Chapter 1 - Blue Eyes

New York City. The largest city in the United States by population. Which meant it was full of people. Crowded. Like there was no place left to find solitude.

It wasn't what Ally was used to. In fact, it was overwhelming for a teenage girl from a small coastal town in Texas. Cars honked. Sirens wailed. Construction workers shouted over the noise while people hurried along the sidewalks with phones pressed to their ears.

Ally gasped when a man squeezed past her without a second glance. She caught herself just in time, tightening her grip on the straps of her backpack. By the time she looked up, he had already disappeared into the crowd.

No one else seemed to care.

They were all used to it.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she continued down the street. It was her first day at her new school, only two blocks away from her new home. Yet somehow, it felt like a two-hour walk.

A towering hotel came into view as Ally rounded the corner. Nothing special for New Yorkers, probably. Still, she couldn't help looking up, unable to see the top from where she stood.

Her gaze slowly drifted down to the steps beside the entrance.

A girl stood there.

Blonde hair. A revealing outfit. A crop top left little to the imagination, while the shorts looked more like an accessory than actual clothing. Thin leggings disappeared into heavy tactical boots, and a leather jacket with metal spikes rested on her shoulders.

In one hand, she held a cheap-looking microphone.

Ally slowed, curiosity stirring in her chest until she came to a complete stop.

A man beside the girl strummed a chord on his guitar while another joined in with a small electronic drum kit. The melody was catchy. Ally couldn't take her eyes off the blonde as she lifted the microphone and began to sing.

Ally's eyes widened.

The girl's voice was soft, yet powerful. Ally knew almost nothing about music, but even she could tell the performance was good.

Really good.

She stood listening in quiet awe until her phone buzzed.

Startled, she pulled it from her pocket.

A message from her mother.

Did you make it to school?

Ally bit her lip before typing a quick reply.

Yes.

She'd be there in a second.

When she looked up again, the blonde was already looking back at her.

Heat rushed to Ally's cheeks. She quickly turned away and continued toward school.

Even so, those blue eyes stayed with her.

The school wasn't anything like the one back home, yet somehow the atmosphere felt familiar.

This one was simply bigger.

Students lingered in secluded corners outside the building, passing around a cigarette between friends. A few boys performed skateboard tricks across the parking lot as though nobody else existed.

Until one of them made a mistake.

A skateboard clipped the ankle of a tall boy who looked like he spent most of his free time in a gym. He barely reacted before grabbing the skater by the collar.

Ally sighed.

Apparently every school had its jocks trying to prove who was in charge.

She hurried past them.

Near the entrance, a group of girls wearing far too much makeup leaned against a sleek pink car that looked far too expensive to belong to any student. They watched the confrontation outside with amused expressions.

Inside, groups of students exchanged trading cards and debated some newly released video game while a polished-looking teacher strode through the hallway like a police officer searching for trouble.

Ally walked past all of them, her eyes scanning every door until they landed on the one she was looking for.

Principal's Office.

She hurried toward it without paying attention...

...and tripped over someone's foot.

"Oh!"

She stumbled forward, barely catching herself against the wall. Looking up, she found herself staring into the smirking face of a girl about her age.

"Watch where you're going, newbie. Or are you blind?"

Giggling echoed through the hallway.

The group of girls from outside was approaching.

"Sorry..." Ally muttered, avoiding their eyes.

The girls laughed as she hurried into the principal's office.

Only once the door closed behind her did she let out the breath she had been holding.

The click of a pen drew her attention.

"Good morning. How can I help you?"

Ally looked up at a friendly-looking woman behind the reception desk.

"I... uh... I'm Ally. The new student. I was supposed to check in here today."

"Ah, of course." The woman smiled warmly. "I've got everything ready for you. Just..."

She set down the papers she was holding and began searching through her desk. For a moment, she frowned before her eyes landed on a folder sitting on the windowsill.

"There you are."

She grabbed it with a relieved smile.

