The wind whooshed carrying the fallen leaves, scattering it across the ground. Blake caught one mid-fall and crushed it in his palm. He let the crumbs drop to the ground before turning toward Ren, who was still gaping at the locked doors of Hale's shop.
"Leader of Tea & Drama had planned well. Now what? Calling it a stalemate?" Blake asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Ren sneered, tilting his chin high. "Stalemate? I don't want to be any kind of mate with you. It's not like there aren't other places in town. Follow me." He spoke haughtily, then grabbed his bicycle.
Kai quickly fell in line behind his leader, helping Nina onto the back carrier. Jamie picked up his own bike and grinned at his twin from the rival team.
"Jason, be quick." He patted the back seat.
Wordlessly, Jason strode over and sat behind his brother.
Blake, the cold face general, rode alone like a lone wolf claiming his territory. Rumi scoffed and hitched a ride with Ace. Soon the whole crew followed Ren down the street.
Their wheels spun with vigor, chains clicking, pedals biting, tiers smoking into the road. The sound of their cycling filled the street, but the busy townsfolk barely looked up. The people of the neighborhood already knew these teenagers, their fame stretched far beyond Koharu High.
At first, these locals used to worry, stiffening whenever they saw the two gangs facing off, fierce glares locked on to each other as if their bones and teeth might break at any moment. But over time, they learned better.
They'd witnessed enough of these "fights" to know the truth. Now, whenever the gangs clashed, the townsfolk treated it as background noise, turning blind eyes to them.
The group of teens pedaled fast, weaving left and right through streets and crossing lanes. By the time Ren finally braked, they had already left the familiar bustle of their neighborhood behind.
This part of town was quieter with few houses and fewer people. He led them through a narrow lane, turning curve after curve, until he stopped before a lone house set apart from the rest.
Planting his hands on his waist, Ren grinned up at the house with pride.
In contrast, the faces behind him weren't nearly as enthusiastic as his.
"Grandma Yume's house?" Ace narrowed his eyes. "You're not actually planning to fight here, are you?"
Ren sneered, tilting his head challengingly. "What? Afraid?"
But even the members of Tea & Drama shifted uneasily, exchanging wary glances as their eyes lingered on the house.
It wasn't that the house looked haunted, there were no crooked doors, broken windows or wind howling like ghosts. It was simply that it belonged to Grandma Yume.
Everyone at Koharu High knew her.
The old woman with a crooked back and soft smile who used to sell candies and ice creams in front of their school gates. She was so kind and gave free candies to the students that they called her Grandma Yume,
Them being the infamous students of Koharu High, they had seen her more often than anyone else. But then she disappeared suddenly. It had been over a month since anyone had seen her.
Some said she'd gone to live with her son in another town. Others whispered she had simply moved away without warning.
But one particular chilling rumor was the reason that the people in the neighborhood glanced at her house with unease.
They said that one morning, Grandma Yume suddenly handed out bags of candies to every neighbor, smiling wider than usual…and then never came out of her house again.
As if she had vanished inside it.
Looking at the house, Jamie shivered and tugged his brother's sleeve, ""Do you think the rumors are true?" he asked, his eyes scanning the house warily.
Jason side-eyed his twin and kindly reminded him, "You're from my rival team."
"Huh?" Jamie blinked, then followed his brother's gaze to the members of Tea&Drama standing by Ren's side.
He laughed awkwardly and quickly skipped over to Ren's side.
Ren looked at Blake. "This place it is. If you're too afraid, we can postpone it to Monday on the basketball court. But then our trip today will be wasted," he sighed.
Blake's eyes fell on the slumped shoulders of the dramatic blonde for a moment. Then wordlessly he strode toward the entrance and pushed open the door. The door opened smoothly, despite being shut for more than a month.
Among them, Nina is the most enthusiastic about Grandma Yume's house, though her expression barely changed. She walked in first, giving a quick glance at her brother who held the door open.
Following her everyone entered the house except Jamie who was still hesitating to explore the house which people deemed haunted. His eyes darted left and right for signs of any people nearby.
Right then, a crow cawed in the distance making his soul almost jump out of his skin.
He clutched his chest, afraid his heart might do bungee jumping from the fright. Gritting his teeth, he picked up a small stone from the ground and flung it at the tree to shoo the crow away.
"Did I ask for the dramatic effect? I'm already on the verge of shitting my pants," he scolded the pitiful bird.
Kai, noticing his absence, turned back and frowned when he saw his friend yelling at the tree.
"Jamie, are you not coming? It's your turn first," he reminded, referring to the opening round of rock-paper-scissors.
"Yeah, yeah, coming," Jamie said, immediately rushing to Kai's side and sticking to him like fevikwik, almost inseparable.