Ruz's POV
The hallway was quieter than the cafeteria had been, but it was not peaceful.
The noise of students still echoed off the walls footsteps, laughter, the distant sound of someone shouting a name across the crowded corridor but something about this particular stretch of hallway felt different. Felt heavier. Like the air itself was holding its breath.
Liam walked beside me, and for once, he was unusually serious. His shoulders were not bouncing with their usual energy. His mouth was not running at its usual speed. He looked like someone who had just witnessed something that had not fully processed yet.
"…I still cannot believe you did that," he said finally, his voice quieter than I had heard it all day.
"Did what?" I asked, though I already knew what he was going to say.
"Spilled a drink on a guy who looks like he owns half the school," he said, gesturing vaguely behind us as if Adrian might still be there. "On purpose. In front of everyone. While smiling about it."
I kept walking, my eyes fixed on the path ahead. "He will survive. He has survived worse."
"Will we survive, though?" Liam asked, and there was genuine concern in his voice now. "That is my question. Will we as in you and me, the two people involved in this situation will we survive the consequences of your actions?"
I glanced at him, just briefly. "…You are dramatic."
"I am realistic," he corrected. "There is a difference, and that difference is that I am right and you are in denial."
I did not bother to argue. There was no point. Liam would believe what he wanted to believe, and I would continue walking, and eventually we would reach our next destination without anything terrible happening.
Or so I thought.
We turned the corner, and we stopped.
Three boys stood in the middle of the hallway, leaning against the wall like they had been there for hours. Like they had been waiting for someone. Their postures were relaxed, too relaxed, the kind of relaxed that was actually a performance rather than a genuine state of being.
I did not recognize any of them. I had never seen their faces before in my life.
But their expressions?
Yeah. Not friendly.
Liam's steps faltered beside me, and I heard him swallow. "…I do not like this," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I do not like this at all."
"Stay behind me," I said calmly, my eyes moving across the three figures, assessing, calculating.
"WHAT," Liam hissed, grabbing my arm. "No. Absolutely not. I will protect you. I am the man in this situation"
"Liam."
"…Okay, fine, I will stay behind you," he said, and he stepped back immediately, positioning himself behind my shoulder like a child hiding behind a parent during a thunderstorm.
Smart boy.
One of the three pushed himself off the wall and stepped forward. He was the tallest of the group, with sharp features and an easy smirk that suggested he was used to people being intimidated by him.
"You are the new girl, right?" he asked, though it was not really a question. He already knew the answer. He had just wanted to hear me say it.
I did not answer.
He smirked, taking another step closer. "You have got attitude. I heard about you. People are already talking."
"I have got places to be," I said flatly. "So if you do not mind....."
"Not yet," he interrupted, stepping into my path. "Not until we have talked."
Another one laughed from the wall, a short, sharp sound that echoed off the lockers. "First day and already making scenes in the cafeteria? That takes talent. Or stupidity. Not sure which yet."
Liam whispered from behind me, his voice trembling slightly, "…I take back what I said earlier. We are not surviving. This is where we die. I am too young to die."
I shifted my weight slightly, not backing up, not moving forward. Just adjusting. Just getting ready.
Calm. But ready.
"I do not have time for this," I said, and my voice was steady, unhurried, like I was discussing the weather rather than facing down three boys who clearly wanted to provoke me.
"Make time," the tall one said, and he reached out.
Not touching me yet. But close. His hand hovered in the air between us, fingers spread, close enough to grab my shoulder or my chin or my arm.
Too close.
Than,
A hand grabbed his wrist.
Firm. Sudden. Like a trap snapping shut.
The boy froze. So did the others. The air in the hallway seemed to still, seemed to stop moving entirely, as everyone processed what had just happened.
"…I think she said she was busy."
Adrian.
His voice was light. Almost lazy, like he had just woken up from a nap and wandered into this situation by accident. But his grip on the boy's wrist was not lazy at all. It was tight. Controlled. The kind of grip that said I can break this if I want to, and I am deciding whether I want to.
