She Wasn’t In The Script

Lila didn’t realize the moment mattered until it… stopped. Not paused. Stopped. Like someone hit a weird, invisible brake on realireality.and then she literally said I was overreacting, like, what the hell” Teni’s voice cut off mid-sentence. Not faded. Cut. Lila blinked. “...Teni?” No response. Teni was still sitting right in front of her, straw pressed against her lips, eyes slightly unfocused. Frozen. “Okay… what the f**k?” Lila waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing. No reaction. No blinking. No movement. Just— Still. Her chest tightened. “Gosh… this isn’t funny.” She reached out slowly, hesitated, then snapped her fingers right in front of Teni’s eyes. Nothing. Not even a flinch. And then “like, seriously, you always do this!” Teni continued talking. Like nothing happened. Like she didn’t just glitch out of existence for a few seconds. Lila jerked back in her seat. “Wait what?” Teni frowned. “What do you mean ‘what’? I’ve been talking.” “No, you literally just" Lila stopped. Because how do you even explain that? Hey, you froze like a broken video game character for five seconds. Yeah. That sounds insane. “Lila?” Teni squinted at her. “Are you okay?” “…Yeah.” Lie. Big lie. Something was off. Very off. Lila forced a laugh. “Sorry. I zoned out.” “Clearly,” Teni muttered, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, forget it. Did you see Ava this morning?” There it was. That name again. Ava. Lila leaned back slightly. “No. Why?” Teni’s entire face lit up. Actually lit up. “Omggg, you missed it! She walked into class late and everyone just—ugh, I don’t even know how to explain it. It was like a movie.” Lila frowned. “A movie?” “Yeah! Like everything just… shifted. Even Mr. Daniels didn’t shout. He just smiled.” Teni laughed. “Which is crazy because that man hates everybody.” Lila didn’t laugh. Because something about that didn’t sit right. “Wait,” Lila said slowly. “So… what happened before she came in?” Teni blinked. “Before?” “Yeah. Like… what were you guys doing?” “I mean… normal stuff, I guess.” “What stuff?” “I don’t know.” Teni shrugged. “Just… stuff.” Lila stared at her. “You don’t remember?” Teni frowned again, clearly annoyed now. “Why are you asking weird questions?” “I’m not just answer me.” “I did answer you.” “No, you didn’t.” “Yes, I did.” “No, you literally said ‘stuff.’ What does that even mean?” There was a pause. A weird one. Not frozen this time. But… empty. Teni blinked twice, like she was trying to reset her brain. Then she laughed it off. “Gosh, you’re overthinking again. It’s not that deep.” But Lila felt it. That same feeling from earlier. That slight… shift. Like the conversation just got pushed back onto a track it wasn’t supposed to leave. “Yeah,” Lila muttered. “Maybe.” But she wasn’t convinced. Not even close. Because something didn’t make sense. At all. She leaned forward slightly. “Teni.” “Hmm?” “If I left right now… mid-conversation… what would you do?” Teni blinked. “…What kind of question is that?” “Just answer.” “I’d call you back, obviously.” “Are you sure?” “Lila, what is wrong with you?” Lila stood up. “Let’s test it.” “Test what” And then Lila walked away. Three steps. That’s all she took. One. Two. Three Silence. Not the normal kind. Not café noise fading. Not people talking. Nothing. Lila stopped walking. Slowly turned back. Teni was frozen again. Mid-sip. Same position. Same blank look. Lila’s stomach dropped. “...No way.” Her heart started pounding. Hard. Fast. Too fast. “Okay… okay, okay” She walked back toward the table. The moment she crossed some invisible line “I’m serious, Lila, you’re acting so weird today!” Teni’s voice snapped back. Alive. Normal. Like nothing ever happened. Lila stared at her. Wide-eyed. Silent. “Say that again,” Lila said. “Say what again?” “What you just said.” Teni rolled her eyes. “I said you’re acting weird. Which you are.” Lila swallowed. “Before that.” “What are you talking about?” Nothing. No memory. No awareness. Lila slowly sat down. Her hands felt cold. Her mind racing. “This doesn’t make sense…” she whispered. “What doesn’t?” Teni asked. Lila didn’t answer. Because suddenly— Something clicked. “Wait…” she said quietly. “What?” Teni sighed. Lila’s eyes slowly lifted. Scanning the café. People laughing. Talking. Moving. Normal. But then The door opened. And everything changed. Not froze. Not stopped. But… Shifted. Conversations softened. Heads turned. Energy tilted. Like the entire room just leaned toward one point. Ava walked in. And for the first time Lila noticed it clearly. Everything… Wasn’t moving for her. It was moving for Ava. Lila’s chest tightened. “...What the hell…” And then Ava paused. Right at the entrance. Her eyes scanned the room. Slowly. Carefully. And then They landed directly on Lila. Not past her. Not around her. On her. Ava frowned. Just slightly. Like she wasn’t supposed to see her. And Lila felt it. Deep in her chest. Sharp. Unsettling. Like she had just done something she wasn’t supposed to do.