Miss nobody strikes back

kai

Chapter Eighteen - Kai’s POV

Dominic and I walked into the cafeteria together. As soon as we stepped inside, the place came alive with excitement. It was as if someone had cranked up the energy in the room by tenfold. Girls were practically tripping over themselves to catch our attention, some accidentally spilling drinks, others scrambling to take pictures on their phones. Of course, I posed for the cameras. I didn’t need a mirror to know how ridiculously handsome and gorgeous I looked.

Dominic, on the other hand, kept his hands in his pockets, his face a picture of calm indifference. His expression remained blank, completely emotionless, like it usually was. Honestly, that’s his everyday look. Even though the girls were drooling over him—he is, after all, devastatingly handsome—he didn’t glance at any of them. It was like they didn’t exist in his world.

He hadn’t always been like this. There was a time when he showed interest in people. But one day, he changed, and from then on, he stopped paying attention to anyone.

But today? Today was different. For the first time in a long time, I saw something catch his attention. He looked straight at Hanna. Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, they just stared at each other.

What the hell was going on between those two?

I’m his best friend—practically his brother—and there isn’t much I don’t know about Dominic. But his sudden interest in Hanna was something he hadn’t told me about, and I wasn’t going to let it slide.

Their gaze didn’t last more than five seconds before Dominic looked away and led us to our usual table, the one reserved for us among the popular kids.

Aside from being the school's golden boys—thanks to our good looks and wealth—we were also part of the most powerful clique on campus. The students practically worshipped us, though many were scared of Dominic. He doesn’t tolerate nonsense, and people know better than to mess with him.

We grabbed our food and started eating.

“The atmosphere in this school feels a bit tense today,” I said after taking a gulp of water.

Dominic raised an eyebrow. “How?”

Of course, he didn’t say much—he never did. Dominic is a man of few words, which is part of his charm, I guess.

I shrugged. “Everyone’s been talking about Hanna’s transformation. It’s crazy, right?”

Dominic nodded but didn’t say anything.

Now, I wasn’t one to beat around the bush, so I went straight to the point. “So, what’s going on between you and Hanna?”

Dominic turned to me, his brow furrowing slightly. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, Dom. You two were practically having a stare-off. It’s rare for you to even look at a girl for 0.5 seconds, let alone the way you looked at Hanna.” I studied his face, trying to gauge his reaction, but as usual, Dominic’s expression was unreadable.

“She bumped into me in the hallway,” he said after a moment.

“And…?” I prodded, my smile growing wider. I could tell there was more to the story.

“And what?” Dominic asked, his tone flat.

“Come on, man. You know—the interesting part,” I teased.

He shook his head, clearly not in the mood to entertain me.

“Let me guess—you walked away before any conversation could happen, right?” I said with a grin.