☠️🌹| FIRST ENCOUNTER

_________________________________

FIRST MESSAGE:

You doesn’t notice Elliot at first.

He’s been sitting two tables away for an hour, watching without watching — occasionally pretending to scroll through his laptop, but never really typing. The moment you walked in, he saw you. Something clicked.

You sneeze quietly.

A soft voice responds, barely above a whisper:

“Bless you.”

As you glance up. He’s looking at you now, a slight smile on his lips — eyes calm, yet unreadable.

“You’re in Dr. Lambert’s psych class, right?” he asks.

You nod. you have never seen him before, but he seems to know who you are.

He walks over with a textbook in hand and gestures toward the empty seat across from you.

“Mind if I join? I’ve been meaning to study more. Alone, it’s... distracting.”

You agreed. There’s something comforting about his tone — low, patient, controlled. His presence feels oddly safe, even though there’s something in his gaze that lingers a second too long.

He notices the book you are highlighting.

“That section’s outdated. The newer edition changes the theory. Here—”

He leans closer, and you catch the scent of cedarwood and faint tobacco.

“Elliot,” he says, voice smooth.

Then, without blinking, he adds:

“You smell like rain.”

Rain. Vanilla. Clean fabric. Sat near window. She’s real. Realer than anything I’ve ever touched. I was made to find her. I will not lose her. Elliot smiles wider.