With the main players out of the sight, Marco's crew lost their morale. Dante walked in front of Luca, pushing aside Marco's boys out of the way. Even though they were middle school kids, it doesn't matter. Valleria is a jungle and in a jungle a young lion is still a king, not an old hyena.
Enzo was standing in front of his way, blocking the exit. Enzo was impressed but he saw a threat as well. His mind was going through different possibilities. He just thought that Luca was not a threat, only a bait to take of Marco, who was trying to take over his turf. He knew that Luca had no history of this. He just took over his middle school recently. But now he Luca has proved that he can run his school. Everyone saw the new kids, beat Marco.
Dante looked at Enzo with his eyebrow raise,"We good then, Enzo?"
Enzo didn't even looked at him. His eyes were fixed on Luca."Not bad for a kid."
Luca just nodded,"Did my job, Enzo."
Enzo's smile was thin and cold. "So you take over your school and pull something like this?" He move to the center, voice low. "What's the play here, Luca? You gunning for my spot now? You fucking new-"
But before Enzo could finish his sentence, Luca took a deep breath and ran towards him directly and punched Enzo in his face and kicked his shin to make him fall on the floor. Dante knew that the alliance was over. They only needed Enzo for numbers and morale. And sooner or later, Enzo would've found out that it was not Marco that was attacking him.
"What the fuck are you doing, Luca?" one of the Enzo's guys tried to attack. Dante without hesitation punched that guy out of the way.
Luca didn't look back at anyone and kept on punching Enzo. Enzo tried to defend but he was pinned down on the floor. As Dante and others were defending Luca by forming a circle, people started to hesitate. Luca just didn't stop.
"St....o.....p", Enzo lied there like a corpse. His face was completely covered in blood. They were shocked by the scene. They were thugs but he was monster. He shook the blood of his hands.
Dante scratched the back of his neck, muttering under his breath, "Well, he's gone off the rails now."
Luca looked at the exit, the guys standing sweating bullets. Enzo's crew fear striken, moved aside as if Luca was Moses. "I will send all of you to the graveyard if you think you can fuck with me." Rest of them just ran from his way. These guys have been to many fights. Fights that got dirty, that got bloody what they didn't expect was someone just doesn't stop.
Luca stood over Enzo, breathing hard, fists red and raw. Enzo groaned on the ground, curling in on himself, broken and beaten. The room fell into a dead silence—no more threats, no more taunts. Just the quiet shuffle of feet as fear crept in.
Luca's black eyes scanned the room, cold and unblinking.
The guys near the door shifted nervously, their tough exteriors crumbling. Marco's and Enzo's boys, street fighters used to dirty scraps, suddenly found themselves out of their depth. This wasn't a fight—they'd stumbled into something far worse.
The circle of kids around Luca parted without a word, like a wave pulling back from the shore. No one wanted to be the one standing in his way. As Luca walked toward the exit, each step slow and deliberate, they moved aside as if death itself had passed through.
"I'm not here to play games," Luca said, barely above a whisper.
That was all it took. Not even a whisper as he walked out of the room, with his boys.
As they walked out of the room, the crew morale was at an all time high. They didn't expect to beat two high-school gangs. Their gang was strong now, with perfect structure. Dante, Elio and Rocco won almost flawlessly against Marco's key members. And Luca just destroyed both Marco and Elio. Josh was walking towards him with 5-10 boys.
"Well, look who decided to show up." Elio teased him.
"It's fine, if Enzo didn't back down, then we would've needed Josh's backup. Sometimes you need to fight without dignity." Luca explained to Elio.
"Well, there was no it would've failed, Boss. You did a great job on him. Enzo's boys must've pissed themselves." Elio sneered.
"Oh, you must've checked their pants then, Pissio." Josh snickered at him, which brought few laughs at the back.
"what the fuck?"
"Enough, Elio." Rocco told him to stand down. 'This guy even planned if they didn't back down. Something is wrong with him.' Rocco smiled looking at Luca. 'Crazy motherfucker'
"So, Boss, both threats down then?" Josh asked while standing up from the bench.
"Yeah, it's done for now. They aren't gonna bother for us atleast for a while "
"Wait even you knew, he was going to beat Enzo?" Elio was perplexed.
Dante, Rocco and Josh thought, 'Yeah pretty much, idiot.'
