Shu Kurenai ~

That evening, I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner when the doorbell rang. I stopped wiping the countertop and quickly put my apron away, glancing out of the window.

It was raining uncontrollably and the clock outside my dining room read 08:43 p.m.

Who would show up at a time like this, in a weather like this?

Hold on, this could be an emergency.

Barefooted, I dashed to the front door and quickly held it open. The person standing in front of me made my eyes widen out of hesitation and astonishment alike. What was this, some sort of trap?

(Y/n) looked back at me with tired eyes. Her appearance was an absolute mess. Several streams of rainwater ran down her face and clothes. Her usually tied hair were open, sticking to the sides of her neck and forehead. She was tightly clutching her arms in an attempt to stop herself from shivering.

"It's c-cold," she let out with difficulty. Her teeth were chattering continuously, making it impossible to talk.

"Oh my god, come in," I quickly moved out of the way and closed the door behind us. I guided (Y/n) to the table in my living room and swiftly took out a chair for her. Care first, inquire later.

"I'll get you a towel."

"Two," she said, holding up two fingers. I nodded with understanding and ran into the bathroom upstairs. I was about to go back with the towels, but then I had another brilliant idea. An electric heater would be perfect for this situation.

By the time I returned with everything, (Y/n)'s forehead was pressed onto the table top and she had potentially fallen asleep.

At least I thought she was asleep.

"Intruder!" She suddenly jolted up and screamed when I tiptoed into the room. How she even knew I was there, is beyond me.

"I understand. This'll help you relax," I handed her the towels and she took it without a word. Silently, I placed the heater facing in her direction and switched it on. (Y/n) slowly wiped away the visible raindrops, and then finally draped the towel over her shoulders when I sat down in a chair across from her.

"Care to explain?" I questioned because there's no way in hell it's normal for (Y/n) to show up at a time like this, in a weather like this, looking like this, and... I don't know, behaving like this?

"Not really," she stared at the heater.

I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy at all.

"Let's do this again," I continued, changing my approach. "Explain yourself, (Y/n)."

"Stop being demanding."

"Fine," I furrowed my eyebrows. "Please explain yourself?"

"Oh Shu, I can do this all night and you won't get an answer out of me."

I sighed again. Why did I even try? Maybe I thought staying in the same team would help her open up to some things. Forget about opening up, I wasn't even asking anything personal. At least she could explain why she was here in a situation like this!

Pushing me around in my own apartment...

"Zac drove a bunch of reporters to my house," she finally said, keeping her forehead on the table again. "I'm kind of locked out."

"Zac did what?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise. It was literally illegal to invade somebody's privacy. "Why? And why didn't you do something about it?"

"Trust me, I'd destroy his career if I could. But you see the weather?" she looked up at the window. "I'll teach him a lesson tomorrow at his party."

"His party," I repeated. "Yes, he did show up at the school rooftop today to invite all of us. Valt was astonished to find out Zac was the Masked Blader."

"Stupid Valt," (Y/n) chuckled — something I'd seen her do for the first time. "Zac did everything he could to sneak me an invitation to his party. He copied my email from the wbba website and sent me a letter. He tried stealing my phone number from Hanami but that didn't work either. And finally, he managed to scavenge my address and showed up at my house... his fans and reporters followed him there. I ran away."

"That's... brutal," I sympathized after listening to the whole story. "You're stuck in an impossible situation this time."

"I know," she sadly whispered, keeping her head on the table again. The third time.

"(Y/n), are you tired?" I couldn't help but ask. She covered her face with her arms and mumbled something into her hand. By that time, I was hundred percent sure she'd fall asleep if I left her alone even for a second.

There was a long pause, during which the only sound in the room was that of the heavy raindrops hitting against the apartment window. (Y/n)'s arms were still crossed above the table, her face pressed into her hands. There was no room for conversation, and no way to observe her mood through her expressions.

"It's just the weather," she finally looked up but didn't meet my eyes. Her gaze was fixed at the heater. Again. Why's she even acting like that?

There was a repeatedly nagging feeling at the back of my head that something else was up with her. The way she was talking so softly, closing her eyes from time to time, keeping her head down on the table... she seemed so tired, even defeated.

Was it really just the weather?

"I'll get you some miso soup," I said and got up from the table. If it's really the weather that was working up on her, then some hot soup was exactly what she needed to beat the cold.

(Y/n) surprised me by recklessly getting up right after me and running to my side. The chair fell loudly on the floor behind her. "Shu, I'll — I'll come too."

