The Introvert

Lena tried to ignore it.

Maybe Ethan Graves was just staring at something behind her. Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe—just maybe—her brain was making things up because it couldn't deal with the fact that she had actually disappeared last night.

So she did what she always did—she kept her head down, walked fast, and focused on not being noticed.

But something had changed.

People were looking at her. Not everyone, but more than usual. A passing glance here, a longer stare there. Whispers just as she walked by. It was subtle, but it was happening.

At first, she convinced herself she was being paranoid. After all, she had spent so many years perfecting the art of being invisible. She had trained herself to shrink, to be forgettable, to exist in the background. If people were looking at her now, it had to be a coincidence.

Right?

But then, during lunch break, it got worse.

Lena had just found her usual spot—near the back of the school library, where no one bothered her—when he showed up.

Ethan Graves.

He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down like they had done this a hundred times before. Like they were friends. Like he belonged here.

Lena stiffened, her fingers tightening around the book she wasn't even reading. What was he doing?

She never talked to people at school. That was the whole point. That was how she survived.

Ethan wasn't just some random student, either. He was popular—the kind of guy who floated through school effortlessly, always surrounded by people but never truly tied to any one group. He wasn't loud like the sports captains or arrogant like the top rankers, but he had a presence. He was the kind of person people paid attention to.

And right now, he was paying attention to her.

Lena swallowed. "What are you doing?"

Ethan placed his hands on the table, interlocking his fingers. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

She frowned. "What?"

He tilted his head slightly, studying her like she was some kind of puzzle. "You disappeared, didn't you?"

Her entire body went cold.

A thousand denials raced through her mind, but her lips refused to move.

Ethan sighed. "Relax. I'm not going to tell anyone."

Lena forced herself to breathe. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He gave her a knowing smile. "Yeah, you do."

Lena gripped the edge of the table. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

"How did you—" she hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper. "How do you know?"

Ethan leaned forward. "Because I've seen it before."

A chill crawled up Lena's spine. "Seen what before?"

Ethan exhaled, glancing around the empty library before lowering his voice.

"People like you."

Silence stretched between them.

Lena's head spun. People like me? There were others?

Before she could say anything, the library door creaked open.

Ethan's expression hardened. He stood up smoothly, pushing his chair back without a sound. "Not here."

Lena stared at him, still struggling to make sense of what was happening.

"Meet me after school," he said, already walking away. "Behind the old auditorium."

And then he was gone.

Lena sat frozen, heart pounding.

People like her?

She had spent her entire life being overlooked. Unnoticed. Ignored. Invisible.

But now, someone had seen her.

And worse—he knew something about her that she didn't even understand herself.

---

After School: The Old Auditorium

Lena almost didn't go.

The logical part of her screamed that this was a bad idea. She barely knew Ethan. He was one of those guys who seemed untouchable, like he belonged to a world far removed from hers. People like him didn't talk to people like her.

And yet, he had looked at her like he knew something.

That terrified her more than anything else.

So despite every instinct telling her to go home, to pretend none of this was real, she found herself walking toward the old auditorium—a part of the school that had been abandoned for years.

The air smelled of dust and old cement. Broken windows let in slivers of golden sunlight, casting long shadows across the cracked floors. The moment she stepped inside, a wave of unease washed over her.

Ethan was already there, leaning against the stage. He looked completely at ease, like this was normal. Like this was expected.

Lena stopped a few feet away, keeping her distance. "Start talking."

He smirked. "You're more direct than I expected."

She folded her arms. "You said you've seen 'people like me' before. What does that mean?"

Ethan's smirk faded. "It means exactly what it sounds like." He crossed his arms and studied her carefully. "You're not the only one who can disappear, Lena."

Her breath caught.

This wasn't a dream. This wasn't a hallucination. This was real.

"There are others?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan nodded. "A lot more than you'd think."

Lena's mind raced. If there were others like her, why had she never heard of them? Why did no one talk about this?

"Who are they?" she asked.

Ethan hesitated. "That depends."

"On what?"

"On which side they're on."

A strange chill ran down her spine. "Side?"

Ethan pushed away from the stage and took a step closer to her. "There are people like us, Lena. Some of them—like me—are just trying to live their lives, keep their abilities under control, and stay out of trouble."

He hesitated. "And then there are the others."

Lena's heartbeat quickened. "What others?"

Ethan's expression darkened. "The Vanished."

She had never heard that name before, but something about it sent a shiver through her.

"They're a group of people who've mastered this ability," Ethan continued. "They don't just disappear. They erase themselves from existence. From memories. From records. They believe our power is meant to be used, not hidden."

Lena swallowed. "And that's a bad thing?"

Ethan's gaze sharpened. "They don't just erase themselves, Lena. They erase others too."

Her breath hitched. "What?"

"They don't follow rules. They don't care about consequences. If someone gets in their way, they make them disappear—forever."

Lena's stomach twisted.

This wasn't just some strange power. It wasn't just some bizarre ability she had to deal with.

It was something dangerous.

Deadly.

"You have a choice, Lena," Ethan said quietly. "You can ignore this. Pretend none of it is real. Try to go back to your normal life." He took a step closer. "Or, you can learn. Control it. Before someone else finds you first."

Lena stared at him.

Her heart pounded. Her mind raced.

She had spent her entire life trying to be invisible.

But now, she was starting to realize—

That might not be possible anymore.

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