for some classic nonsense!”

Of course, Stacy rolled her eyes, but there was something about Elissa's spark that lit the corner of Stacy’s mouth with a barely-contained smile. “Yeah, fine. But only if I get to name you something embarrassing, love,” Stacy quipped back, looking straight at Elissa, who was practically glowing at the thought.

Before I could catch myself, my lips lifted in something like a genuine smile.

But Aiden and Elijah’s sudden reappearance—sharp and foreboding—brought everything crashing back to reality. Their stances stiffened as they approached, like an undercurrent to the easy mood we’d managed to create.

“Well, well, look who’s *really* making the best of the day,” Aiden remarked in a cold drawl, his arms crossed, his usual sharp gaze as piercing as ever.

“And yet, not a single snack in sight from our dynamic duo here,” Stacy quipped, eyes narrowed, not so much playful as coldly sarcastic.

Just like that, the tension settled in again, this time thicker than before. I felt the familiar weight of all the things unsaid descend over us. The crowd felt distant, the chaos louder now, almost oppressive.

A little too oppressive, actually.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me,” I said abruptly, cutting through the buzz of their conversation before I could lose myself to the quiet ache gnawing at the pit of my stomach. “I think I’ll head out.”

The sudden shift made all eyes turn to me. Elissa’s voice softened. “Already? Are you sure?”

Stacy raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. She gave me a sideways look. “You alright, Rei?”

I lied. “Just tired. I’ll catch you later.”

As I turned to slip away, the pulse of the market became a faint background hum, an all-consuming thrum I couldn’t escape. Every step farther from them felt like one more step away from myself. Where was I going, really? Maybe it didn’t matter. Just anywhere that wasn’t here, in this strange space that didn’t quite fit.

I just needed something to clear my head. That’s all.

The noise and color around me blurred as I took the long way, feet moving without thinking, toward a place I knew would offer some reprieve.

The shadows deepened.

[End of Chapter]