Westbridge had an unofficial hierarchy.
And everyone knew it.
No one said it out loud.
But everyone adjusted when they walked in.
He didn't walk alone.
Anaya noticed that immediately.
Three boys flanked him like they belonged there — not loud, not flashy. Just… established.
Aarav muttered under his breath, "Ah. So he's one of them."
"One of who?" Anaya asked without looking at him.
"The four."
She almost rolled her eyes. "That's dramatic."
"It's accurate," Aarav replied. "They practically run half the student committees."
She glanced ahead again.
He was laughing at something the tallest one said. The other two were casually scrolling through their phones, but even their silence felt deliberate.
They weren't trying to be intimidating.
They just were.
As they stepped into the central courtyard, conversations dipped slightly.
Not out of fear.
Out of awareness.
One of the boys — sharp jaw, slightly mischievous eyes — noticed Anaya staring.
He leaned toward him and murmured something.
All four of them looked her way.
Not obvious.
Just enough.
Anaya didn't look away.
If they were assessing her, she was assessing back.
The mischievous one spoke first when they crossed paths.
"So this is the legendary rival?"
Legendary?
She raised an eyebrow.
"Legendary?" she repeated flatly.
The tallest one shrugged. "He talks about you."
He shot them a warning glance.
"Not like that," another added lazily. "Relax."
Anaya crossed her arms.
"I hope the stories were accurate."
He looked at her calmly.
"They were."
One of his friends smirked.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
Aarav stepped slightly closer to his sister.
"And who exactly are you four supposed to be?"
The mischievous one offered a mock bow.
"Unofficial student council. Unofficial power structure. Unofficial headache."
"They think they're important," another added dryly.
"We are," the tallest one corrected casually.
Anaya almost smiled.
Confidence without shouting.
She respected that.
Almost.
"Westbridge isn't debate," she said, directing it at him.
"I know," he replied.
"Good."
Because she wasn't planning to lose ground here.
As the group began walking again, one of the boys looked back at Anaya.
"She's not intimidated."
"Obviously not," the tall one replied.
"She's worse," the mischievous one said quietly. "She's calculating."
He didn't deny it.
Because she was.
Across the courtyard, another pair of eyes had been watching the entire exchange.
A girl.
Well-dressed. Perfectly styled. Expression unreadable.
She had noticed the way attention shifted.
The way he looked at Anaya.
Not soft.
But focused.
And she didn't like that.
At all.
She turned slightly, lips pressing into a thin line.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Back in the courtyard, Anaya adjusted her bag again.
"They're annoying," Aarav muttered.
"They're organized," she corrected.
"That's worse."
She glanced once more at the four walking ahead.
Especially him.
Rivalry was one thing.
But this—
This felt different.
Not hostile.
Not friendly.
Just charged.
And Westbridge loved charged dynamics.
It fed on them.
She had entered a campus with unofficial kings.
What she didn't know yet—
Was that she was about to disrupt the balance.