Rumors had always run wild in Oakridge High.
But today?
Today the school didn't whisper about Aarvin Hale.
It **watched** him.
Not with curiosity.
Not with fear.
Not with judgment.
But with **expectation**—as if everyone waited to see what the Hale brother would become next.
## And Aarvin hated every second of it.
## **A Morning Painted With Eyes**
The moment he stepped inside the main building, the noise dipped—
not silence, but that uncomfortable pause when people slow down just to look.
Every hallway felt like a tunnel lined with spectators.
Aarvin kept his head down, jaw tight, pretending not to hear the voices trailing behind him:
* "That's Riyan's brother."
* "Adrien walked with him yesterday."
* "Is he joining them?"
* "No chance. He looks too… soft."
He wanted to shout that he wasn't joining anything.
He wasn't a leader, a fighter, or a Hale heir.
He just wanted to exist quietly.
## Oakridge had no intention of allowing that.
## **Naomi's Warning**
At his locker, Naomi Lane appeared beside him—smooth, silent, calculated.
Her presence alone shifted the energy around them.
Where Riyan was danger,
and Adrien was quiet force,
Naomi was sharp intelligence—
a mind sharper than any blade.
"You've had an eventful week," she said softly.
Aarvin exhaled shakily. "Wish I didn't."
She studied him with unreadable calm.
"You know… attention here is never free."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
Naomi stepped a little closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only he could hear.
"Zane is curious about you. And Zane's curiosity…"
Her eyes flickered with warning.
"…is rarely harmless."
Aarvin's stomach twisted. "But I don't want anything from him."
"That doesn't matter," she murmured. "Oakridge isn't built on what you want.
It's built on power. And power chooses its own center."
Aarvin looked away, chest tightening.
Naomi's gaze softened—barely.
"You keep insisting you're weak," she whispered.
"But weakness doesn't make Liam flinch.
Fear doesn't make Adrien intervene.
Silence doesn't draw Zane's attention."
Aarvin blinked, stunned.
Naomi tilted her head slightly.
"You're not like them.
But you're not like everyone else either."
---
## **The Wolves Close In**
Before Aarvin could answer, a voice cut through the hall—
**"Aarvin."**
He froze.
Zane Lockhart was walking toward him, the Iron Wolves trailing behind like a storm.
Naomi straightened instantly, her presence sharpening.
Zane stopped three steps from Aarvin. Calm. Collected.
Eyes gleaming with something far too calculating.
"Morning," Zane said. "We need to talk."
Aarvin's breath caught. "W-We?"
Zane's tone never wavered. "Yes. You and me."
Naomi stepped in before Aarvin could speak.
"For what?" she asked, voice low and sharp.
Zane smiled faintly. "I don't remember asking you, Naomi."
Aarvin felt trapped between two forces—
one cold and strategic,
the other silent and dangerous.
Zane focused on him again.
"You've stirred the school more than you realize," he said.
"I want to know why."
Aarvin took a step back. "I didn't do anything."
"That," Zane murmured, leaning slightly closer,
"is exactly what makes this interesting."
Naomi's hand brushed Aarvin's shoulder—subtle, supportive.
Zane noticed.
He smiled.
"See? Even they're watching you now."
Aarvin whispered desperately, "Please… I just want to be left alone."
Zane's expression softened—but not kindly.
"You don't get to be left alone anymore."
He turned away, adding one final sentence over his shoulder:
"Riyan protects you.
Adrien watches you.
And now I'm curious about you."
He paused.
"That makes you important… whether you want it or not."
The Wolves followed him out of the hallway.
## Aarvin stood frozen, pulse shaking.
## **What Naomi Saw**
Naomi looked at him, voice softer than before.
"Be careful," she murmured. "Things are shifting."
Aarvin swallowed hard. "But why? I'm not special. I'm not strong. I'm not—"
Naomi gently cut him off.
"Aarvin… then explain something."
She stepped closer, eyes piercing.
"If you're truly nothing—
then why is the entire school moving around you?"
Aarvin had no answer.
But deep inside, something cracked open—
something he'd been too afraid to acknowledge.
Maybe Adrien saw it.
Maybe Zane sensed it.
Maybe Naomi recognized it.
**Maybe Aarvin wasn't weak.
Maybe he was changing.
And Oakridge had noticed before he did.**
---
***To be continued…***