"Ah... sure," I stared with wide eyes, not sure what to make sense of everything that was going on with her behaviour.

I led (Y/n) to the kitchen and told her to sit at the dining table. It was all very convenient for me too. I could easily make the soup and get it to her right there. It reminded me of the various times the Beyclub had visited me and I'd served them spaghetti at this same table. Valt and Rantaro always kept asking for seconds, and I kept supplying directly from the kitchen.

"So, why'd you come to me?" I inquired, putting on my apron again. I looked back at (Y/n), but she was busy staring at the wall. I sighed and opened the fridge to take out the tofu.

When she didn't respond for a long time, I elaborated my question. "I don't mean to say you're not welcome or anything, but why me out of everyone else?"

"I thought you'd understand my situation the best," she said. "Being a member of the Supreme Four yourself."

"Honestly."

"Shu, does it ever bother you how sometimes the reporters or fans go overboard and it's really, really annoying?"

"Well, I haven't had my apartment raided yet, but... yeah, I've had a few bad experiences too."

"Like?"

"Like that one time a reporter wanted to record me living my life from morning to night. And another guy wanted my autograph on his stomach," I quickly recalled a couple of nasty experiences. "Now that I put it in words, it's really very weird."

"You think your fellow Supreme Four members face the same struggle?"

"No, they don't," I said swiftly. "Xander lives in his dojo deep in the mountains. He's hidden from the eyes of the outer world. And Zac, he's a celebrity anyway so all of this won't make a difference to him. And..."

I paused before taking name of the last member of the Supreme Four. The scar on my right eye began to feel fresh all over again.

"And?"

"And I don't really... know about Lui Shirosagi. Don't meet him often," I finally said with distaste. Even speaking his name felt awfully awkward to me.

For some reason, (Y/n) went quiet again. Even I fell silent for a long while because getting reminded about Lui had put me in a rotten mental situation for the moment. I quietly mixed dashi with water and put the flame to medium.

"Does it have niboshi? I don't like the taste of it very much," (Y/n) softly said.

"Don't bother," I assured her. "It's katsuobushi."

"Splendid," she muttered. Her voice was barely audible above the harsh sound of raindrops. I sneakily glanced at her from the corner of my eye and noticed she was smiling at the table.

"Something funny?"

"Er?!" she snapped her head in my direction, the small smile instantly disappearing. "What?"

I snickered at her reaction, getting back to cutting the green onions. I hadn't expected her to answer the question, but she surprised me by speaking up.

"In America, we typically had hot chocolate instead of soup to warm ourselves up," she said quietly. "It's one of my sweetest memories."

"Really? I never thought about it," I frowned, adding the green onions and setting the flame to high. "Do you have any friends back there?"

"There's one guy I trust a lot. But I wouldn't go as far as calling it friendshi — "

"Save it. You're just in denial."

"What makes you think so?"

"You don't call us friends either," I reminded her. "But we clearly are."

"Shu, you're so — "

"(Y/n), the soup is ready," I put the contents in a porcelain bowl and placed it front of her on the table. (Y/n) looked up at me with big eyes, but I ignored her bewildered stare.

Taking off my apron, I began to clean up the kitchen. Again. And kept the leftover ingredients back in the fridge. (Y/n) stayed silent the whole time I worked, and the only sound in the room was her spoon clicking against the bowl.

Once finished with everything, I went to sit down on the chair across from her. (Y/n)'s clothes were mostly dried out by now and her skin didn't look as pale as before. Overall, she wasn't cold anymore, although the tired look in her eyes was still there.

Something definitely was the matter. And I think I had a pretty good idea of what it was related to.

There was practically nothing I could say in that moment to strike a conversation, or, my god, to convince her to talk about her mood. That business was absolutely out of my hand. I kept silent while she continued to eat the soup. I kept silent when she abruptly stopped midway and put the spoon back in the bowl. And I stayed silent even when she looked up at me with a melancholic gaze... a clear sign of something bad going on.

(Y/n) hesitated for a moment. I just sat there, still silent, eagerly waiting for her to say something.

"Do you — " she paused, pressed her fist on the table, then continued again. "Do you think I made a mistake taking part in the team battles?"

I was shocked.

There had been three hundred and forty nine million guesses in my head about what was worrying (Y/n), but it didn't have this one at all. Once again, she had proved herself to be unpredictable beyond my intelligence.

(Y/n)? Doubting herself?

I dismissively shook my head and leaned back in my chair. "Did Gabe Brunai say that?"

