°•°•°•|KIERAN|°•°•°•
...
The room smelled heavily of smoke, Kieran sat back in his chair, a cigarette dangling in his fingers with one leg crossed over the other.
Adrian was grumbling like a storm was about to break. Marcus was sat across from him, clearly enjoying every second of Adrian's theatrics.
"I can't believe it, she just walks in and disappears before I even get a chance."
"Is it the fact that you didn't get a taste? Or that you weren't on her radar, she was clearly there to see Kieran."
"I don't care if I wasn't on her radar, I'm still saying it's bullshit. She walks into our space, and I don't even get a drop?"
"Do you have to be so loud?" Marcus said flatly.
"So now I'm loud because I wanted to feed?"
"You're loud because you're whining. She trespassed, Kieran handled it and now you're throwing a tantrum like a human child. Classic."
"Damn you. Did you...compel her parents?"
"They'll come for her things tomorrow. Ask anyone, and she's transferred to a new school."
"That's it? She just… vanishes?"
"That's usually how it works," Marcus said. "Unless you wanted to write her a goodbye note."
Adrian groaned, sinking into the chair. "I can't believe I missed my chance"
"And every time you complain. Honestly, Kieran, you really know how to pick your team."
"Consequences are consequences. Your feelings are irrelevant." Kieran took a long drag of his cigarette, smoke rolled from his lips.
---
~°~°~°~°|LYRA|~°~°~°~°
Lyra was still half asleep, trying to remember where she'd put her math notes, when Sienna came rushing down to her seat with that look she got whenever she had news she couldn't keep to herself.
"Allegedly, I heard the girl who was expelled transferred. Her parents came early this morning and packed up her stuff. Like full-on boxes and everyone was staring. Sebastian was kind enough not to write a bad report on her school's records so it was kind of easy for her."
"Oh, that was fast."
"Her parents probably found a better school. Rich people do that. Honestly, if I could transfer out of here that quickly, I would've been gone last semester."
"Tina was Kieran's plaything, he didn't even bother when she was caught." One of the girls said from behind. So Tina was her name.
"You think Kieran would notice someone like Tina? She's just a whore, I'm pretty sure she's had it with all the high class students already. She was just so unfortunate Sebastian caught her."
"She always had her shoulders high because Kieran stared at her once, she said he noticed her because she was "perfect". I guess things didn't end well on her note. She's just lucky Sebastian didn't write her off."
"Wouldn't it have been better if he did? That petty whore tried to get Kieran."
"How can they be shameless so openly? Over someone who doesn't even notice them." Sienna sighed. By mid-day, different rumors about 'Tina' spread round the school.
...
It's been two weeks, and of course the Tina talks had long been forgotten. No one talked or thought about it again, including her.
"Come on! Don't tell me you're skipping this too!" Sienna said, dragging her down the hallway and bouncing with excitement. "Trust me, this is going to be the best part of the year."
"Hold on, I just don't-" Sienna ignored her completely, dragging her toward the giant double doors.
When they stepped inside, Lyra's jaw dropped slightly. The court was full of students from both dorms warming up.
Balls bounced, shoes squeaked on the well polished floor, and shouts echoed from students on the sidelines.
Lyra's eyes scanned the court, and she couldn't help but notice him. He stood at the far side of the court, tall, broad-shoulders, hair falling flat on his face.
Lyra had never seen anyone like him before, and for a moment, she thought she might have imagined it.
Sienna squealed beside her. "Oh my God, Lyra! That's him! That's Xavier! You see him? You see him?!"
"I can see him, Sienna."
"That's all? Look at him! He's perfect, every single person here is going to freak out when he starts practicing seriously," Sienna whispered, grabbing Lyra's arm and pulling her closer to the railing around the court. "Come on, you have to watch. This is better than any movie."
Lyra moved with her, though reluctant. Xavier started sprinting back and forth, passing the ball with his teammates.
"He's the hottest guy in the our dorm. Everyone knows it. He's… ugh, he's insane. And get this, he and Kieran hate each other. Sworn enemies, like actual enemies."
"Sworn enemies? Kieran?" Lyra raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, and it's not just a rumor. They've been at each other forever. If Kieran sees him on the court today, it's might be… messy. But amazing."
"He's good-looking."
"You bet he is." Sienna squealed like a total fan girl. "Kieran's the high-class dorm's top player, and Xavier is the normal dorm's top player. They've been butting heads since the first year. You'll see today, they're going to stare each other down like it's life or death."
Lyra nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on the court. Xavier just made a perfect jump shot and the students erupted in cheers.
"See? Even the high-class dorm is watching him, they know that he's that good. And just wait until Kieran shows up. It'll be hilarious."
And just as she spoke, Kieran walked in with a cigarette in hand. His eyes locked on Xavier immediately.
"Do you feel the tension? That's the feud. You don't even have to hear them say it out loud, look at their faces." The two of them didn't have to talk, and yet the rivalry was electric.
"He's… really something," she muttered. Even Lyra couldn't deny he was impressive.
"Yes. And this is just practice. The actual game? Oh, you won't survive watching it." Sienna leaned closer. "Our dorms are… well, normal dorms. People notice them when they're good at sports or something of some sort, but Xavier? He's a different level. And everyone knows Kieran hates him, that's part of the fun."
Xavier moved smoothly with the ball and took the shot, it went right into the net.
Xavier turned his head and looked straight at Kieran, a small proud look on his face.
Kieran scoffed and leaned back against the railing, disappointment written plainly across his face, as if Xavier hadn't done anything worth acknowledging.
"Watch out!" someone suddenly shouted. Lyra barely had time to react, the ball was already flying straight in her direction.
She froze. The ball was coming right at her.