Jayden watched the invisible lightning crackle between them.. silent, tense, electric. These two definitely knew each other... and it was not on good terms. He could feel it in his bones.
"Yeah, it has," Tasha replied coolly, her tone like frost over fire.
Jayden stood there, stuck in the crossfire of two glaring goddesses. He didn’t know what kind of war he just walked into, but he did what any poor soul in his shoes would do... Ask the most obvious question.
"You two... know each other?" he asked, playing it innocent.
This ti, Cassandra answered, her voice soft but laced with venom. "Yes, we do. We used to be... friends."
Tasha’s eyes narrowed, her grip on Jayden’s arm tightening as she pressed it subtly closer to her chest. "Yeah, friends." she muttered, clearly biting back sothing darker.
Jayden sighed silently. Great. His unofficial girlfriend had a beef with his potential ’friend’. That was definitely not a red flag waving in his face like a matador.
The girls were locked in a deadly staring contest, tension curling in the air like smoke before a blaze. And then, rcifully.. or maybe not, Tasha broke the silence.
"Anyway, Jayden and I were just leaving," she said, turning sharply. "So... bye, Cassandra. It was good seeing you." Her voice was dry as dust, her smile nonexistent as she tugged Jayden along by the arm.
But Cassandra wasn’t going to fade out like a background character.
She grabbed Jayden’s other arm, fingers curling around his bicep with a softness that sohow felt possessive.
"I wasn’t done talking to him," she said, her tone like ice chipped with heat.
Tasha turned back slowly, her gaze like thunderclouds gathering.
"Let go of him," she said, each word a crack of thunder.
But Cassandra didn’t flinch. She held her ground like a fla dancing in a storm.
"I will..." she said evenly, "...After I’m done talking to him."
Tasha’s jaw tightened, her breath slow and sharp. "I said let go, Cassie."
"And I said..." Cassandra’s grip intensified, "Not until I’m done talking."
Jayden could feel the storm brewing.. no, two storms, one electric and one burning, and he knew this hallway was about to beco a battlefield.
"Hey, uh, Tasha? Cassie? Maybe we could just—"
"Stay out of this!" they snapped in unison, their eyes never leaving each other.
Jayden instinctively kept his mouth shut, he didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. So he remained silent. Atleast, it couldn’t get any worse... until it did.
Tasha’s free hand sparked alive with lightning, violent arcs dancing across her knuckles as she clenched her fist.
"I won’t ask again," she warned, her voice soft but deadly.
And Cassandra responded in kind. Her eyes glinted, and in a flash, flas ignited across her fingers, licking up her hand like a living warning.
"You don’t tell what to do," she said, her voice chilled with fire.
Jayden had no clue what to do.
The two girls were still latched onto either side of him, one gripping his arm with heated tension, the other pressing in close with icy possessiveness. And their free hands were harged and ready. Flas crackled. Lightning danced. It was a standoff, and his limbs were literally being held hostage.
But just when it looked like everything was about to explode..
"Um... Tasha? What are you doing?"
A soft voice cut through the tension like a feather drifting through a thunderstorm.
All heads turned.
Standing a few feet away was a blonde girl in a cheerleading outfit, her hair pulled into a sleek ponytail and a pair of yellow-tinted glasses perched on her nose. She had average breasts, but a really nice curve.
She looked younger than the rest of them, but sohow, the air around her shimred with calm authority. She wasn’t just cute.. she was composed.
Jayden watched Tasha instantly relax. The lightning fizzled out from her hand like it had never been there.
"Aileen," Tasha breathed, exhaling. "I was just..."
"You said students weren’t supposed to fight inappropriately," Aileen said softly, cutting her off with a smile that was gentle but firm. She was the Vice president of the student council, and she was Tasha’s right hand.
Tasha closed her eyes and sighed. "I know... I wasn’t thinking straight."
Cassandra, on the other hand, grinned like she’d just won a round. As Tasha released Jayden’s arm, Cassandra subtly tightened her own hold and quietly extinguished the flas on her fingertips.
"So... do you need sothing?" Tasha asked, her voice shifting into student council mode. "Have the Findabair students arrived?"
Aileen shook her head. "No, but Principal Thompson wants to see you. Sothing about tennis balls and..." She paused mid-sentence as her gaze landed on Jayden.
Her eyes lit up behind her glasses. "Wait... You’re Jayden Starrk?"
Jayden blinked, surprised. He figured he was getting more attention around school these days, especially after the whole sparring-with-Carl-and-winning thing. But he wasn’t used to reactions like this.
"Uh, yeah. That’s ," he said.
Aileen smiled so brightly, her whole face seed to glow. "Wow! It really is you."
She tilted her head, eyes squinting in admiration. "Though... you look different."
Jayden chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I changed my hair color."
"That’s so cool," she said, practically bouncing in place. "I’ve always wanted silver hair..." She looked at him like a kid spotting Santa in real life.
Tasha groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Aileen. Please focus."
Aileen blinked, snapped back to reality, and straightened her posture. "Right! Sorry. I just got a little excited..."
Jayden smiled warmly. "Happens to the best of us. But I don’t think I’ve seen you around before." he said, trying to respond to her politeness.
"Oh, that’s because I’m a junior. 11th grade." Aileen replied sweetly.
Jayden raised an eyebrow. She did look a bit younger, but the energy coming off her... it was intense. Refined. She was strong.. he could feel it.
"What level are you?" he asked casually.
"Seventeen."
Jayden eye’s widened. The girl didn’t look any older than sixteen, and yet her level was that high. No wonder she was student council vice-president. She was probably the best student in her entire year.
"That’s impressive." he said.
Aileen gave a small bow. "Thank you. That ans a lot coming from soone who broke titanium with a single kick."
Jayden was about to say sothing when...
"Okay, that’s enough chatting," Tasha said abruptly, stepping between them. "You were saying sothing about the principal?" she turned to Aileen.
"Oh, right!" Aileen blinked. "Yeah, he wants to escort you to his office. I think he has so... chores for us."
Tasha sighed and turned back to Jayden. "Sorry, Jayden. But duty calls... I guess."
Jayden gave a lopsided smile. "Don’t worry. I’ll find my way to the team."
"Or... I could take you," Cassandra chid in smoothly.
Jayden’s smile brightened. "Oh, yeah. I’d like that."
Cassandra smirked and leaned in a little closer.
Tasha smiled politely, but inside, she was killing Cassandra a thousand tis. She did not like this. Not one bit.
"Great," she said stiffly. "See you later, Jayden."
With one final glare at Cassandra, she turned and walked off with Aileen.
"Bye, Jayden. It was nice to et you!" Aileen called, waving with both hands.
"Nice eting you too," Jayden waved back, a genuine smile on his face. He liked Aileen.. she reminded him of soone sweet and chaotic from his past.
Once they were out of sight, Cassandra tugged his arm.
"Co on," she said. "I saw the basketball team practicing earlier. They should still be at the court."
Jayden nodded and followed her. They walked side by side, chatting idly. Cassandra asked about his relationship Tasha. And he replied:
"It’s... complicated." he muttered, scratching the back of his head.
Cassandra didn’t reply, but the silence said enough.
Eventually, they reached the basketball court... a wide, sun-ward space with painted lines and gleaming hoops. A few players were still around, dribbling and throwing up shots.
The rhythmic thunk-thunk of basketballs hitting the court echoed around them, mixing with occasional cheers or groans when a shot missed or swished clean through the net.
It was a dunking derby.
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