"Wh — What?!" her expression suddenly shifted to absolute disgust and confusion. "Why did that even come to your mind?"

"I wonder why," I crossed my arms and looked away. I knew there was something uncanny about what happened in the arena yesterday, but now it was confirmed.

"Shu, is there something you're not telling me?!" She angrily stood up from her chair.

"I don't know," I replied calmly and looked into her eyes. "Unless there's something you're not telling me."

(Y/n) gave me a difficult stare and sat down in her chair again. "Go ahead, then."

"Did you seriously think you'd tell everyone you 'lost' your way back to the audience area and I'll blindly believe it with them? And that too, after I clearly saw you talking to Gabe Brunai, who's also captain of the Rideout?!" I asked incredulously.

"We definitely weren't talking," (Y/n) said sternly. "And I did forget my way back."

"Seriously? Remember during lunch time, when we couldn't find the lower terrace area and you effortlessly led us to the correct spot?" I recalled. "Yesterday was definitely not your first time in that building."

"That's it," she stood up again and took off the towel from her shoulders. "I'm going home."

"You're not going anywhere until you answer every last one of my questions."

"And why do you think you can stop me?!"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Sit down, (Y/n). It's pouring outside and you'll only get yourself sick if you go now. Team battles have already started, so your decision will affect everyone."

There was no defending against that logic. (Y/n) reclaimed her seat and aggressively continued eating the soup.

I rolled my eyes at her reaction. So dramatic.

"You know, you should put more effort into trusting your teammates," I leaned forward in my chair and patiently tried to explain to her. (Y/n) might have gotten a bit angry with me but if I started screaming as well, it won't get me any positive results. I'd always had faith in a calm and sympathetic approach.

"I hate you," she randomly said.

OKAY, SCREW THE CALM AND SYMPATHETIC APPROACH. SHE'S BEING SO DIFFICULT RIGHT NOW!

No, I mustn't lose myself.

"That has nothing to do with what I'm saying," I gave her a small frown. "I'm telling you to stop burdening yourself with things we could solve together. Everyone from the Beyclub is your friend and we genuinely care about you. It doesn't hurt to ask for reassurance."

"What makes you think I need reassurance?"

"(Y/n), you ran away from the last match because you were feverish. Then you didn't show up to practice today. You didn't pick up any of Daigo's calls. Valt came to check up on you, but you never opened the door," I elaborated. "Now you suddenly show up here, at this cruel time, all drenched and pale, after struggling alone in the rain for I don't know how long."

"I didn't struggle at all."

"Zac left the school rooftop at about two thirty and he said he was going straight for you. Even if you ran away from your home at four in the evening, it's still been almost five hours! Where were you this whole time?!"

(Y/n) pressed her lips together and stayed silent. I didn't have any way to know where she went for those five hours, but I precisely knew that she had no intention of asking for help. It's been over two hours since it started raining. She probably decided to come to me only when the cold had gotten too much to handle.

"It's not possible for me to tell you everything," she finally said, staring straight at the wall. "I'm not even sure you'll understand any of it."

"Probably not everything," I said. "But at least the part where you were talking with Gabe."

"I wasn't talking with him," she frowned.

"Let me change the question," I insisted. "Do you know Gabe Brunai or not?"

"I've never met the guy in my life."

"And if I come to know that you're lying?"

"Then I'm sure you'll understand why I did."

------------

"Is everyone having a dazzling time?!" Zac's voice echoed through the whole island. "I have a stunning surprise for you all once the concert is over, so be sure to stay after the show! I promise you won't be disappointed."

Zac's party was organized on a small piece of land surrounded by water at all sides. Guests were supposed to arrive at the destination by yacht or motorboat, depending on preference. Zac and the wbba actually collaborated for the event and made all the transport preparations. Naturally, the party consisted of several beyblade activities thrown in with some music-related events. Zac and Hanami were the main representative of the two areas of activity.

Other than that, it had everything else a normal party would have. Food stalls, mini games, fountains, candy shops, ice cream carts, festive decorations, et cetra. Valt and Rantaro practically fell over their heads as soon as they arrived at the place. Their eyes shone with pure joyful excitement.

"SO! COOL!" Valt jumped up and down. Rantaro added a "YEAH!" to convey his own happiness.

"Wow, look at all of this!" Toko grinned.

"Yeah. I don't even know where to start!" Nika exclaimed.

"How about the exit?" Daigo pointed back. "This is pretty lame."

"I agree with Daigo," (Y/n) rolled her eyes.

