"Who are you?" Jayden King smirked at his reflection in the mirror, fingers running over his sharp jawline with a casual confidence. His white hair, streaked with a hint of lavender, fell in just the right messy locks over his intense, dark brown eyes. With a chiseled face, broad shoulders, and a wide, athletic chest, he looked every bit the part he claimed to be.
A wicked glint in his eye. "I'm Jayden. Jayden King." He winked at his reflection and tossed on his sports jacket, slinging his bag over one shoulder. "The dream of every girl," he added, a cocky grin curling at his lips.
At Deep Lake High School, Jayden ruled. The school was a beautiful structure, a grand building that looked like something out of a fairytale—at least from the outside. But within its shiny halls lay a darker truth: Deep Lake was no palace, but a prison, its students subjected to a brutal bullying by one ruthless group—the Crow Gang. This gang of bullies walked the school's halls with relentless cruelty, driving students to breaking points that landed some in mental asylums and forced others to flee.
And Jayden? He was their leader, the most feared and charming of them all. His sidekicks only added fuel to his reign. Benjamin, with bulging muscles and his backward cap, was the enforcer, a tank-top-wearing muscleman who could intimidate anyone with a single look. Monty, tall, skinny, and red-haired, played the follower, clinging to the gang because it made him feel cool—and because Jayden threw girls his way to keep him loyal. Ivy, with her sharp black bangs streaked in pink, was the gang's watchful spy, always noting down the latest gossip, mapping every new relationship and arrival, keeping Jayden's crew one step ahead of the rest.
Jayden stepped into the canteen, spotting his three gang members bickering around a table. Without missing a beat, he swaggered over, yanked Monty's juice from his hand, and took a loud slurp, grinning as his friends fell silent.
"What's with all the fuss?" he asked, settling into his chair, kicking his legs up onto the table in a show of indifference.
Ivy leaned in, grabbing his attention with an excited whisper. "Felix," she said, her eyes gleaming. She turned his head toward a table in the far corner, where a solitary student sat, seemingly oblivious to the glances and whispers around him.
"That kid?" Jayden asked, arching an eyebrow. Ivy nodded, her smirk widening.
It was only halfway through the year, and already, twenty-three students had left Deep Lake High because of them. And as Jayden sized up Felix, he knew there would soon be one more victim to add to their list.
For the Crow Gang, Felix Blanchard was more than just the new kid—he was a threat. With his lean build, quiet intelligence, and those striking eyes that seemed to catch every girl's attention, Felix had shifted the spotlight, pulling it away from Jayden and his gang. He was simple, almost shy, with a decency and charm that didn't need any swagger. And that, somehow, made him magnetic. It wasn't long before every girl who once hung on Jayden's every word was whispering a different name: "Felix."
The Crow Gang felt their control slipping, and Jayden wasn't about to let his hard-won status be challenged by some quiet newcomer. They had to break him, drive him out, or make him a laughingstock—anything to regain their hold on Deep Lake High.
But Felix was tougher than they'd expected. Every attempt to humiliate him or get under his skin fell flat. He didn't lash out or crumble, which only made him more intriguing to everyone around him. Desperation grew within the gang, especially Jayden, as they watched Felix become even more popular by simply staying true to himself.
One afternoon, the gang gathered in the canteen, their frustration brewing.
"He's just shy—that's why he doesn't talk much," Ivy said, tossing a glare across the room at Felix, who sat reading alone.
Benjamin scoffed, jealousy written all over his face. "So what? Are you falling for him too, Ivy?"
"No, idiot!" Ivy snapped, rolling her eyes. "But I've got something. Turns out he's an artist—good, too. And I have a plan." With a cunning grin, she pulled a folded piece of paper from her bag and slapped it on the table. It was a sketch, one of Felix's that she'd managed to swipe. "Everyone knows he's amazing at drawing," she continued, her eyes gleaming with a dark idea.
The gang leaned in, eager to hear her plan, and by the end of it, Jayden couldn't help but smile. They were going to use Felix's own talent against him.
That night, they set the scheme into motion. Benjamin broke into Felix's locker, filling it with fake sketches of naked girls in compromising positions—explicit images edited to look like Felix's own work. It was cruel and underhanded, exactly the kind of thing the Crow Gang thrived on.
The next morning, Felix opened his locker to a nightmare. The sketches tumbled out, scattering onto the floor right as the halls began to fill. Whispers turned to laughter, and mocking eyes turned toward him as he scrambled to gather the pages, his face flushed with humiliation. He could feel the stares, the ridicule, burning into him as he rushed down the hallway, clutching the fake sketches against his chest.
He barely made it to the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking himself in a stall. He slumped to the floor, shaking as he wanted to tear the papers to shreds, unable to understand why he'd become a target for such cruelty. His hands trembled, his heart pounded, and alone in the suffocating silence, he couldn't hold back the tears.
Felix's hands trembled as he clutched the humiliating sketches, each one a cruel reminder of the gang's mockery. Embarrassed and furious, he felt the sting of being targeted by people who seemed untouchable. They expected him to cower and disappear, just like all the others they'd driven out. But this time, Felix did something different—something no one had dared to do.
