Amanda, Bea, Delvin, and Flynn couldn't help exchanging glances as they waited for Casadin to finally speak. They were all gathered in the Rebels Club room, tense with anticipation.
Evadne wasn't with them, she was currently at the swimming team's club room.
"Bro, what is it that's so important you had to call us all here?" Delvin finally asked, impatient from the suspense.
Casadin let out a long sigh. His usual smirk was absent, replaced by an expression none of them often saw, seriousness.
"You all know how important Vee is to me," he began, voice steady. "And all of you are important to me, too. That's why I want to tell you this myself before you hear it from someone else and start thinking differently of her."
The group leaned in instinctively, their expressions cautious.
"The truth is…" Casadin hesitated, running a hand through his hair. "We don't really know how to define our relationship right now. And honestly, we've stopped trying to. But we've decided, me, Vee, and Hades, that we'll be together."
Silence.
Four jaws practically hit the floor.
"Wait, bro," Flynn blinked. "Does that mean you like guys now too?"
"What?! Hell no!" Casadin immediately barked, defensive. "I'm straight, you idiot."
"But you just said you and Hades are together?" Flynn frowned in confusion.
"Shit, this is so hard to explain!" Casadin groaned, collapsing onto the nearest chair. "No, Hades and I aren't together. You're crazy. If I ever liked a guy, it'd be you." He shot Flynn a cheeky wink.
Flynn immediately looked offended. "You better not be joking. I've got standards." He said, making everyone laugh.
"What I meant was, Princess and I are together. And she and Hades are together."
"So… an open relationship?" Amanda asked, brows raised.
"No!" Casadin groaned louder. "Guys, can we not try to label it? I don't even know what to call this mess."
"Love triangle?" Delvin offered.
"That's not how love triangles work," Bea interjected with a slight frown. "In a love triangle, Person A likes Person B, who likes Person C, who likes Person A. Full circle. That's why it's called a triangle."
"So what is it then?" Flynn asked, intrigued.
"An angle relationship," Bea replied proudly.
"Wait, what?" Flynn blinked again.
"Yeah. A and B love each other. A and C love each other. But B and C don't like each other. It's not a triangle, it's an angle," Bea explained. "This is how you use math in daily life."
"That's… actually witty," Amanda said, grinning.
They all laughed, the tension breaking for a moment.
"Guys!" Casadin snapped. "I'm being serious."
"And?" the four chorused, still clearly not getting why he was so worried.
Casadin scratched his head awkwardly. "I just… I thought maybe you'd be weirded out by it. Or maybe… judge Vee."
Amanda's teasing smile faded. Her voice softened. "Did you really think we'd cringe or turn on her?"
Casadin nodded slightly.
"Look," Amanda said, voice firmer now. "We didn't become friends with Vee just because of you. We chose her as our friend because we wanted to. Because she fits with us. We all understand each other, remember?"
She glanced at the others. All of them nodded in agreement.
"And knowing Vee?" Amanda continued. "Even if you didn't tell us this today, even if we saw her kissing Hades right in front of us next week, we wouldn't think badly of her. Because we know you already know about it. And if it's happening, then it's because in some twisted way that only the three of you understand, you allowed it."
Casadin exhaled deeply, but Amanda wasn't done.
"Vee's the kind of person who'd rather hurt you with the truth once than lie to you over and over. Remember what happened last Friday?"
Casadin grimaced slightly. Of course he remembered.
"Amanda's right, Cas," Bea chimed in. "Don't worry about us. You're not going to sway our opinions of her that easily. But you should worry about yourself."
He looked up at her, puzzled.
"Because if you and Vee ever fight?" Bea added with a smirk, "We're not automatically taking your side. We might share a drink with you and hear you out, but don't expect us to badmouth her. She's our friend, too."
Casadin could only let out a breathless laugh, one filled with quiet relief.
"But thanks, bro," Delvin said sincerely. "Even though we're technically not part of your relationship, you still considered how we'd feel. That means a lot."
"So… is he gonna join us for lunch from now on?" Flynn asked.
"Of course not. Why would he?" Casadin looked mildly horrified.
"I mean, since you two are both seeing Vee, isn't that kinda expected?" Flynn shrugged.
"No! That would be awkward as hell. And he hangs out with snakes. I might lose my appetite," Casadin muttered.
"Same here," the four chimed in at once.
They all burst into laughter.
Casadin was just relieved. Despite how tangled his relationship with Evadne and Hades was, his friends understood, and accepted him. That was enough for now.
By the end of the day, however, the entire NYE campus was buzzing with the scandal in the SBO office. News of what happened to Cieryl had spread like wildfire. Her clique, once untouchable, was now the subject of whispers and scrutiny. Her friends weren't spared either, calls from furious parents came pouring in. Each call was the same, scolding them for provoking Hades.
Now, their family businesses were at risk of losing affiliation with Falcon Empire.
Worse, they'd been warned, if they couldn't patch things up with Hades, they'd be disowned.
Hades: Baby, are you home already?
Hades was walking toward the school parking lot, his fingers busy tapping out a message on his phone.
Wife: Nope. At the mall with Cas.
He scowled instinctively.
Of course. This was the price of having her. He had to bite down his pride, even if it tasted like ash.
Hades: I'll be in the Falcon building until nine for training. Can I see you tonight after?
"Bro!" a voice called out sharply.
Hades looked up. Alaric and the others were waiting for him near his car.
His brow arched.
"Did you really have to do that to us?" Alaric asked. "We only did what we did earlier because we thought you were still mad at Evadne. Is it really worth it to end our friendship… over a girl?"
