A vein visibly appeared on Starboy's forehead, his smile faltering for just a second as he looked at Don with an expression that scread he'd enjoy nothing more than punching him square in the face.
But almost as quickly, Starboy composed himself, showing a wide grin and forcing a laugh. "What's your na?" he asked, his voice carrying an edge.
"Don Bright," Don replied with a smile of his own, not backing down.
Starboy nodded slowly, eyes still locked on Don. "I'll be seeing you around." With that, he hovered away toward his bodyguards, his cape fluttering behind him.
But just as he reached his entourage, Don spoke again, this ti louder so the crowd could hear. "What's with the ominous threat? Too scared to prove yourself in front of your dumb fans?"
The reaction to Don's words was imdiate. Anger was felt through Starboy's supporters like a wave, with a few people in the crowd yelling out, "What the fuck did you just say?"
"This guy must be crazy!"
"I'll show you who's boss!"
So of Starboy's fans even began moving toward Don, clearly ready to start sothing.
But before they could get close, Starboy raised a hand and yelled, "Stop!" His voice cut through the rising anger like a whip, and his fans imdiately froze.
He lowered himself fully to the ground, standing only a few feet from Don now. His smile was still plastered on his face, but it was forced, his patience clearly wearing thin. "And what do I have to prove to a nobody like you?" He asked, his voice carrying an undercurrent of barely restrained anger too.
Donald, who had been sitting in silent terror, leaned over and whispered urgently, "What are you doing, man?"
Don, completely unfazed, didn't answer Donald and just stood up from his seat, his calm deanor still present. "Prove you're special." He t Starboy's gaze head-on. "Like I said, we're both in the Elite Hero Program, so I don't consider you special. But you seem to think I'm wrong, and now your fragile ego's been hurt.
So, let's resolve this, because frankly, I don't want to see you or your flashy gay golden suit again."
The crowd fell into an awkward silence, even Starboy's bodyguards exchanged confused glances. The remark about the "golden gay suit" had hit like a sucker punch, leaving even the crowd unsure of what to say next.
A few whispers from onlookers in disbelief broke the silence.
"He's crazy…"
"I thought he was just trolling, but he really has a death wish."
Starboy's face now darkened, his forced smile finally cracking as anger threatened to spill over. Before he could respond, soone from the crowd yelled out, "Hold on! That guy's telling the truth—he *is* in the Elite Hero Program! Check the page, guys! But his evaluation is blank."
A murmur spread through the crowd as people whipped out their phones to check the information. The revelation seed to knock so of the wind out of Starboy's sails. He looked less visibly angry, and more confused now.
How had he never heard of this guy? He had so many connections in the program; if Don were important, surely he'd know about him by now.
Starboy's brows furrowed. "So you're telling the truth about being in the program," he said slowly, trying to piece it together. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're a nobody."
Don smirked, leaning slightly to the side as he crossed his arms. "A nobody who might be stronger than you."
The crowd, which had previously been riled up against Don, now hesitated. They'd checked, and Don was indeed in the Elite Hero Program. That changed things.
So people began to murmur among themselves, unsure of where they stood. After all, Don clearly had confidence, and without knowing his evaluation results, it was impossible to know how strong he really was.
Starboy, on the other hand, didn't like this one bit. His ego wouldn't let him walk away from this now. He refused to believe soone like Don could be better than him. "If you're really that confident, how about we settle this with a bet?" he asked, raising his chin slightly. "Let's see who gets the better results in the evaluation today."
The crowd murmured again, and it seed like a fair challenge. A few people even nodded in agreent, expecting Don to take the bait.
But Don shook his head. "Nah," he said casually, much to the crowd's surprise. "I'm more old school. Let's settle this with a simple challenge. One punch. One defense." He held up a finger, making his point clear.
"We each get one hit and one chance to defend. Whoever fails to stand upright after the punch loses. Simple. If we both fall, it's a tie, and that just confirms you're nothing special."
Starboy's eyes narrowed as Don continued. "But if you win, you'll prove to everyone here that you're really a cut above the rest, even in the Elite Hero Program. And if I win…" Don trailed off, leaving the implications hanging in the air with a sly smile.
The crowd imdiately began to buzz with excitent and curiosity. Starboy now found himself in a tricky situation. His reputation was on the line.
Walking away would make it look like he was scared of the challenge, and his ego couldn't handle that. The murmurs of the crowd only added to the pressure, and Starboy could feel the eyes of everyone on him, waiting to see what he'd do next.
His fists clenched and his jaw tightened as he weighed his options. But there was no way out that wouldn't damage his reputation. Finally, in the heat of the mont, he replied "Sounds like a good idea. Let's do it."
With the challenge accepted, Don and Starboy stood face to face in the middle of the campus street.
The crowd had parted around them, forming a wide circle as people backed up to give the two enough space. So students even climbed onto the nearby buildings just to get a better view, the excitent radiating through the area.
Phones were out everywhere, caras rolling. What had started as a minor confrontation had now blown into a full-fledged spectacle.
The event spread like wildfire across social dia platforms, trending faster than anyone expected.
Comnts poured in on live streams:
**Vio_Zero:** "This won't end well…"
**hot_papichulo:** "Anyone else think Starboy is a stupid na?"
**LesliePowers:** "Mm~ No one is as flexible as ."
**Smugeysalmon:** "@lesliepowers Nice try, diddy."
**Starboylover69:** "My glorious king Starboy will wreck that guy."
**NicoPete:** "@starboylover69 Zip up when you're done, bro."
———
anwhile, over at Nexus Academy, Sumr and Sylvia sat at the back of their class, comfortably lounging during their free reading period.
Sylvia perched on the edge of her desk, her legs crossed, while Sumr leaned back in her seat with her feet propped up on her table, completely at ease. Sylvia was in the middle of a story, gesturing animatedly as she spoke.
"And then I was just like, *ew,* blocked," Sylvia finished, rolling her eyes.
Before Sumr could respond, a sudden eruption of noise ca from the front of the classroom. A group of boys had gathered around a nerdy-looking kid holding up his phone, all of them peering over his shoulder.
"Woah, is that Starboy? What's going on?" one of the boys asked, his voice loud with excitent.
"Apparently, so rando guy challenged him out of nowhere!" another responded.
"It's not just a rando; it's a guy in the Elite Hero Program as well!" soone else added, causing the group to buzz with even more enthusiasm.
"Woah, this should be good!"
"Who wants to make bets?" a kid at the back called out, leaning over to look at the phone.
Sylvia glanced over at the growing crowd, raising an eyebrow. "What are they on about?" she asked, sounding more curious than concerned.
Sumr shrugged, her expression nonchalant. "Dumb boy stuff, I guess."
Suddenly, one of the guys said, "Here's the other guy's profile on the Elite Hero Program page. His na's Don Bright—never heard of him."
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