...Ch-1.The First Cut...

Skyler never cared for names. Names were flimsy things—temporary, forgettable. But Kael… Kael was different. That name had been rolling on his tongue for weeks, leaving a taste he couldn’t rid himself of. Sweet. Addictive. Rotten at the core.

Tonight, he would finally touch it.

Rain poured down in thick sheets, drowning the filthy streets in its roar, but Skyler barely noticed. He stood outside the small bookstore, watching through the cracked glass. Inside, Kael moved like a ghost, slow and deliberate, his pale hands skimming the surface of an old book. The dim candlelight made his eyes look golden, lips slightly parted. Too soft for a world this cruel. He didn’t belong here, in the filth and ruin of a city that ate people alive. Someone like him should have been hidden away in a world untouched by blood and grief.

So unaware. So helpless.

Skyler could slit his throat right now, and Kael wouldn’t even see it coming.

The thought made him grin.

Not because he wanted to hurt him. No, no—never him. But the idea of something as fragile as Kael existing in a world like this was … infuriating. He was like an unguarded secret, a delicate thing placed in the hands of people who wouldn’t know what to do with him. Who wouldn’t deserve him.

Skyler clenched his fists, his nails biting into his palms.

Kael was his.

He had known it from the first moment he saw him, standing in the rain, eyes full of something sad and distant. He had followed him ever since—watched him walk home, watched him sleep, traced the patterns of his life with an artist’s precision. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

Skyler wanted him to see.

A soft hum rumbled in his throat as he stepped forward, boots splashing in the waterlogged street. His reflection wavered in the fogged window as he reached into his pocket, fingers wrapping around the cold steel of a knife.

One little scratch. One little mark. Something small, just enough to wake Kael up. To let him know he wasn’t alone.

Carefully, deliberately, Skyler pressed the tip of the blade against the glass, carving a single, jagged line. The sound was barely audible over the storm, but inside, Kael flinched. His gaze flicked toward the window, brows furrowing, lips pressing into a thin line.

For a second, just a second, their eyes met.

Lightning flashed.

Skyler smiled.

Kael stood abruptly, stepping back, his chest rising in shallow, uncertain breaths. His pulse was probably racing now, his mind searching for explanations. Just a trick of the light, just the storm playing games with his imagination.

Skyler turned away, slipping into the shadows, his heart pounding.

Tonight wasn’t the night.

But Kael had seen him now.

And that was the first cut.

...-----------------------------------...

...Word from the author:This story is also available in Wattpad...

...I hope you enjoy the story~...

Kael hated the feeling of being watched.

It was irrational. Stupid. Paranoia creeping in where it didn’t belong. But no matter how many times he told himself that, his skin still prickled, his heartbeat still stuttered, and his hands still trembled as he locked the door behind him.

The scratch on the window haunted him. It wasn’t much—just a single, jagged line—but something about it felt deliberate. Like a signature. Like a warning.

Like a whisper in the dark meant only for him.

He exhaled, slow and careful. Maybe he was imagining things. Maybe it had always been there, and he was only noticing now because his mind was desperate for something—anything—to break the monotony of his life.

Or maybe someone really had been there.

Kael shook the thought away, peeling off his damp sweater and tossing it onto the chair in the corner. He needed to calm down. A warm drink. A book. A night like any other.

But even as he moved to the kitchen, something in the air felt wrong.

The silence pressed too tightly against him. The apartment, usually a safe, familiar space, felt smaller somehow—like the walls had shifted an inch closer when he wasn’t looking.

Kael reached for the kettle. His fingers wrapped around the handle—

And then he heard it.

Not a knock. Not a creak. Not the usual, innocent sounds of the old building settling.

Breathing.

Soft. Barely there. But close.

Too close.

Kael froze, every muscle in his body locking into place. The air felt thick, suffocating. He turned his head just slightly, his eyes darting toward the window, toward the shadows pooling in the corners of the room—

Nothing.

And yet, the feeling didn’t go away. The weight of unseen eyes. The whisper of something just beyond reach.

He wasn’t alone.

Kael swallowed hard, his pulse hammering against his ribs. Slowly, carefully, he stepped backward, his bare feet soundless against the wooden floor. He reached for the nearest object—a book on the counter, the only thing within arm’s length that could serve as a weapon.

The breathing stopped.

For a long moment, there was nothing. Just silence.

Then—

Tap.

The sound was soft, almost playful.

It came from behind him.

Kael spun around—

Nothing.

Just the window. Just the darkness outside, stretching endlessly past the flickering streetlights.

His throat was dry. His head felt too light.

Maybe he really was losing his mind.

But as he turned away, forcing himself to breathe, forcing himself to move, he missed it—

The faint trace of a finger smudged against the glass.

A single word, barely visible in the condensation from the rain.

"Soon".

...——————————...

Forgive me.Me here is trying to reach 500 words blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

Kael couldn’t escape the feeling that something had changed.

Not just inside of him—his restless mind, his sleepless nights—but in the air itself. It felt charged, humming with something unseen, something waiting.

Kael had spent the morning pretending. Pretending he wasn’t thinking about the window. Pretending the word "soon" hadn’t been burned into his mind like a brand. Pretending his hands weren’t shaking every time he reached for something.

He went through the motions of the morning in a daze. Brewing coffee. Unlocking the bookstore. Shelving the same books he had touched a hundred times before. But today, everything felt off.

Like the world had shifted slightly while he wasn’t looking.

Like he wasn’t alone.

The bell above the door rang.

Kael turned, expecting a customer, expecting the routine of another dull interaction. But the moment his eyes met the figure stepping inside, the air in his lungs turned to stone.

Him.

A man in black. Tall, lean, dripping from the rain outside. His dark coat clung to him, the fabric heavy with water, but his presence—his presence—was heavier.

Kael didn’t recognize him. And yet—he did.

Something about him felt familiar. Like a whisper in the dark he’d heard a thousand times but never seen.

The man stepped forward, slow and deliberate, his boots clicking softly against the old wooden floor. His movements were measured, unhurried, like he had all the time in the world. Like he already owned this moment.

Kael' breath hitched.

The man stopped at the counter, tilting his head slightly, watching him.

Studying him.

Kael' fingers curled against the wooden surface. His skin prickled with something he couldn’t name—fear, curiosity, dread, fascination—all tangled into something sharp, something alive.

The man smiled.

It was slow. Unnerving. Not a friendly thing, but something else entirely.

Something knowing.

And then, in a voice as smooth as velvet, laced with quiet amusement, he said:

“You’ve been waiting for me, haven’t you?”

Kael swallowed, his throat dry.

His pulse hammered against his ribs. He wanted to deny it, to push back against the ridiculous weight of those words.

But deep down, in the darkest part of himself—

He wasn’t sure if it was a lie.

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