Nevertheless, we didn't have any choice but to follow Valt around. First stop was the noodle shop. Rantaro made sure to eat a whole lot of it because everything was free.

"If Zac thinks he can win me over with free food, he's got another thing coming," Wakiya said.

I had a pretty good idea that Zac didn't see Wakiya as someone special and all the 'rivalry' between them was only Wakiya's delusion, but I stayed silent and only smiled at his words.

"Why would Zac want to win you over in the first place?" (Y/n) told him the reality without hesitation. "You're not even anyone important."

"(Y/n), you shut your — !"

"HAHAHA," Xander came laughing towards us. "Nice to have run into all of you here! Hope you're gonna hang out for a bit. Sounds like Zac's got big plans for us later."

"Yeah, we heard," I looked up at him. It never failed to surprise me how much taller Xander was compared to me, even though we were the same age. Crazy what training and dietary habits can do to a person.

"Heyyyy, (Y/n) (L/n)! How are things going with this place? You enjoying yourself?!" Surprisingly, that was Hanami's bold voice calling out. He came around and personally greeted (Y/n) as if they had a habit of meeting up like this.

"Honestly, Hanami, I expected better from you," (Y/n) replied, completely unfazed, as if Hanami was her casual friend or something. All of us repeatedly blinked at the two of them.

What the...? Bladers of the wbba normally don't have casual interactions with the staff unless it's business-related (like this party of Zac). Even Zac would lose the right to communicate privately with Hanami after their collaboration in this party was over. How was (Y/n) so casual with this man?

Hanami was dressed like he was on some vacation; hawaii style shirt and beach shorts underneath. He had a blue soda drink in one hand and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. Well, he definitely was enjoying himself.

"(Y/n), really, I thought you'll be happy to witness everything I'd went so far to arrange!" Hanami dramatically spread his hands in the air. (Y/n) looked totally unimpressed.

"You could've partnered with someone better than Zac," she stated. "Is this what the wbba has been reduced to?"

"Don't be salty, I'm sure it'll be alright!" Hanami agressively tapped (Y/n)'s shoulder. She remained absolutely unbothered by his actions. "Anyway, enough about this party. Tell me how things are going back in New York? We reallyyyyy need to catch up sometime soon! You know, it's very weird seeing you with normal bladers for a change, since you're also the owne — "

"That's enough, Hanami, let's talk somewhere else," (Y/n) put an arm over Hanami's face to shut him up and effortlessly dragged his whole body away. The poor guy was struggling to protect his drink from spilling out of the cocktail glass.

"Wh-What was all that about...?" Wakiya was the first one to ask. "Why is Hanami with her?!"

"Beats me," Daigo replied normally.

"Isn't that, like, illegal for both of them to be talking?" Xander turned to me like he expected me to do something. "Won't you go stop her? If she's seen with Hanami, your whole team might get suspended."

I sighed. "I don't figure (Y/n) is stupid enough to do that. She must be aware of the rules as well. I'll just leave her be."

(Y/n) returned to us after a few minutes, and obviously refused to answer any of our questions about it. The show kept going pretty much the whole time. Zac's concert was a never-ending story during the entire event. He performed hundreds of songs one after another and I didn't recognise even a single of them. Also, I tried my best to ignore the occasional glitters.

Valt and Rantaro found a real-time beybattling game. There was a big stadium made out of soft rubber and similar soft bey costumes for its players. Valt wore the blue one, Rantaro wore the red one and they both went into the stadium just like Valtryek and Roktavor would have. It was kind of cute to watch.

"Say, Shu, what if we wear those and go in next?" (Y/n) seriously said beside me. "I think Spryzen has had enough. It's time I get a chance to throw you out of the stadium."

"Er — You must be kidding, right?" My eyes widened significantly. (Y/n) stared at me with her usual emotionless face. I wasn't sure what was supposed to be meant by that because, well, her face was dead serious.

"Of course I was joking," she replied. "Did you really want to — "

"Jeez, no, you really have some issues!" I put a hand over my face out of embarrassment. Who the hell cracks a joke with a straight and serious face on?

Rantaro and Valt played the same thing quite a few times. They must have really liked it. Wakiya dropped sarcastic comments here and there, but remained quiet most of the time. Daigo just rolled his eyes and called the game 'childish', to which (Y/n) and I agreed.

"Everyone having fun?" Zac's loud voice came from the stage. I turned my head to look in that direction. "Don't answer yet. Our special guest is almost here! Hanami, would you do me the honours of introducing this guest?"

