With Eric's quiet offer to act as a shield, the group felt a fragile surge of confidence. The sheer brutality they had witnessed earlier from the seniors was still fresh, but Eric's presence was a stabilizing force. They believed—or perhaps they desperately hoped—that Donto's athletic enforcers wouldn't want to spark a full-scale brawl with someone who clearly knew how to handle himself. Eric had dismantled Charlie with such surgical precision that it seemed logical for the others to back off.
The most rational decision was to slip away while the chaos of the party provided cover. Everywhere they looked, freshmen were succumbing to peer pressure, popping the mysterious blue pills and laughing with a forced, nervous energy. Under the thumping bass of the nightclub music and the neon strobe lights, the group began to edge toward the main exit. Eric stayed close, his eyes constantly scanning the room like a seasoned bodyguard.
