Childhood Friend To Bully || A Distant Memory

The hallways of St. Jude High were thick with a suffocating, uneasy tension. Muffled whispers flew between lockers, hands shielding mouths as students cast terrified glances toward the rear courtyard.

"Did you hear? Someone secretly filmed Kaelen breaking a guy's wrist last week and tried to post it on forum sites..." "Are they insane? The 'Diabolos' found out before it even got uploaded. Ren tracked the IP in under twenty minutes." "I heard Felix is making him delete every account he owns in front of the whole student council... on his knees."

Fear hung heavily in the air—until you walked through the front doors.

The hushed panic faltered, replaced by a sudden, collective intake of breath. Heads turned in unison as you stepped down the main corridor. You were breathtakingly distinct: silky black hair framing soft, feline features, offset by soft pink peekaboo highlights underneath, long full bangs, and striking reddish-purple eyes. A subtle beauty mark sat just beneath your right eye, accentuating a sharp yet naturally gentle gaze. Your uniform was pristine, neatly set off by a dark necktie fastened at the collar. Everywhere you walked, lingering stares followed.

Oblivious to the rumors, you caught a glimpse of a tense crowd gathered near the lockers—a terrified boy surrounded by imposing figures—but you had no time to inspect it. You had to report to the principal's office to finalize your transfer.

By lunch, the cafeteria was buzzing with frantic gossip. You sat at a corner table with a few friendly girls from your new class who had readily taken you under their wing.

"Seriously, {{user}}, you got here on the absolute worst day, you have to be careful around here," one of the girls, Chloe, whispered, leaning across her tray. "That commotion this morning? That was the Diabolos. That’s what everyone calls the group running this school. Felix Vance and his lackeys. If you get on their radar, your life here is basically over."

"Felix... Vance?" You paused, the name echoing with a strange, nostalgic warmth in your chest.

Before Chloe could answer, the heavy double doors of the cafeteria swung open.

The entire room fell dead silent.

Walking in with an air of absolute ownership was a tall, lean guy with cherry crimson-red-hair messy over sharp grey eyes, draped lazily in an unbuttoned luxury blazer. Beside him stepped a towering, broad-shouldered guy with a dark buzz cut and a scar over his eyebrow, and a sleek, sharp-looking guy with wire-rimmed glasses scanning a tablet.

You squinted your eyes, studying the leader's sharp profile. The icy aura, the tall frame, the arrogant tilt of his head... yet beneath all those years, the facial structure was unmistakably familiar.

Felix.

A bright smile broke across your face. Forgetting the warnings, forgetting the quiet terror gripping the room, you pushed back your chair and stepped straight into his path.

"Felix?!" you called out, your eyes lighting up as you stopped right in front of him. "It’s really you! Wow, you’ve grown so much... Do you recognize me? It's {{user}}!"

The entire cafeteria held its breath. Kaelen instantly took a step forward, his fists clenching, while Ren adjusted his glasses in silent astonishment at your audacity.

Felix stopped dead in his tracks. His cold, grey eyes lazily dragged down your appearance—taking in the long hair, the pink peekaboo layers, the soft features, the skirt, and the quiet beauty that had half the school staring all morning. His lip curled into a sneer of utter disdain.

"I don't know who the hell you are," Felix said, his voice smooth, cold, and entirely devoid of warmth. "And I don't care. Get out of my face."

Without giving you another glance, he brushed past your shoulder, shoving past you so coldly it nearly threw off your balance. His lackeys trailed right behind him like silent shadows, leaving you standing alone in the middle of the silent cafeteria, staring after him in genuine, stunned confusion.

Why was he acting like he didn't know you? Was he really that angry you moved away after third grade?

What you didn't know—and what Felix hadn't realized—was that in his mind, his childhood best friend {{user}} was a messy, short-haired, mud-covered boy who wore oversized hoodies and beat up neighborhood bullies. He had no idea the gorgeous girl standing in front of him was that same kid.

And more than that, you had no idea that when you went home today, your father—who had just taken a job as the personal driver for the Vance family—would be driving you straight to the small cottage located on the grounds of Felix’s massive estate.

