Ontogenesis

I wasn't used to people looking at me.

Not in a way that mattered, anyway.

Before all this , Victor was just another face in the background; the kind people's eyes slipped past without even realizing it. The kind of kid who could disappear in a crowded room and no one would notice. And honestly? He preferred it that way. Kept things simple. Kept people out.

But then I showed up. And simplicity went out the window.

I'd been pushing through my usual routine pull-ups on the rusted bar behind the orphanage, push-ups on cracked pavement that left faint impressions of gravel in my palms. Nothing special. Just the basics. A shadow of who I used to be. But even muscle memory needed a body that could keep up, and this one… well, it was a work in progress.

Sweat dripped from my temple, burning into the corner of my eye. I dropped from the bar, landing with a soft thud against the dirt. That's when I felt it.

A stare.

The kind that lingers just long enough to press against your skin.

I glanced over my shoulder, expecting—well, I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe a passing look, someone bored out of their mind.

But it was Kim.

She was perched on the steps near the side entrance, sketchpad balanced on her knees, pencil frozen mid-air like she'd forgotten what it was for. She wasn't drawing. She was watching me.

Our eyes met. She didn't look away. Not right away, anyway.

I swiped the sweat from my forehead, letting the silence stretch until it felt thin, fragile. "You know," I said, voice rougher than I intended, "staring's kind of weird."

Her reaction was immediate—head snapping down so fast I almost laughed. But her ears betrayed her, the tips flushing pink despite the scowl she tried to plaster on her face.

I didn't laugh, though.

Instead, I grabbed my water bottle, took a slow sip, and wandered over, dropping onto the curb a few feet from her. Close enough to make it clear I wasn't bothered. Far enough to keep the space comfortable.

She peeked up, nose scrunching like she was annoyed, but the corners of her mouth tugged upward, just a little. "You've been different lately," she muttered, like she wasn't sure if she should say it out loud.

I rolled the bottle between my hands, watching the condensation drip down onto my fingers. "People change."

Kim snorted, and the sound was too sharp, too real to be fake. "You didn't. Not for years. You were like… wallpaper. And now you're out here pretending to be some kind of wannabe athlete?" She leaned back, squinting at me like I was some rare insect pinned under glass. "It's weird."

She wasn't wrong.

But it wasn't the kind of thing you could explain. How do you tell someone, Hey, the person you think you knew isn't here anymore. I'm just borrowing the body he left behind?

So, I didn't.

I just shrugged. "Maybe I got tired of being wallpaper."

Kim stared at me a second longer, then let out a soft huff, shaking her head like I was the punchline to some joke she hadn't figured out yet.

We sat there like that for a while. The summer heat settled heavily on our skin, cicadas buzzing somewhere in the distance. I could've left. It should've, maybe.

But I didn't.

Because for the first time in a long time, it didn't feel like the world was passing by me.

Don't get me wrong, I'd lost too many things to pretend people were permanent. They cracked and faded, leaving holes where you didn't expect them.

But as she tapped her pencil against the edge of her sketchpad, pretending not to glance at me from the corner of her eye, I realized

I didn't mind the company.

(Kim's Pov)

I sat next to Victor, flipping through my sketchbook without really paying attention to the pages. My fingers moved almost on their own, tracing the curves of the pencil lines. Everything around me felt far away, like it was happening in another world. The buzz of conversation, the sounds of people walking by it all seemed muffled, distant. The weight of everything that had always been on my mind didn't feel as heavy now, like I could actually breathe for the first time in a long time.

My parents never wanted me. I'd known that for as long as I could remember. It wasn't like they outright said it, but it was in the way they looked at me or didn't, more like. I wasn't the kid who got smiles or warm hugs. I was just... there. An accident. A responsibility they'd never really wanted.

When they gave me up, I thought I was ready for it. But it still hurt. I wasn't some sad little girl anymore, but that didn't mean I could just turn off the hurt. They never really wanted me. I knew it. And I thought, somehow, I'd get over it. But it wasn't that easy. The pain didn't just fade away, and it didn't make it easier when they sent me off to the orphanage. I was just... done with. Like a mistake they couldn't undo.

I didn't want to think about it now, though. Not here, not when everything was starting to feel different. I couldn't afford to get stuck in the past—not anymore. This year, things were going to change.

When school started again, I had a plan. I wasn't going to just coast by anymore, not this time. I'd always been good with grades, but I'd never really pushed myself to be the best. I had a chance at a scholarship—full ride to a good school, if I could just make it happen. I wasn't about to let that slip through my fingers. Art had always been my thing, my escape when the world didn't make sense. It wasn't just about drawing anymore. It was something I had to take seriously, even if that meant stepping out of my comfort zone for once.

But it wasn't just about that. Watching Victor had made me realize something. The way he carried himself, the way he didn't seem to care what people thought about him—it was... freeing. He didn't try to impress anyone or put on some act to be liked. He was just... him. And that was something I wanted. I wanted to be confident like that, to stop caring about what everyone else thought of me. To stop pretending to be someone I wasn't.

I'd always been the quiet girl, the one who didn't get close to anyone. I liked it that way. But lately, I was starting to rethink it. I didn't want to be the girl who stayed in the shadows forever. I wanted to get out of my head for once, to push myself. Sports had always been part of my life, but somewhere along the way, I'd stopped caring about them. Maybe it was because I didn't want to draw attention. But now? Maybe I could try out for basketball or netball. I wasn't sure which yet, but I wanted to try. Not for anyone else, but for me. I wanted to know what it felt like to push myself, to see if I could handle it.

I couldn't keep pretending that I didn't care about people's opinions. I did, maybe more than I'd let on. I was tired of hiding it. Tired of pretending I didn't want to be seen.

Victor had something about him that made me think. I'd been watching him over the last few weeks, and there was something about the way he didn't care. The way he wasn't trying to fit into anyone's mold or play some game with people. It wasn't like he was some perfect person who never struggled, but the way he carried himself—it made me wonder if maybe I was doing it all wrong. Maybe keeping everyone at a distance wasn't the answer. Maybe letting someone in, even just a little, wasn't as terrifying as I'd always thought.

Sitting here next to him now, I didn't feel like I had to hide. It was strange, but it felt... easy. Comfortable, even. It wasn't awkward, even though we'd barely known each other. Maybe it was because he wasn't expecting anything from me, wasn't judging me for not being perfect. He just... accepted me, in a way that I wasn't used to. And for once, I didn't feel like I had to pretend to be someone else. It was like breathing for the first time in a long time.

I'd always been afraid to let down the walls. To stop being the girl who kept everyone away. But sitting next to Victor, it didn't feel so hard. Maybe, for once, I could let someone close. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stop trying to control everything.

This year, I wasn't going to hide anymore. I was going to put everything I had into my art, my grades, and maybe, just maybe, I'd step into the world a little more. I didn't have to be perfect, but I could be better. I could challenge myself to be more than the person I thought I was. I could stop letting fear control me.

I don't know how it happened, but sitting here, next to Victor, I felt like something inside me shifted. It wasn't huge, not yet, but I could feel it. This year was going to be different. And maybe, just maybe, I could thank Victor for showing me that. Even if he didn't mean to, he'd made me realize that I didn't have to carry all this weight alone. I didn't have to keep pretending to be someone I wasn't. And, in a way, I felt like I owed him for that.

Maybe we could even be good friends. I wasn't sure, but for once, I didn't mind the idea.

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Power Stones!!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed

Next chapter for Equilibrium will be out later today.