The last class of the day had left Kai feeling as if he'd been pulled into a deep slumber, his consciousness only just surfacing as he raised his head. Rubbing his eyes groggily, he noticed Grace already packing her belongings nearby.

"You're leaving?" Kai's voice emerged from the haze of sleep, thick with drowsiness. He must have looked like a bear emerging from hibernation, he thought to himself.

"Yeah," Grace replied with a sigh, her gaze drifting momentarily to the empty seat beside them.

"Thinking about Lucas?" Sebastian's voice chimed in from behind Grace, his curiosity evident.

Grace turned to face him, a thoughtful expression crossing her features. "I wonder where he is," she admitted quietly, her fingers deftly zipping her bag shut.

"We last saw him during breakfast," Kai offered, rising from his seat and stretching his limbs.

With their conversation winding down, Kai and Grace made their way together towards the stairs, their footsteps echoing softly in the empty corridor. The weight of the day seemed to hang in the air around them, mingling with a sense of anticipation for what lay ahead.

As Kai diligently worked on his painting, the minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity. With each passing moment, his anticipation grew, his mind wandering to thoughts of Grace and the promised assistance she would provide.

Five minutes turned into ten, then twenty, and before he knew it, thirty minutes had slipped by without any sign of Grace. Frustration gnawed at Kai's insides, mingling with a sense of worry for his friend's well-being. She had promised to help him, yet she was nowhere to be found.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Kai tried to focus on his painting, the brush strokes becoming more deliberate as he attempted to distract himself from the growing unease. But the sound of approaching footsteps shattered his concentration, causing him to look up in anticipation.

As he peered out of the door, his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of a figure running towards him. Could it be Grace, finally arriving after her unexpected delay? Or was it someone else entirely, coming to deliver news of her whereabouts? Kai's heart raced with uncertainty as he awaited the figure's arrival, his thoughts swirling with a mix of hope and apprehension.

As Lucas came to a halt before Kai, his heaving breaths punctuated the tense silence between them. Despite his exhaustion, Lucas stood tall, his athletic frame a testament to his endurance and determination.

"Where's Grace?" Lucas's voice was low, barely containing the urgency that pulsed beneath the surface.

Kai's mind raced, trying to process the sudden onslaught of questions. "Grace?" he repeated, momentarily caught off guard by the intensity of Lucas's inquiry.

"WHERE IS GRACE?" Lucas's voice rose, teetering on the edge of frustration and desperation. He needed answers, and he needed them now.

Kai's pulse quickened as he felt the weight of Lucas's demand. He knew he had to act quickly, to provide the information his friend sought. "She is in the dance room, ground floor," Kai replied, his voice steady despite the turmoil brewing within him.

But before Kai could fully comprehend the gravity of the situation, Lucas turned on his heel and bolted for the stairs, his determination propelling him forward with an urgency that left Kai reeling in his wake.

With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Kai pushed his body to its limits, matching Lucas's breakneck pace as they sprinted from the fourth floor down to the ground floor. Every step felt like a struggle, his chest burning with the effort as he fought for precious oxygen.

Finally reaching the dance room, Kai stumbled to a stop beside Lucas, his lungs heaving as he gasped for breath. Together, they pushed open the door, only to be met with a group of junior girls huddled together in a corner.

"Do you know where Grace is?" Lucas's voice, though urgent, was tempered with a newfound calmness, a stark contrast to the frenzied desperation of moments before.

The girls exchanged hesitant glances, a sense of unease hanging in the air as they hesitated to respond. Finally, one of them spoke up from behind the others, her voice trembling slightly.

"She left," she said quietly, her words sending a chill down Kai's spine.

"And she got a letter," another girl added, her tone filled with uncertainty.

Lucas's brow furrowed in concern as he pressed for more information. "At what time?" he asked, his voice steady despite the turmoil brewing within him.

"About 30 minutes ago," came the reply, confirming Kai and Lucas's worst fears.

