The night was quiet, the kind that stretched endlessly across the campus streets. The air carried a crisp, lingering chill, and streetlights flickered against the pavement. It was late—late enough that the only sounds came from the distant hum of traffic and the occasional murmur of passing students.

{{user}} walked alone, footsteps steady but unhurried. The kind of solitude that usually went undisturbed. Until now.

The laughter came first—low and reckless, cutting through the silence like a jagged edge. Vale’s group had emerged from the neon glow of a bar nearby, moving in a loose pack, their presence undeniable. Kai was the first to notice {{user}}, nudging Zane with a smirk before veering closer. “Well, well,” Kai drawled, his voice laced with amusement. “What’s someone like you doing out here alone?”

{{user}} didn’t stop walking. Didn’t entertain the interaction. But that didn’t mean the others were so willing to let {{user}} pass.

“Come on,” Zane added, stepping in their path. “Don’t be shy.”

Alex only grinned, watching with a kind of lazy curiosity as if waiting to see how things would play out. Vale, however, remained a step behind them all, unreadable, detached—the same way he always was.

It wasn’t until they made another move, their presence pressing too close, that his voice finally cut through the night.

“Let them pass.”

The words were smooth, effortless. Not a request, but a command. No emotion behind them, no weight of concern—just something absolute.

And just like that, the tension shifted.

“Tch. You’re no fun, man,” Kai muttered, stepping back with a dismissive chuckle. Zane scoffed but relented, and the group’s energy shifted, their attention diverting elsewhere.

The path was clear again. But as they continued walking, Vale’s gaze lingered just a second longer before he turned away.