Lynn's POV
There were many ways I imagined my night going—grabbing dinner with Rose, drowning my frustrations in a mountain of fries, maybe even ranting about my professors in a fit of catharsis.
But nope. Fate had a different agenda: trapping me inside the female locker room, phone dead, freezing to death like some tragic protagonist in a survival movie.
Honestly, I should've seen this coming. The universe always had a knack for making my life unnecessarily dramatic.
It all started normally enough. Rose and I had planned to hang out after a particularly exhausting day of lectures and an existential crisis-inducing exam. But of course, out of nowhere—
"Bestie, I have an appointment. Let's do next time, okay?"
Great. Just great. I barely had the strength to argue, so I just nodded and forced a cheerful "No worries!" even though internally, I was already composing a soliloquy on *Betrayal and Broken Friendship.*
Fast forward to the end of the day, my energy levels were in the negatives, and my feet felt like they had personally walked through every layer of hell.
I told myself I just needed five minutes—just a quick nap in the locker room before heading home.
Five minutes.
That was the plan.
But the next thing I knew, I was waking up to pitch-black surroundings. The once lively hum of students had disappeared entirely, replaced by a silence so profound it felt suffocating.
I groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
"Okay… no big deal, maybe they just left late," I mumbled to myself, pushing off the bench and stretching out my stiff limbs.
But then, as I lazily made my way to the door—my fingers wrapped around the doorknob and twisted—
Nothing.
"Huh?"
I twisted again. Harder.
Still nothing.
That was the moment panic started creeping in.
"Wait, wait, wait—hold on," I muttered, my brain catching up to the absurd reality of my situation.
The door wasn't just locked. The freaking doorknob was broken.
I shoved at the door. No effect.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" I yelled into the void, half expecting some hidden camera crew to pop out and tell me I was being pranked.
Nothing. Not a single sound, not even footsteps outside.
At this point, I could already imagine my future: my name in tomorrow's school newspaper, a tragic tale about the girl who was found half-frozen inside the female locker room, clutching an empty phone as her final message to the world.
Speaking of my phone—I grabbed it, checked the screen, and saw nothing but darkness.
Low battery. Of course. Because why would I expect my phone to have decent battery life at the most crucial moment of my existence?
I exhaled sharply, wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to preserve what little warmth I had left.
The locker room was cold. Not the mildly uncomfortable kind of cold, but the kind that seeped into your bones and made your teeth chatter involuntarily.
I pulled my hoodie tighter, curling into myself on the bench as I tried to strategize my next move.
There had to be someone nearby. Maybe a janitor? A security guard? Some poor soul who left something behind and had to come back?
I just had to wait.
Then—
Footsteps.
Faint, steady footsteps echoed down the hallway, growing closer.
"HELLO! HELP!" I screamed, lunging towards the door like a madwoman.
For a second, there was silence.
Then—
"You know, I can't tell if you're on fire in there or just emotionally damaged."
A voice.
A very sarcastic voice.
"I just wanted someone to hear me, okay? I felt like the entire world was ignoring me," I defended.
"Understandable. But your scream was *loud*—for a second, I was debating whether I should call an exorcist."
I groaned and lightly shoved his arm, making him chuckle under his breath.
For a stranger, he was oddly easy to talk to. The usual awkwardness of meeting someone new didn't exist between us—it was like we had some sort of mutual understanding that *being alive was a struggle,* and surviving the chaos of life meant embracing sarcasm.
Then—*THUD!*
With one final push, the door swung open.
I stepped out, eyes wide. "Wow, are you Thor? Because you just summoned thunder and solved my problem."
He snorted. "Do you want background music too?"
I shoved him lightly before wrapping his jacket around myself. "Fine. Thanks, hero."
We walked toward the bus stop together, the conversation flowing easily—smooth, effortless, like we had known each other forever.
Then, the bus arrived.
I stepped forward instinctively.
Then suddenly paused.
I stared at the bus like it had personally betrayed me.
"Wait. I don't commute."
Aether stared at me.
Not just a normal stare—a blank, unreadable, completely dumbfounded stare.
I could practically hear the gears in his brain screeching to a halt.
"No comment," he finally said, rubbing his temples like I had single-handedly exhausted his ability to process human behavior.
I winced. "Look, I didn't mean to! It was automatic, then I suddenly remembered I had a driver—"
"You *literally* stepped forward like you were *sure* you were getting on."
"I know—but I had a mini crisis in my head!"
"…Don't tell that to your professor. They might fail you."
I groaned, grabbing his phone before he could roast me further. I quickly dialed my driver's number while Aether watched me with the expression of a man who had lost faith in humanity.
Once I got confirmation that my ride was on the way, I handed the phone back with an apologetic look.
He took it, shaking his head. "You really have no self-preservation instincts, huh?"
"I *do*! It's just… delayed sometimes."
"I hope you don't apply that to exams—your professors might start questioning how you made it to college."
I smirked. "Are you enjoying roasting me the entire time we've been talking?"
He smirked back. "It wasn't planned, but it's surprisingly effortless."
I fake-gasped. "Wow, so you're naturally mean?"
"Not mean—concerned."
"You need to review the definition of 'concern.'"
He chuckled, shaking his head before leaning against the lamppost beside him.
The headlights of my driver's car finally appeared in the distance, snapping me back to reality.
"Well, mystery man, looks like time's up," I said, stepping forward.
He raised a brow. "That's it? No dramatic goodbye?"
I scoffed. "Do you want background music too?"
"I want cinematic montages and emotional dialogue. But fine, I'll let it slide."
I laughed before opening the car door. But just before stepping inside, I hesitated.
Then, without thinking, I turned back to him.
"Aether, right?"
He blinked, then nodded slowly.
I hummed, stepping fully into the car and shutting the door.
As we pulled away, I let my head rest against the window, my breath forming light fog on the glass.
"Do I return this jacket?"
"Obviously."
"How?"
"Maybe next time you get locked in the locker room."
I snorted, shaking my head.
Who *was* Aether?
And more importantly—why did I find myself anticipating another encounter?