The night campus looked nothing like it did during the day.
Lights flickered near the old practice ground.
The air was heavy. Silent. Watching.
Aarvin stood near the chain-link fence, hands in his hoodie pockets, eyes scanning the darkness.
Storm Pack was late.
John had texted him only two words:
"Something's off."
Aarvin felt it too.
Behind him, footsteps crunched softly on gravel.
"You came alone."
Aarvin turned.
Riyan.
His real brother stepped out of the shadows, hands in his jacket, expression unreadable.
"I said don't come," Riyan added quietly.
Aarvin frowned.
"You think I'd listen?"
Before Riyan could reply, another presence emerged.
Adrien.
Tall. Calm. Dangerous in a different way.
"So," Adrien said, eyes flicking between them,
"this is where everything finally spills."
Aarvin's jaw tightened.
"You both knew about this, didn't you?"
Riyan looked away.
Adrien didn't.
"The seniors didn't just threaten Nairi," Adrien said.
"They contacted Ridgehall leftovers. And… someone inside Oakridge."
Aarvin's heartbeat skipped.
"Someone inside… Storm Pack?"
Silence.
Too long.
Too loud.
Then—
A slow clap echoed from the darkness.
"Well damn," a voice laughed.
"Guess the truth came out faster than planned."
John stepped into the light.
But something was wrong.
He wasn't alone.
Behind him stood three figures.
James.
Michel.
Henry.
The seniors.
Aarvin felt the ground shift beneath him.
"John…?" His voice dropped. "What is this?"
John sighed, rubbing the back of his neck like he was tired of pretending.
"You were never supposed to be here, Aarvin."
Riyan took a step forward.
"You set this up?"
John's eyes hardened.
"I didn't start it. I just chose the winning side."
Betrayal Hits Harder Than Fists
Aarvin felt it then.
Not anger.
Not rage.
Something colder.
"You stood with us," Aarvin said slowly.
"You called us brothers."
John laughed—but there was no humor in it.
"Brothers?"
He shook his head.
"You think a transfer student survives this place without backing?"
James stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.
"Smart move, kid. He fed us everything."
Michel smirked.
"Your habits. Your timing. Your weaknesses."
Henry's eyes locked on Aarvin.
"And your breaking point."
Aarvin clenched his fists.
"So Nairi—"
John cut in.
"Was never the target."
That sentence shattered something.
"She was bait," John continued.
"You were the storm they wanted to test."
Riyan snapped.
His fist slammed into John's jaw.
Hard.
John stumbled back, blood on his lip.
"Touch him again," James warned,
"and this turns real ugly."
Adrien exhaled slowly.
"This already is ugly."
The Trap Closes
Lights around the ground suddenly shut off.
One by one.
Darkness swallowed them.
"Split," Adrien muttered.
"Now."
Too late.
A punch flew out of the dark—
Riyan blocked it.
Aarvin felt a body crash into him.
Fists. Elbows. Chaos.
The fight wasn't loud.
It was brutal.
James moved like a tank.
Michel fought dirty—low kicks, elbows to the throat.
Henry waited, striking only when someone was open.
John rejoined the fight.
Against them.
Aarvin took a hit to the ribs—pain exploded.
But something inside him didn't break.
It focused.
He remembered Nairi's voice.
Don't lose yourself.
So he didn't.
He fought smarter.
Short punches.
Balance.
Timing.
Aarvin ducked Michel's swing and drove his shoulder into his chest, slamming him into the fence.
Metal rattled.
Riyan was bleeding from the eyebrow, still smiling like a madman.
This?" Riyan laughed breathlessly.
"This is all you got?"
James answered with a punch that sent Riyan skidding back.
Adrien stepped in then.
Silent. Precise.
He disarmed Henry with one move and dropped him with a knee to the gut.
But betrayal hurts deeper than bruises.
Aarvin turned—
John was right there.
Fist raised.
For a split second, their eyes met.
John hesitated.
That was his mistake.
Aarvin hit him.
Not wild.
Not furious.
Clean.
John fell back, stunned.
Aarvin stood over him, chest heaving.
"Why?" he asked quietly.
John coughed, laughing weakly.
"Because storms destroy everything around them…
and I didn't want to be standing next to you when it happened."
Sirens in the Distance
Someone shouted.
Footsteps echoed.
Security.
James cursed.
"Move!"
Michel grabbed John.
Henry staggered up.
They disappeared into the dark like ghosts.
Leaving silence behind.
Riyan leaned against the fence, breathing hard.
Adrien checked his knuckles.
Aarvin stood still.
Not shaking.
Not broken.
Just… changed.
Adrien looked at him.
"You okay?"
Aarvin nodded slowly.
"They wanted to see how far I'd go," he said.
"Now they know."
Riyan wiped blood from his face.
"And now… we stop holding back."
In the distance, lights flickered back on.
The night pretended nothing happened.
But Oakridge would never be the same.
Because storms don't end quietly.
They wait.
And then they return—
stronger, smarter, unstoppable.
* To be continued…