A grin slowly formed on Hades' face.
"Friendship?" he echoed, voice low and mocking. "Did we even have that?"
Alaric faltered.
"What was it you said before? You only became my friend because of Casadin. And you chose me over him when we had that falling out, because of my Falcon name. Then when my father disowned me, I became nothing but a deadweight to you."
Their faces paled. The grin on Hades' lips widened cruelly.
"What?" he asked. "Did I miss anything else?"
His gaze landed coldly on Cieryl.
"And how did you describe me in bed again, Cieryl? Boring, wasn't it?" His voice was sharp, venom-laced. "Did it never occur to you that maybe you never satisfied me? That I had to finish myself off after you passed out?"
Gasps came from the group.
Then he turned to Selena. "Was I boring in bed, Selena?"
Selena's eyes went wide in horror as the others turned to look at her.
A beat later, Hades's phone vibrated.
Wife: Okay. But only until 10 PM. I need to sleep early. We still have school tomorrow.
Evadne's message softened the tension in his chest. For a brief moment, his scowl lessened.
Then he looked back at the group, his smile gone.
"Let's cut the crap," Hades said coldly. "You only ever come to me because I'm a Falcon. I already said it earlier, I don't need deadweights."
They stood frozen under the weight of his voice.
"But since I'm in a generous mood," he continued, "I'll give you one last chance. Don't expect friendship, I don't need that from the likes of you."
His voice sharpened like a blade.
"You want the power attached to my name? Then earn it. Prove yourselves."
He stepped closer. His presence was suffocating.
"If you can't complete the task Evadne gave you properly, then you have no right to the seat at the table that I gave you. She may not want puppets. But I do."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"But you'll be the ones to tie that string to your own wrists. If you don't want to be used, get out of my way."
Hades opened the driver's side door of his car, then glanced one last time at the so-called "friends" behind him.
"See the difference between you and me?" His voice was cold, venomous. "I'm adopted. My father disowned me. And yet, I still hold power in the Falcon Empire. But you, just the threat of being disowned has you shaking like cowards. Because once your families cut you off… you're nothing. Nobodies."
He smiled, wicked and cruel.
"And you had the audacity to call me the deadweight? Your family's future? It depends on a single call from me."
Then he got into the car and drove off, leaving behind Cieryl and the others to stew in the wreckage of their crumbling alliances. Each of them now consumed with one thought, how to survive.
"YOU BITCH!"
Cieryl suddenly snapped, lunging at Selena in a blind fit of rage. "You slept with Hades?!"
Her hand struck Selena hard across the face, and then she clawed at her hair.
But Selena, who had spent too long trying to please her, trying to avoid offending Hades, didn't back down. Not anymore. Not now, when Cieryl had lost all her power.
Selena yanked her hair back viciously. The two of them crashed onto the pavement of the parking lot, screaming and snarling.
Selena rolled on top of her, straddling Cieryl, and slapped her, once, then again, and again.
"So what?! You were screwing Thatcher too!" Selena's voice trembled in fury. "You think I wanted to sleep with Hades?! I had to give him something after you forced me to edit that video to screw over Evadne! And what happened? I'm the only one who took the fall!"
Another slap.
"I didn't even use the fact that you were cheating on him because he already knew! You thought you had him wrapped around your finger?! No, Cieryl. He's been playing all of us. You, me, everyone. And Evadne? He's always wanted her. Why do you think he pulled support from my career? Because of her. You thought it was because of Jupiter Falcon? Wrong. That was him. All him."
She laughed bitterly.
"Do you even know whose name he moans when he finishes? It's not yours, bitch, it's Evadne's."
Each word was laced with weeks of bottled-up anger and humiliation. She slapped Cieryl again, harder this time, until her own hand throbbed from the impact.
People were starting to stare. Students still lingering on campus turned their heads, but no one stepped in. Not even their so-called friends.
And none of them tried to stop the fight.
Finally, Selena stood. She smoothed her clothes, fixed her hair, and looked down at the girl trembling on the pavement.
"So tell us, Cieryl," she said coolly, voice sharp as a blade. "Now that Hades doesn't want you, who are you?"
Cieryl didn't respond. Her breath hitched as she wiped the blood from her lip.
"You were only in the SBO because Hades paid for your VMC slot. We tolerated your bitchy little attitude because he liked you. But now? He doesn't. He doesn't even see you. Your father barely tolerates you, and even if you're related to Evadne, you're not even a Monteverde."
Selena's eyes were merciless.
"Do you really think you still have the right to boss us around? We gave you what you wanted because we didn't want to piss off Hades. That's it."
She took a step back, voice rising.
"Even Thatcher only slept with you because he got off on knowing he was screwing Hades over. That was the thrill for him. But between all of us? You're the most useless. The one with the least to offer."
Then she kicked Cieryl's designer handbag, one of Hades's many gifts, sending it flying across the asphalt.
Without another word, she turned and walked toward her own car.
The others glanced at one another. One by one, they followed.
No one helped Cieryl up.
Because Selena was right.
They had only tolerated her… because of Hades.
And now that he was gone, so was her power.
Cieryl pushed herself up with trembling arms. "Where are you going?!" she shouted after them, voice cracking with desperation.
None of them looked back.
Even Thatcher walked away without a second glance.
"FUCK ALL OF YOU!!!" Cieryl shrieked, no longer caring about her carefully constructed image, no longer pretending to be sweet, perfect, or composed.
The mask had shattered. And everyone saw her for what she truly was.