Play my heart

Chapter III

A week goes by and Connor and Caesar have to place new bets, seeing as the guy still hasn't left the school nor come to apologize to Adryan.

"He's too intimidating for people to actually face him," Caesar snickers, taking a sip out of an expensive porcelain cup. "It's no good, what's Adryan gonna do?"

Next to him, Connor nods appreciatively. "I heard they've started calling him the Enemy, the guy's got a reputation." He sips his own tea in a poor attempt to hide his amusement.

Adryan buries his head under a velvet pillow and muffles his frustrated groans into it. Darren shakes his head and checks the clock on the wall: his break is over, he sighs; time to get back to practice. Under no circumstances can he stand to break his winning streak in the violin competitions.

Practice goes as well as one could expect until a commotion near the window disrupts him. He tries to ignore it at first, but the screaming and the booing becomes too loud to let him hear himself. Putting the violin down with an exasperated frown, he goes to the window.

He arrives just in time to see "the Enemy" kick a student right in the face. Darren's eyes widen in surprise and he finds himself frozen in the spot. There's at least half a dozen boys from third and second year surrounding the Enemy, taking turns to lunge at him, while the familiar crowd watches the exchange. He takes on all of them without breaking a sweat, only taking his hands out of his pockets to grab their clothes and throw them to the ground. Darren squints, he's seen Connor fight like that to protect his very valuable sculptor hands.

He almost flinches when one of the older guys takes a hold of the Enemy's collar and decks him right on the face. He can't understand what they're saying among the cheering from the onlookers, but he catches the way the Enemy's features contort in anger.

Darren forgets his violin as he storms out of the room, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. The Enemy's accusations from before keep ringing in his ears, and the only noise to distract him from them is the one of his feet stomping on the floor. He's almost outside the principal building and still has no idea what he plans to do.

Minutes later, he crosses the Enemy on his way out of the bathroom and walks away at a quick pace, without looking up. If the Enemy finds a First Aid box waiting for him on the marble counter, well, that's not something that can be reasonably attributed to Darren, right?

He does get first place in the violin competition, his playing more crisp and lively than ever. For once, his friends make him stay until they get the results, so they're all standing in front of the glass panel when he hears it.

"Ha! Second place, you failure! And to the same guy of the other time!" says a feminine voice behind him.

"Of course to the same fucking guy, the damn prodigy," grumbles a masculine voice. Darren blinks and turns around. "Psh, whatever, guess I owe you dinner. I'm feeling like sushi, come on."

The Enemy. It's actually him, right there, hot pink violin case in hand and mandatory ripped jeans. His hair is for once combed nicely, and for a second Darren almost doesn't recognize him. He doesn't notice the chubby girl next to him until she points a finger at him, beaming.

"Oh! You're first place, Darren Kohn, right? So good to meet you, you were great back there!"

"Eh?"

The Enemy's eyes almost fall out of their sockets when he finally spots Darren, and they look at each other in disbelief for an instant. The silence gets heavier as their shoulders tense, and his friends also recognize him upon turning around.