Chapter 87 Chapter 87
The storm didn’t break overnight.
It followed them into school.
By the time Cass stepped into the hallway the next morning, the energy already felt off — tighter, louder, like everyone was waiting for something to happen.
News traveled fast in their school.
The game.
The penalty.
The fight with the ref.
The look on Marvin’s face when Jace walked off the ice like he owned it.
No one was saying it out loud yet.
But everyone was watching.
Cass had barely reached her locker when Lena slid up beside her.
“Okay,” Lena said under her breath, eyes scanning the hallway. “Rule for today.”
Cass glanced at her. “What rule?”
“We stay alert,” Lena said. “Because when a king falls, someone always tries to burn the castle down.”
Cass didn’t like the way that sounded.
She didn’t have time to ask what she meant.
The hallway shifted.
Not louder.
Quieter.
That strange ripple that happened when someone important walked in.
Marvin.
He didn’t look like himself.
Not angry.
Not loud.
That was the problem.
He walked through the corridor with his hands in his pockets, face calm, eyes empty. People moved out of his way without him asking.
He didn’t look at anyone.
Not even when Jacinta rushed toward him.
“Marvin, can we talk?”
He kept walking.
She grabbed his arm.
He stopped.
Slowly.
Turned his head.
Whatever she saw in his face made her hand drop immediately.
“I said we’d talk later,” he said.
His voice wasn’t raised.
It was flat.
Cold.
Then he walked away again.
Jacinta stood there, stunned.
Across the hallway, Cass noticed something else.
Zayelle was watching.
Not shocked.
Not concerned.
Interested.
Like she was studying how a fire spread.
Their eyes met.
Zayelle smiled.
Not friendly.
Not cruel either.
Just… knowing.
Cass looked away first.
By lunch, the tension had turned into something heavier.
No one sat near Marvin.
Even his usual group kept a careful distance, laughing too loudly at things that weren’t funny, glancing at him like he might snap if they got too close.
He barely ate.
Just sat there, scrolling through his phone, jaw tight.
Jace came in late.
The room reacted to him too — a different ripple this time.
Respect.
Curiosity.
A little fear.
He didn’t look around for attention.
But his eyes found Cass almost immediately.
That same quiet pull between them.
He gave a small nod.
She nodded back.
Across the room, Marvin noticed.
The temperature dropped another degree.
He pushed his tray away and stood up.
The chair scraped loudly against the floor.
Conversation died.
He walked straight past their table.
Didn’t slow down.
Didn’t say anything.
But when he passed Jace, he leaned down just enough for only him to hear.
Cass couldn’t hear the words.
But she saw Jace’s shoulders go rigid.
Then Marvin walked out.
The doors slammed behind him.
Lena exhaled slowly.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “That’s worse than yelling.”
The explosion came last period.
Word spread fast.
Fight. Parking lot.
Students started slipping out early, phones already in their hands.
Cass and Lena followed the crowd outside.
A circle had formed near the back gate.
In the center — Marvin.
And one of the junior players from the opposing team.
The boy looked nervous.
Marvin didn’t.
“What did you say?” Marvin asked quietly.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” the boy said quickly. “I was just joking about the game—”
Marvin grabbed his jersey.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“That game,” Marvin said, voice low, dangerous, “is the only reason you even know my name.”
The boy tried to pull back.
Bad move.
Marvin shoved him hard.
He hit the fence.
Someone screamed.
Before it could turn into a full fight, another voice cut through.
“Marvin.”
Jace.
He stepped into the circle slowly.
No rushing.
No grabbing.
Just standing there.
Marvin looked at him.
For a second, the anger shifted.
Focused.
“You here to stop me?” Marvin asked.
“I’m here to stop you from ruining your season,” Jace said calmly.
A long silence.
Everyone watching.
Waiting.
Then Marvin laughed.
Not loud.
Just once.
He released the boy.
Stepped back.
But when he walked past Jace, he spoke under his breath.
“You think you won something,” he said.
A beat.
“You have no idea what you just took from me.”
Then he left.
This time, no one followed.
⸻
The crowd slowly broke apart, voices buzzing, phones already replaying the moment.
Lena grabbed Cass’s arm.
“Okay,” she said. “Official update.”
Cass swallowed. “What?”
“This isn’t rivalry anymore.”
Her voice dropped.
“This is war.”
Across the lot, Jace stood alone.
Not relieved.
Not proud.
Just tired.
When his eyes lifted and met Cass’s, something passed between them again.
Not excitement.
Not victory.
Understanding.
The kind that came when you realized the fight wasn’t on the ice anymore.
And it was only getting started.