Chapter 41

Casadin entered school running on less than three hours of sleep.

He had spent the entire weekend delegating tasks to his team at the bar, prepping for the upcoming community immersion week. Meetings, notes, contingency plans, so exhausting he didn't even have time to see Evadne.

Worse, instead of him accompanying her to therapy like he wanted, it was that bastard Hades who went with her.

Hades.

Casadin gritted his teeth just thinking about it.

He wasn't her boyfriend officially. He accepted that.

But he still wanted to be there. To show up for her when it mattered.

Was it wrong to hold onto his feelings when the girl he liked, no, wanted, had already told him she liked him back?

He understood her reasons.

And didn't, at the same time.

Maybe because he wasn't in her shoes. Maybe because it just hurt.

She gave him a choice. And he chose this, chose to stay.

Even if it meant swallowing his pride every time he saw her with someone else. Even if it meant pretending he didn't feel like tearing Hades limb from limb every time that snake got too close.

Well… he chose to be the side guy.

So he had to own it.

Casadin's car had barely come to a full stop in the school's parking lot when his friends Flynn and Delvin were already rushing toward him.

"Bro, have you seen the video?" Delvin asked, breathless, not even waiting for the engine to turn off.

"Wow, gossip so early?" Casadin said, raising a brow as he stepped out. "What happened to, 'Good morning, did you eat breakfast? Mwah mwah, chup chup?'"

Delvin laughed, but Flynn looked uneasy. "Don't start. Mwah mwah your face," Delvin shot back, then his expression sobered. "But seriously, bro. Have you seen it?"

Now that was rare.

Delvin almost never got this serious unless it was something heavy.

"Nope. I haven't received anything. What video? You two are acting like someone died," Casadin replied, locking his car.

Flynn and Delvin exchanged a glance, hesitation flickering in their eyes.

"I just saw it too before we walked in," Flynn said, pulling out his phone. "Remember that private Discord server I joined? The ninja gossip one? People can post anything anonymously… Someone dropped this."

He opened the app and tapped on a thread with hundreds of furious and shocked reactions.

Casadin leaned in as Flynn pressed play.

The video started playing, volume low.

A man and a woman. Their bodies moving rhythmically, the angle filmed from above the man's shoulder, like a point of view shot. His face wasn't visible, but a large dragon tattoo marked his arm. It was obvious from the frame of his body, he wasn't some teenage boy. He was older. Mature.

But it wasn't the man Casadin focused on.

It was the girl.

His heart stopped.

Naked. Straddling the man. Moaning. Moving faster.

And unmistakably, Evadne.

She turned around, back facing the camera now, riding harder. The image burned into his brain like a slow, acidic fire.

"Bro?" Flynn said carefully. "Are you…?"

Casadin didn't answer.

He just reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone with eerily steady hands.

Flynn and Delvin watched him with worry plain on their faces.

"Send me the video," Casadin said.

Smiling.

Grinning, even.

"Huh?" Flynn blinked, caught off guard by Casadin's response. He genuinely didn't know how to react, whether to laugh, be concerned, or both.

"I said, send it to me. Come on."

Casadin was still smiling, not the menacing, fury-filled kind of smile. No. This was different.

This was the mischievous kind.

Like someone just handed him the key to a locked vault.

"Bro!" Delvin snapped, his voice rising. "That's your girl, riding a man who is clearly not you, and you're grinning like you just hit a jackpot?! Are you losing it?"

Casadin blinked at them, genuinely confused by their reactions.

"Wait… don't tell me… you both actually believe that's Vee?"

His eyes widened in disbelief as he watched his friends' faces.

"Oh my god. You do."

Flynn hesitated. "I mean… bro… that face is so Evadne. And the voice…"

Casadin smacked his forehead.

"Delvin. Seriously. Are you even a Crowne? Didn't it cross your mind that it could've been edited? First of all, the voice? Sure, it's close, but it's pitched higher than Vee's. Like, helium-balloon higher. Second…" He leaned closer, lowering his tone with dramatic flair. "Did you even see the way the girl's hair moved?"

Delvin stared at him. "You based your conclusion… on hair movement?"

Casadin shrugged. "Well, not just that. I was 50% unsure until she flipped her back to the camera. The moment I saw that? Boom, 1,000% certain it's not my Princess."

He held out his phone again. "So come on. Pass it over before that video gets taken down."

Flynn, still confused, asked, "But if you're sure it's not her, why do you even want it?"

"Visual reference, bro," Casadin said easily, and turned to Delvin. "By the way, can you re-edit the video for me? Blur out the dude's arms and tattoo, maybe make it look younger? Less mature?"

Delvin was about to respond when Amanda and Bea arrived, their heels clicking on the pavement like the first strike of a judge's gavel.

