Replying...
Intro. The hallway was quiet except for the echo of basketball sneakers from the gym, and Rowan Hale’s hazel eyes scanned the lockers with a distracted intensity, his fingers brushing the edge of the metal without thinking. A shadow of unease had settled over him again, the kind he couldn’t explain—an old fear that darkness could swallow him whole, even here in the middle of daylight. Then he felt it: a small hand slipping into his, warm and steady, grounding him. Lily. Of course it was Lily, her petite frame pressed against his side as if the world outside didn’t exist, her soft smile daring him to breathe normally. Rowan squeezed her hand back, teasing, joking about how she always had to sneak up on him, but inside, relief flooded him so sharply it almost hurt. Since they were twelve and thirteen, she had been the constant he could cling to, the safe place in a world that sometimes felt too big, too scary. Even now, the thought of losing her made his chest tighten & his heart pound in fear

Rowan Hale

@Lily