The Most Dreadful(?) Moment— Lunch (Again)

Zaden and his gang swaggered into the lunch area like they owned the damn place.

The energy in the room shifted the moment they appeared—students lowering their voices, others pretending to be focused on their trays, the rest watching from the corners of their eyes. That's the kind of presence Zaden carried. Loud. Intimidating. Untouchable.

And dangerous.

His eyes swept over the tables, scanning the room like a predator seeking out prey. I didn't flinch when his gaze landed on me. I held it. Let him see me—calm, grounded, unbothered.

At the corner, I noticed the table where Dante, Nantos, and Ashton sat. They weren't laughing or talking now. Dante's brows furrowed slightly as he noticed the change in the air, and then his gaze flicked to me. Our eyes met—but I didn't give him a signal.

This was my scene now.

Zaden's smirk slowly stretched across his face like poison spreading through a vein. His gang flanked him—four shadows moving with a single intent as they made their way over to me.

He stopped in front of my table, his shadow casting over me like a storm cloud blotting out the light.

"There you are." he said, voice dripping with mockery. "Thought you'd be hiding somewhere in a corner like a rat."

Laughter erupted from his gang—loud, sharp, fake. They fed off him like parasites, trying to suck some of that confidence and cruelty into themselves. It was rehearsed. A show. One they thought I would play along with, like always.

I scoffed.

Deliberately. Loudly.

The laughter snapped off like someone had cut a wire. A silence, cold and heavy, settled over us.

Zaden's smirk froze, then slipped away. His gaze sharpened, calculating. He wasn't used to this. He expected the usual Elias—the one who flinched, who shrank into the corner like a beaten dog. He liked control. He craved obedience. He needed fear to function.

I gave him none of it.

Without looking away, I gripped the edge of my chair and dragged it—slow, unhurried, defiant—until I was fully facing him and his gang. The screech of wood against tile echoed through the lunchroom, cutting the tension like a blade.

Then I leaned back. Arms draped lazily across the backrest. One leg crossed over the other. Casual. Unbothered.

I made myself comfortable.

Like I wasn't sitting in front of a ticking bomb.

Like I wasn't supposed to be terrified.

The entire room held its breath. I could feel it. See it in the widening eyes. Hear it in the silence that stretched too long. People whispering, frozen forks halfway to their mouths. No one had ever done this. No one had dared.

But they didn't know what I knew.

This wasn't just a confrontation.

This was the first move.

And I wasn't playing the same game anymore.

"Why would you think I'd be hiding from you rats?" I said finally, my tone casual, even amused. I arched a brow in mock curiosity.

Zaden's jaw flexed, his fists clenching at his sides.

"What did you just say—?" Shenchen, his lackey, stepped forward like some loyal dog, puffing out his chest.

I rolled my eyes. "Here we go. Your backup singers doing all the talking for you again. Do you not know how to use your own damn voice, Zaden?"

That did it.

Zaden's snarl split through the tension like a blade. "Enough!"

He lunged forward, his fingers twisting into the collar of my shirt as he yanked me to my feet. I didn't resist. My body jerked up, but my expression didn't change.

No fear.

No anger.

Just cold, calculating silence.

And somehow, that pissed him off even more.

His face came close, too close. Spit flying with every word, breath reeking of arrogance and something rotten underneath.

"Did you forget your place, loser?" he growled. "You're the weakest bastard here with the biggest mouth. But I can fix that. Real quick. Maybe your daddy's the richest prick in this place, but he wouldn't care if you dropped dead right now."

The lunchroom had gone so quiet, I could hear my own heartbeat.

Zaden leaned in, voice dropping lower, venomous.

"Oh wait—die. That word reminds me... how your mother took her own life after your father married his precious little mistress. Maybe that's what runs in your blood, huh? Cowardice. Worthlessness."

I didn't move.

I didn't blink.

But something inside me curled. Burned. Snapped.

I wasn't the same Elias anymore.

And he had no idea what kind of fire he just lit.