It was finally lunch break, and we were headed to the canteen. Jace and Aven had messaged us to join them there, probably already munching on something without even waiting.
I was walking beside Nova. Zim was trailing along, humming something out of tune, and Thea? She was unusually quiet.
Until she wasn't.
That's when she spotted her. Julliy.
Leo saw it too.
He was walking on my other side and immediately groaned. "No, no, no—devil child, we're in school. Please, not today."
Too late.
In a blink, Thea stormed forward like a missile locked on target. She marched right up to Julliy, yanked her by the hair with zero hesitation, and pulled her back.
I blinked.
Julliy gasped. Before she could react, Thea snatched her cold drink from her hand and poured it over her head like it was holy water.
Julliy screamed.
Then Thea shoved her to the ground. Hard. And for the final blow? Two crisp slaps right across her face.
The sound echoed in the corridor.
Julliy started crying. Dramatically. As if she just got betrayed by the entire cast of a K-drama.
Leo groaned, rubbing his temples like a dad with five misbehaving toddlers. "I told you. I told you…"
Nova stood frozen, half shocked, half impressed. "Okay...I didn't see that coming."
Zim? She was doubled over, laughing so hard she had to lean against the wall.
"This is the best thing I've ever seen."
Aven and Jace came running in.
Jace took one look at Julliy on the floor, soaked and sobbing, then Thea standing like a queen who just won a war—and burst out laughing.
"She powerbombed her!"
Jace gasped between laughs. "She really did that!"
Aven, on the other hand, went into damage control, pulling Thea back before she could throw hands again.
"Babe, please. You wanna go jail. Yet."
Leo stepped in beside her, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. "You're so mean," he muttered. "How could you do this ?"
Thea wiped her hands like she just took out the trash. "If I see that bitch again, I will go to jail. Happily."
Nova was already walking off like this was just another Tuesday.
Zim gave Julliy a little wave and said, "You okay, sweetheart?" then burst into giggles again.
We all headed into the cafeteria like nothing had happened.
Just another normal lunch at our school.
We entered the cafeteria like we didn't just leave chaos in the hallway. Thea was still muttering under her breath, face flushed with rage and pride.
Nova ordered us all sandwiches like this was routine. Zim snatched a chocolate milk and flopped across two chairs like she owned the place. Jace was still chuckling every few seconds, and Aven kept glancing at the entrance, half expecting a teacher or, worse, Julliy's fan club to burst in.
Leo? Oh, Leo sat across from me and grinned.
"I'm still wondering," he said, resting his chin in his palm, "whether devil child your just like them ... im not with you guys by the way ."
"You're already one of us," Nova said, biting into her food. "There's no escape now."
"God help me," Leo muttered dramatically.
Zim pointed her straw at him. "You signed up the moment you stepped into our mess. No refunds, no exits."
Thea, still red with leftover rage and eyeliner smudged from her war with Julliy, wiped her hands like she was scrubbing away the evidence. "If you're staying, Leo, you better know we don't play nice. We annihilate."
"Clearly," Leo said, raising his brows. "You turned a cold drink into a weapon of mass destruction."
She smirked, unbothered. "Deserved."
Aven was trying to act chill, sipping his soda, but the way his leg kept bouncing under the table made it clear he was bracing for another explosion.
Then came silence.
That rare, quiet hum where no one talked, no one shouted, no one slapped anyone.
And in that moment—Leo turned to me.
He didn't grin. He didn't tease. He just... looked.
"You really never thought I'd fit in here, did you?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Didn't think you'd survive day one."
Leo leaned in, his voice low. "You make me want to stay longer."
I blinked.
Zim threw a grape at him.
"Gross!" she shouted.
Leo caught it midair without even looking and tossed it back at her. "You're just jealous."
Nova threw her hands up. "Okay, now that everyone's being grossly sentimental—let's play a game."
Jace groaned. "No."
After the dramatic hallway chaos, none of us wanted to deal with more gossip or another round of fake sympathy looks. So naturally, we made a collective escape to the only safe haven we had: our club room.
Aven was the one to unlock the door, and the second it creaked open, Leo and Thea stood frozen at the entrance.
"Wait... this is your club room?" Thea blinked like she'd just stepped into Narnia.
