"I… I don't know what to say," Noah whispered, his voice hoarse. "You did all that? For ?"
Kelvin nodded silently, his face buried in his hands. "I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let you get hurt. Not again."
Noah took a deep breath, his gaze softening as the weight of the situation began to settle in. He didn't know whether to be angry or grateful. "You should've told . We could've figured sothing out."
"I couldn't," Kelvin whispered. "I couldn't let you know. Not until I was done with him."
Noah's mind was a whirlwind of emotions, but at the heart of it all, one truth rang clear: Kelvin had done this for him. And in a way, it made sense. Kelvin wasn't just his friend—he was his protector, in a twisted, dangerous way. Noah could never have predicted it, but now, standing here, the depth of Kelvin's loyalty was undeniable.
"Thanks," Noah said quietly, his voice filled with sothing between gratitude and disbelief. "You didn't have to do that… I'm not sure you did the right thing. This is far beyond what I expected."
"And I'll do it again. Rember back on Cannadah," he started, his eyes not eting Noah's, "you changed my entire belief about what friendship really is." He wiped his face again, trying to steady himself as his voice trembled. "I rember when you entrusted with the communication chip that saved us all. I didn't understand it at first, but ti and ti again, you had my back when no one else would. You fought for , even when it wasn't easy. When things got tough, you never turned your back. And no one else—not even your parents—ever did that for you."
Noah's heart slamd against his ribcage as the words sank in. The reality of it hit harder than he expected. He stared at Kelvin, feeling a mix of anger, confusion, and sothing else—sothing raw and deep. The ntion of his parents stung more than he expected.
He gritted his teeth, fighting to control the surge of emotion that threatened to overtake him. With a growl of frustration, he punched the wall hard. The impact sent a jolt of pain up his arm, but it was nothing compared to the ache building in his chest.
Kelvin winced, but his eyes didn't leave Noah. He continued, his voice full of quiet conviction. "I never had anyone who would stand up for like that. Not like you did. You made rethink everything. Made see what loyalty really is. And since no one else would step up for you… I figured I'd do it. I'd always have your back, Noah. Always."
The weight of those words settled between them, heavy with sincerity. Noah's pulse hamred in his ears, a thousand thoughts running through his head, but nothing made sense. The anger still swirled inside him, but sowhere, deep down, there was a flicker of understanding—an understanding that his best friend wasn't just a hacker and a technopath, but soone who had beco fiercely loyal to him, despite the ss that life had thrown their way.
Noah's frustration shifted gears, no longer aid at Kelvin. The real target of his anger was clear now—Micah. His jaw clenched as he stared at his best friend, still processing everything Kelvin had told him. The more he thought about it, the more his mind circled back to the person who had really caused the ss—Micah Reeds.
He took a step back, trying to contain the bubbling anger. "Where would Micah be heading now? You know where he is?"
Kelvin's face darkened slightly, and he shifted uneasily. He had been expecting this question. "The charges, for now, were dropped. They backtracked the hack to a wall… an untraceable node. They can't pinpoint the origin, not unless they dig deeper, but for now, it's clean." His words were carefully chosen, his technopath instincts clearly at work. "They've been scrambling, but none of it can be traced back to ." He hesitated, as if weighing whether to reveal more. "Micah's post, though… it's been reinstated. That's a dead giveaway. He'll probably be back in his dorm, trying to lay low for now."
Noah's mind whirred, piecing things together. Micah might have escaped the imdiate consequences, but Noah wasn't going to let him slip by without paying for what he did. His eyes narrowed, a dark glint in his gaze. "Good," he muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching in sothing like a grin.
He turned his focus back to Kelvin. "You should head to the dorm now. I've got sothing I need to take care of."
Kelvin nodded, sensing the shift in Noah's deanor. There was sothing more to his friend now, a fire that hadn't been there before. "I'll catch up with you later then."
But as Kelvin made his way toward the door, Noah's mind lingered on the image of Micah—cowardly, arrogant, hiding in his dorm as if nothing had happened.
In the quiet of his thoughts, Noah smiled wickedly. 'Now I have an excuse to actually want to fight Micah…' The thought spread like wildfire inside him. There was no longer any restraint. No longer any doubt.
His fists clenched at his sides as he imagined what it would feel like to finally give Micah the reckoning he deserved.
---
Fighting an upperclassman wasn't against the rules written anywhere but it did co with its own consequences.
Going straight to the top 25 building though was a crazy thing to do. However, Noah didn't care.
His chest heaved with each step, the weight of everything pressing down on him, the need for retribution building with every beat of his heart. He passed Lucas in the hallway, the older student calling out his na, but Noah didn't even acknowledge it.
Lucas, watching Noah's storming gait, felt a sudden chill run through him. He narrowed his eyes, the faintest flicker of unease crossing his features. From the corner of his eye, Lucas saw it—an Eclipse, a shadow of foreboding that seed to swirl around Noah's head. It was a rare sight, one that hinted at a mont of irreversible change, sothing brutal in the making.
Lucas had seen it before, when Nyx got hurt in the Cannadah fight, but he had a feeling that this ti was different. He knew what was about to unfold, and a quiet voice in his head told him to stay back. The calm before the storm wasn't sothing you wanted to be caught in the middle of.
Noah's pace didn't slow, his gaze locked straight ahead, and he walked with the unyielding determination of soone who had made up their mind. His path was clear—Micah's room. He wasn't interested in pleasantries, not in the least.
As he approached the door to Micah's room, the usual hum of the dorm seed to fade away, his focus narrowing to the task at hand. This wasn't about any old fight. No, this was sothing more personal, sothing deeper. He had been played, manipulated, humiliated, and now, he was going to make sure Micah understood the consequences of trying to ss with him.
With a swift motion, he knocked on the door.
No response.
Micah wasn't going to hide from this.
Noah slamd his fist against the door, louder this ti. His patience had run dry.
He heard shuffling from inside, the unmistakable sound of soone quickly getting to their feet. Micah wasn't stupid—he knew who this was, and he knew why Noah was here.
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