Northerncrooks was buzzing with whispers the moment Demian returned to school. His presence was like a storm cloud looming over the hallways, and even the most confident students avoided crossing his path. His face was devoid of emotion, a blank slate that gave away nothing of the thoughts swirling beneath the surface.
Andrea, who had been sulking for days since Alice humiliated her, brightened instantly when she spotted him. She rushed to his side, throwing her arms around him with a desperation that bordered on obsession.
"You're back," she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement.
Demian didn't respond with words; he simply picked her up as though she weighed nothing and carried her down the hallway. Students exchanged nervous glances but said nothing, stepping aside to avoid his path.
The door to the empty classroom creaked as Demian kicked it open. He placed Andrea on the desk and leaned over her, his expression still unreadable. But his movements were deliberate, his touch rough as he let out whatever pent-up frustration had been brewing inside him.
Andrea's moans echoed through the halls, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. Students who lingered too close quickly shuffled away, their faces flushed with embarrassment. No one dared to interrupt—not even the teachers. Demian's temper was infamous, and his authority unquestioned.
Alice, however, was not like the others.
Alice had been walking down the hallway with Michael and Aliyah trailing behind her. She had heard the rumors of Demian's return but hadn't paid them much attention. As far as she was concerned, he was just another entitled supernatural being who thought the world revolved around him.
When she heard the sounds coming from the classroom, she paused, her brow furrowing in disbelief.
"Seriously?" she muttered under her breath.
Michael and Aliyah exchanged uneasy looks. "Alice, maybe we should just leave it," Michael said cautiously. "It's not worth the trouble."
Aliyah nodded. "Yeah, you don't want to make him angrier than he already is."
But Alice was already walking toward the door, her determination overriding any sense of self-preservation.
She pushed the door open, and the scene before her made her cringe. Andrea was sprawled on the desk, her arms wrapped around Demian, who was shirtless and clearly in the middle of something no one wanted to see in a classroom.
"Do you two not know this is a school?" Alice said, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade.
Demian froze, his head snapping toward her. Andrea let out a frustrated groan, glaring at Alice. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Stopping you from turning this place into your personal soap opera," Alice shot back. "If you can't control yourselves, go find a cave or something. Some of us are trying to learn."
Andrea's face turned red with anger, but before she could say anything, Demian stepped back, pulling on his shirt. His movements were slow, deliberate, and eerily calm.
His crimson eyes locked onto Alice, and for a moment, she felt the weight of his presence, a power that pressed against her like an invisible force. She didn't flinch, though her heart raced in her chest.
"You've got guts," Demian said, his voice low and menacing. "But I'd watch your mouth if I were you."
Alice crossed her arms, refusing to back down. "And I'd watch where you're going. You might trip over your ego."
Michael and Aliyah exchanged panicked looks, clearly regretting their decision to follow Alice into the room.
Demian's expression darkened, and his eyes flared with an intense red glow. For a moment, it seemed as though he might lash out, but then, without another word, he turned and walked out of the room.
Andrea scrambled after him, calling his name, but he didn't look back.
Once the door slammed shut, Michael let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "You're insane, you know that?"
Aliyah nodded. "Do you have any idea who you just pissed off?"
Alice shrugged. "I don't care who he is. If he wants to act like a hormonal teenager, that's his problem. But he's not ruining this school for the rest of us."
Despite their exasperation, Michael and Aliyah couldn't help but admire her bravery. Alice was unlike anyone they had ever met, and it was both terrifying and inspiring.
As the three of them left the classroom, the hallway was eerily quiet. Students who had been eavesdropping quickly pretended to be occupied with other things, but the tension lingered.
Somewhere down the hall, Demian stopped in his tracks, his fists clenched. The flames in his eyes hadn't dimmed, and the image of Alice standing there, defiant and unyielding, burned in his mind.
Who is she really? he thought to himself.
For the first time in a long while, Demian felt something he couldn't quite place—a mixture of anger, curiosity, and something deeper, something dangerous.
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