Alice wasn't surprised when the guys didn't back down with the tense atmosphere, all the guys looked like they were itching for a fight which didn't spell out a good idea to Alice at all. Claudia was going through the same conflicting emotions as she was, and they were both frozen, thinking of the best course of action.
Rowan was still doing his best to calm everyone down with his low voice uttering statements that could make or break their long-awaited career that was still yet to start, but it didn't seem to get into any of their heads.
She didn't know what else she could do to make them stop and get their minds to function, but Rowan was doing his best by putting himself directly in the middle of something despite having a high possibility that it could get him hurt.
Claudia moved from her spot in the corner, kicking one leg over the other to lean on the wall to carefully watch how the whole spectacle unfolded with Alice fully knowing that Claudia was on the verge of decking every single dude there.
There was a tense moment between Mateo and Noah, and Alice flicked her eyes back and forth between them, watching as there were unspoken words said before Mateo cringed away and brushed his nose with the back of his hand.
"What are you doing, Mateo? What is even happening?" a guy in a grey sweater yelled in the back.
"Shut up for a moment, Elian," one of them muttered. "Let's just leave."
"We were supposed to hang out, but unfortunately our company was too stiff for some fun," another one baited.
"Yeah?" Rowan said with an eyebrow raised. "Why don't you all just take your party and leave."
Mateo huffed out a breath and eventually stalked off with his hand shoved into his pockets, hitting Noah's shoulder squarely. They all remained silent as they stared at Mateo's friends waiting for their next move, but the guys also took off.
Alice didn't offer any kind words as she glared at the guys who didn't bother to look at her anymore the minute they realized they were in the wrong without any ounce of morals to square up to their actions and apologize.
All of the guys had finally left, leaving unspoken words in amidst them in the fools' wake, and no one said anything for that second, with Rowan retracting his arms to cross them, Claudia's leaning position, and Noah by her side while they all gathered their thoughts.
Alice finally realized that Noah was still holding onto her tightly, and she pushed at his arm a little bit. When he didn't let go, she looked up at him with a narrow gaze playfully, already grateful that everyone was looking out for her. "What are you doing?"
Noah didn't answer, instead, he abruptly spun her around which made her stumble about disorientated, and placed her hands on his chest as she peered at him confused. His eyes searched hers, and it had to answer the question that he was looking for since he nodded once before dropping his grasp on her.
Eventually, Rowan sighed to break the ice that made them all pause. "That could have gone a lot worse."
"That's true," Alice agreed. "Honestly, I had no idea who those people were."
Rowan slid her look. "I couldn't even get an apology from them. I'm sorry."
Alice shook her head. "No. Please don't apologize on their behalf. I'm just glad that Claudia and I didn't get into an uncomfortable situation."
Claudia ran a hand through her hair, irritated. "We did what we could in that moment. That is enough."
Alice walked over to Claudia's side and squeezed her hand. "I agree. I have no hard feelings."
Claudia shrugged. "I don't either. It's just that when I think that people's attitudes are finally getting better at the academy, we suddenly get thrown into this. I can't even excuse that behavior."
"I never thought that they were getting better," Alice laughed.
"I'm not going to dispute that," Claudia smirked at her. "It was my own wishful thinking."
"Just don't pay any mind to them," Rowan muttered. "Did they touch you too?"
"No," Claudia answered slowly. "If they had, the turnout would have been a different story."
Noah frowned. "There wouldn't have been a problem if I didn't ask for you two to come over here."
"I'm good. Claudia's good. We're all good. Now, it's up to you all if you would like to report that," Alice jumped in.
"What a speech," Noah drew out making Alice roll her eyes at his response. It would seem as though everyone was going back to normal now which she gladly would gladly appreciate since she wanted to get the rest of the day going.
"You know that I would for you," Claudia sang. "But, I wouldn't want to waste my breath with that kind of stuff getting dropped immediately around here."