The morning light crept hesitantly into Dorm 317, as if afraid of what might still linger there.
The air still hummed faintly with residual magic, a pulse that came from no spell but from the two beings inside.
Kevin stirred first, hair a messy halo, eyes heavy with half-forgotten dreams. He rubbed his temples, recalling flashes of the night before the surge of power, the way the world had lifted off its axis, Derek's voice echoing in his mind. It hadn't felt like a dream at all.
Across the room, Derek lay on his back, one arm draped lazily over his eyes. He looked calm too calm for someone who had nearly shattered the dorm's reality barrier hours ago.
Kevin exhaled, stood, and glanced at the clock.
"Great," he muttered, "I'm late."
As he reached for his towel, the sound of running water reached his ears.
He froze.
The shower was already on. "You've got to be kidding me," he groaned.
Frustration bubbled up like static electricity through the air.
Kevin stomped to the bathroom door and knocked. "Derek! Come on, I've got to get ready for class!"
A lazy voice came from the other side, smooth as smoke.
"Wait."
Kevin knocks on the door again talking in a calm voice "can you plz come out I have to take a shower and get ready for classes"
Kevin's voice speaks again from the bathroom "wait some more ". Kevin left the door and lay on the bed stairing at the ceiling.
After a long wait Kevin furiously stood up and pound's on the door you've been in there for ages now, come out already. Derek's voice came out wait a little longer
Kevin blinked, disbelief "Wait? You've been in there for ages!". No reply just the continuous hiss of water, taunting him.
Few minutes later, the shower finally stopped. The door creaked open, steam curling out like a ghost, and there stood Derek — half-naked, towel slung low around his waist, water glistening on his chest.
Kevin froze mid-rant.
"I'm not done yet," Derek said calmly, his golden eyes glinting with amusement.
Kevin's mouth fell open. "You've been in there all this time and you're not yet done?" His tone sharpened with sarcasm. "Wow, impressive."
Derek leaned casually against the doorframe, smirk tugging at his lips. "If you're in such a hurry, why don't we share?"
Kevin blinked, in disbelief. "Share? You say I won't be sharing! Get out and let me use the bathroom!"
They stood locked in a silent standoff, eyes meeting, neither willing to move. The tension between them thickened a strange, magnetic pull humming faintly in the air, echoing the residue of last night's magic.
Finally, Derek broke the silence, voice low and teasing. "We've been standing here for a while now… and you still haven't used the bathroom. Are you sure you don't want to share?". Kevin's jaw tightened. "Fine," he said at last, exhaling sharply. "We can share."
They moved around each other carefully each claiming one side of the bathroom, pretending not to notice how close the other was. The air was thick with heat, steam, and unspoken tension.
Kevin brushed his teeth furiously, trying not to glance at the mirror where Derek's reflection shimmered through the fog. "Don't use all the hot water," Kevin muttered.
Derek's chuckle was low and soft. "Then move faster." "I'd move faster if someone hadn't turned this into a spa."
"Hmm," Derek hummed, "you're cute when you're mad."
Kevin glared through the mist. "I'm one spell away from freezing that shower solid."
"Tempting," Derek murmured, "but I think I like it warm."
Kevin choked on his toothpaste. When they finally emerged, dressed and half-annoyed, the room still pulsed faintly — a whisper of their clashing energies lingering in the air like the ghost of a storm.
Rumors Before Breakfast
Kevin and Derek were still walking toward the cafeteria when the noise inside sharpened rising and falling with a strange electricity. By the time they reached the doors, three voices were already rising above all the chatter.
At the center table the Velmora High Gossip Coven sat Linda Graves, the silvery-haired banshee whose voice could slice through stone, Elizabeth Vale, a witch with eyes like she knew too much, and Claudia Blackpaw, the werewolf who never whispered a day in her life. They were already laughing.
Linda leaned in, smirking as she tossed her curls back. "So, did you hear what happened at the lake yesterday," she drawled loudly enough for the whole cafeteria to hear, "between Derek, Kevin… and the Tribrid?"
Her chuckle rang out loud, dramatic, almost majestic.Heads around them turned immediately.
Claudia slapped the table, joining in. "Yes! My cousin saw the entire thing unfold," she announced proudly. "Kevin almost fell straight into the lake, and Derek caught him full romantic catch. I swear something is going on between those two."
