Ruby
It was quiet.
The city buzzing beneath me like a lullaby made of neon.
I stood on my balcony, a cigarette resting between my fingers, the smoke curling like the thoughts in my head.
Her face again.
That stubborn little brat with violet hair that glowed under city lights.
And those eyes—
Damn.
Diamond eyes.
Like moonlight trapped in glass.
I exhaled sharply.
"Why the hell am I thinking about her again?"
She's just... someone.
A moment. A flicker. A glitch in my calm system.
"Yes. Just someone I met. That's all."
Max stepped out, leaning on the railing next to me.
"What's wrong now?" he asked, already half-smirking.
I told him about the incident—her, the street, the drama.
Max blinked once, then said,
"Sis… are you in love at first sight or what?"
I chuckled. Low and bitter.
"Love and me? Never belonged in the same sentence."
He rolled his eyes like he'd heard this song too many times.
"Ugh. You and your heartless, stubborn heart."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
I took one last drag and flicked the cigarette off the edge.
Looked up at the sky like it held answers.
Then he dropped the bomb.
"There's a party tomorrow. Dad said you have to come with us."
I stared at him.
"You wanna die?"
"I'm just the messenger."
"…Fine. I'll come. But say one more word and you won't leave that party alive."
---
At the Party
Business types. Flashes of glass. Expensive cologne.
The kind of place I hated but knew too well.
I drove. BMW—my dad's. Max was already messing with the playlist like it mattered.
I wasn't expecting her.
But there she was.
In the middle of all that glitter and money and fakeness—
She.
With that long violet hair flowing like silk, eyes glimmering like she belonged to another dimension.
Delicate. But not weak.
Max leaned in. "She's the one, huh?"
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."
"She's Aveline Vale. The youngest daughter of the Vale family. She's with her sister—Mireline."
He paused, teasing grin on full blast.
"Why are you so interested in her?"
I choked on my drink.
Looked at him like he'd lost his mind.
"I'm not. She's just—she's just a nerd."
Max burst into laughter in the corner like a demon.
And then—
She saw me.
I saw her.
Her eyes: blue. Wet. Unsure.
Mine: red. Sharp. Burning.
Our gazes collided—
Water and fire.
Flicker and flare.
And in that second,
before her eyes darted away—
She didn't know who I was.
But I knew I wanted her to.