BENEATH THE SAME SKY

Chapter 2 - Consequences

Lucas's POV

The dean’s son. Of all the people I could have punched. I clench my fists, the sting from hitting him still fresh on my knuckles. The anger that had surged through me is now giving way to panic.

Caleb shoots me a look, somewhere between disbelief and frustration.

Rachel is still beside me, frozen in shock, her eyes wide as she processes what just happened. Mia, standing next to her, quickly takes Rachel’s arm, pulling her away from the crowd. “Let’s get out of here,” she whispers to her, sending me a worried glance.

Mark’s smug smile falters for a moment, but he quickly regains his composure, brushing his jaw off as if the punch was nothing. “You think you can just hit me and walk away?” He steps forward, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “I’m going to make sure you’re out of here before the semester’s over!”

The threat hangs in the air like a weight pressing down on my chest. This isn’t just some random guy. Mark seems to have connections, power. In support of that he's the dean's son.

And he’s right—I’m in deep trouble.

Before I can respond, Caleb grabs my arm, pulling me away from the crowd. “We need to leave. Now!” His voice is tense, and for once, there’s no trace of his usual laid-back attitude. “You just made this so much worse.”

I yank my arm free from his grip, turning to face him. “So what? You’re going to side with him? After everything?”

Caleb’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t answer. Instead, he looks around, his eyes scanning the crowd. “We’ll talk about this later. Right now, we need to leave before things get out of hand.”

Reluctantly, I follow him, weaving through the crowd as whispers follow us. My mind races, replaying the scene over and over again. Did I make a mistake? No. I saw what I saw. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve just made myself a target.

As we leave the party, Mia and Rachel catch up to us. Rachel’s still shaken, her face pale. She looks at me, her voice barely a whisper. “Did he really…?”

I nod, my anger still simmering beneath the surface. “Yeah, he did. You were about to drink it.”

Her eyes widen in realization, and she wraps her arms around herself as if trying to shake off the feeling of what almost happened. “Thank you,” she murmurs, her voice shaky. “I… I didn’t even notice.”

Mia stands beside her, glaring at Caleb. “You should’ve seen it too. But you were too busy being friends with that creep!”

Caleb groans, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t know, alright? I thought Mark was cool. I didn’t—” He stops, his words hanging in the air. “Look, we need to figure out how to fix this.”

“Fix this?” I snap, turning to him. “There’s no ‘fixing’ this, Caleb. Mark’s going to use his connections to make sure I get kicked out. And you know it.”

For the first time all night, Caleb looks genuinely worried. He runs a hand through his hair, glancing between me and Mia. “Let’s just get out of here. We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

I get my phone from my pocket and proceed to order for a cab.

"I'll be fine on my own." I say as I feel the tension between Caleb and myself but I don’t have the energy to deal with it right now. My mind is already spiraling, thinking about what comes next.

He doesn't even bother to intervene or anything. My cab arrives and I glance back at Rachel. She’s still shaken, but she manages to give me a small, grateful smile.