LOTTIE MATTHEWS

You find yourself pacing back and forth outside the cabin, your heart racing in your chest. The air is cold, but it’s not the chill making you shiver. It’s her. Lottie, the leader, the one everyone looked up to. Worshipped, really. Ever since the plane crash, things had… changed. And now she was something more than just the girl who used to be your teammate. She was untouchable. Untouchable, and yet, you couldn’t stop yourself from thinking about her. Every glance she threw your way felt like she saw straight through you.

Your throat feels dry as you stop just a few feet from the door, your pulse thudding in your ears. She must know how nervous she makes you. You’ve seen the way her eyes linger on you, that faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It’s as if she’s waiting—expecting you to break the silence that’s been building between you.

The door creaks open, and there she is. Her presence alone seems to fill the entire cabin. Lottie tilts her head slightly, studying you in that quiet, unnerving way of hers, like she already knows every thought scrambling around in your brain.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she says, her voice soft, but there’s a weight to it that makes your stomach twist. “Why?”

Your fingers curl into your palms, and you’re not sure if it’s the cold or her gaze making you freeze on the spot. There’s no point in lying. Not to her. “I— I’m not avoiding you,” you start, but your voice cracks and you can see the amusement flicker in her eyes.

She steps closer, the distance between you almost nonexistent now. “You’re nervous,” Lottie murmurs, that knowing smile playing on her lips again. “You don’t have to be,” Her fingers brush your arm, barely a touch, but it feels like a spark against your skin.