The boy tried to pull his hand back. He tugged once, twice, three times.
His hand did not move.
"…Let go," the boy said, and his voice had lost some of its confidence. Not all of it, he was trying very hard to look unbothered, but enough. Enough for me to notice.
Adrian tilted his head slightly, his expression unchanged. "Why?"
Silence.
The air in the hallway shifted again. But this time, it was not tension that filled the space between us. It was pressure. The kind of pressure that came from someone who did not need to raise his voice to make his point.
Liam whispered from behind me, his voice torn between fear and admiration. "…I like him again. I take back everything I said. I like him."
"Quiet," I said.
"I am appreciating protection," he whispered back. "I am simply expressing gratitude"
"Quiet," I said again.
Adrian finally let go, releasing the boy's wrist like he was discarding something unpleasant. The boy stepped back immediately, rubbing his wrist with his other hand, his eyes wide with a mixture of anger and something that looked dangerously close to fear.
"…This does not concern you," the boy said, trying to recover his composure. "This is between us and her."
Adrian smiled. It was not a nice smile. It was the kind of smile that said I am about to ruin your day and enjoy every second of it.
"Everything concerns me when it is annoying," he said. "And you three? Very annoying. Extremely annoying. Bordering on painful."
The tall one glanced at me, then back at Adrian. "That girl...
N"
Adrian cut him off before he could finish. "Is not your problem."
His tone did not change. Still casual. Still light. Still sounding like he was discussing something as mundane as the weather.
But the meaning behind the words was crystal clear.
The boys hesitated. They looked at each other, exchanging glances that said this is not worth it and we should leave and I do not want to find out what happens if we stay.
Then the tall one scoffed, the sound hollow and unconvincing. "Whatever," he said, stepping back further. "Stay out of trouble."
I raised an eyebrow. "You came to me," I pointed out. "Not the other way around."
He did not reply. None of them replied. They simply turned and walked away, their footsteps quick and uneven, like they were trying very hard to look like they were not retreating even though that was exactly what they were doing.
Silence fell over the hallway for a moment.
Then Liam stepped forward dramatically, his earlier fear forgotten in the wake of his excitement.
"I KNEW IT," he announced, pointing at me with an accusatory finger. "I knew it. I knew there was something about you."
I looked at him with weary eyes. "…What now?"
"You are secretly important," he said, his voice full of triumph. "You are someone. You have connections. You have people who show up and save you in hallways. This is not normal behavior for a regular new student."
"No," I said.
"Yes," he insisted.
"No."
"YES."
I sighed, long and deep, feeling a headache beginning to form behind my eyes. "…You are exhausting. You are genuinely exhausting, and I have only known you for a few hours."
"And you are suspicious," he shot back, completely undeterred. "So we are even."
Adrian was still standing where he had been, his hands back in his pockets, like nothing had just happened. Like he had not just physically intervened in a situation that had nothing to do with him. Like he had not just broken his own rule for the second time today.
I looked at him, studying his face, trying to understand what he was doing here.
"…You are breaking your own rules again," I said.
He shrugged, his expression neutral. "Rules are flexible. They bend. They break. They change depending on the situation."
"You said not to get involved," I reminded him. "This morning. At the gate. You said do not mess with anyone, and if I got into trouble, to deal with it myself."
"I said you should not get involved," he corrected. "I did not say anything about myself."
"That is a technicality and you know it."
"Technicalities are important," he said, and there was a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "They are what separate the innocent from the guilty."
I crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to be charmed by his wordplay. "You are a hypocrite."
"Smart," he said.
"You are annoying," I added.
"You missed me," he replied easily.
"I did not."
"You did."
"I did not."
"You definitely did," he said, and his smile grew slightly wider. "I can tell. You have a tell. You always had a tell."
I stepped closer to him, lowering my voice so Liam could not hear. "…Stop calling me that," I said, and there was a warning in my tone.
"Calling you what?" he asked, feigning innocence. "Adopted?"
