Sophie wiped furiously at her face, but it was pointless. The tears kept coming, her nose running as her breaths ca in rapid, shallow gasps.
"That night—that night, Noah! I wasn't so—so girl with a plan. I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, let go find a boy and twist his fate so he falls in love with !'" Her voice cracked as she clawed at her own arms, like she was trying to hold herself together. "I left my apartnt off campus that day because I was having the shittiest day imaginable! I didn't want to talk to anyone, I didn't want to see anyone—I just wanted to feel sothing other than how goddamn numb I was!"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her fingers gripping the fabric of her own shirt. "I went to that Rave because I thought, maybe—maybe if I drank enough, danced enough, maybe if I did sothing stupid like pop a pill or take a hit—maybe I'd actually feel sothing other than empty."
She sniffled hard, her nose red, her lips trembling. "And then Lucas called over." Her breath shuddered as she laughed bitterly. "And I went. And I t you."
Her entire body trembled as she stared at him, her lips twisting into sothing that wasn't quite a smile, wasn't quite a grimace.
"And you—you looked at . Not like the others. Not like the guys who just saw a hot girl, who just wanted to sleep with or show off. You looked at like I was a goddamn puzzle. Like you actually wanted to figure out."
Her voice dropped to a whisper, so soft it almost broke him.
"Do you have any idea how much that ant to ?"
Noah's throat was dry, but he had no words.
Sophie's hands balled into fists at her sides. "So what if it was my luck?! So what?!" She practically scread the words. "Are you telling you weren't happy? That I didn't make you happy? That we didn't make each other happy?!"
Her face contorted with grief, her body heaving with sobs. "Don't I deserve this?! Just once?! Just one fucking ti?!"
She wiped at her face, but it was useless. Her nose was running, her breathing ragged, her entire body wracked with uncontrollable tremors.
Noah just stood there. Frozen. Staring at the girl who was falling apart right in front of him.
He took a slow, deliberate breath, trying to steady himself. The weight of everything Sophie had just thrown at him sat heavy in his chest, but his mind was already shifting gears, trying to understand.
He wiped a hand down his face. "Alright… okay," he muttered, eyes flicking up to hers. "Then explain sothing to . Your dad. He didn't like before. Didn't even pretend to tolerate . But then, suddenly, he wanted over for dinner? Did you—was that you?"
Sophie shook her head imdiately, still sniffing. "No! My luck doesn't work like that."
"Then how does it work?"
She sighed, rubbing at her arms as if trying to shake off the weight of her own words. "Sotis… it rubs off on the people around ."
Noah stilled.
Sothing about that phrasing—it itched at the back of his brain.
'Rubs off?' He replayed her words, letting them roll through his mind like a fresh equation he needed to solve. 'That ans It's an external influence… a field effect, maybe?'
He narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind racing ahead of his mouth.
'If her luck isn't just affecting her, but also influencing the probabilities around people she interacts with… then that changes everything. That ans her presence alone could be shifting outcos, tipping chance in different directions without her direct intention.'
His heart started to pound—not from anger this ti, but from sheer intrigue.
'So if her luck isn't strictly self-contained, then what's the limit? Is it proximity-based? Does it grow stronger the longer she's around soone? Or is it tied to emotion? Does her own belief in an outco make it more likely to happen?'
His fingers twitched at his sides, his mind locking onto new threads, pulling them apart and re-weaving them together.
'This could an… in a controlled environnt, she might be able to manipulate probability itself without even realizing it. And if that's true, then luck—real, tangible, quantifiable luck—might not be just so abstract concept but an actual, asurable force acting on the world.'
His gaze snapped to Sophie, his expression shifting into sothing more thoughtful than accusatory now.
"How do you know it rubs off?" he asked carefully.
Sophie hesitated. "Because… I've seen it happen. Things around just—go my way. And sotis, the people I'm with get lucky too."
'Cause-and-effect. If there's a pattern, then it's not coincidence. Which ans—'
"So you're saying," Noah started slowly, testing the idea as he spoke, "that just by being around people… you might be altering their probability of success? Without even aning to?"
Sophie bit her lip, then gave a small, guilty nod.
Noah exhaled sharply, staring past her now, his mind already five steps ahead.
'That ans I have to rethink every single thing that's happened since I t her.'
Noah's thoughts raced as he tried to process everything. His mind jumped from event to event, trying to pin down where Sophie's so-called luck could have influenced his life.
But then he stopped.
He t her before the Cannadah incident. Before his entire life turned upside down. He'd gotten his powers before that. So whatever had happened to him back then—it had nothing to do with her.
At least, not directly.
But…
His stomach twisted as his mind reeled back to other things.
The gala. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire
That night had been a turning point in ways he still wasn't sure he'd recovered from. His parents had sent a delegate from the Ark, and—
He swallowed.
They'd given him a flipping coin.
What if…?
Noah froze. His brain hit a wall, his own thoughts betraying him for a second.
'No. No, I can't— I won't bla my entire life on her.'
Whatever luck Sophie had, it hadn't been what made his parents garbage human beings. His childhood trauma? That was his burden to deal with. His parents? They were shitty people all on their own.
But it didn't change the fact that…
Sophie was a problem.
Not just in the bad way. But in the good way too.
And right now, both of them were exhausted. Their emotions were running wild, their heads were spinning, and neither of them were in the right state of mind to keep spiraling.
Noah took a deep breath, then moved.
He walked toward Sophie, his steps steady, his mind clearing—not fully, but enough. He grabbed his bag, but before he could turn, she reached out and held onto him.
Her hands were cold. Shaky.
When she spoke, her voice was raw, fragile.
"…Are we gonna be good?"
Noah paused. He looked at her, at the streaks of tears still on her face, at the way her lips trembled—at the absolute ss of emotions between them.
And then, he sighed.
"I don't know," he admitted, voice quiet but steady. "But right now? I need to eat. I need to rest. I need to get my head straight."
He searched her face, making sure she was listening.
"And I hope you'll co cheer for this evening," he added, forcing a small smile. "When I fight to qualify for the interschool competition."
Sophie sniffled, her grip on him tightening. Her lips parted, but no words ca out for a second. Then, with a weak nod, she whispered—
"…Okay."
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