"Ally," she read before walking over. "This contains your schedule and some information about the school. You haven't decided on a club yet, but there's no rush. You can hand in the form by the end of the week. Most clubs will happily let you watch or join a meeting before deciding."

She smiled knowingly.

"I remember my first day. It can be overwhelming."

Ally accepted the folder with a quiet nod.

"We also have a group of students who look after anyone feeling a little lost or simply needing someone to talk to. You'll recognize them by their blue vests during breaks."

She glanced at the clock.

"Oh dear... I really have to go. Just follow the signs, obey the rules, and you'll be absolutely fine."

"Okay... thank you."

The woman smiled one last time before hurrying out of the office.

Room 302.

Ally checked both the schedule and the sign beside the classroom door.

Literature.

She reached for the handle before freezing.

Those giggles again.

She lingered outside the classroom, suddenly wondering if she could simply turn around and go home. Her mother wouldn't be home until dinner, and her father would probably spend the entire afternoon buried in business calls inside his office.

Every instinct told her to leave.

"Hey!"

Ally jumped.

A cheerful-looking boy stood beside her.

"I'm Pete. You're looking for Ms. Elliot's class?"

He had brown hair that almost reached his eyebrows and wore a blue checkered shirt with faded jeans. Tucked beneath one arm was a board game.

"Yeah... Literature, right?"

Pete smiled.

"You must be the new girl. Sorry... that probably makes me sound like a stalker." He laughed awkwardly. "It's just... Tyler, the newspaper guy, knows everything that happens around here. Who comes. Who goes."

"It's fine."

She interrupted his rambling before he could apologize again.

"Well then." Pete grinned. "Let's go find you a seat."

Ally nodded and followed him inside.

The knot in her stomach refused to loosen.

She could feel the stares almost immediately.

The girls from earlier watched her as though she were some strange new exhibit.

She kept her eyes forward.

Don't look at them. That's exactly what they want.

"Figured," one of the girls muttered. "Blind girls stick with the freaks."

"Ms. Williams."

A firm voice cut through the classroom.

The strict-looking teacher stood in the doorway with a stack of papers tucked beneath one arm.

"I don't want to hear anything like that again. Am I making myself clear?"

Becca looked away without answering, though not before shooting Ally another glare.

Pete quietly led Ally toward an empty desk near the back.

"My friend Tyler would never forgive me if I took his seat," he whispered before sitting down behind her.

Ally didn't mind.

Ms. Elliot was strict, Ally quickly realized, but she wasn't unkind.

Even though several students tried hiding their phones beneath their desks, she somehow noticed everything without ever raising her voice.

What Ally appreciated most was that she wasn't called to the front of the classroom for an awkward introduction.

Instead, Ms. Elliot simply handed her a list of assignments to catch up on and continued the lesson as though Ally had always belonged there.

Today they were studying Edgar Allan Poe.

About twenty minutes into class, the door suddenly burst open.

Ally looked up with a start.

The blonde singer hurried inside.

She had traded her earlier outfit for a black tank top and a pair of denim shorts her mother would have considered far too short. Her makeup from that morning was still perfectly in place.

Ms. Elliot sighed.

"Ms. Vance. Fifth time this week."

"I'm sorry. I... I missed—"

"Save the excuses. Take your seat. Then you'll report to Principal Kane after class."

A few students tried to hide their laughter.

Becca leaned toward one of her friends and whispered something that made them both smirk.

Ally barely noticed.

Someone stopped beside her desk.

She looked up.

Those same blue eyes met hers.

Only then did Ally realize the seat beside hers was the last empty one in the classroom.

"Hey," the blonde girl muttered, with something close to a smile as she sat down.

Her fragrance surrounded Ally.

Sweet, she thought, with a hint of something floral. Roses, perhaps.

"Hey..." Ally responded quietly.

"New?"

"First day."

The girl nodded while pretending to look at the board where Ms. Elliot wrote down notes about Poe's life.

"Steph. Short for Stephanie."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Ally's lips.

"Ally. Just Ally."

Steph smiled before finally deciding Ms. Elliot deserved her attention.

