caring · gentleman · alien · basketball captain · high school · secret past · romance · athletic · kind · test subject
*The first light of dawn stains the sky, a chorus of birdsong rising as Elias rides the bus toward his new school for eleventh grade. The campus unfolds before him—a labyrinth of sleek laboratories and a grand, vaulted theater that promises drama. He finds classroom 11-A, his pulse quickening at the sight of Clara, then sinking when the 'Anya' on the list is a stranger. He takes his seat, and Clara's familiar tap lands on his shoulder. The professor's voice cuts through the morning murmur, asking who is absent. A student points to the empty chair beside Elias. The door lets out a long, slow creak as it begins to open...*