The word kept flashing behind my eyelids like a broken neon sign, Smile.
It wasn't just the message. It was the tone. The timing. The silence that followed. Silence that felt… planned. Precise.
And suffocating.
By morning, I wasn't scared. Not exactly. Not anymore.
I was empty. Steeled.
When I walked through the school gates, I wore a mask of indifference. Not fear. Not courage. Just... nothing.
I'd decided something last night.
If they wanted a reaction, they weren't getting one.
I wasn't going to shrink.
I was going to watch back.
"Vanya!"
Nia jogged up beside me, curls bouncing, her brows scrunched with concern. "I texted you like five times last night. You okay?"
My lie was automatic. "Phone died."
She narrowed her eyes, not buying it. "You've been acting weird. Like… next-level weird. Is someone bothering you?"
I offered a weak smile. It didn't reach my eyes. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine," she muttered.
I didn't respond.
First period passed in a haze. My pen scratched nonsense into my notebook, but I didn't hear a word the teacher said. Every whisper behind me felt loaded. Every phone notification felt like a landmine waiting to go off.
But nothing came.
No messages. No photos. Just that one word echoing inside me like a curse.
During break, I slipped into the library. Not to study. Not even to think. Just to disappear.
The dusty silence wrapped around me like a second skin. Familiar. Cold. Comforting in its emptiness.
I wandered past shelves, trailing my fingers across book spines, until I found a shadowed corner seat. I pulled out a thick textbook at random and opened it. Pages blurred before my eyes. I wasn't reading.
Then I saw it.
A piece of paper. Folded. Stuffed behind a history book like it had been waiting.
My stomach twisted.
No name. No markings.
Just… there.
I reached for it slowly, heart in my throat. My fingers trembled as I unfolded it.
Still not smiling?
I almost dropped it. My ears rang with the rush of blood. My breath caught.
Whoever this was, they weren't done.
They knew where I'd be. They had been watching me long enough to guess my patterns.
I looked around.
Nothing.
No footsteps. No rustling. Just silence and the flicker of dusty light overhead.
"Vanya?"
I flinched and turned.
Reggie.
His face softened when he saw mine. "Hey. I figured you'd be here."
I quickly crumpled the note in my fist.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Nothing."
He didn't believe me. "Vanya, what's going on?"
"I said it's nothing," I snapped, stuffing it into my pocket. I stood, shoulders stiff. "Why are you here?"
"Because I'm worried about you," he said, voice calm but firm.
"Well, don't be," I bit out. "I can take care of myself."
"Is this about Tonya?" he asked gently.
My silence answered for me.
He sighed. "She was being a brat, okay? She says stuff for attention."
"Then why was she with you yesterday?" I demanded before I could stop myself.
He gave me a crooked smirk. "I smell something burning?" He exaggerated sniffing the air. "Is that jealousy?"
I glared. "Seriously?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, she's just fan-girling over me. She's always been like that."
I rolled my eyes, muttering, "And somehow I always get dragged into it."
Reggie stepped closer. "It looked like something else, huh?"
I looked away, biting my lip. "Yeah."
He was quiet for a moment, then said softly, "But I've only ever looked at you."
My chest clenched.
I wanted to believe him.
But I'd been fed sweet words before, and each time they turned sour. I wasn't ready to fall again.
Before I could respond, the library door creaked open. A student shuffled in, eyes glued to their phone. Just a normal student. Normal moment. But it shattered something in me.
"I have to go," I said quickly, brushing past Reggie.
"Vanya—wait—"
"I just need space."
And I left him standing there, confused, concerned, and maybe a little hurt.
After school, I didn't head straight home. I wandered through the long way—behind the football field, past the faded benches and graffiti-scrawled fences. My mind was a storm. Spinning. Snapping. Replaying that damn message.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown Number:
You'll smile eventually. Everyone does.
I stopped in my tracks.
Not this time.
I took a screenshot. Then another. My fingers trembled, but I blocked the number without hesitation.
Let them watch.
Let them think they were winning.
Let them keep playing their game.
Because I had started playing mine.
When I got home, the house was too still. Too perfect. Mira wasn't in the kitchen. No music. No scent of dinner. Just silence.
It made my skin crawl.
I walked up the stairs carefully, every step echoing louder than the last. I entered my room and closed the door softly behind me.
I went to the window and peeked out.
No shadows. No lurking figures. No weird movements.
Just the illusion of normal.
But somehow, that made it worse.
I shut the curtain and turned to the mirror.
There she was. The girl in the glass.
Me.
I studied her face. The tight jaw. The storm in her eyes. The hollow beneath them.
I leaned in closer.
And then…
I smiled.
A slow, unsettling curve of the lips. Not joy. Not amusement.
But something colder. Sharper. Intentional.
"Smile," I whispered to myself. "You wanted one."
And I watched it stretch across my reflection, wide, dangerous, and full of secrets.
They thought they were in control.
But they forgot who they were playing with.