Not Normal
516 Words
I didn’t mean to stare.
I really didn’t. But how do you not stare at someone who looks like he was drawn by a bored god during art class?
Lucian Vale didn’t walk into rooms — he shifted them. Like gravity bent slightly when he entered. People sat up straighter. Voices softened. Even the loudmouths in the back of class paused, mid-joke, like their brains needed a second to process his existence.
And don’t even get me started on the girls.
By third period, he had a nickname.
“The vampire prince.”
Mai said it as a joke — something about his perfect jawline and the way he didn’t smile.
I laughed with her, but it stuck in my head like a splinter.
Because Lucian Vale didn’t look like he belonged here. Not just in school — but in this world.
---
He had that look. The kind that makes you question if someone is even real.
The kind of beauty that doesn't feel like a face, but a weapon.
His skin was the kind of pale that somehow glowed instead of looking sick. Hair dark and messy, like a secret. And his eyes? Not just deep — bottomless. Like you could fall in and never hit the end.
He wasn’t loud. He wasn’t trying. But somehow… everyone noticed him anyway.
I wasn’t the only one watching him. I was just the only one trying not to.
---
By lunchtime, Lucian had three offers to sit with different groups.
He didn’t take any of them.
He sat alone. Near the window. Reading a book that didn’t have a title on the spine. Like it was written just for him.
Mai elbowed me. “Okay, seriously. What’s his deal? Silent. Mysterious. Zero social skills. He’s like... a hot shadow.”
I shrugged. “Maybe he’s just quiet.”
“You hate people like that.”
“I hate everyone.”
“True.”
She went back to her fries. I went back to not staring. And failing.
---
The weirdness didn’t stop.
After lunch, it happened again.
In history class, the projector glitched when he walked in. Not like it blinked — it shut down. Cold air seeped through the vents even though the day was hot. And for a second, just a second, I saw the edges of the world go... fuzzy.
Like the sharpness around him didn’t match the rest of the room.
It was like someone had dropped a perfectly shaded comic book panel into a blurry, average life.
And I was the only one who saw the difference.
---
After school, I lingered near my locker, pretending to look for something.
Lucian passed by without a word.
No glance. No nod.
But the moment he was gone, I realized I’d been holding my breath.
And then I saw it.
By the stairs, right where he’d just walked, the hallway lights flickered, fast, almost stuttering.
No one else noticed.
But I did.
Something about him wasn’t normal.
And I was going to find out what it was.
Even if it burned me alive.
- Writer
