The hallway was loud as always — students shouting, lockers slamming, sneakers squeaking against the tile floors.
But Kai moved like a shadow through the noise, eyes sharp, mind focused.
Today wasn’t just another day.
“Let’s see if you’re paying attention now, Evan.”
There he was, leaned back against his locker like he owned the hallway, laughing too loudly with his usual crew.
As Kai passed, he slowed his steps just enough to catch Evan’s eyes — a sharp, deliberate glance.
“Watch your steps today, Evan,” Kai said, voice low and casual. “Unless you wanna lose your teeth.”
Evan blinked, thrown for a second — before smirking like always, hiding the flash of confusion in his eyes.
“Did you finally lose your mind, freak?” Evan shot back, laughing.
His friends cackled along with him, slapping him on the shoulder.
But Kai only smiled — a quiet, knowing curve of his lips — and kept walking.
The afternoon sun was starting to dip, casting long shadows across the hallway floors as students rushed to get out of school.
Evan swaggered out of class like always, heading for the stairs, phone in hand, texting someone — probably lining up his next target for humiliation.
“He never sees anything coming. Always too full of himself.”
But Kai, standing by the vending machine, watched calmly.
Two students behind Evan were racing each other — roughhousing, shoving.
“Bet I’ll beat you to the door!”
“In your dreams, man!”
And then —
SLAM.
One of them tripped on a loose backpack strap lying in the hallway — colliding full force into Evan’s back.
“Whoa—!”
Evan went flying, arms windmilling — straight down the stairs.
He hit hard, a sharp crack echoing off the walls.
A tooth skittered across the floor like a tiny white pebble.
Silence.
Everyone froze — even the two boys who’d been racing.
Evan groaned, sitting up slowly, blood trickling from his lip — and a gap where one of his front teeth had been.
Kai stepped down the hall, walking past the gathering crowd.
He glanced down at Evan, calm as ever.
“Told you to watch your steps.”
Evan looked up at him — eyes wide, face pale.
Kai didn’t stop walking.
He didn’t need to.
The next morning, as Kai moved through the hallway to his locker, he could feel Evan watching him.
During break, Kai was leaning casually against the wall when Evan finally approached — no usual smirk, no crew.
“Hey,” Evan said, his voice low, almost wary.
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Kai looked up slowly, meeting his gaze with an unreadable expression.
“What?”
Evan shifted uncomfortably, glancing around as if afraid someone might overhear.
“What was that yesterday?” Evan asked, his voice rough. “How did you know?”
Kai tilted his head slightly, studying him.
“Maybe someone’s watching you.”
Evan blinked.
“Watching me?”
Kai leaned in slightly, voice calm but sharp like a knife in silk.
“Not someone from here. From somewhere else.”
“What do you mean?”
Kai gave him a small smile — cold and knowing.
“They’re not from this planet, Evan.”
Evan paled.
“You… you’re messing with me.”
Kai’s smile didn’t waver.
“Am I?”
He let the question hang there, heavy in the air.
“I see them,” Kai whispered, leaning closer. “And now… they see you too.”
Evan took a shaky step back, his cocky bravado completely shattered.
“You’re crazy.”
Kai shrugged.
“Maybe. Or maybe I’m the only one who knows what’s coming.”
With that, Kai turned away, walking off like he didn’t have a care in the world.
As Kai walked away, he could feel it — Evan’s eyes burning into his back, filled with a mix of fear and confusion.
“He’ll think twice before coming at me now.”
“And if I need him… well, fear makes people very obedient.”
Kai smirked slightly, tucking his hands into his hoodie pocket as he turned the corner.
“First move made.”
As Evan finally turned and stumbled away down the hall, Kai leaned back against the wall, watching him disappear into the crowd.
His face was calm, but inside, his mind was sharp — calculating.
“I need people I can trust… but trust is a dangerous thing.”
Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly, scanning the hallway, watching groups of friends laugh and talk like nothing in the world could touch them.
“Friends? Trust? That’s hard to find. Everyone’s always out for themselves.”
“But people I can control? Maybe that’s easier.”
His gaze drifted back to where Evan had been moments ago.
“Evan believes in aliens — I heard him rant about it in class a few weeks ago when everyone was laughing at him.”
“Now, the first seed is planted.”
He took a slow breath, feeling a strange calm settle in his chest.
“If my plans can fall into place like this… if I can set the ripple and reality bends to meet me…”
Kai straightened, slipping his hands into his hoodie pockets, his eyes sharp as glass.
“Then maybe I don’t need to stay powerless.”
“With this power…”
His lips curved into a quiet, dangerous smile.
“I can accomplish more than anyone thinks.”
“More than I thought.”
As the school bell rang, students poured out of classrooms, but Kai stayed still for a moment longer, letting that realization settle.
