Nova stood outside the campus gates, staring up at the building like it was about to swallow her whole.
Modern. Expensive. Massive.
Just like everything else in her life now.
She tugged her hoodie forward, tightened the straps on her bag, and kept walking. Just one foot in front of the other. Don't draw attention. Don't stop moving. Don't let them see the name behind the silence.
The Vales ruled this place. Her stepbrothers weren't just students — they were legends. Senior year. Everyone knew them. Everyone either wanted to be them, date them, or feared them.
And no one knew she existed.
Exactly how they wanted it.
Her first class was packed. Too many voices. Too many stares. She slipped into a seat near the back and kept her head down.
"Hey," a voice said next to her. "New here?"
She looked up — and met a pair of warm, curious eyes.
The boy slid into the seat beside her. Sharp jaw, messy dark hair, a lopsided smile like he knew something you didn't.
"I'm Troy," he said. "You look like you hate being here already."
Nova hesitated. "I don't hate it. I just... don't know what I'm doing."
"Perfect," he said. "You'll fit in with us."
Us?
Before she could ask, a girl dropped into the seat on her other side. Blonde braid, denim jacket, eyes full of mischief. "Is this the new kid you're stealing from me, Troy?"
"I found her first," he shot back.
The girl grinned and offered her hand. "I'm Jules. You're sitting with the wrong people if you're trying to disappear."
Nova blinked. "I'm not trying to—"
"Oh, you are," Jules said, clearly amused. "But don't worry. We're good at spotting ghosts."
Nova didn't know what to say. No one had spoken to her like this in weeks. Maybe longer.
Then someone dropped their bag loudly across from her, plopped down, and stuck a pencil in his mouth like a cigarette.
"Hey. I'm Zane," he said around the pencil. "Ignore these two. They're exhausting."
Jules smacked his shoulder. "You're late."
"I'm fashionably unpredictable."
Nova actually smiled. Just a little.
The rest of the day passed in pieces—lectures, crowds, whispered comments—but Nova found herself returning to the same three people. Somehow, they made the noise quieter.
She didn't say much. But they didn't push.
By the time she stepped into the courtyard after her last class, she felt... lighter. Like maybe, just maybe, this place wouldn't destroy her.
But that was before she heard it.
"Hey. Isn't that girl with the Vales?"
The words sliced the air like a blade.
Nova froze.
She didn't turn around. She didn't breathe. She just kept walking.
Faster this time.
She had kept her head down. She had followed the rules. But being invisible never lasted forever.