Clear Lake Academy holds the worst of the worst delinquents from around the country. Each and every student there holds a notorious background that led them there and almost everyone avoids them.
After setting the tenth building on fire, which just...
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Pandora cride out as she was suddenly shoved aside —the bullet narrowly missing her head. She hit the ground hard, a pained grunt leaving her as her body instinctively curled in on itself—arms thrown over her head, chin tucked down, bracing for something worse.
Before she could even process it, warmth surrounded her.
Bentley.
His solid chest pressed into her back, his body shielding hers completely. His arms wrapped around her like a barrier, like if he held her tight enough, nothing could touch her. His breathing was ragged, uneven, his heart hammering violently against her back. Even with his eyes squeezed shut, he didn't loosen his grip for a second.
For a brief moment, all Pandora could hear was him—his heartbeat, fast and desperate, his breath breaking against her shoulder.
Across the room, Sophianna let out a furious snarl as the shot missed, the bullet embedding uselessly into the wooden shelf. But before she could recover she was tackled.
Hendrix and Laken hit her at the same time, slamming her into the ground with a heavy thud. The impact knocked the air from her lungs, a curse ripping from her throat as she realised—too late—that she'd let her focus slip.
Chaos erupted.
Bentley was already moving again, dragging Pandora up with him, his hands quickly checking her over—her face, her arms—making sure she was still intact. Only when he was satisfied did he let go, turning back toward the fight without hesitation.
Pandora didn't follow immediately.
She stood frozen, her gaze locking onto the gun lying a few feet away—discarded, almost harmless in its stillness.
For a split second... something dark flickered through her mind. A thought she didn't want to acknowledge.
Her fingers trembled uncontrollably, small, erratic shakes she couldn't seem to stop. A shiver ran through her body, sharp and persistent, despite the absence of any real cold. Pressure built behind her eyes—tight and aching. And her throat... it felt raw, scraped dry, every breath dragging against it like sandpaper, making even the smallest swallow feel like effort.
Then the sound of struggling snapped her back.
Hendrix doubled over suddenly with a strangled cry as Sophianna drove her knee into him, sending him collapsing to the floor in agony as he wailed. "Ow, ow, ow!! Help me—I'm dying! Ow! What the fuck!?" He screamed, laying on the floor as he held his crotch.
Laken let out a stifled laugh and lost sight of Sophianna for just one moment. And that was all she needed to do the same to him. Sophianna twisted free enough to strike him too, and he staggered back with a sharp hiss, all humour gone instantly as pain replaced it.
Sophianna spun around just as Bentley lunged forward, grabbing her wrists and wrenching them upward, trying to restrain her. "Will you stop fucking moving?"