“No more being at the bottom.”
“No more being at anyone’s mercy.”
The school hallway buzzed with noise — but to Kai, it was like standing in the center of a chessboard, watching all the pieces move.
“If I want to control things… if I want to protect the people I care about and never be powerless again…”
His eyes scanned the crowd.
“I need people I can control. People I can use.”
And the first piece was already moving toward him — Evan, eyes darting around nervously as he approached.
“Hey,” Evan muttered, glancing over his shoulder.
Kai didn’t even turn to face him fully, just gave a slight nod.
“What do you want?” Kai asked calmly.
“What… what do you mean ‘they’re watching me’? Who are ‘they’? What do you know?”
Kai smiled slightly, but his voice stayed low.
“Relax, Evan. You’re fine. For now.”
Evan swallowed hard.
“What do you mean ‘for now’?”
Kai finally turned to look at him, his eyes sharp.
“I mean… they watch people like you. People who think they can do whatever they want.”
Evan’s hands twitched at his sides.
“What do they want from me?”
Kai leaned closer, speaking just loud enough for Evan to hear.
“To see if you’ll obey. If you’ll be useful.”
Evan blinked, caught between anger and fear.
“Useful how?”
Kai smirked.
“I think you’re smart enough to figure that out. You’re good at hearing things, right? You always know what’s going on, who’s doing what.”
“So?” Evan asked, voice shaky.
“So,” Kai said smoothly, “you’re going to start paying attention for me. Listening. Watching. And when I want to know something, you’re going to tell me. Simple.”
Evan shook his head.
“No way, man. I’m not—”
Kai cut him off, his voice calm but cold.
“Or… I can stop them from watching. But if I stop? You’ll be alone with them. Your choice.”
Silence.
Evan swallowed, sweating slightly.
“Fine. What do you want me to do?”
Kai smiled — the first piece was in place.
Later, as Kai sat outside during lunch, watching the school around him, he let the moment sink in.
“It worked.”
“If I can control one person… I can control more.”
His eyes moved over the students laughing and shouting across the courtyard.
“Some people look for friends. I’ll build something better.”
“An organization. A network. People who don’t even know who’s pulling their strings.”
“And I’ll be at the center.”
Kai leaned back on the bench, the sun warming his face.
“First, Evan. Then more.”
“And when the time comes… I’ll have everything I need.”
He smiled faintly to himself.
“If I can make fate move for me… why stop here?”
Kai sat on the roof of the school, legs hanging over the edge, watching the sun start to dip toward the horizon.
The city stretched out before him, glowing in gold and orange light.
In his hand, he turned a small stone over and over, fingers moving absentmindedly as his mind raced.
“What am I even doing?”
He let out a slow breath, watching it drift into the air.
His thoughts kept circling back — to Evan, to the scene he had created, to the fear he had planted.
“Am I turning into the very thing I hated?”
But then another memory pushed forward — the homeless man, sitting on the cold pavement with his dog, the world ignoring him.
And the way things had shifted after Kai used his power — how people started noticing, how that one moment of kindness had rippled into something good.
“I made a difference for him. And I didn’t even have to be seen.”
His grip tightened on the stone.
“But what about all the other people like him? All the other kids like me — like I used to be — getting torn apart by bullies, by people like Evan? By people worse than Evan?”
A muscle twitched in his jaw.
“There are worse people out there. More dangerous ones. People who destroy others for fun.”
“If I have this power… if I can bend the world, even a little, why shouldn’t I do something about it?”
He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair.
“But I can’t do it alone.”
“I can’t be everywhere. I can’t see everything.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, watching a pair of birds fly past the sun.
“I need eyes. Ears. People who can see what I can’t. People I can trust—”
He paused.
“No. Not trust. People I can control.”
The word felt sharp on his tongue, but real. Honest.
“Trust gets you killed. Control keeps you safe. And if I’m going to help people… if I’m going to protect people like Lila, like Brandon — if I’m going to stop the monsters out there — I need control.”
“I need a network.”
“People who bring me information. People who can act when I can’t.”
His mind drifted back to Evan, trembling in front of him — and a small, dark smile touched Kai’s lips.
“Evan’s the first piece.”
“He’s weak. But he’s useful.”
“And there will be others. More people like him. Scared. Alone. Easy to shape into what I need.”
Kai leaned back, resting on his hands, feeling the wind brush past him.
“If my power can help people — then maybe a little darkness is worth it.”
“Because if I don’t take control…”
His gaze hardened.
“Someone else will.”
And in that moment, Kai made a silent vow to himself — a vow that would shape everything that came after.
“I’ll build something no one can touch. A network. A force.”
“And I’ll be the one holding the strings.”
The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows across the school roof, as Kai sat there — already planning his next move.
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