Time, that slippery soap bar of existence, had somehow managed to slide a full weak past since Sebastian crash-landed into the wet, pine-scented stage that was Forks, Washington.
In that time, he'd performed the supernatural version of community outreach, terrorizing vampires, traumatizing werewolves, and pirating motel accommodation like a polite hurricane. He'd stolen a school identity, mugged reality using math, and tested the patience of every supernatural entity within a 15-mile radius.
Not bad, all things considered.
And now, as twilight(the time, not the franchise) settled outside his motel window, painting everything with that deep gray blur that Forks called "evening", Sebastian was lying flat on the crunchy excuse for a mattress in his room. His arms were sprawled out dramatically like he was reenacting a fainting scene from a telenovela.
He stared up at the ceiling fan above, a sickly yellowed thing wheezing like it needed an exorcism. It spun slow, like a tired ghost circling a decision.
He smiled.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow was the day.
Forks High School would finally be graced by the presence of the one and only Sebastian Vectorius Menace Extraordinaire. Also, Bella Swan was set to arrive, Forks' own story-critical protagonist and accidental chaos beacon. But more importantly… the pull on his soul had reached a crescendo.
It was warm. Steady. Insisted.
Like a golden thread tugging gently on the base of his existence.
The mate bond.
He didn't need to be a romantic sap to know it. Whatever cosmic wi-fi this universe ran on, his heart had found a signal. And tomorrow… that signal was going to go live.
He chuckled to himself, rolling onto his side. A lock of hair fell into his eyes.
"Incoming soulmate, ETA: first period math."
But his smile faltered slightly as the ceiling fan groaned above.
Love.
It was a funny thing. In his past life, it had mostly been a theoretical concept. A few crushes. Some late-night anime-fueled dreams of something eternal. But real, deep connection? Something that stitched itself into the marrow being?
That was foreign.
Uncharted territory.
And yet… now here it was, barreling toward him like an emotional freight train with glitter on the wheels.
He sighed.
"Sentimental hours with Sebastian, sponsored by emotional baggage and leftover noodles."
He sat up, running a hand through his hair and glancing toward the cracked motel mirror.
"Can't go to school tomorrow looking like a depressed raccoon;" he muttered. Then grinned. "And I definitely can't start the school year without a little chaos. It's tradition."
But what kind of chaos?
He couldn't go too overboard. No Beyblade Werewolves or surprise gravity slaps in the middle of homeroom. He needed to blend in, well, as much as someone like him ever could.
"Hmm… prank level: mildly illegal, not expellable," he pondered aloud.
Maybe something with vector-based magnetic pulses? Lock a few lockers shut, maybe rearrange the vending machine contents alphabetically using kinetic refraction?
He flopped back down.
"Ugh. Mischief block. Creative paralysis. Is this what burnout feels like?"
Meanwhile… Cullen house…
Alice Cullen stood stock-still in the middle of the Cullen living room, eyes wide, her pupils flickering with a thousand fragmented visions.
She had seen many things since Sebastian arrived, most of them absurd, and at least three involving him riding a moose through the school parking lot, but tonight fate twisted again.
This time, it wasn't Sebastian in her sights.
It was… another.
A girl.
Dark hair. Stormy eyes. A quiet center of gravity around which fates started to bond.
She saw Bella.
And behind Bella.. someone else. Another presence approaching. Like thunder behind a cloud. The threads of the story trembled as if someone had flicked a domino in the distance.
Alice clutched her head. "It's happening again…"
Jasper, sensing her tension, stepped closer. "You okay?"
She looked at him with a slight grin. "Another mate is entering the field."
He blinked. "Like… Sebastian-level chaos?"
Alice snorted. "No one's Sebastian-level chaos. This is… quieter. But just as important."
Emmett leaned over the couch ."So what you're saying is: tomorrow's gonna be nuts."
Alice nodded. "Absolutely. The narrative's about to go nuclear."
Back at the motel…
Sebastians had finally chosen a wardrobe: something slightly mysterious, definitely cool, and calculated to be just under the "attention-seeking " threshold. He laid the outfit out like a general preparing for war.
"Subtle. Sleek. Slightly unapproachable but not serial killer vibes. Perfect:"
He grabbed a random soda can from the table and crushed it gently using vector pressure with a bored expression.
Vectors.
God, he loved them.
He could bend trajectories with a thought, send people flying, halt bullets mid-air, rewrite the rules of physics with a flick of his mind. But it wasn't just power, it was logic behind it. Vectors weren't magic. They were math.
Direction. Magnitude. Force.
A language older than any incantation.
"I'm basically a walking science fair on steroids," he murmured, pleased.
He wandered over to the window, peering out into the rainy dark.
He could feel it again, that glowing thread tugging at his core, a beacon in the storm. It didn't tell him who exactly… but it whispered that tomorrow, everything would change.
He could feel the bond humming beneath his skin.
A nervous energy tingled in his veins. His heart thudded once, hard.
"Alright," he whispered. "Tomorrow, I meet my soulmate. And infiltrate a school. And maybe steal a pop tart."
He turned away from the window and slid into bed, arms behind his head, a lopsided grin on his face.
"Forks High isn't ready for me."
The rain tapped lightly on the motel roof like the drumroll of destiny.
And Sebastian Vectorius, chaos incarnate, drifted into sleep with a single though:
Let the story begin.
END OF CHAPTER 7