My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 142: Overboard

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Adrien stood in the quiet bathroom, not saying anything for what felt like an eternity. The muffled beat of party music still drifted in from outside, while Kris’s words settled uncomfortably in his mind like icy water. He had braced himself for some nonsense, petty games, or an embarrassing prank.

But "ruination"? That was a whole different ball game.

His pulse raced as he took a slow breath, running a weary hand through his hair. "Fine," he finally said, his voice heavy with something darker than just anger. "They won’t take you down with them. I’ll make sure of it...money, connections, whatever it takes. But you need to tell me everything you know. All of it."

Kris managed a small smile, almost relieved, like hearing him promise that was the toughest part. She moved to the countertop, setting her drink down with a soft clink and turning back to face him.

"You know Vanessa," she started, her arms wrapping around her waist as if she needed to hold herself together. "She struts around like she owns the place...every hallway, every classroom, everyone. For years, we just accepted it. She’s the school’s cool girl, the one everyone wants to be. And she acted like the rest of us were just background noise."

Adrien couldn’t argue with that. Vanessa’s ego was like a planet all its own.

Kris’s voice simmered with a resentment that had built up well before tonight. "Shannon and I got tired of it. Tired of being her little fan club while she stomped all over people for fun. So we tried something different. We nudged her a little. Pushed the right buttons. Dropped hints here and there to get her thinking about a prank on Noah for revenge."

Adrien frowned. "On Faye?"

Kris nodded, a flicker of guilt crossing her face. "She already couldn’t stand Noah. You know, because you started being nice to him and stuff? We just needed to plant the idea. Honestly, we thought she’d do something silly—spill a drink on him, push him into the pool again, start a random rumor. Something small. Something that would blow up in her face and maybe show everyone who she really is."

Adrien let out a slow breath. He could almost see the reasoning behind it. Almost.

"But then things took a turn," Kris said, her voice dropping to a softer, more uneasy tone. "After the pool incident, the school board and even the police started keeping an eye on Vanessa. One wrong move and she could end up suspended or worse. So she became stressed, paranoid, competitive. And when she got the idea to go after Noaj again... she didn’t think small."

Adrien’s jaw tightened, tension coiling in his shoulders. "What did she come up with?"

Kris swallowed hard, her gaze dropping to the tiled floor, clearly hating that she had to say it. "Something that went beyond a prank. She even got the boys in on it."

Adrien felt his pulse race, an angry flare shooting up his spine, but he forced himself to stay calm, to listen, to not blow up until he had all the details.

"When Shannon and I caught wind of it," Kris said, shaking her head, "we backed off right away. We didn’t want to be part of anything like that. We were trying to expose Vanessa’s ego, not help her destroy someone completely."

A heavy silence hung in the room, thick and suffocating.

Adrien’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

He felt like screaming. Another part of him wanted to bolt out of the bathroom and tear the party apart until he found Noah. But he stood there, breath a little shaky as he forced himself to focus.

"You should’ve come to me sooner," he muttered finally, his voice low and dangerous. "You should’ve said something before she went through with it."

Kris flinched, pulling her shoulders inward. "I know. I’m really sorry. I just... I didn’t think she’d actually do it...plus I didn’t know if I could really trust you not to be in on the plan too. When I realized the plan was already in motion, I panicked. I didn’t know who to turn to. If Vanessa found out I spilled the beans, she’d ruin me too."

Adrien’s expression hardened, his gaze sharp as ice. "She won’t touch you or Shannon. I’ll make sure of that. But you need to tell me what they planned. Everything. Right now."

Kris nodded slowly, swallowing hard as she prepared to speak.

And Adrien braced himself, because, for the first time that night,

he was genuinely scared of the answer.

Kris took a breath that trembled all the way down her spine, her fingers gripping the edge of the counter like it was the only thing keeping her steady. Adrien waited, barely—his whole body tense, each second stretching painfully as she fought to find her voice.

"I heard the plan," she finally whispered, her voice barely audible. "Earlier today. Jace was on the phone with someone... I didn’t catch who. But I overheard him in the hallway by the locker rooms."

Adrien’s eyebrows knitted together. "Overheard what exactly?"

Kris hesitated, swallowing hard again. "They were planning to... to..."

Adrien stepped closer, the intensity in his gaze pinning her in place. "Kris," he urged, low and tight, "just say it. Now. There’s no time to waste."

She flinched at the edge in his voice, but it pushed the words out of her. "They were going to get some guy to—" Her voice cracked before she rushed the rest out. "—to take...um, advantage of Noah. Record it. And post it online."

Everything froze. The music, the laughter, the splashing from the pool, it all faded as if someone had just ripped a hole in the night.

Adrien felt his blood go hot and cold all at once, a roar filling his ears.

Kris kept talking, her words spilling out, desperate and broken. "Not only for the school to see. They wanted to leak it everywhere. Social media, group chats, maybe even those awful rumor sites that rich kids use. They wanted to ruin his relationship with Ethan, his friendships, his family—everything. His whole life."

Adrien’s jaw tightened to the point where it looked chiseled from stone. The muscles in his neck strained as he tried—unsuccessfully, to breathe through the fury blazing inside him like wildfire.

Kris hugged herself, shrinking from the storm of anger that was building around him. "I know I’m not perfect," she whispered. "I gossip. I follow trends. I hang with the wrong crowd. I get it. But rape?" Her voice broke, tears glistening in her eyes. "I’d never just sit by and let that happen. Not when I could stop it. I couldn’t pretend I didn’t hear or notice shit like this."

Adrien’s hands tightened into fists, knuckles turning white. He felt his pulse pounding at the base of his skull, thick with a rage he’d never known before, if ever.

The thought of Noah...his Noah—scared, trapped, hurt, recorded—

No.

No.

He couldn’t even let his mind finish that thought.

He lifted his head, his breath shaky for a moment before he found a deadly calm.

"Where. Is .He?" His voice was so low that Kris barely caught it, but the danger in it made her tense up.

Kris wiped a tear away with trembling fingers. He was going to make sure everyone who touched him paid for it.