"Better go to class!" Nira asked in a low voice as she left.
"Yeah," Kruel replied in an equally low volume. He wanted to say thank you, but it seemed too late for that. Instead, he just followed her into first-period class, where they were greeted with murmurs. Mike was already there, a grin plastered on his face as though he had been waiting for this moment.
By third period, still no teacher had arrived. The class was already dissolving into their usual cliques... little clusters of gossip, laughter, and nonsense that made the absence of authority feel like a festival.
"That first period was sick!" Mike leaned closer to Kruel, voice filled with the thrill of retelling chaos.
Kruel winced. His body might've been still, but inside he felt like the walls were pressing in. The whole ordeal earlier had left him feeling mentally drained, like someone had quietly pulled the ground out from under his feet.
He knew Grayt would make trouble.. that much was obvious. What was really worrying was who he would cause trouble with next.
Mike, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He was happy. For one, he was glad Grayt had been dealt with, at least for the moment. He was also relieved that Kruel's near defeat seemed to contradict his growing suspicion that his friend was a gangster in disguise. Still, curiosity was eating at him, and he needed answers.
"Did you really go on a date?" Mike suddenly asked, his grin shifting into a sly smile.
Kruel flinched."And did you miss our dinner so you could go on another one?"
Kruel didn't know how to respond, partly because he wasn't even sure where he had gone on Saturday. The memory was foggy, almost like he had been led somewhere and only fragments had returned with him. Still, one part was easy to answer.
"No, I wasn't on any date," said Kruel calmly.
"Then where were you?" Mike pressed. "We came to look for you on Friday, but you weren't home. And your sis said you never came back from school."
Kruel's chest tightened. He lowered his voice."It's got something to do with the Art Club," he lied. "Just a discussion."
"Hmm. Seems like old Devin got it all wrong," Mike mused, scratching his chin like a detective pretending he had cracked a case.
Kruel's eyes flickered toward Nira. Her hair spilled across the desk, covering half her face. It was hard to tell if she was sleeping or listening carefully to their conversation. Kruel had learned that with her, either was possible.
"So what was the art discussion about?" Mike asked. "Is it still about KEI? Is it her? Or… Nira?"
"You're crazy," Kruel muttered, shaking his head.
All of a sudden, that not-so-strange feeling crawled up his skin again, like invisible threads pulling at his senses. His neck stiffened.
He looked around. Drey was nearby.
"I hope he doesn't want to fight anymore," Kruel whispered under his breath. If DREY was here, then Jessica wasn't far. Their presence always carried weight, like an atmosphere only certain people could breathe in. Kruel wasn't sure he fully understood their relationship, though Jessica had once explained a few things to him in pieces.
Still, the feeling didn't let him rest. His thoughts were a mess, storming in circles until his body acted before his mind caught up.
Kruel suddenly shot up from his chair, the legs scraping harshly against the tiled floor. Heads turned, curses slipped under breath.
"Where are you going?" Mike asked.
"Just wanna take a walk," Kruel replied flatly, already disappearing through the back door.
"He's going to get himself killed," Mike grumbled, pushing his own chair back to follow him.
The hallway felt too long. Knuel's steps echoed against the lockers as he moved quickly, weaving around the lingering fluff left by janitors' brooms. There weren't many students in the hall, just a few stragglers with nowhere better to be. But Kruel's mind didn't register them. His goal was fixed: Drey and Jessica.
"So, is this just a normal walk, or are you looking for someone?" Mike's voice caught up from behind.
"Yeah," Kruel muttered absentmindedly. His feet stopped right outside the school library. His chest tightened with that familiar sense. The duo were probably inside.
Mike frowned. He wasn't really sure what was wrong with Kruel lately. Something about him was… off.
Before he could ask again, a sound tore through the building.
A deafening BOOM! Then a strange, lingering HUM.
It wasn't from inside the school. It came from outside, maybe a car, maybe something worse. But it felt dangerously close. The vibration rippled through the ground, rattling lockers, rattling teeth.
A bomb. Or something close enough.
Screams cracked the silence. Students sprinted in every direction, bodies crashing into each other, their fear filling the air. It was chaos.
Mike collapsed to the ground, his hands covering his head, shaking. "What the hell was that!?"
Kruel didn't flinch. His body remained unmoved, eyes locked on the library door. He was about to push it open when it was suddenly flung wide from the inside. A flood of students burst out screaming, their voices tangled into one horrifying chorus. Even teachers could be seen stampeding, their faces drained pale.
The sight made Kruel smirk faintly. Something about watching authority figures lose control amused him.
"What was that!?" Mike gasped as Kruel dragged him back onto his feet.
"An explosion," Kruel replied calmly, scanning the panic as though it were a painting. Then, without hesitation, he stepped inside the library.
Mike hesitated but followed, his stomach twisting.
The library was… empty. Shelves untouched. Chairs still in place. To Mike, it was normal. To Kruel, it wasn't. The tension was too thick, too intentional.
Voices. Kruel's ear twitched. He stepped deeper but was suddenly blocked by a TEACHER rushing through. They were ordered to evacuate immediately.
Within minutes, all students were herded outside. The announcement was brief, shallow, delivered like a script no one really believed.
"It was just an accident in the Chemistry Lab," a voice declared over the megaphone. "Some equipment malfunctioned, affecting nearby classes. You are to go home. Do not return until tomorrow. That is all."
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"That doesn't make sense," one nerdy student muttered, his glasses sliding down his nose.
The people around him exploded in laughter, pointing fingers at his panic. The laughter was sharp, cruel. The kind of sound that lingered even after it ended.
Kruel was, however, wondering if Drey and Jesica were still inside the school. On their way home, Kruel saw students from other schools on the streets on their way back home. Also strangely, apart from students, police officials every where.