"Oh, hey Noah. Didn't expect to see you out here."
The casual voice cut through the tension like a knife through butter. All three turned to see Kelvin strolling past, tablet in hand, completely unfazed by the chaos around them. He didn't even look up from whatever he was typing.
"Kelvin?" Noah's disbelief momentarily overshadowed everything else. "Where have you—I was looking for you in the dorm!"
"The dorm?" Now Kelvin did look up, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I be there? I automated my entire study schedule last week. Been in the beast craft lab since six." He glanced at the partially destroyed building. "Good thing too, looks like."
Noah pulled away from Sophie, momentarily forgetting his injuries in his frustration. "I've been fighting my way through—" He winced, ribs protesting. "Never mind. What are you doing out here now?"
"Oh, right." Kelvin held up his tablet. "Been monitoring the security feeds. Figured you'd do something stupid like rush into the middle of things, so I've been tracking your progress. Quite entertaining, actually. Made some good money streaming it to the betting pools through the security cams I placed around the dorm."
"Also," Kelvin continued, still typing one-handed, "thought you might want to know the teachers are about three minutes out. Someone finally remembered to call them. Probably should clear out before they start asking questions about all the property damage."
Noah glanced between his roommate and the destruction around them. "And you're just now mentioning this?"
"You seemed busy." Kelvin shrugged. "Besides, I had to close out my positions in the betting pool first. Speaking of which..." He finally looked up properly, taking in Noah's battered state and the two girls still locked in their silent confrontation. "Want to grab coffee? I'll explain how much money we made."
"Well, I needed someone's name to place the bets under. You're getting thirty percent."
Noah opened his mouth to argue, then caught movement from the corner of his eye. Sophie had taken a step toward Lila, who was still wearing that unsettling smile.
"Coffee," Noah said quickly. "Coffee sounds great. Ladies, we should probably—"
"Go ahead," Sophie said, her voice carrying that same frozen sweetness from before. "I need to have a quick chat with Lila anyway."
Lila's smile widened fractionally. "Yes, Noah. You should rest. We can talk later..." She said with a smile.. "Assuming little Sophie's still around later." She muttered this last part.
Something in her tone made Noah hesitate, but Kelvin was already pulling him away. "Come on, hero. Let the ladies sort out their differences. I've got charts to show you."
As they moved out of earshot, Noah could have sworn he heard Lila's voice, pitched low and meant only for Sophie: "I warned you last night. What happens now is on you."
Sophie's response was too quiet to catch, but the air around them both began to distort again.
"So," Kelvin said, still typing as they walked. "Want to explain why you thought I'd be in the middle of a super-powered brawl?"
"I was worried," Noah admitted, trying to ignore the growing pressure in the air behind them. "When I heard about the fighting—"
"You rushed in without thinking," Kelvin finished. "Yeah, watched that part. Pretty entertaining, especially the window dive. Got great odds on whether you'd stick the landing."
"Right, right. Serious moment." He finally pocketed his tablet. "Look, I appreciate the concern, but you know me. I automated my alarm clock because reaching over to hit snooze was too much effort. Did you really think I'd be throwing down in the halls?"
Noah sighed. "When you put it that way..."
"Exactly. I was perfectly safe in my in the beast craft lab, making money off everyone else's poor life choices." He paused. "Speaking of which, you might want to duck."
Something exploded behind them. Noah turned just in time to see a blast of power shoot over their heads, accompanied by the sound of breaking concrete.
"Betting pool's still open," Kelvin noted, already pulling his tablet back out. "Want to put some of your earnings on which one of them wins?"
Noah grabbed his roommate's arm, pulling him toward the campus coffee shop. "Not funny."
"Who's joking? Odds are actually pretty good. Sophie's got the experience, but Lila's got that whole psycho-stalker vibe going for her lately, according to you. Plus, you know their beef started officially. She said some pretty interesting things to Sophie yesterday."
Noah stopped. "What things? What happened yesterday?"
"Oh, right. You don't know about that. My security feeds picked it up," Kelvin glanced back at the continuing destruction, then at his tablet. "Tell you what – buy me a coffee, and I'll fill you in on everything you missed while you were playing hero."
Another explosion lit up the evening sky.
"Make it quick," Noah said, watching a section of wall disintegrate. "I have a feeling we're going to need to break that up before someone gets killed."
"Or expelled," Kelvin agreed cheerfully. "Though at current betting odds, that might actually make us more money."
Noah just sighed and pushed his roommate toward the coffee shop, trying very hard not to think about what Sophie and Lila might be doing to each other. Whatever had happened between them yesterday, he had a feeling he wasn't going to like hearing about it.
Behind them, another blast of power lit up the morning sky, followed by the distinct sound of someone laughing – though whether it was Sophie or Lila, Noah couldn't tell. And he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know.
As Noah followed Kelvin toward the coffee shop, his mind raced through the morning's events. 'Since when do Sophie and Lila even interact?' he wondered, remembering the murderous tension between them. 'Sophie's never mentioned knowing her before, and Lila...'
The thought trailed off as he recalled previous encounters with the blonde. She'd always been friendly – maybe too friendly – but the recent signs weren't there before. The Lila he knew, the one he met, there'd never been any hint of this darker edge he'd seen in her eyes the last few days. And Sophie's reaction had been equally strange. His usually composed girlfriend had radiated the kind of controlled fury he'd only seen during serious combat situations.
'What did Kelvin mean about yesterday?' Noah glanced at his roommate, who was still happily typing away at his tablet. 'And why didn't Sophie tell me about it?'
Something wasn't adding up. The Sophie he knew would have mentioned any significant confrontation, especially one that had her this worked up. And Lila... well, he'd always written off her attention as simple friendliness, but her latest antics and that smile earlier had been anything but friendly.
'I'm missing something,' he realized, his tactical mind trying to piece together the puzzle. 'Something big. And somehow I'm right in the middle of it without even knowing what 'it' is.'
Behind them, the sounds of combat had oddly ceased. If Noah had looked back, he might have seen something even more unsettling than the fighting – Sophie and Lila standing close together, their earlier hostility replaced by something more calculated.
"The inter-academy competition," Lila was saying, her sweet smile now touched with something predatory. "After the gala."
Sophie's answering nod was equally concerning. "Agreed. That should give us both enough time to prepare properly."
"Until then, we maintain the current... arrangement."
Lila's laugh was soft but carried an edge sharp enough to cut. "Perfect. Though Noah might have questions about today."
"Let me worry about Noah." Sophie's voice held absolute certainty. "You just focus on your part."
They shared one final look – not friendly, not exactly hostile, but weighted with unspoken understanding. Then Lila turned away, her usual bright smile back in place as if it had never slipped.
"May the best woman win," she called over her shoulder, already walking away.
Sophie watched her go, expression unreadable. "Oh, I intend to."
Back at the coffee shop, Noah felt a sudden chill run down his spine. 'Why do I feel like I just missed something important?' he wondered, watching Kelvin order their drinks. 'And why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like finding out what it was?'