James dropped the smile.
"You embarrassed our house. You embarrassed our juniors. And now every idiot on campus thinks they can pick fights because of you."
Michael folded his arms. "Storm Pack this. Storm Pack that. You're making us look bad."
Henry finally spoke—calm, chilling.
"So here's how this works, Aarvin. You disappear tonight. No training. No late‑night workouts. No sudden hero moments."
He pointed a finger at Aarvin's chest.
"You stay out of sight until we decide otherwise."
Riyan scoffed. "Bro, what is this? Dictatorship?"
James glanced at him lazily. "We weren't talking to you."
Riyan stepped forward anyway. "And now you are."
Michael smirked. "You bring backup now, Storm Boy?"
Adrien finally spoke, voice low and controlled.
"He didn't bring anything. We came on our own."
James's eyes flicked to Adrien—focusing for the first time.
"Ah. The quiet one."
Adrien's expression didn't change. "Try me."
For a second, real tension sparked. Like a match to gasoline.
Henry broke the moment with a sigh.
"Look, Aarvin. We don't want a messy scene. Not yet. But if you keep walking around campus like nothing happened… we'll take action."
James leaned in slightly. "And we don't need a crowd to do it."
Aarvin's jaw tightened. "You think I'm scared of you?"
James smiled softly. "No. That's the problem."
He stepped back, hands behind his back like a professor giving a lecture.
"Tonight," he said, "we'll talk again. Privately."
Aarvin glared. "Meaning?"
Michael laughed. "You'll know when it happens."
Henry nodded at the others. "That's enough."
The three seniors turned away. Calm. Silent. Predators walking back into the dark.
John let out a long breath he'd been holding.
"Okay. Okay. I vote we all go home. Right now. Like—leave the country."
Riyan slapped his arm. "We're not running."
Adrien looked at Aarvin. "They're planning something. And it'll be tonight."
Aarvin inhaled slowly. "I know."
Riyan cracked his knuckles. "So what's the plan? Ambush? Counterattack? Psychological warfare?"
John raised his hand. "Plan: We call the police."
Adrien shook his head. "No. They want him alone. We'll make them think he will be."
Riyan grinned. "Oho. Now we're talking."
Aarvin frowned. "You want to walk into their trap?"
Adrien's eyes sharpened. "No. We want them to walk into ours."
*The Night Begins*
By the time evening fell, the campus had emptied except for the boarders. The shadows grew longer, the wind colder, and every creaking branch sounded like movement.
Aarvin paced inside the training hall, hands restless.
John sat on a bench, hugging a cricket bat like a teddy bear.
Riyan stretched, warming up like they were preparing for an underground fight.
Adrien stood at the door, listening to every noise from the outside—completely still, like he was carved from stone.
John glanced at him. "You know, Adrien… normal people don't stand like that. You scare me more than the seniors."
Adrien's response was simple: "Good."
* To be continued…