Instead of flushing the papers in shame, he held his head high, marched straight to the principal's office, and presented the evidence, demanding the truth be seen. He spoke up, quiet but determined, and in that moment, something changed within him.
By morning, word of Felix's stand had spread through the halls of Deep Lake High like wildfire. When he walked into school, his posture was tall, his steps steady, exuding a confidence no one had seen before. Whispers filled the corridors as students watched him, impressed by his bravery.
For the first time, the Crow Gang felt their grip loosening. Though no official action had yet been taken against them, they felt the shift in the atmosphere—students were rallying around Felix, finding a sense of safety and hope that hadn't existed before. Felix had become a symbol of defiance, and the gang's fear started to brew.
Jayden and the others watched with clenched jaws and narrowed eyes. Felix had become a threat—a real one. If they didn't silence him, the power they held over the school could crumble. They had to do something, anything, to knock him down and remind everyone who was in charge.
But before they could devise a plan, an unexpected opportunity came knocking.
That evening, Jayden, Benjamin, Monty, and Ivy were lounging in an abandoned park on the outskirts of town, passing a joint between them as the last light of day faded. They laughed, talked trash, and strategized, but their mood shifted when Jayden caught sight of a lone figure walking down the path nearby.
It was Felix, heading home, oblivious to the gang lurking in the shadows. Jayden smirked, nudging Benjamin and Monty with a nod toward Felix. The guys rose without a word, a silent understanding passing between them.
Felix noticed them only moments too late. His pulse quickened, and he picked up his pace, but they were already on him, closing the distance with easy strides. He tried to turn, but Benjamin clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder, smirking.
"Going somewhere, Felix?" Benjamin chuckled, his voice laced with mockery.
Without waiting for a reply, Benjamin and Monty each grabbed one of Felix's shoulders, dragging him into the park, ignoring his stifled protests as they hauled him toward Jayden. Felix stumbled, forced to his knees at Jayden's feet, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked up at Jayden, his face a mixture of fear and defiance, wondering what fresh torment they had in store.
Jayden held up a hand, signaling his friends to back off. "Easy, guys," he said smoothly, crouching down to Felix's level, a sinister gleam in his eye as he extended a hand to help him up.
"Here," Jayden said with an unsettling smile, his voice dripping with insincere kindness. "Let me help you up."
Felix hesitated, eyes darting between Jayden's hand and the gang members behind him, who stood watching with barely restrained malice. He swallowed hard, uncertain but desperate to escape their clutches, and reluctantly took Jayden's hand.
Jayden pulled him to his feet, holding his gaze with a cold, unreadable stare. Felix tried to steady his breathing, hoping against hope that they would let him go. Benjamin was as confused as Felix But as Jayden's smile twisted into something darker, he knew this encounter was far from over.
They thought they could control him, that this would be just another scare to teach him a lesson. But none of them could have predicted what Jayden had in mind.
With a dark glint in his eye, Jayden reached into Benjamin's bag, pulling out a small, unmarked pouch brimming with cocaine. His fingers trembled, but his smirk held as he poured some into his palm, then raised it to Felix's face.
"Take it," Jayden smirked, his voice edged with cruelty. But Felix's instincts kicked in; without a word, he turned to bolt. Jayden acted before he thought, slamming his open palm into Felix's neck, aiming to startle him, to force him to stay. He hadn't expected the sharp crack of impact, hadn't realized just how hard he'd struck. Felix crumpled to the ground in one fluid motion.
Jayden knelt beside him and insister "Come on! Take it!" He said but realized that Felix wasn't even moving, his heart pounding as he tried to shake him awake. But then he saw it—a thin line of blood pooling beneath Felix's head. Panic gripped him, and the cocaine slipped from his hand, scattering beside Felix's still body. He shook him, desperate for any sign of life, but the boy was gone.
"Oh my god, what did you do?" Ivy whispered, her eyes wide with horror as she paced. "We didn't mean for this—" Her voice trembled, eyes darting to the others. Monty had gone pale, his hands twitching at his sides, while Benjamin seemed completely calm.
"We didn't do anything," Benjamin said, grasping Jayden's shoulders. "Look at me! No one knows anything. We just leave him here. When they find him, it'll look like an overdose. Just…just leave the drugs here."
The others, too shaken to argue, scattered, each one burdened with their guilt. Only Benjamin remained cold, focused, even slipping more of the powder into Felix's locker later that night. Monty left without a word, while Ivy turned her back on them, wanting to forget she'd ever been part of it.
Jayden, however, couldn't escape. He felt the weight of it crashing down on him, a feeling he'd never known—guilt, pure and unrelenting, digging into him like claws. His mother had raised him to be confident, and strong, but in this moment, he felt small, a mere shadow of the person he had been. *If only I could take it back,* he thought, his voice a broken whisper as he staggered away, haunted by his actions.
And then, as if his regret itself had summoned it, something strange stirred in the air that night—a silent, unseen force. A coldness crept over him, and the shadows around him seemed to thicken, almost…watching. Jayden felt a shift, a presence weighing on his soul, darker than any nightmare he had ever known.
He didn't know that he hadn't just killed Felix. He'd awakened something ancient, something ruthless. And it would haunt him until he paid the price, dragging him into a destiny he never wanted and a fate he could never escape.