zone behind the west wing of the college. It's late afternoon now. The shadows are long, and laughter drips like venom from two voices.
Sam leaned back on the bench, tossing a pebble over the edge.
> "Did you see his face?" he cackled. "Aarif looked like someone dropped a spider down his shirt!"
Paul, chewing gum obnoxiously, snorted.
> "And the way he stormed off after slapping that new girl? Man's got issues."
They laughed louder — feeding off each other's toxicity like smoke off fire.
But Red, standing beside the railing, didn't laugh.
He didn't even smirk.
He was still holding that same rose in his hand… but for once, the petals looked dull in his fingers.
> "You okay, Red?" Sam asked, between chuckles.
Red didn't answer immediately. His eyes were distant, fixed on nothing — or rather, on everything all at once.
> "Yeah. Fine."
> "Bro, we crushed that guy's ego today," Paul grinned. "That box trick? Genius."
Red's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
Instead… a flash appeared in his mind.
Aahi's eyes.
Tears. Confusion. Her trembling voice when she said, "Please believe me."
The way she stepped back, not from fear — but from pain.
> She didn't know what was in the box.
He knew that now.
Or at least… he felt it.
And for the first time in his life, Red didn't feel powerful after a prank.
He felt… small.
> "You're too quiet," Sam nudged him. "What, feeling bad for the pretty actress?"
That word hit different.
Actress.
Aahi.
The girl with the soft voice and stormy heart.
Red looked down at the rose.
> "She cried," he said suddenly.
Sam blinked. "What?"
> "Aahi. She cried."
His voice was low now. Serious. Almost... regretful.
Paul raised a brow.
> "So?"
Red slowly sat on the ledge, resting his elbows on his knees.
> "I didn't think she would. I thought she'd be angry. Fierce. But she just… stood there. Like someone shattered her trust in front of the sky."
He twirled the rose slowly in his fingers.
> "I thought I was messing with Aarif."
"But I... I broke her heart too."
The silence that followed was unnatural.
Even Sam and Paul went quiet for a moment.
> "Don't get soft now," Paul muttered. "It's just a girl."
But Red wasn't listening anymore.
His mind was filled with the image of her watery eyes, the sound of her silence, the way she stood frozen like the world had betrayed her.
> Why did it feel worse than anything he'd done before?
And deep inside him, something whispered…
> "Fix it… or stay the villain forever."