The hallway was chaos, like it always was after first period shoulders bumping, half-eaten granola bars being shoved into lockers, the shrill laughter of people trying too hard to sound interesting. Viktor moved through it with surprising ease. He'd already mapped the traffic flow, timed the class shifts, and identified who moved like they mattered and who just got in the way.
He took the turn past the science hall at a steady pace and that's when it happened.
Someone rounded the corner fast, too fast red hair bouncing, head turned slightly as she waved goodbye to a friend behind her.
Jessica.
She walked directly into him.
Not a light brush. A full, shoulder-to-shoulder collision that jostled both of them backward, her phone slipping from her hand and bouncing once on the tile.
"Oh my gosh sorry!" she blurted out, immediately crouching to grab her phone. "I wasn't watching where—Morty?"
Viktor didn't flinch. He took half a step back, caught his balance, and offered a polite, easy smile not smug, not rehearsed. Just enough warmth to keep her from spiraling into embarrassment.
"No worries," he said smoothly, already lowering himself to grab the pen that had dropped from her binder. "You've got decent acceleration, by the way. Ever consider track?"
Jessica blinked.
It took her a second to process the line. Not because it was awkward, but because it wasn't. This wasn't the Morty she knew the one who'd stammer something about her eyes or apologize five times in one breath. This Morty spoke like he'd had practice. Like he belonged in a conversation without having to ask for permission.
She took the pen from his hand slowly, her eyes meeting his for a beat longer than they should've.
"I, uh... I guess I'm kind of a hallway hazard," she said, trying to recover her rhythm.
"Just means you're in motion," he replied, voice calm, polite. "Beats standing still."
Jessica actually laughed. Not nervously genuinely. It wasn't even about what he said it was how comfortable he made it sound. How easy it felt to talk to him, like she wasn't doing him a favor by acknowledging his existence.
"I haven't seen you around much lately," she said, adjusting her backpack.
Viktor tilted his head slightly, tone easy. "Yeah, I've been… working on myself."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Trying to spend a little less time reacting and a little more time living," he said with a faint grin. "Crazy idea, I know."
She smiled back, but there was a flicker of something else behind it now. Interest, maybe. Curiosity. A shift. For the first time, Jessica wasn't looking past Morty she was really looking at him.
"Well, I like it," she said, almost too quickly. "I mean it suits you."
Before he could answer, a voice called from across the hall—Jessica's friend motioning impatiently from the entrance to third period.
Jessica glanced over her shoulder, then back at him.
"I'll see you around, Morty."
"You will," he said simply.
She hesitated a second longer than she had to, then turned and walked off.
Viktor remained still, watching her go not staring, not fantasizing. Just observing. He'd made a ripple. Nothing loud. Nothing messy. Just enough to make the world notice that Morty Smith… wasn't quite where they left him.
And that was exactly the point.
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So how you good been good l hope. drop some stone and comment
Love ya ❤️