(Edrix POV)
The echo of the basketball hitting the court was the only sound in the gym.
Thud. Bounce. Spin. Catch.
I wasn't even really playing — just trying to clear my head.
After everything that went down, it felt weird being back at school, pretending everything was fine.
I dribbled again, tossed the ball toward the hoop — and missed. It bounced hard off the rim and rolled back.
"Nice aim," a familiar voice said behind me.
I turned — and there she was. Freya.
Hands behind her back, smile playing on her lips like she'd been standing there a while.
"Oh, it's you," I said, scratching the back of my neck.
Real smooth, Edrix. Real smooth.
She walked closer. "That's all you've got? After all that training? You're supposed to be Section E's best aim."
"Yeah, well," I shrugged, tossing the ball up again, "maybe I'm better when people aren't distracting me."
The smirk on her face told me she understood exactly what I meant.
I threw the ball again — but instead of going in, it rebounded straight off the backboard and bonked me right on the head.
"Ow—!"
Freya burst out laughing, trying to hide it behind her hand but failing completely.
"Wow, yeah. Definitely better when no one's watching."
I rubbed my head, pretending to frown but smiling anyway. "You could've caught that, you know."
"And ruin that perfect comedy moment? Never," she teased.
We both ended up laughing, the sound echoing softly in the empty gym. For a second, it almost felt like everything was normal again.
Almost.
Adrian POV
The hallway felt brighter than usual — sunlight streaming through the windows, students chattering, lockers clanging. After the chaos of last weekend, normal noise like this felt almost sacred.
Keifer walked beside Jayjay, his shoulder still bandaged but his stride steady. Jayjay laughed at something he said and kept a hand on his arm—assuming he'd disappear again any second. Yuri and Ciel returned from the washroom, the rest of the boys trailing behind with that lazy Section-E confidence that seemed to part the hall for them.
As we turned the corner toward Section E, we practically ran into Aries, Ella, and Freya. Aries spotted Jayjay first and practically lunged.
"Jayjay!" he called, words tumbling out. "Where have you been? You disappeared the whole weekend — everyone was worried! Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Why didn't you tell me anything?"
Freya craned her neck, looking around. "Also — where's Edrix? I haven't seen him." She gave me that wide-eyed look like she expected me to know his exact GPS.
Jayjay smirked and poked at Freya. "Probably at the cafeteria… or the gym trying to look cool," she teased, and Freya immediately flustered, blinking red.
Aries didn't let up. His questions kept coming so fast Jayjay didn't even have time to answer. "Seriously — you just vanish. Are you in some secret mission? Are you dating someone? Who's taking care of you?"
Keifer stepped in smoothly, that quiet protectiveness settling between Jayjay and Aries like a shield. He put his hand lightly on Jayjay's back and said, calm and low, "She doesn't need to explain anything to you, Aries."
Aries blinked, taken aback. "What? I was just asking—" he stammered.
Keifer smiled faintly and steered Jayjay away. "Yeah, and now we're going to class."
"Hey!" Aries called after us dramatically. "Bring her back!"
I couldn't help it — I burst out laughing and fell into step behind them. "Man, you two are gonna cause a riot one of these days," I muttered, matching my pace to theirs.
Keifer glanced at Jayjay, that small smirk tugging at his mouth. "Let them talk."
We walked down the hallway as a group, whispers following us like a wake. For a moment, the past weekend felt far away; we were just classmates again, striding into another Monday that didn't know the storm we'd survived. And that — simple and ordinary — felt like the most precious thing in the world.