From there, the situation escalated significantly. It was as if I was in a trance, even though I'm usually the most attentive one.

A special guest? I was a total fool to think this was some normal party.

A reunion. A reunion of elites, is what Zac called it that day. I should've known earlier.

Xander, (Y/n), Zac and me — everyone else was here. And the last person missing in this group... the guy who had left his undying mark on my face, and the person I resented the most in my life.

"It's me, Hanami, your beyblade-loving MC!" Hanami's face appeared on a big screen at the stage wall. "Alright, party peeps, we're taking you live to the harbour! Our special guest should be docking any minute now."

Without knowing, my hand went up to my right eye. I touched and felt the scar I usually hid behind my hair. So much hatred was boiling inside of me, I wasn't even able to think rationally.

"He's the member of the Supreme Four," Hanami continued. "He's won four National Tournaments in a row. And he's one terrifying force of nature! Please welcome: the incomparable, the legendary, the one and only — Lui Shirosagi!"

I had made my way to the front of the audience. My team was nowhere to be found, and I honestly didn't care. Lui was here. My inner fire was burning fiercer than ever. All the fuel it ever needed was right in front of my eyes.

Lui got off the motorboat and jumped over the railing of the harbour. Zac invited him straight to the stage. I noticed Valt standing at one side of the crowd, trying to lean in to take a better look at Lui. For some reason, he was still wearing the beyblade-shaped costume from earlier. Naturally, Valt lost his balance at the most inappropriate moment and fell forward right in Lui's path.

But Lui didn't care at all. He stepped right over Valt's costume while making him stand straight again at the same time. Valt was entirely fascinated by that little show of agility.

"You could overpower Shu," Valt said out of admiration. "You must be amazing!"

Valt was a pure-hearted guy. He admired the talent of good bladers. But he was naïve to think that just because Lui beat me, he automatically became amazing. Little did he know, the true Lui Shirosagi... entirely wicked, and despicable beyond all morals.

"Heh, what did you expect?" Lui turned to Valt and said proudly. "No matter how many times I battle, I win. Doesn't matter who I'm up against."

"Things might've gone your way in the past," I couldn't help but speak up. This guy had the ability to drive me crazy with just a few words. "But this time, it's gonna be different."

"The future's already been decided," he replied cockily.

"What are you, a fortune teller now?" I mocked him and stepped up to the stage. Zac was already there, waiting for us to come together. Xander was right behind me in the task. (Y/n) was nowhere to be seen, which was quite odd.

Lui turned and suddenly directed a punch towards me. I had no time to think and react or else I would've gotten injured. Out of reflex, I used my right hand to block him. For the next few minutes, Lui and I remained in that position, holding each other's hand and practically arm wrestling in front of everyone.

"I'm guessing you've gotten stronger," Lui grinned with confidence. In the heat of that moment, I'd completely lost track of what was right for me. Lui tried to push me back, but I kept applying more and more pressure with my hand to counter his power.

"You've guessed right," I smirked hatefully.

"Then it'll be even more fun to crush that confidence of yours," he said.

And suddenly, I felt a jolt of pain surge through my right shoulder and to the whole arm. I realised I was so engaged in arm wrestling with Lui that I'd completely forgotten about my shoulder injury. And now I'd gone ahead and wasted whatever little recovery I'd accumulated. Damn it.

How could I've been so careless and impulsive?

I tried my best to maintain a normal face, even though the pain was unbearable.

"Hahahaha!" Xander laughed and put his own big hand above Lui's and mine. "Keep on dreaming, guys. I'm winning this."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on it, Xander," Lui looked up at him. "But at the very least, you might be good for a little amusement."

"Wanna test that theory out right now?" Xander leaned down to Lui's level.

"Strike a pose!" Zac popped out of nowhere and put his own hand above the three of ours. "I sincerely hope you weren't planning on excluding me from the list! Besides, there's still one of us left to come up yet. Our grand reunion would be utterly boring without her!"

"I'm right here," (Y/n)'s scarily confident voice entered my ears just as Zac finished speaking. She quietly ascended the stairs and walked over to stand exactly between Lui and Zac.

"Don't be shy, put your beautiful hand here as well!" Zac beamed, referring to our little hand stack. Mine and Lui's was at the bottom while Zac's was at the top. (Y/n) directed an intense glare at him and slowly put her hand over his, even though I expected her to totally reject Zac's offer.

"Zachary, we need to talk," she coldly said, her eyes never looking away from his face. Zac giggled like he was relishing every word said by her, which made (Y/n)'s jaw tighten out of anger. She angrily lifted back her hand and the rest of us did the same, finally separating away.