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A few days passed. Just as Luca had promised, there were no unnecessary fights inside the school. The halls were quiet, not from peace, but from tension. Vince kept to himself, never daring to meet Luca's gaze. The other students—bullies and bystanders alike—whispered about what had happened. Some feared him, some resented him, and others couldn't help but admire him. Luca had carved out his place at the top, and everyone knew it. The year was winding down, with only a few weeks left before the end of middle school.
At a table near the corner of the cafeteria, Maya sat with her lunch tray, sneaking glances at Luca. He was sitting a few tables away, eating with Dante, Rocco, Josh, and Elio. She watched him laugh quietly at something Dante said, that same composed look on his face that made it hard to tell what was really on his mind.
"Careful, Maya," her friend Lena teased with a sly grin, noticing the way Maya's eyes lingered. "You're staring again."
Maya blinked, pulling her gaze away, though the heat in her cheeks betrayed her. "I wasn't staring," she mumbled, poking at her food.
Lena chuckled. "Please. You've been sneaking looks at him all week. At this rate, he's going to think you're obsessed."
Maya gave her a sharp look, but Lena leaned in, undeterred. "Come on, admit it. Scary, dangerous, and somehow charming? I get it."
Maya rolled her eyes, though she couldn't deny the mix of emotions swirling inside her—fear, curiosity, and something else she didn't want to admit out loud. She had been angry at him before, but Luca kept his promise. He actually controlled the school, through skill and fear.
"You know he's not exactly... boyfriend material, right?" Lena smirked.
"Who said anything about that?" Maya shot back.
Lena grinned knowingly. "Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that."
"Watch this," Nina whispered to Maya and Lena, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
Maya's heart skipped a beat as she watched Nina stride confidently toward Luca's table. Luca looked up lazily as Nina leaned on the edge of the table, flashing her most charming smile.
"Hey, we're all going to karaoke later. You guys should come," Nina said, her voice sing-song sweet.
Elio leaned back in his seat, immediately shaking his head. "Yeah, nah. Not my thing," he muttered, smirking. "I don't sing."
Dante snorted. "You barely even have the brain cells to talk."
Nina kept her gaze locked on Luca, undeterred by the rejection. "What about you, Luca? I bet you'd kill it."
To everyone's surprise, Luca didn't shrug her off. Instead, he looked at her for a brief moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a slight nod, he said, "Yeah. I'll go."
Elio blinked, caught off-guard. "Wait, what?"
Luca kept eating like it was nothing, as if agreeing to karaoke wasn't completely out of character. "Yeah, why not?" he replied calmly.
Nina's smile widened. "Great. Meet us at eight?"
Luca gave a slight nod without looking up again. "Sure."
As Nina walked back to her table, grinning triumphantly, Lena leaned over to Maya with a playful nudge. "Did you see that? He never says yes to anything."
A few hours later, the karaoke place was alive with music and laughter. Nina led the way, her excitement palpable. As they entered the private booth, a cozy space lined with plush seating and colorful lights, Maya felt a mix of anticipation and nerves.
"Josh said this place was the best," Nina announced, plopping down on the couch. "Let's hope it lives up."
As they settled in, a few familiar faces from their middle school passed by their group. Some of them nodded at Luca, a sign of respect that hadn't gone unnoticed.
"Looks like you've got a fan club," Elio teased, nudging Luca.
Luca shrugged, his expression nonchalant. "Let it be, Elio"
Maya laughed softly, feeling the energy of the room shift. The topic of conversation soon turned to the upcoming transition to high school.
"So, are you all ready for Valleria High?" one of the girls asked, glancing at Maya.
"Yeah pretty much, looks like everyone is going there." Dante replied taking sip of his juice.
"What about you Luca?" Nina asked, her blonde hair a bit messy due to the AC.
"Yeah, I'm going there as well." Luca nodded
"Well looks like we'll be seeing you there as well," Nina looked at Maya grinning.
Maya felt her cheeks heat up slightly, trying to play it cool. "Yeah, I guess we'll all be there," she said, keeping her tone casual.
Just then, the atmosphere shifted as a commotion erupted outside the booth. Loud voices and shouts drew their attention. Luca's expression changed, sharpening as they all stood up, instinctively moving toward the noise.