Serena's POV
The second I saw him moving toward us, my stomach tightened. His walk wasn't casual like some friendly upperclassman trying to join in on sarah's introductions it was sharp, commanding, like he owned the hallway itself. The other students shifted automatically, making way for him, and for a moment, I thought maybe I was just imagining the weight that seemed to follow him around. But when I glanced at Sarah, the way her face froze told me I wasn't imagining anything.
Aaron,The leader of the A4s
The name alone already gave the whole school chills, being pronounced highly like it was supposed to mean something. And judging from the way every single person around us went quiet when his gaze flicked in our direction, it clearly did. I didn't know him. I didn't know why he mattered. But the way his presence pressed down on the air made me realize everyone else in this school did. Everyone but me.
He didn't slow down until he was right there, barely a few steps away. And without hesitation, his hand shot out and grabbed Sarah by the arm. Not lightly. Not like a friend pulling a friend aside to whisper something. No this was rough, sharp, the kind of grab that made Sarah stumble back a step.
"Where the hell have you been?" His voice was low, but it carried.
Sarah flinched, her eyes darting around the hallway like she wanted to disappear. Her lips parted, maybe to explain, maybe to apologize, but I didn't let her get that far. My body moved before I even thought.
"Hey!" I shoved his arm off her, pushing him back a step.
The entire hallway froze. It was like a movie where someone hit pause the chatter, the footsteps, the laughs. Gone. Everyone stared at us. At me. Like I'd just broken some unspoken rule.
Aaron's head snapped toward me, and those piercing dark eyes of his locked on mine. For the briefest second, I felt it the burn, the weight, the unshakable authority that seemed to sit on his shoulders. He wasn't just another student. He was someone. But I wasn't about to let him think he could toss Sarah around like that while I stood here and did nothing.
"You don't get to manhandle her like that," I snapped, my voice louder than I expected. "She's not your property."
Gasps echoed. Someone whispered my name like I'd just signed my own death sentence.
Aaron stared at me, and for a moment, I thought he was going to explode yell, shove me back, prove his dominance right there in front of everyone. His jaw clenched, but he didn't move. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, studying me, like I was a puzzle he couldn't figure out.
"You don't know who you're talking to," he said finally, his voice calm but sharp, like a blade hidden beneath silk.
My heart pounded, but I stood my ground. "Then maybe you should try acting like someone worth respecting.You think being good-looking as the say or being famous moves me? No, it doesn't.A4s my foot"
The silence that followed was suffocating,so heavy that even one of the cheerleaders looked like she wished she could sink through the floor.
And then, Sarah's voice broke it, trembling but firm enough to reach us. "That's my brother."
The words hit the air and stayed there. Brother. My eyes flicked between them her pale, nervous face, his stormy glare. Brother? I hadn't seen that coming. But even if it was true, even if she was explaining, the tension in the hallway didn't budge. It hung thick, stretching tighter, daring one of us to be the first to breathe wrong
The bell rang, cutting through the silence like glass shattering. The noise of the hallway started to creep back in footsteps, lockers slamming, whispers rising like smoke but the tension hadn't gone anywhere. It still clung to the air, wrapped around us like a vice.
Sarah's eyes flicked to Aaron, wide and nervous, and then she did something I didn't expect. She lowered her head. "I'm sorry," she murmured to him.
I froze. Sorry?
My head snapped toward her. Why? Why the hell would she apologize to him? He just grabbed her like..like she was nothing. And she's his sister. None of it made sense.
Before I could get a single word out, Sarah's hand clamped around my wrist. "Come on," she whispered urgently, tugging me away.
"Wait Sarah…."
"Please," she cut me off under her breath, eyes darting back toward her brother. Her grip only tightened as she pulled me into the current of students.
The hallway buzzed louder now, voices overlapping, sharp and cutting.
"Did she just say sorry to him?"
"Wasn't that his sister?"
"That new girl…she actually shoved Aaron Rogers. She's dead."
"She doesn't know who she's messing with."
I caught pieces of it as we hurried down the hall, but Sarah didn't slow. She kept her head down, her steps quick, like the only thing that mattered was putting as much space as possible between us and Aaron.
And yet… I couldn't stop glancing back.
Aaron hadn't moved. He stood there in the middle of the hall, shoulders squared, his expression unreadable. The crowd naturally curved around him, avoiding his orbit like he was something dangerous you didn't dare brush against. His eyes were locked on us, sharp and unblinking, until the tide of students swallowed us from view
Aaron's POV
The hallway was still buzzing, whispers cutting through the air like static, but all I could hear was Sarah's voice.
"I'm sorry."
She'd looked right at me, said it quick, and then yanked that new girl away like her life depended on it. I just stood there, staring at her back as she disappeared into the crowd, my chest tight, fists balled at my sides.
Sarah. My sister. The same sister who has never apologized to me for anything, because deep down she always knew I was right. Or at least, that's how it's supposed to be. And yet, today she did. For me? Or for that girl?
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
And then there was her. The way she'd looked at me like she couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Like she was questioning why Sarah would even bother apologizing to me.
Who the hell was she?
Something about her didn't sit right. The way Sarah protected her, dragged her away, like she was shielding her from me… it stung more than I wanted to admit. My own sister apologized to me for that random new girl? That wasn't just unusual. It's concerning .
A low chuckle broke through his storm. Ace. Leaning against the lockers, arms folded, amusement all over his face like he'd just been entertained with the best show of the week.
"You gonna stand there all day, Rodgers?" "Girl's got bite. Haven't seen anyone talk back to you like that… ever."
Find out everything about her," I ordered, my voice low, sharp enough to cut through the lingering noise of gossip around us.
Ace raised a brow. "Everything?"
I didn't hesitate. "Everything. Where she came from, who she's with, what she wants here. I don't care how you do it. Just get me answers."
Ace smirked wider, pushing off the lockers. "Consider it done"