And by the way, I had no damn idea what this was all about. Maybe because Zac drove reporters to her house? She did say something about teaching him a lesson at his party... although the stage wasn't the safest place to behave like this.

"The hell you're smiling about?!" (Y/n) tried her best to suppress her voice, attempting to keep the conversation between the five of us. If the audience or the cameras caught even a small scene here, a whole lot of drama could unfold.

"(Y/n) (L/n)," Lui spoke up in between. "We meet after so long and you start by going off at this trashy and worthless Zac? I expected a better impression of you."

After so long...? Huh?! Has she met Lui before?

"You," (Y/n) uttered that single word with so many emotions, I wasn't sure if I was even interpreting it correctly. Hatred, jealousy, insecurity, fury, malice, disgrace, desperation... her voice somehow had it all.

At that point, I was too far in it to register my own shock. My very soul shivered at the thought. It was clear that Lui had done something terrible to make (Y/n) feel that way. Just like he did to me. (Y/n) had a connection with Lui this whole time...? And I didn't know a damn thing about it?!

"How are you okay with this, Lui?" She directed at him. "I'm sure you out of all people realize that Zac's been manipulating us for publicity!"

"So what if that's true? I could care less," Lui laughed, showing off his pointed teeth. "He put up a good offer before me. I couldn't deny it!"

Zac offered something to Lui? What the hell?

"What?" (Y/n) incredulously looked back at Zac, who was busy smiling without any care in the world. "Zachary, how dare you use me like this?!"

Did she just say Zac used her? For what? And when did that even happen?! I thought she was angry with him because her house was raided by reporters.

I had a sudden realization that there was something seriously wrong going on behind the scenes and I had no idea about it. (Y/n), why didn't you say anything yesterday... since when was Zac manipulating this whole setup?

"Stop screaming, tiny star!" Zac beamed. "The audience will know."

"Zachary," (Y/n) didn't seem like she was in control of herself at all. It was a truly fearful sight to witness. "You've really messed with the wrong person this time. I'll put so many charges on you, none of your lawyers would be able to save your precious reputation."

Zac smirked and grabbed (Y/n)'s wrist, harshly pulling her closer to him. The two of them were positioned beside Xander at such an angle that the audience would never be able to notice Zac's actions.

(Y/n), on the other hand, was forced to stay silent because of the direction she was standing in. The audience would clearly see her if she reacted even a little. (Y/n) attempted her best to maintain a straight face.

"Your snapping attitude makes me feel so proud of my work, (Y/n)," Zac told her happily. "Come on, it's just for a little show. It won't harm you even a bit!"

His grip visibly tightened on her wrist.

"Zac, let go of her," I told him angrily. As much as I wanted to step in and help my teammate, I was aware of the cameras myself. Xander stayed back particularly for the same reason. It was clear that he didn't want to get involved in any 'situation' while the team tournaments were still on.

To my surprise, Lui was the one who grabbed Zac's hand and pulled him away from (Y/n), all the while skillfully making sure to stay off the line of cameras himself.

(Y/n) looked away with disgust, clearly refusing to acknowledge Lui's help. In that small moment, I came face to face with another one of my mistakes. I clenched my fist, ashamed at my own cowardice. It should've been me who helped (Y/n) just now, not Lui! What kind of a pathetic teammate was I? I wasn't even able to help a friend in need. Proven useless once again.

"Enough with the delay," Lui told Zac threateningly. "I kept my end of the deal and you kept yours. Quit being a damn imbecile now and let me savour my victory!"

Zac proudly pushed back his hair and walked up to the microphone. "Let's begin today's final show, shall we?" He cheerfully announced for the audience and flashed a dramatic pose. "It's show time!"

If I hadn't just witnessed his vicious side in front of my own eyes, I would've never believed that a person like him, who was so dazzling and cheerful in front of everyone, could actually have a bad face behind the stage. As of this moment, my perspective of Zac had changed forever. He wasn't any stupid delusional singer... it was just what he showed to the world. That guy knew exactly what he was doing.

Crazy how people have such horrible secrets.

Secrets...

I looked at (Y/n).

I thought our yesterday night's conversation was mysterious enough. But suddenly, her interaction with Gabe had become the least of my concerns. Her past had threads that tied her to Lui. And Zac had seriously done something horrible to her in order to... maybe gain publicity, I'm guessing.

How will I even get that information out of her?

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In 5678 words.

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