I glared at him, my eyes narrowing into slits.
He smirked, the expression infuriatingly familiar. "Make me," he said.
I kicked his leg again.
"AAWWWWWWW—" Adrian yelped, hopping back on one foot, his hand flying down to rub the spot I had targeted. His face contorted in pain, but his eyes were laughing.
Liam clapped his hands together once, loudly, the sound echoing through the hallway. "YES. Violence is back. I was worried we had moved past the violence, but no. It is back. This is excellent."
"Stay out of it," I said without looking at him.
"I cannot," he said happily. "This is my favorite show. I am invested in the characters. I need to see what happens next."
Adrian straightened up, still rubbing his leg, but his attention was fully on me now. There was something different in his expression, something quieter, something more serious, hidden beneath the usual smugness.
"…Be careful," he said, and his voice was lower than before.
I frowned slightly, confused by the shift in his tone. "That does not sound like you," I said. "You do not say things like that. You say annoying things and then walk away."
"It is not," he admitted. "But I am saying it anyway."
A pause hung between us, heavy with something I could not name.
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the seriousness vanished. His expression returned to normal. His smirk returned to his face.
"Also," he added, "try not to embarrass me again. Once was enough. My reputation cannot take another hit."
I stared at him, my expression flat. "You deserved it."
"I did not," he said.
"You did," I insisted.
"I did not."
"You fell emotionally," I said, and I watched his face carefully for a reaction. "That was your mistake. You showed weakness, and I exploited it."
"…That does not make sense," he said after a moment of processing.
"It does to me," I said with a small shrug. "That is all that matters."
Liam whispered from behind me, his voice filled with awe, "…I do not understand anything that is happening right now, but I support her. Whatever she said, I agree with it. I am on her side."
"Good," I said.
Adrian shook his head slightly, a mix of exasperation and something softer flickering across his features. Then he turned and started walking away, his footsteps unhurried, his hands still in his pockets.
But just before he disappeared around the corner, he spoke without looking back.
"…I am serious," he said, and his voice carried through the hallway, quiet but clear. "Do not pick fights you do not understand. Not everyone here will walk away after one warning."
I did not reply. I simply watched him go until he was out of sight.
Liam leaned closer to me, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "…Okay, serious question."
"What?" I asked, already dreading whatever was about to come out of his mouth.
"Do you two hate each other… or..."
"Yes," I said, cutting him off before he could finish.
"That is not an answer," he protested.
"It is," I said, and I started walking again. "It is the only answer you are going to get."
We walked in silence for a few steps, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the lockers.
"…He helped you," Liam added quietly, as if he was testing a theory out loud.
"I noticed," I said.
"You did not say thank you," he pointed out.
"I do not need to," I said. "He did not do it for a thank you."
"…You are scary," Liam said, but there was no fear in his voice. Only curiosity. Only the growing understanding that I was not what I appeared to be.
"Smart," I said.
But as I walked, my pace slowed slightly.
Just for a second. Just enough for Liam to notice, though he was kind enough not to mention it.
Because I knew. I knew that what Adrian had just done was not just interference. It was not just annoyance at the boys who had cornered me. It was not just him being bored and looking for entertainment.
That was protection.
And he had broken his own rule for it.
The question was why.
Author's POV
The final bell rang like a warning rather than a release.
It was not the sound of freedom. It was not the sound of peace. It was simply the sound of one chapter ending and another beginning the kind of beginning that often led to chaos rather than calm.
Students flooded out of the building in waves, their voices rising and falling like the tide. Some laughed. Some shouted complaints about homework and teachers and the unfairness of the world. Some simply walked in silence, too tired to contribute to the noise. The front gate, which had seemed so elegant and imposing that morning, quickly turned into a crowded mess of bodies and bags and overlapping conversations.
And right in the middle of it all, Rifat was waiting.
He leaned against the metal gate like he had nowhere else to be and no intention of moving anytime soon. His arms were crossed over his chest. His expression was unreadable, the kind of blank mask that revealed nothing while observing everything.