Leo raised a brow, smirking as he looked around. "This is where you all vanish to? Damn... no wonder you people never in class."
Nova, already tossing her bag on the table, leapt onto the couch like it was her personal throne. "This is sacred ground. Only certified idiots allowed."
Zim dropped her chips on the table and sprawled across the bean bag like royalty. "And now you two are officially indoctrinated into our chaos."
Leo and Thea were still marveling at the room when disaster struck.
"Ewww—what the hell?!" Thea suddenly shrieked, recoiling in pure horror. She'd stepped on something squishy.
We all turned like bloodhounds, circling her foot like it was a cursed artifact.
"What is it?" I asked.
Thea slowly lifted her foot… and underneath was the unmistakable shiny wrapper of an empty condom packet.
Silence.
Then chaos.
Nova's face twisted like she'd just seen a crime scene. "WHO. THE. HELL?!"
All eyes turned to Aven and Jace—the usual suspects.
Aven held up his hands like he was being arrested. "Don't look at me. I respect the sanctity of this room."
Zim snorted. "That's a first."
Jace just grinned, leaned back against the wall, and gave the most shameless nod in history. "I own that win."
"Jace!" Thea shrieked, stumbling back in full horror. "I could've died! That thing touched me! I need to burn my shoes!"
Leo covered his mouth like he was watching peak drama. "God, I didn't know walking into your club room meant stepping into a soap opera."
Nova looked one second away from murder. "You better clean this room with bleach. I'm not breathing in your filth."
"Relax," Jace said smugly. "It's not like I did anything here. I just forgot to toss it."
"You left it like a trophy?" I deadpanned.
Aven muttered, "This is why we can't have nice things."
Thea kept wiping her foot on the rug like she was being exorcised. "I swear, if I wake up with foot herpes, I'm suing."
Leo leaned toward me, his voice low and teasing. "You guys always this fun, or do I just bring out the best in you?"
"You bring the chaos," I muttered, grabbing a soda.
Leo just winked. "Good. I like being your favorite problem."
Nova clapped loudly. "Okay, listen up, delinquents. Somebody grab gloves and clean that mess before I lose my soul. And we're having a club rule: no. sex. trophies. ever again."
Zim tossed a pack of wet wipes on the floor like she was hosting an intervention. "Clean your crimes, perverts."
Jace chuckled, picking up the packet with zero shame. "Y'all are so dramatic. It's just latex and memories."
"You're gonna be just memories if you do that again," Thea snapped.
Leo leaned back, arms behind his head. "I'm never getting bored with you people, am I?"
I sighed, sipping my drink. "Not unless you die. And honestly, someone here might help with that."
As we lounged deeper into the clubroom chaos, Zim tossed a pillow at Jace and raised a brow, smug as hell.
"So, lover boy," she purred. "Wanna tell us who do you fucked in here first?"
Jace blinked. "What?"
Zim leaned in, grinning. "confessed, who do you fucked ? The condom treasure we just found.
Who was the lucky girl?"
He scoffed. "No one."
"Don't lie," she sing-songed. "You've got the guilt face of a priest in a strip club."
Jace groaned, hiding his face for a second. "Okay fine... it was that girl from cheerleading. The short one."
Nova squinted. "Wait. Vanessa?"
He nodded sheepishly.
Nova smacked his arm so hard the snack bowl jumped. "You disgusting twat! Vanessa?! She talks like she eats glitter and glue!"
"She's good ," Jace offered like it was a valid reason.
Nova glared. "I swear if anyone else brings any bitch to fuck here and leaves this crap lying around again, I'm setting this place on fire. Got it?"
Aven whistled low. "Remind me never to make Nova mad."
Leo raised a brow from the couch. "I thought I had chaos issues. But you people? You're unhinged."
"yuk such dirty ," Thea said with a grin, sipping her drink like she'd just watched an episode of reality TV.
"Welcome to hell," I muttered,
stretching. "There's snacks and trauma."
Zim nudged Jace one last time. "You better hope Vanessa never says your name in public again. Nova might bury you alive."
"Noted," he grinned, rubbing his arm. "Worth it, though."
Nova grabbed a cushion. "Say that again and I swear to God—"
And just like that, chaos resumed.