The hallway was eerily quiet. Most of the students had already gone home, leaving behind only the faint echo of footsteps and the occasional creak of old lockers.
Ara stood at her locker, sorting through her books with one hand and rubbing her temple with the other. It had been a long day, and all she wanted was to go home.
Then...
A voice.
Low. Mocking.
"You always look so lost when you're alone."
Ara froze. Slowly, she turned her head, and her heart dropped.
Danny.
And he wasn't alone.
His gang stood behind him, grinning like predators. Before Ara could react, they rushed her. She screamed, trying to fight them off, but there were too many.
Her books hit the floor with a loud thud. Then, rough hands shoved her backward. The metal slammed shut...
And Ara was trapped inside her own locker.
Danny sneered. "Let's see how loud you can scream in there."
Ara pounded on the door with her fists, voice breaking as she screamed for help. But the hallway stayed silent. Everyone had gone home. No one could hear her.
Ningning glanced at the clock on her phone.
6:07 p.m.
Ara still hadn't texted.
Her stomach twisted. Something didn't feel right.
She turned to head back into the school when she froze. Danny and his crew were walking out of a side hallway, laughing. Ningning ducked behind a column, her heart racing.
"We should've stuffed Ningning in there too," one of the boys joked.
Danny grinned darkly. "Don't worry. We'll find her. She's always running that mouth."
Ningning's chest tightened. She turned and bolted, running through the dark hallways, weaving past empty classrooms. She ducked into a janitor's closet, slamming the door quietly shut.
Footsteps echoed closer.
Danny's voice, cold and sing-song, rang out...
"Come out, Ningning. I just wanna talk... maybe do something more fun."
The doorknob rattled violently. Ningning covered her mouth, muffling her sobs.
And then...
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Mr. Lee's voice boomed down the hallway like thunder.
Footsteps pounded the floor.
Chenle. Jaemin. Jisung. Renjun. Mark. Jeno. Haechan.
The Dreamies had arrived, and they looked furious.
Before Danny could react, Chenle shoved him hard against the wall. Jaemin swung at one of the boys, knocking him backward. Jisung tackled another to the ground. Fists flew. Shouts filled the air.
It was chaos. Loud. Violent.
Mr. Lee shouted, his voice straining. "Enough! Stop this right now!"
Eventually, teachers rushed in, pulling them apart. Order was forced back into place, but the rage in everyone's eyes lingered.
Some moments earlier...
Giselle had been walking by when she noticed scattered books across the floor. She frowned, bending down to pick them up. That's when she heard it... the faint, desperate banging from a nearby locker.
Her eyes widened. "Someone's in there!" she shouted.
Renjun and Mark rushed over. With all their strength, they pried the locker open.
Ara slumped forward, barely conscious, her eyes swollen from crying, her throat raw.
"Get her out now!" Giselle cried.
Karina and Winter ran over, quickly helping Ara out of the locker. Her knees buckled, but Winter caught her, steadying her trembling frame.
"Come on," Karina said firmly. "Let's get her to the nurse's office."
"I'm coming too," Giselle added quickly.
The three girls, who had once kept their distance from Ara, now surrounded her, shielding her as they hurried down the hallway. It felt natural, like they'd been friends for years.
The next morning, the school was tense.
The announcement over the speakers was clear...
"Danny and the other students involved in yesterday's incident have been suspended indefinitely. The safety and well-being of our students remain our top priority."
Classes went on, but nothing felt normal.
Ara hadn't returned yet.
Ningning sat by the window in homeroom, a bandage on her wrist, her eyes hollow. She barely moved, staring outside as if the world had blurred away.
Giselle sat nearby, her own face pale. She glanced at Ningning, then at the empty desk next to her where Ara should have been.
"She'll be okay," Giselle whispered gently. "You both will."
Ningning nodded faintly, her lips pressed together. "I know. I just... hate that it happened."
A few days later, Ara returned.
Her steps were slow, careful. Chenle walked beside her, steady and protective. Ara kept her head down, nervous eyes darting around the hall.
Ningning spotted her first. Without hesitation, she ran to her. The two collided in a tight hug, tears falling freely down their cheeks.
They didn't say much. They didn't have to.
Healing would take time.
But they had each other.
And for now, that was enough.
A.N :-
- We are almost reaching the end of this book...
