The first shove happened between third and fourth period.
It wasn't dramatic.
It wasn't some movie slow-motion moment.
It was casual.
Cruel.
Like it meant nothing.
Cypriana was walking down the hallway with her books pressed to her chest, trying to keep her head high, trying to pretend the whispers didn't stick to her skin.
Then—
A shoulder slammed into hers.
Hard.
Her books spilled across the floor.
Paper scattered.
The hallway laughter sharpened instantly.
Cypriana froze.
For half a second, she didn't move.
Then she looked up.
Brianna Shaw stood over her with two other cheer girls.
Her smile was bright.
Mean.
"Oh my god," Brianna said, voice dripping with fake innocence. "Sorry. Didn't see you there."
The other girl snorted.
"Hard to miss her skirt though."
Laughter.
Cypriana's face burned.
She bent down slowly, gathering her books with shaking hands.
Brianna crouched too.
Not to help.
To whisper.
"You know… people are saying you'll sleep with anyone who looks at you long enough."
Cypriana's fingers clenched around a notebook.
Brianna tilted her head.
"Is that true?"
Cypriana's voice was low.
"Move."
Brianna giggled.
"Or what?"
The hallway felt too loud.
Too close.
Cypriana stood.
Her chest rose and fell fast.
Brianna stood too.
And then—
Brianna's hand grabbed Cypriana's ponytail.
Yanked.
Cypriana gasped sharply, stumbling back.
A sound escaped her throat—half pain, half fury.
Brianna leaned close.
"You're not special," she hissed. "You're just—"
Her voice dropped like poison.
"A whore."
Something snapped inside Cypriana.
Not a scream.
Not tears.
Just—
A click.
Her hand lifted slightly.
The air shifted.
Brianna's eyes widened suddenly as an invisible force shoved her backward.
Not enough to hurt.
Enough to humiliate.
Brianna slammed into the lockers with a metallic bang.
The hallway went silent.
A few students gasped.
Brianna stared, breathless.
"What the hell—"
Cypriana's eyes were dark.
Her voice came out shaking.
"Don't touch me."
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Brianna's face twisted in fear and rage.
"You freak!"
She shoved past her friends, storming off.
The hallway erupted into whispers.
Cypriana stood trembling.
Her books still on the floor.
Her heart pounding like a war drum.
She didn't feel powerful.
She felt—
Cornered.
Behind the gym later, Steve was pacing.
His hands were in his hair.
His voice was too loud.
"Okay, no. This is insane."
Matt leaned against the wall, jaw tight.
Cypriana sat on the curb, arms wrapped around herself.
Andrew stood apart.
Silent.
Always apart.
Steve pointed between them.
"Do you guys even hear yourselves anymore?"
Matt frowned.
"Steve—"
"No, seriously!" Steve snapped. "We got powers. We're literally gods, and all you two do is—"
He gestured wildly at Matt and Cypriana.
"Whatever this is."
Then at Andrew.
"And you just stand there like some emo serial killer!"
Andrew's eyes flickered.
Cold.
Steve swallowed slightly but kept going.
"I'm being serious. This was supposed to be fun."
Cypriana's voice was quiet.
"It's not fun anymore."
Steve stared at her.
"…Why?"
Cypriana didn't answer.
Matt's jaw clenched.
"Because people won't leave her alone."
Steve scoffed.
"So what? People talk. They always talk."
Cypriana's head lifted sharply.
"You don't get it."
Steve threw his arms up.
"Then make them stop!"
Silence.
That landed wrong.
Steve blinked.
Then laughed nervously.
"…I mean, not like murder. Just—"
His eyes lit with an idea.
"Pranks."
Matt frowned immediately.
"No."
Steve stepped closer, energized now.
"Yes! Think about it. We could mess with people. Scare them a little. Remind them we're not…normal."
Cypriana's stomach twisted.
Andrew's voice finally came.
Soft.
Dangerous.
"Why scare them?"
Steve paused.
Andrew stepped forward slightly.
His gaze was on Cypriana.
"They deserve worse than scared."
Matt stiffened.
"Andrew."
Andrew didn't look at him.
His voice stayed calm.
"They hurt her."
Cypriana's throat tightened.
Andrew's eyes held hers.
"They hurt you… and you're still sitting here trying to be good."
Cypriana whispered.
"I don't want to be like you."
Andrew's expression didn't change.
"You already are."
Matt stepped forward sharply.
"Stop."
Andrew's eyes finally cut to him.
Matt's voice was firm.
"Don't do that."
Andrew tilted his head.
"Do what?"
Matt's jaw clenched.
"Pull her into whatever…dark thing you're doing."
Cypriana flinched.
Steve looked between them, confused.
"What the hell is happening?"
Andrew's voice was quiet.
"She understands."
Matt snapped.
"No, she doesn't. She's hurt."
Andrew's lips twitched.
"So am I."
The air thickened.
Steve took a step back without realizing.
Matt moved closer to Cypriana instinctively.
Protective.
Andrew noticed.
His eyes sharpened.
Cypriana's breathing quickened.
She felt like a rope being pulled from both ends.
Matt's warmth.
Andrew's gravity.
Steve's chaos.
Andrew's voice softened, almost intimate.
"You don't have to let them touch you again."
Cypriana's voice cracked.
"What are you saying?"
Andrew stepped closer.
His presence swallowed the space.
"I'm saying…"
He glanced toward the school building.
Toward the people inside.
"They should be afraid of you."
Matt's voice cut like a knife.
"No."
Andrew's eyes flickered.
"Why not?"
Matt's fists clenched.
"Because that's not who she is."
Andrew stared.
Then slowly…
He looked back at Cypriana.
Like he was waiting.
Like he already knew the answer.
Cypriana's chest rose and fell.
Her fingers trembled.
She didn't know what she was.
Not anymore.
From the distance—
Brianna watched from a doorway.
Her face pale.
Whispering to another cheerleader.
"That's her. That's the freak."
The rumor wasn't just rumor now.
It was fear.
And fear spreads faster than hate.
Steve exhaled shakily.
"…Okay."
His voice was smaller now.
"So we're really doing this."
Matt glared at Andrew.
Andrew didn't blink.
Cypriana stared at her hands.
Power humming under her skin.
The beginning of something irreversible.