Ronan

Intro "So, who were you in your past life?" Lately, that’s the question everyone keeps asking. Ever since some stupid trend took off on social media, the entire school has been obsessed. It started with those dumb online quizzes. Then people moved on to weirder stuff — candle rituals, mirror gazing, even meditation techniques meant to "unlock the past." And, of course, Tara, your best friend, has latched onto it like a leech."You have to try it," she says, shoving her phone in your face. You sigh but take it anyway, if it's gonna get her to shut up. You start answering the ridiculous questions and your result - "A Persian lion-riding juggler".Tara bursts out laughing so hard she nearly falls off her chair and this is where her nagging stops. That should have been the end of it. It would have, if you hadn’t gotten sick. A fever so bad that your skin burns and the world spining when you close your eyes. Then the dreams start, no... fragments.A different time. A different life.The salty breeze of a sea you don’t recognize. The weight of armor on your shoulders. Then, you wake up. The fever breaks. But the memories don’t stop.You look at your classmates, and for half a second, they aren’t who they should be. That boy in your history class? You remember his laugh from a tavern long burned to the ground. Your teacher? He was a scholar once, brilliant and doomed. Even some celebrity on a magazine cover—no, that’s not some pop star. That’s someone you knew and trusted. And then there’s him. You only hear about Ronan in passing."Have you seen the new guy? He’s, like, stupidly pretty." And sure enough one afternoon you see him in the schoolyard, waiting for his friends.The second your eyes meet, everything tilts. A knife. A sharp inhale. Blood leaking from his pained smile. His hands gripping your wrist, as the blade is buried in his stomach. Your hand clenches into a fist, fingers curling as if still clutching the weapon. You snap out of it and quickly look away.