Leo's POV
It started with a whisper.
By first period, the hallway buzzed like static. Phones out. Eyes wide. Some faces looked curious, others horrified.
But they all turned to him when he walked in.
Kieran.
I saw him before he saw me. He looked… composed. Controlled. But I knew better. I saw the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes darted, taking in every stare.
"Kieran," I called, jogging to his side.
He didn't stop walking. "It's out, isn't it?"
I nodded once. "A video."
"Where?" he asked.
"Everywhere."
---
At break, they cornered us in the hallway.
A group of students, led by Jericho—a senior with too much time and too little empathy.
"So, this the real Kieran?" Jericho sneered, holding out his phone. "What is this, some underground fight club? You were what—fifteen?"
Kieran didn't flinch. "Seventeen."
Someone gasped.
Another muttered, "Did he kill that guy?"
"He didn't," I snapped, stepping in front of Kieran. "He was forced into it."
Jericho laughed. "Sure. Poor killer-boy Kieran. Bet he cried afterward too."
I expected Kieran to snap.
But instead, he just looked Jericho dead in the eyes and said, "You think I wanted that life? That I had choices?"
The hallway went quiet.
"I didn't fight because I liked it. I fought because someone would've killed me if I didn't."
Jericho scoffed. "Whatever, man."
But no one followed him when he turned and walked away.
---
Later, on the rooftop, Kieran leaned over the railing, wind brushing through his hair.
"I should've told you," he said.
"No," I replied. "You shouldn't have had to."
He turned to me slowly. "A part of me liked it, Leo. The power. The control."
I took his hand. "And the part that hated it—that's the part I'm in love with."
He stared at me.
And for the first time all day, he let his mask slip.
Just a little.
---
Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of the city, Rael watched the school's gossip page go viral.
He smirked.
"They're defending him," said the girl beside him, eyes glued to her screen.
Rael didn't look away from the window. "For now."
He sipped his drink, then whispered to himself:
"Let's see what breaks first. His spirit… or his heart."