"Were you a dog in your past life or just a pet on all fours? You did that so smoothly, I almost forgot you're still human." An elderly man passing by saw this and laughed, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Since the boys weren't resisting and didn't seem forced, he didn't think much of it and assumed it was some kind of social experiment at their school.
Zoey beamed and calmly patted the boy's head.
"You're scaring me again. Were you really a dog in your past life, or are you just trying to be one because I said so? Sigh. You're making me feel bad. How could you?"
The boy was perplexed.
How could he make her feel bad when he was just living up to the leash around his neck?
Besides, he was the only one who hadn't had cutlery lodged into his body yet. Judging by how obedient the other boys were being, he didn't need to think twice to know it hurt as much as he feared.
So even if it was classless, he didn't mind acting like a true dog if it meant sparing himself the pain.
"I-Isn't this b-bullying? Walking us around… that's bullying." One of the boys with Alden suddenly complained.
Zoey tilted her head to look at him, the corners of her lips curling up into a sneer, "It is? Then why did you bring a leash with you to the hotel?"
She suddenly paused, narrowing her eyes at him forgetfully. "Ah, what was that you said again?"
"That he'd walk us both like dogs." Austin quickly chipped in.
Alden, who hadn't reacted much until now, immediately squinted his eyes at him, resisting the urge to wheel himself between them when he saw Austin step closer to her.
"Now that I think of it, that's quite offensive. I get that you think I'm nothing, but how could you bring only one leash? Were you really planning to walk us both with just one leash if you'd succeeded?" Austin huffed indignantly behind Zoey.
Alden thinned his lips.
Look at him, shamelessly hiding behind a girl while verbally sparring with his age mates.
He was one to talk, especially when it was just last evening that the boys had beaten him up.
If Zoey hadn't shown up when she did, he definitely would've been the one in the position of these boys.
Hearing this, the boy panicked, realizing his argument held no water.
However, another boy shamelessly grunted, "Th-That has nothing to do with this. This is bullying. You, of all people, should know that!"
Seeing Zoey tilt her head to the side, as if genuinely considering whether she was doing something wrong, another boy pushed further.
"We're still wearing school uniforms. What do you think the school would do if someone posted this online?"
"I knew I was missing something." The words were barely out of his mouth when Zoey sighed.
Thinking they'd broken through to her, the others quickly began chiming in.
"That's right. Not only will the school not be upset—what will other schools say about our prestigious Ashbury Heights?"
"You may not be…
The person speaking suddenly gasped mid-sentence, his eyes bulging in realization as he finally recognized she was putting on the same uniform as them.
"You're from our school!"
"What? No way! Then I would've… she really is!" Another boy hissed, immediately refuting his friend only to shriek loudly when he raised his eyes and saw the school's logo on her shirt.
"Th-Then… does that mean you know about Boss Dylan and still do this to us?"
"Are you from a wealthier family than him, or are you just stupid, doing this to us?"
Out of everything they said, hearing the last boy made Zoey frown.
"What do you mean? How is this beating you up? Didn't you say you were just playing with Austin when you beat him up yesterday? So how is it you don't find this fun?"
As she reprimanded him, she stepped forward and reached into one of their pockets for a phone.
Taking it out, she opened the camera app and began recording. At this, they promptly lowered their eyes, yelling at her through gritted teeth.
"What are you doing? Why are you raising that phone? You're not recording us, are you?"
Zoey didn't deny it and simply smacked her lips excitedly, "I'm just trying to get something I can share with the school. This fun's too much for just four people."
Behind them, Sebastian pressed his lips into a thin line.
There was no doubt about it—she was either a retired bully or a villain who had just come off sabbatical.
"Don't hide your face. You'll bring out my randomness to throw stuff like these forks and knives at." Zoey mentioned casually when the boys kept hiding their face. .
At that, they promptly raised their heads.
Following her gesturing, they began barking, their faces reddening from the humiliation.
More and more onlookers assumed it was some sort of group project and even stopped to clap at the 'progress' they were making.
After all, only a school project could explain such a bizarre scene with them still in uniform.
"P-Please don't send it. Our reputation at school will…" They tried to muster their best pleading expressions, but Zoey casually waved a hand at them.
"What's there to be afraid of? Didn't you see those people earlier taking photos and videos of you? I'm merely uploading this to the school forum so the other students don't think it's doctored."
When she saw the upload time on the video, she suddenly realized it had been hours since school had closed.
Throwing the phone back at its owner, she checked the time on her wristwatch just to be sure the phone's wasn't incorrect.
"Let's have this fun another time. I'm going to look away now, so you're allowed to be humans again…"
The words had barely left her mouth when they sprang to their feet, not even bothering to remove the leashes as they bolted.
She shrugged and turned to flag down a taxi, only to be stopped by Austin.
"You're not leaving in a taxi, are you?"
"It's not like you can give me a ride, and Wealthy Mister must have somewhere better to be." She said, nodding as she reached for the taxi's door handle.
In truth, Alden and Sebastian had blindly followed her, temporarily forgetting their car was still at the hotel.
But Austin chuckled and reached to hold her hand.
"My family forgets about me, but I still come to school with a driver and he picks me up everyday. The only thing he doesn't do is intervene when I'm being beat up. As a matter of fact, he's been following us ever since we left school." As he spoke, he beckoned onto a car the three people with him hadn't noticed at all.
"If you had a car, then why did you make us walk all the way…" Zoey was complaining when a certain someone couldn't keep still any longer seeing how long the duo held hands.
He wheeled himself forward and snatched Austin away from her, throwing a stern glare his way as he tossed his hand aside.
"Don't you know boys and girls shouldn't be holding hands so casually?"