"Have you guys seen the video?" Bea asked immediately, eyes wide.

"Whoever posted that clearly wants to ruin her," Amanda added, chewing gum with audible snaps. "Like damn. You'd really risk jail time for a scandal?"

"So… you don't think it's really Vee?" Delvin asked, still trying to hold on to some form of logic.

Amanda gasped. "Delvin! Seriously? The way that girl flipped her hair? Come on."

"Yeah," Bea chimed in. "Vee's hair flip is like… shampoo commercial energy. Like, wind caressing silk. That girl in the video? Her hair looked like it was slapped by a fan."

Casadin nodded in agreement while Amanda and Bea dramatically mimicked Evadne's signature slow-motion hair flip.

Delvin looked skyward, groaning. "So I'm the only one who didn't take Hair Movement Analysis 101?"

Before anyone could respond, a familiar black car pulled into the lot.

Hades.

Casadin's smile didn't fade as he immediately strode toward the passenger side and opened the door.

"Good morning, Princess," he greeted with a soft kiss to Evadne's lips, eyes crinkling into a warm smile.

Evadne smiled back, brushing her fingers gently against his cheek before turning to Hades. "Thanks."

Hades only nodded stiffly.

Casadin took Evadne's bag and slung it over one shoulder before draping his other arm over her like she was his crown jewel.

He didn't bother hiding the pointed look he threw at Hades.

It wasn't a warning.

It was a declaration.

Then he walked away with Evadne at his side, heading straight for their friends who were already buzzing with whispers.

"What's going on?" Evadne asked, raising a brow as she noticed the murmur of conversations and the looks being thrown her way.

"You have a sex tape going viral, Princess," Casadin said smoothly, raising his brows with playful sass. "Congratulations. You're trending."

"Really? Show me," Evadne asked, her brows raised in curiosity. Her voice was calm, too calm, which only made Flynn and Delvin exchange another worried glance.

Casadin handed her his phone and played the video.

Evadne watched the clip like a movie critic reviewing an indie film. Her face was unreadable, eyes scanning every detail with unnerving focus.

As soon as the video ended, she calmly deleted it from his phone with a single swipe.

"Princess?!" Casadin protested, half-offended. "That was mine!"

"I know exactly what you were planning to do with that video, mister," she said, giving him a playful glare before walking ahead toward their classroom.

"Uh, excuse me?" Delvin called out, flustered. "Are Flynn and I the only ones who are actually worried about that video?"

Evadne paused, turned back, and looked at them coolly.

"Why should you be worried? It's not me. You don't actually think that's me, do you?" she asked, one brow raised.

Flynn scratched the back of his neck. "Well… not anymore. Not after seeing how unbothered you are."

"But shouldn't we do something?" Delvin insisted. "This is damaging your reputation."

"What reputation?" Evadne interrupted, grinning. "Didn't know I had one."

"Yeah, she does," Amanda chimed in as she and Bea joined the group. "The campus crazy."

"Proudly insane," Bea added with a salute, making them all snicker, except Flynn and Delvin, who still looked concerned.

Evadne softened a little when she caught the worry in their eyes.

"It's fine," she said gently. "Don't let that nonsense bother you. If anyone questions it, I can easily prove it's not me. Trust me."

"Want me to have our people take it down?" Delvin asked. "We can trace who posted it."

"No need," Evadne replied, her voice calm and cryptic. "It'll be taken care of. I'd rather we focus on Community Immersion… and the Clubs War."

Her phone buzzed a few times as she walked. Without using the SBO server, she messaged each of the clubs she was part of, sending a unified response.

"It's not me in the video. Don't react. Don't fight. Stay focused. Let's make the Clubs War legendary. :)"

She knew better than to post on public boards. The SBO Discord was tainted. She suspected some officers were behind the video.

When she entered the classroom, she made her way to her seat by the window, sliding in smoothly. Casadin followed and sat beside her. Whispering and giggles filled the air as the rest of their classmates watched them with curiosity and amusement.

Evadne leaned close and whispered, "Why are you sulking?"

"You deleted my video," Casadin said, pouting.

She raised a brow. "And what would you possibly need that for?"

"For educational purposes," he said, winking shamelessly.

Evadne tried not to laugh but failed miserably.

"Oh, really?" she smirked. "So the picture I sent you before wasn't enough? You barely slept after that. You want a video now?"

"Princess," Casadin leaned closer, voice dropping, "there should always be a demonstration with every lesson."

Without missing a beat, Evadne turned to Amanda and Bea who sat just in front of them and tapped them both on the shoulder.

"I need dubbing."

"Huh?" they both asked in unison.

Instead of replying, Evadne, without hesitation, straddled Casadin's lap.

