Your Future Isn't Mine

Breaking the Pattern

Anna kept her head down, her books pressed tight against her chest as she crossed the quad. The September breeze tugged at her hair, cool against her damp skin. She hadn’t slept much again—the visions had been relentless.

This time she had seen herself in the library, sitting with Harry. He handed her a cup of coffee, black and steaming. She remembered the scent of it, the warmth against her fingers—followed almost immediately by the sharp ache of silence as his chair sat empty across from her, abandoned.

The image clung to her like cobwebs she couldn’t shake.

So when Harry appeared at the edge of the quad, striding toward her with determined steps, Anna’s stomach dropped.

“Anna,” he called.

She stiffened, quickening her pace. But Harry didn’t slow. He caught up easily, walking beside her, his voice steady.

“Meet me at the library tonight.”

Her heart lurched. “No,” she whispered. “I can’t—”

He stopped walking, forcing her to stop too. “Seven o’clock. Don’t run from me this time.”

His eyes locked on hers, fierce but not cruel, demanding but not unkind. For a moment, she could only stare at him, her pulse hammering.

Then he turned and walked away, leaving her trembling in the path.

***

She should have stayed in her dorm. She should have locked the door, buried herself under the blankets, ignored the pull in her chest.

But when seven o’clock came, Anna found herself slipping into the library anyway, drawn like a moth to flame.

Harry was waiting at a table near the window, books spread out but clearly untouched. When he saw her, his face softened with relief.

“You came.”

“I shouldn’t have,” she muttered, but sat down anyway.

Harry didn’t comment. Instead, he pushed something toward her—a cup, warm to the touch.

Anna froze. Coffee. Just like in her vision.

Her throat tightened. “Why… why would you…”

“Because I know what you saw,” Harry interrupted gently.

Her eyes shot up, wide with panic. “You don’t—”

“Yes, I do.” He leaned forward, his voice calm but firm. “You said you saw us. Together. And then it ended. You think it means we’re doomed. That no matter what, it falls apart.”

She trembled. “It’s true.”

Harry shook his head. “No. It’s only true if we let it be.”

Anna blinked, speechless.

He nudged the cup closer. “You saw this moment, didn’t you? Me giving you coffee.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came. The truth was written all over her face.

Harry smiled faintly. “Then watch closely. Because I’m about to prove you wrong.”

***

He stood abruptly, leaving the cup in front of her. Anna’s pulse raced as she watched him stride across the library to the café counter. He returned minutes later—not with another coffee, but with a cup of tea, steam curling gently from it.

He set it down beside her with quiet finality. “Chamomile. You always look tired.”

Anna’s chest tightened painfully. Her vision had been clear: coffee, followed by silence, abandonment.

But now… tea. Something different. Something she hadn’t seen.

“You changed it,” she whispered.

Harry sat back down, his gaze steady. “Exactly. The future isn’t set in stone, Anna. It’s choices. And I’ll keep making different ones until you believe that.”

Her hands shook as she wrapped them around the warm cup. The scent was soft, soothing, nothing like the bitterness of coffee.

“You don’t understand,” she said, her voice breaking. “It’s not that simple. The visions always come true.”

Harry leaned forward, his tone fierce now. “No. They only come true if you keep living by them. But if you make one different choice, one small change—everything shifts. Tonight proves it.”

Tears welled in Anna’s eyes. The cup blurred in her vision. “Harry…”

He reached across the table, his hand hovering near hers but not touching, giving her space. “I don’t care what you saw. I’m not afraid of a future we haven’t even lived yet. I’m afraid of losing you before we even try.”

Anna’s breath caught. His words pierced straight through her, unravelling the careful knot of defenses she had tied around her heart.

“Why?” she whispered. “Why would you risk that?”

“Because you’re worth it,” Harry said simply.

The silence that followed wasn’t heavy this time. It was alive, fragile, trembling with possibility.

***

Anna left the library that night with her head spinning.

The cup of tea lingered in her memory, the warmth still in her hands. The vision had shattered, replaced by something new, something uncharted.

Maybe Harry was right. Maybe the future wasn’t a cage.

But the fear still clung to her, sharp and relentless. What if she made the wrong choices? What if changing the future only made the end worse?

She walked back to her dorm under the silver glow of the moon, her heart torn in two directions.

But for the first time, she wondered if the visions weren’t fate at all—

—just warnings waiting to be rewritten.