Feeling the weight of the situation bearing down on him, Kai stepped forward, his breath still coming in ragged gasps. "Do you know where she is?" he asked, his voice tinged with urgency as he sought any clue that might lead them to Grace's whereabouts.

As the girls exchanged glances, a tense silence settled over the room, broken only by the sound of their shuffling feet. Finally, one of them stepped forward, her expression hesitant yet resolute.

"We don't know," she admitted quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lucas's disappointment was palpable, his shoulders slumping slightly as he processed the news. He turned to leave the room, his resolve waning with each passing moment. But just as he reached the door, a voice spoke up from the back of the room, catching his attention.

"This is the letter she got," the girl said, holding up a crumpled piece of paper.

Without hesitation, Lucas rushed forward, his determination reignited as he reached for the letter. Snatching it from the girl's hand, he offered a brief but heartfelt "Thank you" before turning on his heel and striding out of the room.

Kai, still lingering by the doorway, watched with bated breath as Lucas emerged, clutching the letter in his hand. "What is it?" he asked, his impatience evident in his tone.

With trembling hands, Lucas unfolded the letter, his eyes scanning the messy handwriting as he searched for any clue that might shed light on Grace's whereabouts. The words blurred together, a jumble of incomprehensible letters and symbols that only served to deepen the mystery surrounding her disappearance.

CoMe To GyM aS sOoN aS pOsSiBlE. sOmEoNe Is WaItInG fOr YoU. ~UnKnOwN

"Shit," Kai muttered under his breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he read the contents of the letter. Without hesitation, he broke into a sprint, following in Lucas's footsteps as they raced through the corridors of the school.

Taking two sharp turns, they arrived at the gym, where Lucas began pounding on the door with a frantic urgency Kai had never seen before. To their shock, the door, which had always been left unlocked, was now bolted shut from the inside.

Kai's breath caught in his throat as he peered through the glass window, his eyes widening in horror at the sight before him. Grace, unconscious and bound to a chair in the center of the gym, sent a surge of panic coursing through his veins.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Lucas's voice reverberated through the corridor, a desperate plea echoing off the walls.

As Lucas continued to pound on the door, Kai's mind raced with a flurry of questions. Who could have done this to Grace? Why would someone want to harm her? And what did they hope to achieve?

"Who is it? Who did this to Grace?" Kai's voice trembled with a mix of fear and frustration, his fists clenched at his sides as he awaited a response.

"OLIVIA, FREAKING OPEN THE DOOR!" Lucas's voice boomed, his anger palpable as he called out the name of their classmate.

"Olivia?" Kai echoed, the pieces of the puzzle slowly beginning to click into place. It seemed that their classmate, Olivia, was somehow involved in Grace's abduction, but the motive behind her actions remained a mystery.

As Lucas continued to pound on the door with all his might, a sense of urgency and desperation driving his actions, a girl named Hazel stepped forward from the group gathered in the gym. With a determined look in her eyes, she grabbed Grace's collar and muttered something under her breath, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.

From the far end of the gym, the other girls erupted into laughter, their voices echoing off the walls as they watched the scene unfold. Two more girls joined Hazel, moving to open Grace's bound hands with a sense of malicious intent.

Hazel's gaze flickered towards the glass window, where Kai and Lucas stood on the other side, their faces etched with concern and determination. With a cruel grin, she taunted them, her voice dripping with scorn.

"I'll drag her to the room," she declared, her words laced with a sinister edge.

Lucas's pounding grew even more frenzied, the sound echoing through the gym as he desperately tried to break through the locked door. But Hazel only laughed in response, her grip tightening on Grace's collar as she prepared to carry out her twisted plan.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted behind her as a figure emerged from the shadows, hurling balls at the group with a fierce determination. Startled, Hazel turned to see what was happening, her smirk faltering as she realized she was no longer in control.

Before she could react, a hand closed around her neck, cutting off her words with a gasp of shock. A voice, cold and steely, filled the air, its tone filled with determination and resolve.

"You thought you could control me? Nah, baby, not even in your dreams," the figure declared, their grip tightening as they asserted their dominance over the situation.