Chapter 61 – Shadows in the Sunlight

Chapter 61 – Shadows in the Sunlight
You’d think that after battling mirrors, dodging curses, and switching bodies, a single weekend would give us time to recover.

Wrong.

Because Saturday morning began with my phone buzzing like it had a personal vendetta against sleep.

Lucas: Get dressed. We’ve got trouble.

Me: Define “trouble.”

Lucas: Mirror trouble. East Building. Meet me in 10.

I groaned into my pillow, clutching it like it might shield me from whatever nightmare Lucas had found. Couldn’t we have just had one normal Saturday? With pancakes? And maybe a movie marathon that didn’t end in possession?

Still, ten minutes later I was throwing on jeans and a hoodie and sneaking past my mom’s suspicious eyes with a mumbled, “Group project.” She raised an eyebrow but let me go. I didn’t even have the energy to feel bad about the lie.

Lucas was waiting by the school gates in all black like the moody goth ghost of weekends past. His hoodie was pulled up, but his eyes lit up when he saw me—and yeah, that still made my heart do embarrassing somersaults.

“You’re late,” he said, handing me a hot chocolate.

“You bribed me with caffeine. I forgive you.”

He gave a half-smile, the kind I was starting to collect like rare Pokémon.

We slipped into the school grounds through the side entrance Lena had hacked open for us a few days ago (don’t ask—she’s terrifying), and made our way toward the East Building. The morning sun threw long shadows behind us, but the air was crisp, clear. Deceptively calm.

“What's the emergency?” I asked, sipping the hot chocolate.

Lucas hesitated. “I saw something weird. In the mirror.”

“Define ‘weird.’ On a scale from ‘bad hair day’ to ‘we’re all gonna die’?”

“Somewhere between ‘talking to your reflection’ and ‘reflection grinned at me when I wasn’t smiling.’”

I stopped in my tracks. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

He looked at me. Dead serious.

“Oh good,” I said, tossing my head back. “Exactly what I wanted for breakfast—nightmare fuel.”

Lucas chuckled softly. “You’re getting better at handling this.”

“Thanks. I think it’s called ‘trauma-induced coping mechanisms.’ Very in this season.”

We stepped into the East Building, the air immediately colder. Dust floated in the beams of light that managed to slip through the grime-smeared windows. The place still gave me goosebumps.

We reached the mirror.

And yeah—something was off.

Its surface was darker than it should’ve been. Like there was another room on the other side, but not this room. Something dim, flickering. I could swear I saw movement.

Lucas stepped closer. “That wasn’t there yesterday.”

“No,” I whispered, reaching for his hand without thinking. “It wasn’t.”

Our fingers laced together automatically, like magnets.

Neither of us let go.

I could feel his heartbeat through his palm, steady but fast. Probably matched mine.

“Do you think it’s… watching us?” I asked.

Lucas gave a grim nod. “I think it’s waiting.”

“For what?”

Before he could answer, a loud crack echoed down the hall. We both jumped. A locker door creaked open at the far end. No wind. No draft. Just… movement.

Lucas shifted in front of me. Protective. Instinctive.

“Stay behind me.”

I rolled my eyes but obeyed. “I can handle myself, you know.”

“Sure,” he said. “But if a ghost demon thing jumps out, I’d rather be its chew toy than let it touch you.”

My throat tightened. “That was… kinda sweet. In a horrifying way.”

Another locker opened. Then another.

Then—

The mirror flickered.

It wasn’t our reflections anymore.

We were looking at ourselves… but not us. Twisted versions. Rae with pitch-black eyes. Lucas with a wicked grin. Standing exactly where we were.

But not moving the same way.

I reached up and touched my hair. Mirror-Rae didn’t move.

“Okay, okay, okay,” I whispered. “This is fine. Totally normal Saturday horror story. I’m sure this is just the universe giving us more bonding time.”

Lucas squeezed my hand. “You’re not scared?”

“I’m terrified,” I said. “But I’m also holding hands with the guy who punched a ghost once, so I feel marginally safer.”

He looked at me. “I’ll always keep you safe.”

His voice was soft. No sarcasm. Just promise.

And then—

CRASH.

The mirror cracked. A spiderweb of fractures shot across it, and the reflections vanished in a blink.

Lucas pulled me back. “We need to get out of here—now.”

“No arguments here!”

We bolted for the exit, but the door slammed shut with a bang. The temperature dropped. My breath misted in the air.

Lucas swore. “They’re not just reflections. They’re out.”

“You mean like… walking around out?”

“I mean like us-but-not-us are somewhere in this building.”

“Great,” I groaned. “Evil doppelgängers. We’re officially in a teen horror movie.”

Lucas turned, eyes scanning the hallway. “We split up.”

“Absolutely not.”

He blinked. “You’re supposed to say yes.”

“Well, surprise—I like you, and I’m not letting you get body-napped again.”

That stopped him.

“You like me?” he asked, as if the world hadn’t just turned into a supernatural disaster zone.

I flushed. “Oh my god. You’re really asking me that now?”

He grinned. “Just want to be clear.”

I shoved his shoulder. “Yes, I like you. A lot. Okay? You’re frustrating and weird and overprotective and kind of terrible at feelings but I—”

He kissed me.

Right there, in the middle of ghost central, while evil versions of us roamed the halls and lockers creaked and the mirror pulsed.

And it was perfect.

Warm and real and grounding. Like an anchor in a storm.

When we broke apart, I was breathless. “That was… not the worst idea.”

“I’ve got more,” he said, lips brushing my forehead.

We didn’t get to test them.

Because at that moment, footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Not ours.

Lucas pulled me behind a row of lockers just as a figure stepped into view.

It was Rae.

But not me.

Her eyes were pitch-black. Her smile was all wrong. And she turned her head—slowly, unnaturally—like she was smelling us.

Lucas’s grip on my hand tightened.

“Stay quiet,” he whispered.

I held my breath.

Dark-Rae tilted her head, like a wolf listening.

And then she spoke.

“I know you’re here,” she sang softly. “You can’t hide forever.”

Her voice was mine.

But not.

Lucas’s chest rose and fell against my back. I could feel how tense he was. How ready to fight.

I leaned in close to his ear. “When we get out of this, remind me to yell at you for kissing me in the middle of a supernatural attack.”

He smirked. “Worth it.”

Dark-Rae turned sharply and walked away, vanishing into the shadows.

We didn’t move.

Not for a long minute.

Then I whispered, “She’s looking for me.”

“She won’t find you,” Lucas said.

I stared at the cracked mirror. “She doesn’t have to.”

Because in that moment, I understood something bone-deep and terrifying.

She wasn’t just mimicking me.

She was me.

Or… part of me.

The part I’d left behind in the mirror world.

And she wanted her life back.

A low rumble echoed through the hall. The ground shook. Dust rained from the ceiling.

Lucas grabbed my shoulders. “We need to go. Now.”

But it was too late.

The mirror behind us shattered completely.

And from the shards rose something that looked like both of us—and neither of us.

A fusion.

An Unself reborn.

And it smiled with our faces.