Dre stood by the edge of the school field, watching the shadows stretch across the grass as the last traces of sunlight disappeared behind the trees. The world felt quieter now—not peaceful, just quieter. A calm before a storm he could already feel building in his bones.
Emmanuel hadn't spoken to him since the last confrontation. Okiki too had become distant, walking past Dre in the halls like he didn't exist. It was strange how quickly friends could become strangers—how silence could be more painful than shouting.
Inside him, two voices were battling. One still remembered the boy he used to be—laughing with them after school, playing games, talking about the future. The other voice was colder. Sharper. It told him this silence was necessary. That becoming who he needed to be meant sacrificing comfort for control.
Across the field, a familiar figure appeared—Selena, a quiet girl from his Literature class. She wasn't loud like the others, but there was something about her—a sharp mind hidden beneath her silence. She hesitated before walking toward him.
"I heard about what happened," she said gently, not looking directly at him.
Dre didn't respond at first. He kept his eyes on the sky.
"People talk," she continued. "They think you're... different now."
He finally turned to her. "People like their villains simple. It makes the world easier to understand."
Selena smiled faintly. "You don't seem simple."
Dre paused. "You don't seem afraid."
"I am. But not of you."
For the first time in days, Dre felt something stir. A connection. Not the loud, shallow kind. Something real. She wasn't trying to fix him. She wasn't trying to label him. She was just... there.
Back inside the classroom building, Mira watched through the window. She had seen them together—Dre and the girl. Her heart beat a little faster, though she couldn't explain why. She had told herself she didn't care anymore. That Dre had changed into someone unrecognizable. But now she wasn't so sure. Maybe the part that scared her most... was how much she still wanted to understand him.
Meanwhile, across the city, Detective Langford studied the photos on his wall again. More students had reported incidents—small at first. A locker broken into. A teacher's laptop gone missing. A fake message sent to the school's administration, causing chaos during morning assembly. Every breadcrumb led back to the same pattern. Quiet. Hidden. Intentional.
And one name kept appearing on the edges: Dre.
Back at home, Dre sat by his desk, flipping through a notebook not filled with school notes—but maps, dates, names. Everything was being tracked. Not for revenge anymore. No—this had become something else. A mission.
And yet… he hesitated. He opened the last page. In it was a photo of him, Emmanuel, Okiki, and Mira—before everything shattered. Before the storm.
He didn't cross it out.
Not yet.