Elizabeth gasped theatrically, placing a hand over her heart. "Oh no, no, spill the tea, girls. I refuse to be the only one who doesn't know what truly happened. Someone talk."
Linda straightened, cleared her throat, and began narrating the entire scene —
but in a tone so loud it was impossible to believe she didn't know she was shouting.
Words like "almost kissed," "glowing water," "tribrid energy," and "Derek holding Kevin" drifted through the air like sparks catching dry wood. Within seconds, murmurs spread across every table.
Whispers turned into gasps. Gasps into theories. Theories into rumors.
And then as if summoned by their own gossip Kevin and Derek walked in. The room shifted immediately. Dozens of eyes pinned to them.
Kevin slowed, confused. "Why's everyone staring?" he muttered. Derek didn't bother looking around. "Maybe it's because you're walking beside a monster," he said sarcastically.
Kevin rolled his eyes as they went to dish their food, trying to ignore the whispers snapping at their heels.
They finally spotted Nia Kevin's best friend waving them over. As soon as they sat, Kevin leaned forward."Nia, why's everyone staring like we're Necromancer ?"
Nia raised her brows.
"Because rumors have been flying everywhere about you two and the Tribrid. You didn't tell me you had an encounter at the lake." Kevin's eyes widened slightly. "So that's what all this is about?"
Nia nodded. "Yes — and they're also saying the Tribrid is transferring to Velmora High. Into our class." Kevin nearly dropped his spoon.
"You've got to be kidding me." Derek looked up from his plate, unfazed. "Is that supposed to be bad?"
Kevin shot him a glare sharp enough to cut. "You don't know anything. Not even a bit."
They finished their breakfast under a storm of staring eyes and whispers they couldn't outrun.
First Period — Ancestral Tracing
Class couldn't had come anytime later it began quietly, the teacher diving into the lesson on ancestral tracing, chalk scraping softly across the board.
Until
The door creaked open.
Four shadows spilled onto the floor before the figures stepped in. The teacher straightened immediately. The students followed.
"Good morning, Headmaster," the teacher greeted. "Good morning," the class echoed. The headmaster clasped his hands behind his back.
"Students," he announced, "we have new members joining us today. Please welcome Gabriel Pierce, Damon Voss, Draymond Voss, and Lucy Adams."
The four stepped into the classroom confident, silent, unnervingly composed.
The air tightened.
"Please take your seats," the teacher instructed.
And just like that, the day shifted.
Velmora High would never be the same.
The First Encounter
The four newcomers stepped deeper into the classroom, shadows trailing behind them like living things. Gabriel's cold, unreadable stare swept across the room.
Lucy's eyes glimmered with quiet judgment.
Damon looked like he owned the place already — chin high, aura sharp. And Draymon… Draymon's gaze flicked straight to Kevin. For a split-second. But Kevin felt it that silent recognition. His heart jolted once, hard.
The teacher cleared his throat. "Seats, please." There were only two free desks left in the room — one beside Kevin, one behind Derek.
And like fate enjoyed chaos, Damon and Draymon moved first.
Damon slid into the seat behind Derek with a low, amused hum, like he'd just discovered something interesting.
But Draymon… He walked straight to Kevin's side, paused, and let a slow smirk stretch across his lips.
"Hope this seat isn't taken," he murmured.
Kevin swallowed.
His throat felt unexpectedly tight. "It's… free."
Draymon sat, leaning back casually — too casually — eyes still on Kevin with that knowing, hauntingly familiar look.
Derek glanced over his shoulder, brow tightening as he watched the interaction.
The air around him shifted — a subtle flare, a ripple of something territorial.
Lucy and Gabriel took seats with effortless grace, but even they seemed to sense the strange pull between the three boys at the center of the room.
The teacher tried to continue the lecture, but focus was impossible. Kevin could feel eyes on him — Draymon's intense, piercing stare drifting to him again and again. He finally whispered, not looking up,
"Do you… need something?"
Draymon's voice was velvet-dark.
"No. Just observing."
"Observing what?"
"You."
Kevin nearly choked on his breath.
"Wh—why me?"
Draymon smirked again.
"Let's just say… you're difficult to ignore."
