Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 132: Hallway Drama
RIRIRIRIRING!
The clanging bell shattered the quiet intimacy of their corridor. Eastiel’s face fell for a split second, an unmistakable flash of disappointment crossing his features before he could school them. The spell was broken. Their illicit, skipping-class date was being forcibly adjourned by the tyranny of the schedule.
Cecilia, however, didn’t react to the bell. She simply turned her head to observe the sudden eruption of life as classroom doors flew open and students spilled into the halls like a liberated river, their chatter and laughter rising into a chaotic din. Some hurried toward dormitories, others toward club rooms or practice fields.
As the tide of bodies flowed around them, she leaned back against the cool metal of a bank of lockers, her posture relaxed. She looked up at Eastiel, who was trying and failing to look unaffected, and took a quiet pleasure in the blush he couldn’t quite manage to banish from his cheeks and the tips of his ears.
She wondered if the real Eastiel was simply good at concealing his reactions, or if they had always been this transparent and she, in her younger years, had just been too preoccupied, too dense, to see the signs.
Or...
Because in the real world, the stakes were different. Everything was layered with politics, duty, ancient bonds, and mortal peril. Perhaps she had been more pragmatic, her focus splintered by survival. And he... he had been hardened by kingship and grief, his expressions guarded by a crown.
So maybe, in that life, nothing ever felt this simple, this glaringly obvious.
"East," she said, her voice cutting through his internal flailing. "What are you going to do after this?"
Eastiel froze for a split second, then forced his shoulders into a semblance of casualness. "I’m... going to my elemental training. Advanced Practicals."
"Oh."
A silence settled between them, but it was a bubble within the storm of hallway noise. Around them, students bustled, but their eyes kept darting toward them. Was the campus bully cornering another poor nerd? the glances seemed to ask.
Wait—that wasn’t just any nerd. That was Cecilia Araceli, the top student in their year. And the bully? That was Eastiel Edengold, the elemental magic prodigy from one of the most prestigious noble clans.
And the vibe between them...
Cecilia reached out and gave the untucked hem of his uniform shirt a gentle tug.
The effect was immediate and devastating. Eastiel faltered, his knees going subtly weak as if she’d yanked a hidden support beam. He stared down at her fingers on his shirt, then up at her face, his composure cracking.
"East," she said, her voice a low, coaxing melody just for him. "Can you skip elemental training and hang out with me?"
"Sure."
The word shot out of him like a bullet, too fast, too loud. It was almost a bark.
Fuck! He screamed internally. It came out way too eager! You sound desperate, you idiot!
The few students within earshot, who had been pretending not to listen, now openly stared, their expressions shifting from curiosity to pure bewilderment.
Why was the top student nerd the one asking the infamous bully to skip his elite training...?
And more confusingly...
Why did the bully just stiffly agree to whatever she asked, standing there looking utterly flustered, like he was the one being bullied?!
Cecilia smiled with a pleased curve of her lips. Her messy bun bobbed slightly as she nodded. "Cool. So... what do kids usually do when they skip? Do they just... walk around the school?"
"No," Eastiel said, but his face paled a shade as he admitted it.
He’d brought her on this aimless stroll precisely because he’d been frantically trying to think of something, anything remotely ’fun’ to do, only to waste the entire period in a panic and let the bell trap him.
In his defense, she’d seemed perfectly content just walking and talking! But he’d boasted. He’d promised fun. And now he was exposed as a fraud.
Ah! Stupid!
But what did girls like to do? Did they like... playing balls—No, that was for him and his idiot friends. She wasn’t just another boy! He needed to think! Come on, brain, you’re supposed to be good at strategy!
A desperate idea sparked. "I know a cool place," Eastiel declared, forcing his voice into a semblance of confident nonchalance.
"Really?" Cecilia blinked, her interest seeming genuine. "Show me."
A surge of triumph made him beam, but he clamped down on it instantly, schooling his face back into a cooler, more collected mask. He couldn’t look too eager.
But then the doubt came crashing back. Was his idea of a ’cool place’ just going to be lame to her? What if it was stupid?
Fuck. Fucking fuck.
"Let’s go," he said aloud, his tone flat, while his heart performed a series of frantic, terrified leaps off a cliff. He turned, committing to the plunge.
Cecilia fell into step beside him, matching his pace. They’d only taken a few steps into the main flow of traffic when her shoulder lightly bumped against someone coming the other way.
"Ah!"
A high, delicate yelp cut through the hallway noise. From the soft, almost incidental contact, the girl stumbled sideways, her books scattering across the polished stone floor with a dramatic clatter. The sound drew immediate attention. A small crowd of students slowed, creating a ring of silent spectators.
Cecilia’s eyes, which had been warm and amused just moments before, cooled by several degrees, turning the color of frost on a windowpane.
This girl.
Of course. The logic of this fabricated world was settling into place. Arzhen was here. So it was inevitable that she would be here too.
Ruby.
That was when, from two completely different points in the crowded hallway, two figures began wading through the sea of students with single-minded intensity.
Arzhen, his handsome features set in a stormy scowl, moved directly close. Nikolas, emanating a colder, more contained fury, cut a path with his silent authority.
They arrived at the scene in near-perfect sync.
Nikolas instantly dropped to one knee beside Ruby, his hands hovering, his voice a low, urgent murmur. "Are you hurt?"
Arzhen, however, did not kneel. He planted himself squarely between the fallen Ruby and Cecilia, his body a rigid, protective wall. His eyes, usually so controlled, blazed with undisguised anger as they locked onto Cecilia.
"What’s your problem, huh?" he hissed, the accusation sharp and meant to cut.
Ah.
Ahhh... 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
The sheer cliche of the situation washed over Cecilia. The orchestrated stumble, the twin white knights arriving on cue, the public confrontation dripping with juvenile drama...
A wave of secondhand embarrassment washed through her.
In the real world, their conflicts were carved in blood, betrayal, and actual consequence. Here, it was reduced to this. A hallway showdown over a faked trip.
So cringe!
And to remember she once loved this man...
She wanted to cover her face and disappear into the ground!
Goddamnit, System! Can’t you hire a better school drama writer?
