Chapter 65 — “The Unself Problem”

Chapter 65 — “The Unself Problem”
"So… what you're saying is, there's a mirror version of Jamie wandering around school trying to act normal while probably plotting our deaths?" I asked, stabbing a straw into my juice box like it was the Unself's eye.

Lucas leaned against the picnic bench beside me, arms crossed and expression mildly grim. "I'm saying we can't just wait for him to make a move. He's already pretending to be Jamie—who knows how long before he tries again?"

Lena sat across from us, poking at her lunch with all the enthusiasm of someone attending their own funeral. "What I wanna know is why none of the teachers have noticed Jamie acting weird. I mean, the guy just walked into class like nothing happened after being sucked into a haunted mirror."

"Because adults are blind to plot-relevant weirdness," I muttered.

Lucas gave me a side-eye smirk. "Is that your expert analysis?"

"Yes," I said, sipping from my juice box like it was champagne. "And I stand by it."

He chuckled—low and rare and warm. And maybe it was the sun, or the lack of sleep, or the trauma bonding, but something about that sound made my stomach flutter like it had wings.

"You're really calm about this whole ‘evil doppelgänger’ thing," Lena said, squinting at me.

"I'm not calm," I replied. "I'm... coping. With sarcasm. And sugar."

Lucas nudged my leg under the table with his foot. It wasn’t accidental.

"Rae's right," he said, catching my gaze. "We need to stay sharp. Especially now."

I blinked. "That was the most backhanded compliment I’ve ever gotten."

"She’s got a point though," Lena said. "If Jamie’s mirror version is loose, what’s next? He’s not gonna just haunt the locker room."

Lucas’s jaw tightened. “He’s testing the limits. Seeing what he can get away with.”

“Which is terrifying,” I added. “And somehow makes him worse than the actual monster we fought.”

“Because he’s pretending to be human,” Lucas said. “And he knows us now. Knows what we did to the last one.”

The last one.

The Unself that nearly tore Lucas apart. That almost killed us.

I reached under the table and brushed my fingers lightly against his hand.

He didn’t flinch. He didn’t pull away.

Instead, his pinky hooked mine.

It was such a small thing. But it anchored me.

Lena, thank god, was too busy doom-scrolling on her phone to notice.

“I still say we find a way to trap him,” Lucas murmured to me.

“Yeah?” I murmured back. “Got a giant butterfly net?”

He rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched. “You joke, but I’ve been thinking about it. Mirrors are his way in and out, right? What if we broke every mirror in school?”

“You’d make every cheerleader cry,” I whispered. “And the janitor retire early.”

“You got a better idea?”

I paused. “Maybe… bait.”

That got his attention. His brow lifted. “You’re not suggesting—”

“I didn’t say I’d be the bait. But—okay, yes, I’d totally be the bait if it meant protecting people.”

He groaned. “Rae.”

“Lucas.”

“You’re not being bait.”

“You’re not my dad.”

“I’m your—”

He stopped short, blinking.

And I turned, heart suddenly hammering, because what had he almost said?

You’re my… what?

Lena stood suddenly. “Uh, not to interrupt your rom-com moment, but Jamie just walked by.”

We spun to see Jamie Carter—or the thing wearing him—walking past the quad like a student who had exactly zero plans to murder anyone.

“Subtle,” I muttered.

“Too subtle,” Lucas said, eyes narrowing.

Jamie’s head turned just enough that I caught the gleam in his eye. That too-smooth, too-aware glint of mirror-like reflection.

Then he smiled.

A real one.

At me.

Like we were friends. Like he knew I was watching.

“What do we do?” Lena whispered.

Lucas stood. “We follow.”

“Subtlely,” I added.

Lena snorted. “Because we’re famous for that.”

We trailed him across campus, ducking behind bushes and trees like cartoon spies. Somewhere in the middle of it, I tripped and nearly faceplanted into a flowerbed, but Lucas caught my arm just in time.

“You okay?” he asked, holding me close.

“I’m not built for stealth,” I whispered.

He didn’t let go. “Yeah, but you’re built for chaos. So we’re good.”

“Was that a compliment?”

“Take it while it lasts.”

God help me, I almost kissed him right then. Dirt on my jeans, leaves in my hair, adrenaline humming under my skin—and somehow, he was still the safest place in the world.

We followed Jamie to the East Building—of course.

He paused at the door, looking around. Then he vanished inside.

Lucas turned to me. “We don’t follow him in there. Not yet.”

“But—”

“We need backup,” he said. “And a plan.”

I swallowed. “You’re right.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you just say I’m right?”

“I’m emotionally unstable. Don’t get used to it.”

His laugh was too loud for the moment, but it warmed my ribs like sunlight.

Then he did something even more dangerous than storming the East Building.

He reached for my hand.

Not just a brush. A real, solid intertwining of fingers.

“Rae,” he said.

And the way he said my name—it wasn’t casual.

It was a tether. A promise.

“Yeah?” I asked, barely breathing.

“If this goes bad again…”

“No.”

“Let me finish.”

“No,” I said firmly. “Don’t do the noble self-sacrificing thing. I’m not letting you go all action-hero on me.”

He grinned. “But I’d look great in slow motion.”

“And I’d slap you in slow motion.”

He shook his head, smile softening. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”

“Yeah,” I whispered. “Together.”

We stood like that for a second too long.

Then—

Bzzzzz.

All our phones buzzed.

We pulled them out in sync. The message was the same.

From an unknown number.

A video.

We opened it.

It was grainy. Blurry.

The same hallway from before.

The same mirror.

But this time… it showed us.

Me.

Lucas.

Standing outside the East Building.

Right now.

From the inside.

The footage ended with a slow zoom on the glass door.

Where a hand pressed against the other side.

Jamie’s.

Smiling.

Waiting.

Lucas exhaled sharply. “He’s watching us.”

“He’s baiting us,” I said.

And I didn’t know what was worse.

That he wanted us to come inside…

Or that we wanted to.

The door creaked open on its own.

Just enough to let in a whisper of wind—and an echo of our own voices from inside.

Lucas stepped forward.

“I guess the invitation’s been sent.”

I grabbed his arm. “Lucas—what if this is exactly what he wants?”

He looked down at me.

His hand brushed a hair from my face.

“I don’t care.”

And then he stepped into the dark.