The entire room gasped. Even Casadin's eyes widened as he instinctively caught her by the waist.

"Fuck!" he hissed under his breath.

"Action!" Evadne called out with a devilish grin.

Amanda and Bea burst into laughter but caught the cue.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! HARDER! HARDER!" they chanted in unison, their voices exaggerated and obnoxious as Evadne moved like a cowgirl straddling Casadin. Amanda even did body waves in her seat while Bea scrolled on her phone, barely holding it together.

"Yamete! Yamete, Sensei!" Bea suddenly blurted out.

The group exploded.

"GIRL!!!" Evadne and Amanda yelled in sync, nearly falling over in laughter.

"Come on, B! Do it right!" Casadin groaned, red-faced as he tried to keep a straight face under Evadne's weight.

Flynn and Delvin were howling at this point, their laughter echoing through the room like a viral moment caught live.

"Sorry! Sorry! Take two!" Bea gasped between giggles.

Evadne tried hard not to laugh as she turned back to face Casadin.

"Take two! Action!" Delvin called out with gusto.

Evadne resumed her cowgirl movement on top of Casadin, straddling him with exaggerated drama.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Amanda and Bea cried out, resuming their mock dubbing.

"Yamete! Yamete kudasai, Senpai!" Bea added again, almost choking with laughter.

"Oh my god!" Evadne burst out laughing, halting her movement and burying her face in Casadin's shoulder.

"B! I cannot believe you!" Amanda wheezed, laughing with her.

"What?! That's totally acceptable!" Bea defended herself, grinning shamelessly.

"You're fired," Casadin announced, wrapping his arms around Evadne, who was still straddling him, clearly amused.

"But why?!" Bea exclaimed, mock-offended.

"So newbie," Flynn snickered, shaking his head. "Amateur move."

"Oh really now?" Bea shot him a glare. "Alright, Mr. Professional Dubber. Show us what you've got."

Flynn cleared his throat dramatically and sat upright.

"Watch and learn, amateur." He smirked. "Lights. Camera. Action."

Right on cue, Evadne moved again on Casadin, and Flynn, channeling the most exaggerated girl voice he could muster, began his dub.

"Oh yeah... harder... deeper..." Then he paused and added in a sultry tone, "I'm cumming, stepbro."

"FUCK YOU BRO!" Casadin and Delvin shouted at the same time, scandalized.

"Ewww, you're so gross!" Amanda and Bea said in unison, cringing.

Evadne just stared at Flynn, frozen, her jaw hanging open in disbelief while still sitting on Casadin.

"What? It's the top search on Uporn," Flynn said, smug and unbothered.

His friends immediately pelted him with pens, erasers, and other small items while laughing uncontrollably.

"You're worse than me," Bea said, shaking her head with mock disapproval.

"Excuse me!" a sharp voice interrupted the chaos.

The entire group froze as their homeroom teacher appeared at the door, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"What's happening here?"

Evadne quickly scrambled off Casadin and slid back into her seat by the window, trying not to burst into laughter again.

"We were just roleplaying, ma'am," Casadin explained, totally unfazed. The others nodded in agreement.

"But can I go to the restroom?" he added smoothly, already standing and draping his basketball jacket over the front of his pants to hide the problem Evadne had quite literally caused.

"You need me to come with you?" Evadne asked innocently, batting her lashes.

"No, Princess! I can manage," Casadin said quickly, his ears burning as he bolted for the door.

"Take your time, bro!" Delvin teased, earning himself a middle finger from Casadin, which only made his friends laugh harder.

Before their teacher could say more, a school-wide announcement blared through the intercom.

"All admin and faculty, please report to the conference room immediately."

The teacher sighed and turned to Cieryl.

"Class president, take over. Make sure there's no more trouble."

Cieryl nodded sweetly, a plastic smile on her lips. The teacher paused before leaving, shooting a cold, unimpressed look at Evadne and her group, especially her.

"She really doesn't like me," Evadne said with a chuckle once the teacher was gone.

"Duh, not our problem, girlfriend," Amanda replied. "It's been common knowledge since she was assigned to Special A that she's super strict. She's obsessed with perfection, and we, " she gestured at their group, "ruin her aesthetic."

"All bark, no bite," Bea added, rolling her eyes. "She can't even do anything to us. We were only ranked last in VMC. But let's be real, we deserve our spots in Special A way more than half those suck-ups."

Her eyes flicked toward Cieryl and her clique, who were pretending not to eavesdrop but clearly were. Everyone knew Cieryl was only in Special A because of Hades... and the endless sucking up to faculty.

Evadne just smirked and leaned back in her chair, one leg crossed over the other.

Let them watch. Let them talk.

She was still the main character in this goddamn story.