┌─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┐
prologue!
└─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┘

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THE STORY STARTS with a dream.

Kaito McCoy has been through this enough times to know exactly what she'll see before she opens her eyes: a vast expanse of white that stretches out in all directions. It's not a room. It's not outdoors. Rather, it's a place where nothing exists, an endless stretch of bright emptiness like she's standing at the center of the universe. No breeze tickles her midnight-black hair, there's no surface beneath her feet despite the fact she feels like she's anchored to some sort of surface, nothing to feel or touch.

Nothing exists except her.

She looks down at her body. She's wearing what she always does here— a loose, white shirt and soft trousers of the same color. She's barefoot, but doesn't mind. The short sleeves she has should make her chilly, but her skin doesn't react to the temperature, because she feels nothing. A space this empty should make her feel uneasy, but instead, she's washed in tranquility that makes her feel at peace.

Kai pinpoints the moment she feels herself drifting deeper into this welcome void. Even as her memories begin slipping away, she feels no fear. Sometimes she even looks forward to the times where she can drift away from the real world and come here during her slumber. Even as her body stays still in her bed, her mind travels far and wide, floating along impossible currents and challenging the fabrics of reality.

And then Kai simply becomes a girl. She has no name, no identity, doesn't even know where she's from or who she is. There's only her and this place. Maybe she's been here her entire life. Maybe she's never left.

And then he appears. The boy. He's wearing the same plain, white clothing as her, accenting his light brown skin and fluffy black hair. His deep, almond-shaped eyes soften when he sees her. Despite the fact they're technically strangers, they each have the distinct feeling that they know each other. After all, they've been seeing one another in this space for a long while.

Nothing exists except them.

The girl knows the brain doesn't make up faces in dreams — every person is supposed to be someone you've seen in real life — but doesn't think she's ever encountered the boy before. She's certain she would have recognized him. He exudes softness, his touch like a silk blanket and smile replacing the rays of an absent sun. She would have recognized the undeniable magnetism he has that makes ignoring him impossible.

They've watched each other grow up. Once, he had been a child with shaggy hair and missing teeth. Once, she'd had braces and hair cut to her chin. Once, they'd been afraid.

"Who are you?"

"I don't know. Who're you?"

"I dunno, either."

They'd slowly stopped being cautious of each other. For him, it took three visitations. For her, it was much longer — she wouldn't trust him, choosing to sit and stare at the blankness surrounding them rather than engage in conversation. But that undeniable pull had soon cracked her shell. She'd allowed him to sit with her, and the rest is history.

The boy smiles and walks closer to her. The girl finds his grin contagious, mimicking it and allowing it to light up her face. He stops right in front of her. Once, he'd tried to hug her, but she'd shyly backed away. Now he settles for a pat on her head. She's only a little bit shorter than him, so they're nearly eye-to-eye, but the closeness doesn't bother her. She's comfortable around him.

"Hey, it's you again."

"Where are we?"

"Wish I could tell you."

This is day four thousand five hundred and twenty-five. Sometimes, she doesn't see him. She doesn't see the bright void at all, just a pitch darkness that's not as welcoming as this space is. Those are the sad times. She'd much rather be here with him in a place she feels safe.

She stretches a hand out. He takes it, tanned skin warm against her palm as she sits both of them down. They just talk. It's a hard thing to do when you don't remember who you are or where you came from, but in a way, it's also nice. She feels connected to the boy in ways she can't describe. It's like, even though she doesn't know him, she knows his soul. Like if he were standing in a crowd, she'd be able to pick him out in a heartbeat. Like they're bound by some invisible string.

The girl doesn't know how long they're there, but it seems like it's all too soon when she feels a pull in her navel. The boy's figure begins fading, and then she's moving, and Kai opens her eyes to the incessant beeping of her alarm clock with a groan.

When she'd attended her first day at Beacon Hills High School in January, she'd discovered something amiss about the connection between her and the boy in her dreams. When she wakes up, she can still remember every detail of the time she'd spent in that void. She can picture every pore on his face and had sketched him on multiple occasions prior to moving, wondering who he could be.

But when she'd gotten to her locker on her first day and seen a familiar, tanned figure with shaggy black hair standing next to hers, her stomach had sunken until it felt hollow. Because Scott McCall had glanced at her without a shred of recognition in his eyes.

_______

a/n:

it's here!!!! i absolutely love the concept of shared dreams and i'm so excited to expand on it throughout the book. skai is such a soft otp🥺 i would die for them already.

also, for those of you who have read mostly ghostly, you may have noticed that the first line of the prologue matches up with the first line of MG's prologue! it's subtle but i think it's cool cuz i'm a nerd :)

i know this was a short prologue but i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!! i'll see you in chapter one!

—kristyn

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