The principal's office was colder than usual.
Wood-paneled walls, trophies gleaming, silence sharp enough to slice.
Ayan and Kairo stood side by side in front of the desk, the distance between them somehow both vast and suffocating.
The principal adjusted his glasses, gaze darting between them.
"You two have become the center of… attention."
Neither spoke. Ayan's chin was high, Kairo's posture careless — though his fingers drummed against his thigh in a slow, restless beat.
"The school cannot afford distractions," the principal continued. "Rumors of rivalry, hostility—" his pause was deliberate, "—and other implications are spreading faster than I can contain them."
Ayan's lips curved faintly. Other implications. He didn't need to ask what that meant.
Kairo broke the silence first. "So what do you want us to do? Pretend we're best friends?"
The principal's eyes narrowed. "I want you both to remember that your actions reflect on this institution. If you can't work together professionally—"
"We can," Ayan cut in smoothly, his voice calm but edged.
Kairo turned his head sharply, surprised by the interruption.
The principal raised a brow. "Can you?"
"Yes," Ayan said simply, a flicker of challenge dancing in his gaze as he glanced sideways at Kairo. "After all, it isn't me who struggles to stay composed."
Kairo's jaw clenched, his smirk gone. For once, he didn't rise to the bait — not here, not with those eyes on them.
"Good," the principal said, oblivious to the quiet battle crackling in the air. "Because the two of you will continue this project until the end. No excuses. No incidents. And if the rumors don't settle…"
He let the threat hang.
Dismissed, they stepped out into the empty hall.
The door clicked shut behind them, but neither moved.
Finally, Kairo leaned in, close enough for his words to graze Ayan's skin.
"You think you can outplay me in there? In front of him?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Not happening, Omega."
Ayan smiled — calm, sharp, and absolutely unshaken.
"Then stop talking… and prove it."
For a moment, the world outside the office was gone. Just them, breath against breath, the next move balanced on a knife's edge.
And then — footsteps down the hall broke the spell. They turned away at the same time, masks snapping back into place.
The game wasn't over. It was only beginning.
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