A Quiet Life Denied

The alarm blared, a shrill, merciless sound that ripped through the quiet of the morning. Zane's hand shot out, slapping blindly at the snooze button until the noise finally died with a pathetic click. He flopped back onto his pillow with a groan, the dull throb of a headache already starting behind his eyes.

I barely slept.

The alarm stabbed the quiet and Zane fumbled a hand out from under the tangled sheets to slap it off. For a second he lay there, eyes open, the ceiling a blank pale that blurred the edges of the room. He could feel the day waiting like an expectant thing—results day, the little verdict that would tilt everything into "special class" or "not special." It should have been a clean thing: another day, another checkpoint. But the tiny tilt at the base of his skull hadn't left him all night.

Everything always bends his way.

That was the problem. The world had been kind to him for as long as he could remember—little glances that turned into good luck, a stumble that turned into applause. The sort of life where you could throw a joke into a noisy room and somehow it landed as a punchline, where opportunities seemed to unlace themselves for him. It should feel like gratitude. Instead it felt hollow, like borrowing joy that could be repossessed at any time.

Watching Franz pull off a win that defied logic wasn't just surprising; it was a personal affront to the natural order of things. The cracks were starting to show, and for the first time, he felt the cold, unfamiliar dread of not being the main character anymore. The feeling was a bitter, coppery taste in the back of his throat.

He sat up abruptly, shaking his head.

"No," he said out loud, his voice rough with sleep as it echoed in the quiet room. "I'm just feeling this because I'm not trying hard enough." He stood up, his posture straightening, forcing a familiar fire back into his eyes. "That's it. I just need to focus. I can do this!"

The door to his room creaked open, and his sister Blair leaned against the frame, a single, unimpressed eyebrow raised. "If you're done with your cringe anime character speech, you might want to actually get ready, or you'll be late for the results. Come on, I'll drop you."

Zane's face flushed a deep, embarrassed red. "Hey! You shouldn't eavesdrop like that! A man is allowed to have his private motivational moments!"

"Yeah, yeah," Blair said, already walking away, her voice drifting back down the hall. "Just hurry up, protagonist. Your adoring fans are waiting."

....

....

In the back of a police cruiser, the air was thick with the scent of stale coffee and the low hum of the radio. Lena and Emphera were engaged in a spirited, hushed argument.

"I'm telling you, it was a strategic retreat," Emphera insisted, adjusting the sunglasses she was wearing despite the overcast morning. "We gathered valuable intel on the subject's… habitat."

"We got drunk and passed out on his floor," Lena retorted, her cheeks still pink with a residual blush of embarrassment. "And you accused him of being a 'body-snatching fiend' after telling him he had magnificent abs."

Up front, the young officer driving the car Jason glanced at them in the rearview mirror, his gaze lingering on Lena for a fraction of a second before flicking back to the road. A small, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips as he listened to their banter.

"So, are you nervous about the results?" he asked, his voice directed at Lena, a hint of warmth in his professional tone.

Before she could answer, her Uncle Rob, who was in the passenger seat, chuckled. "What's there to be nervous about? She's a Beaumont. Even if she doesn't make the cut, we'll just fill the officials' pockets with enough money, and I'm sure they'll make a special exception."

Emphera nodded in solemn agreement from the back. "A sound financial strategy."

"What are you agreeing on?" Lena huffed, crossing her arms. "I'm sure we'll get in without any help, thank you very much."

"What about that friend of yours?" Rob asked casually, his eyes watching the traffic. "Franz. Will he make it?"

Lena's posture straightened, a hint of undeniable pride in her voice. "Of course, he will. You should have seen him in the match, Uncle. He was… perfect."

"Yeah," Emphera added, leaning forward conspiratorially. "He even scored a perfect 300 in the shooting test. The guy's a total machine."

Lena kept on blabbing, her earlier embarrassment forgotten in her enthusiasm. "And he's super kind, too! He's not cold at all, not really. He even helped Celeste's mother!"

That last sentence caught the attention of the two men in the front. Rob's casual demeanor sharpened slightly. "Oh, he did? That was a messy business. How did he pull that off?"

"I don't know the full story," Lena replied innocently. "Celeste just said that he saved her life or something like that. Shouldn't you know, though? Dad should have gone to meet with Mrs. Ardent by now, right?"

"No," Rob said, his eyes back on the road, his tone carefully neutral. "She hasn't been meeting with anyone from the department since the incident. Just business people."

"Oh. Okay," Lena said, a flicker of confusion on her face.

"That's our stop!" Emphera announced as they pulled up to the college's grand entrance.

As the girls got out of the car, they saw Celeste also arriving, stepping out of a sleek black Mercedes. Rob's eyes narrowed as he saw two other black SUVs, filled with serious-looking security, flanking her car. "Something fishy is cooking," he muttered under his breath. "Victoria, this Franz kid, the gangs… I think there's a connection."

Jason's jaw worked. He was trying to be steady; he was trying not to let his own chest tighten. He shifted in his seat and offered, "I noticed Franz earlier. He seemed… off. Not hostile, but tense." He kept his voice flat, but there was an edge in it that suggested vigilance. His boots, the night before, had been unworn in places from the long shift. He checked the mirror again, as though the campus might rearrange itself between glances.

Rob glanced at him, then messed up his hair playfully. "I was just spewing random shit. And look at your jealous ass."

Jason flushed a little at the joke, but there was a light in his eyes whenever he mentioned Lena—watchful, earnest. He stole glances at her through the mirror, the way anyone might glance at a photograph they treasured. Not about possession. About care. About an ache that made him stand straighter on his feet. He ran his fingers along the inside of his collar unconsciously, smoothing the crease like it would help straighten the rest of his day.

Rob was still teasing him when his own phone rang, the sharp, official tone cutting through their banter. "Yes… I'll be there in a second… Yeah, and I'll send him there." He hung up, his expression turning serious. "That was the chief. He's calling me to headquarters, it's urgent. You have to go to the site with Jason today. But first, drop off Lena's phone. She forgot it in the car again." He pointed to the phone sitting on the back seat of the car.

"Oh, right. I should give it to her," the young officer said, In his momentary embarrassment.

He got out of the car, phone in hand. As he was about to call out to Lena, who was already disappearing into the crowd of students, he noticed a suspicious-looking man sitting in a parked car across the street, his face obscured by a hoodie and the dark tint of the window. A prickle of unease ran down his spine. Duty first. He frowned, changing course and walking towards the car, his other hand subconsciously resting on his hip.

He tapped on the driver's side window. "Hey, can I see your license and registration?"

In the split second it took for the man to look up, a second figure emerged from the alleyway behind the officer, as silent as a shadow. There was the glint of sun on polished metal. The cold, hard press of a gun barrel against the back of his neck.

"Don't move, officer," a low voice hissed in his ear. "And slowly, get in the car."

A/N

Thanks for reading this chapter!

XOXO

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Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and I'm looking for a character illustration of Franz. If you have any ideas for his design, I'd love to hear them.Thanks for reading the chapter! Please keep commenting; it really helps. I'm also thinking of changing the cover, and