Friday started cold. The skies above Westbridge were gray and heavy with clouds, like even the weather knew how the day was going to go. Axel stepped into school, hood over his head, earbuds in. He could already feel the shift in the air before he even reached his locker. The whispers had grown teeth.

"There he is... psycho boy."
"He punched a senior, right?"
"I heard the school didn't even call his parents. A maid came instead."
"His family must be messed up."

He kept walking, pretending he didn't hear them. Pretending it didn't matter. Behind him, jasmine  caught up. "Ignore them." "I am," he muttered, not making eye contact. Javier slung his arm over Axel's shoulder like he always did, grinning despite the tension. "They're just mad you've got the balls they don't." They stuck close. Same as always. But it didn't stop the words. In the hallway, the whispers crawled like vines. Even students Axel had never spoken to eyed him like he was carrying some disease. When he reached his classroom, a few kids moved seats. One girl flinched when he dropped his bag too hard. He stared at the board, trying not to explode. He'd already lost enough. Then, during break, it happened. Someone near the lockers  a junior, bold and loud  said just loud enough for everyone to hear:

"Guess money can't buy parents, huh?"

Axel froze. The kid smirked, leaning against a locker. "Didn't even bother to show up. Must suck when your own mom can't be bothered." Axel turned, fists tightening, ready to lunge But someone stepped forward. Noah. He stepped between them before Axel even moved. Calm, sharp-eyed, and way too composed. "Didn't realize you were an expert on other people's families," Noah said, voice flat but dangerous. "Or do you just like talking crap to look cool in front of your friends?" The hallway went silent. The junior blinked, faltered. "I was just" "You were just being a coward." Noah's eyes didn't leave him. "And if you're gonna talk about someone, at least say it to their face." He turned away after that, brushing past Axel without a word. But the damage had been done  not to Axel, but to the whispering crowd. They scattered, tension broken.

jasmine blinked. "Did that just happen?"

Javier whistled. "Huh. Didn't know Pretty Boy had it in him."

Axel didn't say a thing.

But something in his chest... shifted.

The rain came in the afternoon. Like a second punishment.