Episode 3 :- Chaos On The Court..

The moment the basketball rolled near them, Ares Valren bent down to pick it up—but before he could leave, someone suddenly grabbed him by the neck from behind.

"Well damn. The ghost of Valmere finally came back to school."

Ares barely reacted.

"Get your hands off me, Cassian."

Cassian Moreau laughed and let go of him before spinning the basketball on his finger. Unlike Ares, Cassian looked effortlessly approachable—messy dark hair, lazy grin, expensive uniform worn carelessly. The type of guy teachers complained about but secretly liked anyway.

He was from another section and hadn’t attended school for almost a week.

Cassian looked around the field dramatically.

"So this is what I return to? Rich girls fighting over eye contact?"

Viviana immediately fixed her posture.

"We weren’t fighting over anyone."

Cassian looked at Ares.

"She’s lying."

Ares finally spoke while watching Daze and Viviana silently.

"I know."

Cassian smirked.

"You came to school after months just to watch cat fights?"

Ares grabbed the basketball back from him lazily.

"Best entertainment this place has offered so far."

That single sentence made Viviana visibly embarrassed.

Meanwhile Daze looked deeply unimpressed by everyone involved.

Viviana glared at her again.

"You seriously think you’re better than everyone."

Daze answered calmly, "No. I just think you’re embarrassingly desperate."

Celeste turned away fast to hide her laughter.

Viviana stepped closer aggressively.

"Watch your damn mouth."

Daze tilted her head slightly.

"Make me."

That was enough.

Viviana shoved Daze hard by the shoulder, but Daze instantly grabbed her wrist and pushed her back against the metal bench nearby.

Students gasped loudly.

Cassian looked entertained immediately.

"Oh shit. Now it’s getting good."

Ares stayed quiet beside him, but there was faint amusement in his eyes now.

Viviana snapped toward Ares.

"You think this is funny?!"

Ares answered without hesitation.

"A little"

That was enough.

That made things worse.

Coach Raven arrived seconds later, already looking disappointed in humanity.

His sharp eyes moved between the students before stopping on Ares.

"And why do you look entertained?"

Ares shrugged lazily.

"Cat fights are educational."

Coach Raven looked exhausted already.

"Fantastic. The academy’s richest disappointment has jokes now."

Celeste nearly coughed trying not to laugh.

After hearing enough complaints from everyone, Coach Raven rubbed his forehead.

"You two. Detention after class."

Daze frowned.

"She literally attacked me first."

Coach Raven pointed at her calmly.

"And you looked one second away from throwing her into another dimension."

Then his eyes moved toward Ares.

"And you’re coming too."

Ares looked genuinely offended.

"The hell did I do?"

"You encouraged it with your face."

By evening, most students had left Valmere Academy. Rain tapped softly against the windows while Daze cleaned dust off old classroom desks with visible irritation.

Meanwhile, Ares sat on top of a desk near the back wall doing absolutely nothing.

Not helping.

Just existing beautifully and uselessly.

Daze threw a cloth toward him.

"Coach said clean, not sit there looking expensive."

No answer.

Ares kept scrolling through his phone.

Five minutes later-

Daze spoke again.

"You allergic to work or just emotionally attached to being useless?"

Still nothing.

A muscle in Daze’s jaw twitched.

She walked toward him directly and grabbed the collar of his jacket sharply.

"Either help me clean this damn room or get out."

For the first time, Ares looked at her properly.

Then suddenly his hand caught her wrist.

Fast.

The tension shifted instantly.

Daze froze slightly as Ares pulled her closer without warning, their faces only inches apart now.

His voice dropped lower.

"You always grab people like that?"

Daze’s heartbeat betrayed her once.

Annoying.

She tried pulling away, but his grip only tightened slightly.

"You gonna cry if someone touches back?"

Ares asked lazily.

Daze stared straight into his eyes.

"You talk a lot for someone who looks dead inside."

For one second ares smirked.

Actually smirked.

Dangerously pretty.

Then he leaned slightly closer.

"And you look like trouble pretending to be calm."

The air suddenly felt too heavy.

Too quiet.

Daze hated that her pulse reacted first.

Before either of them could move, Coach Raven’s voice echoed from outside the classroom.

"If one desk is dusty when I come back, both of you are cleaning toilets too."

Ares immediately let go of her wrist.

Daze stepped back quickly, fixing her sleeves like nothing happened.

But the silence between them had already changed.

And neither of them liked it.

A few moments later, the classroom lights flickered once.

Then twice.

Ares’ expression darkened instantly.

Daze noticed it.

From somewhere deep in the empty hallway

A soft metallic sound echoed.

Like a locker slowly opening by itself.

"-"

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