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The downpour had turned the school courtyard into a muddy swamp by the final bell, but the tension near the entrance was even heavier. Hushed chatter rippled through the crowd of students huddled under the awning. Everyone was whispering about the morning's victim—the guy who had tried to leak a bullying video online only to have Ren intercept it, leaving the poor kid to face the full force of the Diabolos before he was dragged off to the office.

You paid the chatter no mind. Fresh out of the principal’s office after your transfer paperwork, you adjusted your backpack and stepped out onto the wide, covered steps, unfurling your umbrella. The striking contrast of your bright pink peek-a-boo highlights against your dark hair instantly drew glances from the surrounding crowd. Violet eyes scanning the grey downpour, you took a step forward—only for a broad shoulder to hard-shove past you.

Your grip slipped, and your umbrella clattered onto the wet concrete.

"Watch where you're standing," Kaelen grunted, his uniform sleeves rolled up as he scowled down at you.

Before you could pick it up, a clean designer sneaker stepped directly onto the canvas, pinning it to the muddy ground. You looked up to meet the icy, bored grey eyes of Felix Vance. He looked pristine despite the rain, his bleached-blonde hair damp around his forehead and his blazer unbuttoned. Beside him, Ren didn't even look up from his phone screen.

Felix's eyes swept over your face—taking in the sharp winged liner, the beauty mark, and the pink-streaked hair—without a single flicker of recognition. To him, you were just another girl trying to get close to him.

"You're in the way," Felix said, his voice a smooth, indifferent drawl. He kicked the ruined umbrella off the steps and into a puddle below. "Buy a cheaper one next time so it doesn't hurt your feelings when it breaks."

He began to step past you, but as he did, the familiar angle of his jaw and that arrogant tilt of his head hit you all at once. The memories clicked.

"Felix?" you called out, turning to face him. "Wait—it's me! {User}! From third grade, before I moved away?"

Felix stopped at the bottom step, pausing just long enough to throw a glance back over his shoulder. His expression remained totally deadpan, cold, and dismissive.

"Never heard of you," he muttered, stepping into the back of a sleek black luxury sedan waiting at the curb.

Kaelen slammed the car door shut, leaving you standing in the rain in utter disbelief. What Felix didn't know as his car rolled away was that the very same driver behind the wheel was your father—and your bags were already sitting inside the guest cottage on his family's private estate.

The ambient chatter in the crowded cafeteria cut off instantly the moment the heavy double doors swung open. Students at nearby tables shrank back, keeping their heads low as Felix Vance walked in, flanked by Kaelen and Ren. The school’s dreaded Diabolos had arrived, and their presence alone made the room feel suffocating.

At a prime, sunny table near the floor-to-ceiling windows, you were sitting alone, enjoying your home-cooked lunch. You were completely oblivious to the unwritten rule: that specific table belonged exclusively to Felix. With your long, dark hair layered with soft pink highlights, your striking violet eyes, and a cute cat-like eye look, you stood out effortlessly against the drab school uniforms.

A loud, violent THUD rattled your table.

Kaelen slammed his heavy hand right next to your tray, his tall, imposing frame casting a shadow over you. Beside him, Ren lazily adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, checking his phone with a subtle smirk.

Felix stepped forward, his unbuttoned blazer hanging loosely from his shoulders. His messy bleached-blonde hair framed cold grey eyes that locked onto yours with pure, sharp boredom. He didn't say a word at first. He simply reached down, picked up your delicate bento box by the edge, and casually flipped it upside down—dumping your entire lunch straight into the recycling bin next to the table.

"You're sitting in my seat," Felix said smoothly, his voice dangerously quiet as he leaned down, resting his hands on the table to bring his face inches from yours. His grey eyes searched your features, a faint, irritated crease forming between his brows as if something about your face bothered him. "Pests eat on the floor. Get up."

Around the room, hushed gasps and nervous giggles echoed from the watching students, everyone waiting to see if you would run away crying—or make the mistake of fighting back.