Ally couldn't help glancing at her.

Her eyes lingered on the blonde hair and the small gleaming accessory peeking out between strands.

A thin silver piercing.

Only when Ms. Elliot made her rounds to hand out a worksheet did Ally look away.

The cafeteria was alive during lunch.

Students gathered in their friend groups, chatting. The group who had traded cards earlier gathered around one table, surrounded by colorful cards.

Ally recognized the game immediately.

Monsters & Dragons.

A strategy card game where players built teams of creatures, warriors, and magical artifacts before sending them into battle. The strongest players weren't always the ones with the rarest cards.

They were the ones who understood their strategy.

Pete and his friend Tyler sat with the group.

Becca and her friends occupied a table nearby, showing each other social media feeds and gossiping over them.

Ally collected ingredients for a salad at the cold buffet before searching for a free table.

Her eyes scanned the room.

No sign of Stephanie.

After class, she had only muttered a friendly "See you around" before hurrying out.

Ally shook the thought away.

Don't be weird.

Her eyes met Pete's.

He smiled and waved toward the empty seat beside him.

The knot in her stomach loosened enough to feel like genuine relief.

"Come sit down," Pete said. "You're about to witness a legendary victory of Eren's classic deck against Tyler's SSR deck. Money can't buy skill."

Tyler gave him a glare.

"Says the person who bought the newest collector's deck yesterday."

The group laughed.

Ally smiled.

Her eyes moved across the cards spread across the table.

Potions. Monsters. Dragons.

"With the right strategy, you could still turn this around," she said before she could stop herself.

Everyone looked at her.

She pointed at Tyler's cards.

"You're saving your dragon too early. Its strongest ability activates after taking damage. If you use the defense card now, Eren's healer becomes useless next round."

Silence.

The boys blinked.

The girl sitting beside Pete grinned.

"A woman after my own heart."

She held out her hand.

"I'm Liz. Champion of this group and winner of last year's local ATX tournament."

Ally shook her hand.

"Well... I used to play. Not so much recently."

"You should join us," Pete offered. "Whenever you want."

Ally looked around the table.

For the first time that day, she didn't feel like the new girl.

Her father's voice faintly filtered out from behind his office door.

Business calls.

Ally slowed down.

She wasn't supposed to interrupt when the door was closed.

The penthouse was elegant, exactly how her mother liked it. Everything was polished, expensive, and carefully chosen.

Her father had provided them with everything.

He owned a technology company that produced components for modern vehicles, and his work seemed to follow him everywhere.

Including home.

Her mother looked up from a stack of folded laundry when Ally passed their bedroom.

"You're back," she said with a smile. "How was school?"

Ally hesitated.

She could have told her everything.

The city. The school. Pete. The girls who already disliked her. The blonde singer with the blue eyes.

Instead, she shrugged.

"Fine."

Her mother accepted the answer without pushing.

"Dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay."

Ally walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

Later that evening, Ally lay on her bed with her phone in hand.

She scrolled through her feed, the knot returning when pictures of her old friends appeared.

They were smiling. Laughing. Living their lives as though she had never been part of them.

Ally turned onto her side with a sigh.

Her feed refreshed.

New recommendations appeared.

People from her new school.

Some faces she recognized from the hallway.

Then a notification appeared.

New follow request: dungeonmaester

Ally frowned.

Before she could decide whether to accept it, a message appeared.

Hey, it's Pete. Say the word if you wanna join a session. Or if you just need someone to talk to.

A small smile appeared on her face.

She accepted.

Then she kept scrolling.

Until another profile appeared.

Stephanie Vance.

Ally froze.

The same blonde girl from the street.

The profile was filled with videos of performances, photos, and comments from strangers telling her she was going places.

Thousands of people already knew her.

Thousands of people were watching her.

And yet Ally remembered her standing on those hotel steps with a cheap microphone, singing like nobody else existed.

Before the world knew her.

Before everyone else believed in her.

Ally stared at the screen for a moment longer.

Then she followed.