Ryan walked beside Leon down the hallway, footsteps echoing off the lockers. The place was still quiet, most students inside classrooms or rushing to their lockers. Ryan kept his eyes on the floor, trying not to think too hard about what he'd seen earlier. Emily's bare ass flashing for a second when Leon flipped her skirt.
He cleared his throat, voice coming out quieter than he meant. "So… what did you want to tell me?"
Leon glanced sideways at him, smirking a little, hands in his pockets like they were just strolling without a care. "I got a new feature in the app."
Ryan's stomach tightened immediately. His steps faltered for a second. "You mean… that hypnosis app?"
The words felt heavy, like saying them out loud made everything real again. Fear crept up his spine. What new feature? What else could Leon do? Would it make things worse for his mom? For Emily? For everyone?
Leon nodded casually, like he was talking about a game update. "Yeah. Look."
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up, screen bright in the dim hallway. Ryan leaned in closer. The app interface looked the same—black background, glowing text, but there was a new tab at the top.
ZONE INDUCTION
Ryan read it twice, brows furrowing. The words sat there, bold and simple, but they didn't make sense right away. "Zone… induction? What does that mean?"
Leon tapped the screen, scrolling down a little to show the description. "You won't believe this one, bro. It's crazy."
Ryan stared at the text, trying to process it. His heart beat a little faster. "What does it do?"
Leon lowered his voice, even though the hallway was mostly empty now, just a couple of kids rushing past with backpacks. "I can set hypnosis on a specific area now. Like, pick a room or draw a zone on the map in the app. Anyone who walks into it gets hypnotized automatically. No need to show them the phone or make eye contact. They just step in, and boom. They follow whatever rules I set when I activated the zone."
Ryan felt like the air got sucked out of the hallway. He stopped walking completely, shoes squeaking on the floor. "That's… that's not possible. How does an app even do that? It's like… magic or something."
Leon shrugged like it was no big deal, pocketing his phone again. "Told you. You wouldn't believe it. But it works. I tested it already. It got lots of things that you don't know."
Ryan's mind raced. The app had started simple—hypnotizing one person at a time, like his mom or Emily. But now this? An entire area? He thought about the classroom, the weird vibes when he walked in. The kissing couple not caring. The boy with the girls. Miley letting Leon touch her in front of everyone. "You mean… the classroom?"
Leon nodded, grinning wider now, like he was proud of it. "Yup. Set it up this morning before first bell. Anyone who walks through that door gets the trigger. Obeys the rules I put in."
Ryan's mouth opened, then closed. His hands felt cold. "Wait. So… everyone in there right now… they're hypnotized? Just like that?"
Leon kept walking a few steps ahead, then turned back with a casual wave. "Pretty much. Cool, right?"
Ryan's eyes went wide. "Then why am I not…?"
Leon laughed softly, stepping closer. "You're my best friend, man. Why would I hypnotize you? I set it to skip you. You're safe."
Ryan stared at him. The words hung there. Safe. But the way Leon said it made Ryan's skin crawl a little. He thought about Miley leaning into Leon's hand, Emily's skirt flipping up without real protest. The couple in the back. The boy with two girls under the desk. It all clicked now—the hypnosis making them act like that, not caring who saw.
"Maybe you're already hypnotized," Leon added, his face straight, eyes serious for a second.
Ryan's breath caught. His whole body froze. "What?"
Leon stepped even closer and gave him a light punch on the chest. "Relax, bro. I'm just messing with you. Come on."
Ryan let out a shaky breath, rubbing the spot where Leon punched him. It didn't hurt, but the joke landed too close. They started walking again, turning a corner toward the school grounds. The hallway opened up to the outdoor area, grass wet from morning dew, benches empty except for a couple of birds pecking at the ground.
Leon kept talking as they walked, voice light and excited. Ryan's face felt gloomy, his steps slower. He listened, but the words made his stomach twist. Leon talked a lot, going on about ideas—hypnotizing the cafeteria so everyone shares food, or the gym so people work out harder. Ryan nodded here and there, but inside he was thinking about how far this had gone. The app wasn't just a trick anymore. It was changing everything.
"So that's why Miley was sitting with you like that?" Ryan said quietly, curiously.
Leon shook his head, kicking a pebble off the path. "Nah, that was before is set it up. She's got a thing about hating me for taking class rep from her, so I fixed that. That's a story for another day, though."
Leon stopped at the edge of the grounds, where the grass met the pavement. "Class is about to start. You head back. I'll catch up in a few minutes."
Ryan frowned, glancing around. "Where are you going?"
Leon jerked his thumb toward the staff building across the field. It sat there, brick walls solid, windows with blinds half-closed, looking official and off-limits. "I just saw someone I know. Be right back."
He winked, then turned and started walking that way, hands back in his pockets.
Ryan watched him go. The staff building was on the other side of the grass, the path empty except for Leon's figure moving steadily toward it. Students weren't allowed there unless called in by a teacher. The sign at the entrance even said "Staff Only – No Students Without Permission." Ryan wondered how Leon was just walking that way like it was nothing. And with class starting? The bell would ring any second.
Leon disappeared around the corner of the building.
The bell rang. Ryan stood there a moment longer, staring at the empty spot where Leon had been. Then he turned and headed back toward the classroom.
To be continued...
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