They all sat around the tied-up man, forming a loose circle. Caleb leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, and asked, "Who are you?"
The man stayed silent.
Smack!
One quick punch from Levi was enough to loosen his lips.
"S-Someone… someone sent me to kidnap her," he stammered.
Drake's eyes narrowed. "Who sent you?"
The man hesitated, his voice shaky. "It's… it's Silas."
Hazel's eyes widened. "What???"
The man still didn't look at them—his gaze was fixed on the floor.
Lucas turned to Hazel. "Do you know him?"
Hazel nodded slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah… Silas is my dad's assistant."
Drake scoffed and smirked. "So, no doubt—it's a business deal."
Hazel turned her head and looked at him, eyes searching.
Drake raised his eyebrows knowingly.
Hazel frowned. "What does he want from me?"
The man finally spoke, "Not from you… from Zayden. Silas knows your dad loves you too much. If he hears something happened to you, he'll give up anything. Silas wants your dad's position."
Hazel stayed quiet, processing every word. Her expression slowly turned unreadable.
Drake watched her carefully, noticing the shift in her face. Then he stood up. "We can't keep him here."
He pulled out his phone and made a call. "Come over. Now."
Within minutes, a few men arrived. Drake turned to them and instructed, "Lock him up. Don't let him escape, not even for a second."
They nodded, grabbed the man, and dragged him away.
After the door shut, silence lingered in the room. Hazel was still deep in thought when she noticed everyone's eyes fixed on her.
"What?" she asked, startled.
They quickly looked away like they weren't staring.
Hazel sighed."Aren't you guys going to sleep?"
Everyone nodded like students caught by the teacher.
Without another word, they all headed to their rooms, the night finally calming after the storm.
The next morning, Hazel woke up with a soft smile on her face. She slowly blinked her eyes open… and then screamed.
The entire gang was standing around her bed, staring at her.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?!" she yelled, grabbing a pillow and hurling it at them.
They all burst into laughter.
Lucas, trying to sound serious, said, "We were just making sure you're okay."
Caleb nodded with fake concern, "Yeah, yeah. It was for your safety."
The rest of them nodded like obedient soldiers.
Hazel groaned in frustration and covered her face with both hands. "You guys are insane…"
Soon after, they all got ready for school. Hazel tried to escape going with them, but they practically dragged her to the car.
"We're going together. No arguments," Levi said while holding the door open like it was a royal carriage.
Hazel sat down dramatically, arms folded. "This is kidnapping."
When they finally reached school, Hazel wasted no time—she jumped out of the car and rushed toward the building. But as she slowed down, she realized something odd.
Everyone was staring at her.
Confused, she turned back—and there they were. The whole gang, walking behind her like her personal bodyguards.
She stopped walking abruptly, face full of disbelief.
They stopped too.
Ben blinked. "Why are you standing here? Walk, girl."
Hazel didn't move.
Drake smirked, stepped forward, and grabbed her wrist. "There you go," he said, casually pulling her forward as if she were a stubborn child.
The gang escorted her all the way to her classroom, like a VIP convoy.
Once she was inside, they nodded in approval and finally walked away to their own class.
Hazel slowly walked to her seat, sat down, buried her face in her arms, and groaned into the desk.
"What is my life…"
The class started, and Hazel tried to focus, but her eyes kept drifting to the empty seat beside her—Ethan's seat.
Her smile slowly faded.
Where are you, Ethan? What happened to you?
A small ache settled in her chest, but she shook her head, trying not to spiral.
The bell rang for break.
Students hurried out, chatting and laughing. But Hazel remained in her seat, staring blankly ahead. She didn't feel like joining anyone.
—
Meanwhile, on the school grounds…
Drake and the gang were in their usual element—sitting under the big tree, legs stretched out like they owned the place.
A random student walked by nervously.
"Hey, you!" Levi shouted.
The student flinched.
Ben stood up, smirking. "We have a serious question for you."
The poor student blinked. "W-what is it…?"
Lucas leaned in, dead serious. "Would you rather fight a hundred duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?"
The entire gang stared at the student like it was a life-or-death situation.
The student: "W-what kind of question is—"
"ANSWER WITH HONOUR!" Levi barked.
Students nearby shook their heads, whispering to each other:
"Oh god, they've started again."
"Every break. Every single break."
"They need their own comedy show."
Some just sighed and walked away. Others quietly filmed the chaos from a distance.
Zayn was on the ground laughing, Caleb pretended to take "notes" like a reporter, and Drake—arms folded—just smirked like this was all perfectly normal.
It was… just another break with the gang.
Just as their "duck-horse" victim ran off, utterly confused, the gang scanned the crowd like hawks looking for their next prey.
Ben spotted someone new—a short, nerdy boy clutching his lunchbox and a stack of books.
Ben nudged Caleb. "Target locked. Nerd incoming."
Caleb dramatically put on his imaginary sunglasses. "Proceeding with operation: Lunchbox Interrogation."
The poor student didn't even see it coming.
Levi: "You there! With the highly suspicious lunchbox!"
The boy froze like a deer in headlights. "M-me?"
Lucas nodded seriously. "Yes, you. Step forward and reveal your secrets."
Boy: "It's just biryani…"
Zayn gasped. "Biryani? From where? Homemade? Restaurant? Which masala brand?"
Drake: "Very important questions. National security level."
Ben leaned closer. "If you had to trade your lunch to save the world, would you do it?"
The boy blinked. "Uh… yes?"
Everyone in the gang dramatically gasped.
Levi: "TRAITOR! He would sell out biryani to save the world!"
Caleb pretended to faint while Zayn fanned him with a notebook.
Lucas clapped slowly. "He has no loyalty to spices."
Even Drake chuckled under his breath.
Nearby students shook their heads again.
"They're never serious."
"Why do teachers let them roam free?"
"Who even gave them the right to judge biryani loyalty?"
The nerdy boy slowly backed away as the gang burst into laughter, falling over each other like kids at recess.
It was chaotic, it was senseless…
It was them .
The bell rang.
Every other student rushed back to class, but not them. Drake and his gang sat sprawled on the grass like they owned the school. Bags unopened. Zero urgency. Full audacity.
Ben lazily leaned back on his elbows. "Heyy guys... is that Axel?"
Zayn immediately sat up. "Where? Where is he?!"
Ben pointed across the field as Axel strutted toward the school gates with his own group trailing behind him like shadows.
Drake turned his head slowly, eyes narrowing. "So… his suspension's over, huh?"
Levi smacked his forehead. "Shit. We missed it! We should've been at the gate!"
Caleb sighed dramatically. "Yeah, we missed giving him a 'proper' welcome."
Drake cracked his knuckles with a smirk. "Well, good for us… we still have time."
Without another word, the gang stood up in unison like a slow-motion hero walk scene, their expressions unreadable—except for Drake, who had that mischievous glint in his eyes.
They marched straight toward Axel and his gang, who stopped mid-step.
Axel raised his brows, clearly amused. "Well, well... I missed you guys."
Drake didn't stop walking until he was close enough to look Axel directly in the eye. He gave a lopsided smirk.
Drake: "We missed you too... missed the chance to welcome you back properly."
With that, the gang casually walked past Axel's group, brushing shoulders.
Axel's gang looked around, confused. Were they being threatened? Teased? Welcomed?
Their expressions ranged from "what just happened?" to "should we be worried?"
Drake was the only one who didn't look back.
Because he didn't need to.