Chapitre 25: An Old 'Friend'?

The fact that the Smiths Twins were at Sakura Academy had already been spread and people were waiting impatiently at the school gates, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. When they saw a bespectacled lanky boy walking in with an olive skinned Asian boy, the almost fainted in excitement. It was amazing enough that the twins were here, but the other two members of the Elite Five were as well?

Right now, the Sakura Academy students were thanking their lucky stars, while those who weren't there, cursed. There were even a few that had worked hard to get to the top school in the Nation, only to find out that the Elite Five weren't there. But at Sakura Academy. SAKURA ACADEMY?!

Of course, not everyone was that ridiculous to choose a school based entirely on their friends rather than the school itself ... ok, fine. Can't be denied that most do since friends are very important while school appears to be the same wherever they go. If one can't have their friends with them, school would be boring, right?

Sam and Ali took out their phones and Sam started texting, "We're here. Where the heck are you guys? Can you be any slower??"

'Not my fault' - Xing Han.

'You know. Women'. *rolls eyes emoji*- Kyle

*Kay added Sarah

'Men just drown in powder or cologne. Women actually bathe'- Kay - 'Oh, and everyone. Meet Sarah. She's my roomie!'

'Hi' - Sarah

'Is she cute?' - Sam

'Very. Don't bully her'- Kay

"KAY!" Sarah shouted in embarrassment, as they headed down to the lobby. Kay just grinned. They met Kyle and Xing Han, who had been waiting for some time and headed towards the school. It would only be a five minute walk, so they didn't really hurry.

Out of all the people that were eagerly waiting to see if the entire Elite Five would be there, there was one that wasn't quite so happy. It was a rather pretty girl, with her brown curly locks tied up in a ponytail. Right now, her hazel eyes were tinged with worry as she looked at Sam and Ali, recognizing them for who they were.

She bit her lips as she stood there, looking down at phone which showed the school website and Kyle's face was plastered all over the forums. Her heart was in a mess. The young boy that she had fallen hard for all those years ago, had grown even more outstanding. Such a friendly, angelic face ... but she knew, behind that seemingly innocent face, there was darkness simmering below the surface. A darkness that could erupt at any moment.

If only she hadn't been so arrogant and stupid, full of herself - would she have been a friend of theirs? Now, it was too late. What she had done was unforgivable, and it was only right that Kyle had acted the way he did. She had hurt his precious sister, and when he found out, he went ballistic.

It was then that she discovered the other side of Kyle. He had never touched her, but the threat was enough. To a young 9 year old ... seeing those cold eyes staring at her, his voice low yet dripping with anger and disgust, his hands almost at her throat ... she had no doubt that he would have done what he said he would.

He hadn't been kidding.

She can still remember that event as if it was yesterday. She had felt that Kyle was too close to his sister, and for some reason, she had been convinced that if Kay was out of the way, she could swoop in and take that place. Get some people to kidnap Kay. Kyle goes limp with worry. She comes in and comforts him. He falls for her. Perfect plan, see?

How was she to know just how far he would go for his sister? He practically almost died! She regretted it then, but only because he had been hurt. She had felt no guilt over what Kay had gone through. She had also been too overconfident that anyone would know that she was behind it. It had been her trusted butler who did everything and he had always been discreet.

Yet, Kyle still found out. When she saw Kyle near the gym, she was surprised and excited. He looked up, saw her and actually smiled.

"Sophia, I need to talk to you," he said in his hypnotising voice.

Sophia shook her head at the memory. She had been so excited and nervous that she practically flew over. She had been feeling rather down the past few days, as her friends were suddenly always busy with something. With this, though, she began to feel rather smug and proud. When she got back, she would brag about this, and they would be green with envy for not being with her at that time. Her naive little mind didn't even realise that they started drifting away from her around the time after the failed kidnapping event.

She had eagerly followed him into a secluded area of the school, nervous but not scared. However, the moment they were out of sight, he suddenly stopped and turned, closing the distance between them in a flash. Janice had been startled, and stepped back, feeling the wooden shed wall behind her. At first, she thought this would be that famous kabedon pose, but even then, it felt strange. There was this ... feeling. Her body was reacting in fear, not nervousness.

She was confused. Completely. Why was there this rather oppressive aura around? It was akin to the feeling when one walked into a cemetery in the middle of the night. Her heart was beating rapidly, as if something was going to jump out at her. It wasn't until she looked up and saw those cold, cold eyes seething with anger that she realised why her body was reacting in such a way. He hadn't even touched her, and was a foot away, but she still felt her knees weakening.

"K-Kyle?" she stammered, blinking and biting her lips.

He took a step closer, not breaking eye contact with her as he said, "If you ever. EVER. do anything to Kay again, I will make sure you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

His voice had been cold. So cold. His eyes not having the usual warmth that everyone knew him for. Then suddenly, he moved - so swiftly that she didn't see the whole thing but felt something flash by beside her ear. All she heard was the sound of the wind followed by a sudden loud smash and then he was back in position again.

Sophia turned her head in fear, and saw a big, gaping hole at the fence right beside where her head was. She looked back at him in total fear, while he said, his hand in a fist which suddenly moved again, but this time, it stopped about an inch from her nose, "Next time, I won't stop."

Sophia's knees buckled then, and she fell into a heap on the ground, tears streaming down her face. Kyle didn't even look at her as he turned away and walked off, not looking back. She curled up into a ball, shaking, and she bawled her eyes out. She didn't know how long she cried, but when she finally stopped, her mind was cleared up.

She had been so scared that she developed a fever, and was recuperating at home for a week. She had nightmares after that for long, long time. She also used that as an excuse to transfer, saying that she saw a ghost. So she never went back to the school ever since the incident. She couldn't.

Sophia's attention snapped back to the present when she heard the girls around her screaming softly. She looked up and saw that Kyle had arrived. Kay and Xing Han were with him, along with a girl she didn't recognise. Sam and Ali rushed at the girl and the girl actually shrank back like a little rabbit while smiling shyly. Sophia saw Kay hitting the two boys on the chest before all of them headed off into the Hall.

As she watched the group go, Sophia sighed.

In truth, Sophia didn't harbour any grudges towards them. In fact, she was grateful. That had been a traumatizing wake-up call, but it certainly made her realise that she had been a total spoilt brat. Sometimes it takes a huge event like that to make one change.

For Sophia, instead of wallowing in anger and thoughts of revenge, she became more self aware. She may have transferred schools, but she always kept track of the Elite Five. She saw how much they achieved, and how tight they were as friends. They were the ones with power, or rather, would grow into power. Their own power.

As for herself, she always used borrowed power. She had always flaunted her parents' wealth and power to get what she wanted, and everyone always indulged her. No one dared to go against her as her parents would punish them otherwise. It wasn't rocket science to figure out why she had been like that before.

If it wasn't for Kyle, she would probably have turned out to be the most selfish and spoilt prima donna that felt that the world owed her everything. A destructive person. She was already down that path when Kyle smashed it, creating a new one. She chose to take a different path, and she was glad for it.

"Sophia? What are you doing? Come on!"

She turned, to see Ren rushing up at her, "We're going to be late if you keep spacing out like that. Come on!" Sophia followed Ren, deep in thought.