And he was watching.
Specifically, he was watching for her.
Ruz stepped out of the building a few seconds later, her bag slung over one shoulder, her posture relaxed, walking like she did not have a single problem in the world. Like the morning had been ordinary. Like she had not spilled a drink on someone. Like she had not been cornered in a hallway. Like she had not just survived her first day at a new school without breaking.
She saw him immediately.
Of course she did. Her eyes had always been sharp like, that noticing everything, missing nothing, filing every detail away for later use.
Her steps did not slow. Did not stop. Did not acknowledge his presence in any way.
She walked straight toward the gate like he did not exist.
Bad decision.
"Oi."
She kept walking.
"…Hoy, Miss. Adopted."
She stopped.
Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head to look at him. Her expression was calm, too calm, the kind of calm that came before something sharp.
"…You really want to die today?" she said, and her voice was perfectly pleasant, which somehow made it more threatening.
Rifat pushed himself off the gate, completely unfazed by her words. He had heard worse. He had said worse. A little verbal sparring was not going to scare him off.
"You left earlier," he said, as if that explained everything.
"You survived," she replied, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. "Be grateful for that and move on with your life."
"I was not done talking," he said, stepping closer.
"You were done embarrassing yourself," she corrected. "There is a difference, and that difference is that I stopped listening."
A few nearby students slowed down as they passed. They were not obvious about it no one wanted to look like they were eavesdropping but they slowed nonetheless. Their eyes flickered toward Ruz and Rifat, then away, then back again.
They knew. They had heard the rumors spreading through the school like wildfire. Something was about to happen, and they did not want to miss it.
Rifat took another step closer, closing the distance between them. "You think you are funny," he said, his voice low.
"I know I am," she said without missing a beat.
"You poured a drink on someone," he reminded her. "In front of the entire cafeteria. On purpose."
"He needed a personality upgrade," she said. "I was helping. Consider it a public service."
"That was my friend," Rifat said, and his voice hardened slightly. "The person you humiliated in front of everyone? That was my friend."
"Then upgrade your taste in friends as well," she said. "Two birds, one stone. You are welcome."
A sharp pause followed her words. The air between them crackled with something that was not quite anger and not quite amusement, something in between that neither of them seemed willing to name.
Someone behind them whispered, loud enough to carry, "It is starting…"
Rifat tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as he studied her face. "You are getting bold," he observed. "Bolder than this morning. Did something happen? Did you find confidence somewhere between the cafeteria and the hallway?"
"You are getting repetitive," she shot back. "I am bored of this conversation already, and we have barely started."
"Oh, so now you critique me?" he asked, his voice rising slightly with incredulity. "Now you have opinions on how I speak?"
"No," she said, her voice calm and cutting. "I am fixing you. There is a difference, and someone should have started years ago."
A few students choked back laughter, covering their mouths with their hands. Someone coughed to hide a snort. The tension in the air shifted slightly as amusement began to bleed through the hostility.
Rifat exhaled slowly, visibly restraining himself. "You have been talking a lot since this morning," he said. "Your mouth never stops. It is exhausting."
"You have been falling a lot since this morning," she replied. "Your feet never stay under you. It is concerning."
"…That was one time," he said, his jaw tightening. "One time. And I did not fall. I slipped. There is a difference."
"Gravity disagrees with your assessment," she said. "And gravity is generally considered the authority on such matters."
A louder reaction from the crowd this time. Someone actually clapped, the sound sharp and clear in the afternoon air, before quickly stopping when Rifat shot a glare in their direction.
The silence that followed was immediate and complete.
Then Rifat looked back at Ruz, his expression unreadable once more.
"…You enjoy this," he said quietly. It was not a question.
"A lot," she said without hesitation. "More than I should, probably. Definitely more than is healthy."
He stepped closer again. Too close now. Close enough that she could see the individual lashes around his eyes, the small scar on his chin, the way his jaw was set in determination.