Kevin's pulse hammered.
Derek's chair scraped the floor — not loudly, but enough.
Enough to get attention.
Enough to make Draymon's eyes finally shift from Kevin to him.
For a heartbeat, the room felt bared open two immense forces studying each other, silently measuring, testing, challenging. Damon looked between them and let out a quiet chuckle under his breath.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
The teacher turned, annoyed.
"Something you'd like to share, Mr. Voss?" "Not yet," Damon replied calmly. "Give it time."
Kevin sank lower in his seat. The day had only just begun… and already Velmora High was turning into a battlefield of shifting powers, forbidden gazes, and rumors that suddenly didn't feel like rumors at all.
Class continued… or at least, it pretended to.
The teacher's voice droned on about ancestral tracing and magical lineage, but no one — not even the studious elves in the front row — could focus.
Because the tension wasn't just emotional.
It was magical.
Two forces quietly clashing beneath the surface.
Derek kept catching Draymon staring at Kevin.
Not subtle stares.
Intense ones — full of familiarity and something else Derek couldn't name.
And every time it happened, a flicker of energy pulsed under Derek's skin, quick and sharp, like sparks jumping off wires.
The lights above them shivered.
Gabriel noticed. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Lucy crossed her legs, pretending not to watch but absolutely watching.
Damon smirked, arms folded, enjoying the invisible war like it was premium entertainment.
Kevin, meanwhile, sat stiffly in his seat — tapping his fingers, shifting his weight, dropping his pen, picking it up, dropping it again.
He looked like he'd swallowed a storm.
His pendant pulsed faintly beneath his shirt.
Draymon leaned a little closer, voice a low whisper.
"You're trembling."
Kevin nearly jumped. "No I'm not."
"You are."
The tribrid's tone was too soft, too knowing.
"Is it the dream you had last night?"
Kevin froze.
Derek's head snapped around — sharply — at the same moment.
Dream?
How did Draymon know about—
Kevin's chair scraped as he abruptly sat upright. "Mind your own business."
Draymon just smiled — slow, unsettling.
"I am."
The lights flickered again.
The teacher sighed dramatically.
"If the bulbs keep doing that, I'm calling maintenance."
Damon whispered under his breath, "Good luck fixing this one."
Derek Notices Something Wrong
When the bell finally rang, the class exhaled all at once — relieved to escape the thick, invisible war suffocating the room.
Students rushed out, whispering.
Derek didn't move.
He watched Kevin shove books into his bag too fast, too clumsy, breathing too shallow.
He stepped closer.
"Kevin."
Kevin paused. "What?"
"You're acting weird."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
Kevin pulled the strap of his bag harder than necessary.
"It's just… first-day stress. That's all."
Derek didn't look convinced.
His eyes — deep, unreadable — stayed locked on Kevin's face.
"You were shaking in class."
"I wasn't," Kevin shot back instantly.
"And you flinched when that Draymon guy talked to you."
Kevin swallowed. His throat clicked. "Coincidence."
Derek stepped a fraction closer, lowering his voice.
"Kevin, if something's wrong—"
"Nothing is wrong," Kevin snapped, finally looking up — eyes too bright, too defensive.
For a moment, Derek saw it.
The fear.
The confusion.
The weight of something Kevin didn't want to name.
But before he could press further, Kevin brushed past him, muttering—
"I said it's nothing. Just drop it."
Derek stood there, jaw tight, watching him disappear into the hallway crowd.
Behind him, Draymon passed with a lingering smirk.
"Careful, Chimera," he murmured.
"You're not the only one he's connected to."
Derek's aura flared — hot, dangerous, barely restrained.
But he said nothing.Not yet.
The hallway swallowed Kevin before Derek could follow.
Students parted around him like he carried a storm on his back maybe he did. Derek lingered in the doorway of the classroom, jaw tightening. Something was wrong. Something Kevin wasn't telling him.
And Derek felt it a pull under his skin, a magnetic ache every time Kevin lied or dodged him.
The same energy that shook the dorm. The same energy from the dream. Behind him, Damon, Gabriel, Lucy and Draymon drifted into the hall, talking quietly.
Kevin didn't look back.
But Derek did. And so did Draymon smiling like he already knew the ending to a story Derek hadn't even read yet.