Chapter 3: "The First Dog"
> "Betrayal doesn't start with a knife. It starts with a whisper you choose to believe."
[Scene: Lyserra Library — Late Afternoon]
The library was cold, silent, and empty except for one boy hunched over a laptop in the far right corner —
James.
Focused.
Always was.
Earbuds in. Studying as usual.
Until he felt a presence behind him.
He turned.
Arisa.
She stood there in casual clothes—white hoodie, jeans, hair tied up—no elegance, no makeup, just... normal.
Almost too normal.
James blinked. "...You lost?"
She gave a small laugh. "No. I saw you here and thought... maybe we should talk."
He paused. "About what?"
She hesitated—fake hesitation, perfectly acted.
Then sat across from him, folding her hands together like she was nervous.
> "I know Riven's your friend. But... I'm scared."
James closed his laptop slowly.
"Scared of what?"
"Of him. Of what people say. Of what he says."
[The Seed]
"I don't want to start drama," she whispered, "but... he used to send me weird messages."
James blinked. "What kind of messages?"
Arisa pulled out her phone, tapping through fake screenshots like it hurt her to look.
"He used to say I didn't deserve you guys. That you were beneath him. Especially you."
She showed James a doctored DM:
RIVEN: "James only sticks with me so he feels smart. That nerd complex will kill him one day."
James stared at it.
His first instinct? Riven wouldn't say that.
But...
> The message sounded like him.
Arrogant. Dismissive.
Gojo-vibe. Sarcastic.
Still...
"You sure that's not edited?"
Arisa looked at him, eyes wide, lips trembling—like she was hurt he'd even ask.
"I wouldn't lie, James... not about this."
A pause.
She leaned in, soft voice:
"You're smarter than him. Maybe that's why he keeps you close. Maybe he's scared of you growing out of him."
And like that—
The hook sank in.
[Scene Change: Outside, Later That Evening]
Riven stood outside the dorm building, balancing a paper cup of coffee on his head.
Samuel stared at him like he was insane.
"Do you even try to act normal?"
"I'm stress-testing gravity," Riven said with a smirk.
James walked up, hands in his jacket pockets, tense.
"Yo," he said, voice tight.
Riven looked over his sunglasses. "What's up, Jimmy Neutron?"
James forced a chuckle. "Nothing."
But Riven noticed it instantly.
No hand slap.
No sarcastic comeback.
Just... quiet.
The first silence between them in years.
[Later – Group Chat]
Riven:
"Y'all died?"
Tony:
"Studying with James."
Samuel:
"With Arisa too. She needed help."
Riven stared at the messages.
Blank.
James.
Arisa.
Same room.
No invite.
[Midnight – Riven's POV]
He sat in the dark, screen brightness on low, watching their online statuses blink in and out.
"First cracks always look small... until the whole wall gives out."
He smiled.
Didn't comment.
Didn't confront.
He just logged out.
But in the dark, under that calm expression…
Riven knew he'd just lost No. 1.