"Careful," he said quietly, his voice dropping to something almost intimate. "You are attracting attention. More attention than is safe for someone on their first day."
Ruz did not back away. She leaned in slightly, meeting his challenge with one of her own.
"Careful," she echoed, her voice just as low. "You are losing again. That is twice today. Three times if we count the hallway rumors I have already heard."
That hit hard.
"OOOOHHH—" came a voice from the crowd, followed by someone else shushing them aggressively.
Rifat did not even look toward the sound. His eyes remained fixed on Ruz, burning with something that was not quite anger and not quite admiration.
"Say one more word," he said, his voice soft and dangerous, "and I will throw you out of this gate myself. I do not care who is watching."
Silence. Immediate and complete.
Then Ruz smiled. It was a small smile, faint and barely there, but it was unmistakably a smile.
"You threaten strangers now?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "That is new. I thought you only threatened people you knew."
"I do not need to threaten you," he said. "You do that to yourself every time you open your mouth."
"Explain," she said, her eyebrows rising slightly.
"You do not think before you act," he said. "You speak before you consider the consequences. One day, that is going to get you into trouble that I cannot fix."
"And yet," she said, tilting her head further, "I am still winning. Funny how that works."
Another pause. The tension between them tightened like a wire being pulled to its breaking point.
Then Rifat reached out suddenly, his hand moving fast, and flicked her forehead.
Light. Deliberate. Almost playful.
Ruz froze, her eyes widening slightly in genuine surprise.
"…You just touched me," she said slowly, as if she needed to confirm that it had actually happened.
"You just poured a drink on my friend," he said, his smirk returning. "We are even."
"That was different," she said, her voice recovering its sharpness. "He deserved it."
"And you do not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She stared at him for a second, processing his words.
Then, without warning, she stepped forward and shoved him.
Not hard enough to hurt. Not hard enough to cause real damage. But hard enough that he actually stumbled back a step, his arms flailing slightly as he fought to regain his balance.
Again.
Silence from the crowd.
Then—
"…HE FELL AGAIN," someone shouted, unable to contain themselves.
"I DID NOT FALL," Rifat snapped immediately, straightening up and smoothing down his shirt with as much dignity as he could muster. "I was pushed. There is a difference. Being pushed does not count as falling."
Ruz folded her arms over her chest, a satisfied smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Balance issue," she said simply.
"I hate you," he said, but there was no heat in it anymore. Just exasperation. Just the tired acceptance of someone who had met their match and did not know what to do about it.
"You are obsessed with me," she countered.
"I am concerned for public safety," he corrected. "There is a difference, and the difference is that you are a menace."
"You are the danger," she said. "Everything was fine until you started following me around like a lost puppy."
"You started this," he insisted. "You started everything. The cafeteria. The hallway. All of it."
"You exist," she said, as if that explained everything.
That one hurt. Rifat's expression flickered for just a moment, something vulnerable passing across his features before he could hide it, even the crowd seemed to feel the sting of that particular blow.
Rifat ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply, trying to compose himself. "You are impossible," he said. "Absolutely impossible."
"You keep coming back," she pointed out. "That says more about you than it does about me."
"Because someone has to control you," he said. "Someone has to keep you from destroying the entire school on your first day."
"Control me?" she repeated, amusement coloring her voice. "Try."
Big mistake.
He stepped forward again, closing the distance between them until there was barely a breath of space left.
She did not move. Did not back away. Did not flinch.
Now they were really close. Close enough that the crowd held its collective breath. Close enough that the air between them felt sharp and charged, like the moment before a storm.
"You think you are untouchable," Rifat said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I know you will not touch me," she replied, her voice just as soft.
A beat of silence.
"…Why?" he asked, and there was genuine curiosity in his voice now. "Why are you so sure?"
"Because you already tried," she said softly. "This morning. In the hallway. And you lost."
That shut him up for half a second.
Which, for him, was rare.
From somewhere in the crowd, a voice whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, "…This is better than television. I am not leaving until someone throws a punch."
