After school, Lea and I were walking to the bus stop, chatting excitedly, when I spotted them just a few meters ahead—the idiot duo. Dun, dun, dun. Laughing like maniacs of course over who-knew-what.

We were walking faster and were definitely about to catch up to the dynamic duo of nonsense. And honestly? I had zero interest in getting roped into another of their impromptu circus acts.
To prevent that impending disaster, I slowed my pace and turned to Lea.

"Hey, I just remembered—I left my brain in my locker or something," I said, waving vaguely at nothing. "You go ahead without me."

True to her sunshine-and-daisies nature, Lea didn’t ask questions. She just nodded and trotted off like I hadn’t just made the lamest excuse in school history.
Now came the stealth portion of today’s chaos. Just in case Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber up ahead decided to spin around for a dramatic encore, I crouched behind the nearest hedge like some third-rate secret agent, knees cracking in protest, and peeked around the leafy corner to observe the two clowns shuffling ahead.

Goodness. Could they walk like normal people? Just once? Why did they always move like wind-up toys fueled by sugar and chaos?

I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out what they were even laughing about this time.

“Those two are something else, aren’t they?” a voice whispered right by my ear.

“Mhm,” I muttered, completely locked in. “Total chaos gremlins. Honestly, if they moved any slower, time would fold in on itself.”

“Or they’re actually time travelers trying to walk in reverse. Bold strategy.” the voice added.

“Exactly!” I hissed back, nodding, still peering around the hedge. “I mean, at this rate, I could take a nap, write a novel, and still beat them to the bus.”

“Sounds productive.”

I paused.

Wait. That voice... was answering me.

And it wasn’t inside my head.

And why did I feel warm breath on my ear like some haunted ASMR session?

I turned my head just slightly—and literally yeeted myself backwards into the hedge with a noise that could only be described as a squeaky gasp, while flailing like an upended turtle. It happened again!

Nature stabbed me with twigs, leaves tangled in my hair, and somewhere a squirrel probably judged me.

And there he was, crouched down to match my position. Of course. Raven "Jiminy Cricket Mode Activated" Payne. Smirking like the walking plot twist he was. Why?! Why did he always show up like I’d summoned him by thinking “at least today I won’t have to deal with Raven”?

“Seriously?!” I groaned, trying to detangle myself from the entire ecosystem now clinging to me. “Do you have some sort of invisibility cloak or do you just feed on my suffering?”

He had the audacity to look amused. “I was going to say you looked kinda cute all spy-mode, but wow—didn’t expect the shrub dive.”

“Well, congratulations,” I muttered, brushing leaves off my shoulders. “You’ve officially scared me into the foliage. Again.”

“You're welcome,” he said with a wink, because he was the personification of smugness.
He looked at me with that mischievous smile again. Then he held out his hand, which I took—grudgingly. If he was going to scare me like that, the least he could do was help me up!

He tugged on my arm, and a second later, we were both standing again, face to face. A little too close for my liking, as I realised—not exactly with a clear head. My face flushed immediately, and I looked away. Why couldn’t I look at him just once without wanting to disappear into thin air?

Neither of us said anything. He just stood there. I kept my gaze fixed somewhere past him.

Then something brushed my hair—soft, deliberate. Raven’s hand. He plucked a leaf from my tangled mess like it belonged there, inspecting it with a little smirk before flicking it away.

“Nature’s trying to claim you,” he said quietly, like it was some kind of compliment.

Before I could even react, his fingers moved again—this time gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. The warmth of his touch lingered, hovering just beside my temple, thumb brushing along the line where my cheekbone met my ear, and I hated how my breath caught.
I couldn’t help it—my eyes flicked up to his.

Mistake. Huge mistake.

My heart began to race—no, pound—almost painfully, as I lost myself a little in those hypnotic eyes. It felt like I was sinking into them, like they were pulling me right into his soul. His usual grin had vanished. His expression was deadly serious. And I just stood there, frozen, unable to react. Somehow... he had me spellbound. What was that fluttering in my chest? That was not normal. That was not allowed. I was supposed to be immune. Super-Miri did not get swoony over the guy who stalked her into shrubbery!
And yet… there he was. Stupidly close. Stupidly handsome. And apparently armed with a full arsenal of hair-related gestures that made my pulse tap dance in my throat.
I just stood there like an idiot, fully aware of how dangerously close he was now, blinking rapidly up at him in the attempt to restart my brain. But his eyes weren’t mocking. They weren’t teasing. They were serious. Deep. Too deep. They locked onto mine with something terrifyingly honest.

He suddenly looked down at my lips and then leaned in slightly.

I didn’t move.

I should’ve moved.

His hand, still at the side of my face, was warm—his thumb resting just barely on my cheekbone. I didn’t breathe and could practically feel my ears evaporating from heat. The space between us seemed to shrink with every passing second. I couldn’t stop myself—I looked at his lips, too. They parted slightly as he came closer until I could feel his breath against my lips. Cinnamon. Sandalwood. And that frustrating mystery scent I wasn’t able to name but came to recognise way too well. It made my head spin. What was he doing?!
He wasn’t saying anything. Neither was I. 

I think my soul left my body for a moment. Goosebumps spread down my arms, even though I was wearing a sweater and it was way too hot thanks to Raven’s presence.  My eyes fluttered half shut. My lips tugged towards his like a magnet, betraying me like the traitorous fools they were. Just centimeters from my lips, he stopped. His gaze shifted—from longing to something like startled recognition. With trembling fingers against my cheek his hand dropped away, and he stepped back, clearly embarrassed.

The moment shattered like glass.

He blinked. Looked away. Then took another step back, like he’d just remembered who we were.

And I?

I just stood there, face burning, body buzzing, feeling like someone had yanked the rug out from under my hormones.

That finally snapped me out of my trance. Only then did I realise what had almost just happened.

God. We had been seconds—seconds—from kissing.

And I hadn’t done a thing to stop it. So much for immunity! I had sworn...

Raven said nothing. He just stood there with a pained expression on his face, like he didn’t know what to say. Since he clearly wasn’t going to say anything, I took the reins.

With tears prickling in my eyes (no clue where they came from!), I lightly shoved him in the chest with both hands. My heart was in full rebellion, hammering like it wanted to file for emotional damages.

“You're getting way too confident! Don’t EVER do that again!” I snapped, my voice cracking. 

He didn’t move. Didn’t react at all, like frozen in time, also contemplating what just almost had happened.

So I spun around and stormed off, aware of his pitiful stare burning into the back of my neck.

He probably thought he was irresistible.

Well, joke’s on him.

At least the dumb duo seemed to have finally gotten a move on, as they were nowhere to be seen. Honestly, I almost wished I’d run into them instead of Stalker Supreme.