Rifat closed his eyes briefly, like he was praying for patience or reconsidering every choice that had led him to this moment.
Then he opened them again and locked them on her face.
"…You are not normal," he said. "You know that, right? You are not a normal person, and you are not a normal new student, and you are definitely not normal in any way that matters."
"Finally," Ruz nodded, as if he had just passed a test. "You said something correct. I was beginning to lose hope."
He huffed out a quiet laugh, short and sharp and disbelieving. "You are proud of that?"
"Very," she said. "Extremely. I am going to remember this moment forever."
"…You are going to get in trouble one day," he said. "Real trouble. The kind that I cannot talk you out of."
She leaned closer slightly, her voice dropping to match his.
"Then you had better be there," she said, "to fall again."
A pause.
Then Rifat laughed.
Actually laughed. Not a scoff, not a smirk, not a halfhearted chuckle. A real laugh, short and sharp and disbelieving, but real nonetheless.
"You are insane," he said, shaking his head. "Completely and utterly insane."
"And you are still here," she said. "Standing in front of me. Talking to me. Despite everything."
"…Yeah," he admitted, and something in his voice softened. "Yeah, I am."
"…Yeah," she echoed.
For a second, just a single second neither of them spoke.
The crowd did not either. Even the whispers had stopped. Everyone was watching, waiting, holding their breath for whatever came next.
Then...
"RUZ!"
A voice cut through the moment like a knife through butter.
Liam came running toward them from the direction of the building, his bag bouncing against his back, his face flushed with exertion and panic. He looked like he had just escaped something terrible, though the only thing he had escaped was probably his own imagination.
"I TURNED MY BACK FOR FIVE MINUTES," he shouted as he ran, "WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING AGAIN? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING AGAIN? WHY CAN I NOT LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR FIVE MINUTES WITHOUT SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENING?"
Ruz did not look away from Rifat. "He started it," she said calmly.
"I said one word," Rifat protested.
"You breathed," she said. "Aggressively. With intent."
"I regret that," he said flatly.
"I do not," she said.
Liam stopped between them, breathing heavily, looking back and forth like a referee who had not signed up for this match and desperately wanted to go home. His head swiveled from Ruz to Rifat and back again, his expression a mixture of exhaustion and exasperation.
"I am tired," he announced. "Both of you are banned from talking. Effective immediately. I am invoking my authority as the only sane person in this situation."
"Tell him," Ruz said, nodding toward Rifat.
"Tell her," Rifat said at the same time, nodding toward Ruz.
"I am going home," Liam decided, stepping back and pointing at each of them in turn. "Alone. For my mental health. I cannot do this anymore today. I have reached my limit."
Smart choice.
He left immediately, walking quickly toward the gate without looking back, muttering something under his breath about stress and new friends and the importance of peace and quiet.
Ruz finally stepped back, breaking the strange spell that had held them both in place. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, smoothed down her uniform, and looked at Rifat one last time.
"Done?" she asked.
"For now," he said, and there was something almost reluctant in his voice. Like he did not want the conversation to end, even though he knew it should.
She nodded once. "Good."
Then she turned and started walking away, her steps unhurried, her back straight, her presence somehow filling the space even as she retreated.
After three steps, he called out.
"Ruz."
She did not stop walking.
"…Next time," he said, raising his voice just enough to carry, "do not run."
She raised a hand slightly without turning around, a casual wave that could have meant anything or nothing.
"I do not run," she said, her voice carrying back to him clearly. "I never run."
A small pause.
Then, softer, almost to herself but loud enough for him to hear:
"People just fall behind."
And she kept walking, disappearing through the gate and into the stream of students flowing out of the school, becoming one face among many, disappearing into the crowd like she had never been there at all.
Rifat watched her go.
Silent. Still. His arms crossed over his chest, his expression thoughtful rather than annoyed.
Then he muttered under his breath, so quietly that no one else could hear.
"…Yeah."
A faint smile appeared on his lips, small and reluctant and genuine.
"Clearly."