Chapter 4: The Bullies

Liam’s P.O.V

Before I could ask Mia if she knew Elijah—or how much she actually knew about him—she glanced over at me again, her tone casual yet her words were anything but.

“You probably shouldn’t have used your old name,” she said.

I blinked. “What?”

“When you introduced yourself,” she clarified, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You said Tanner, right? You should’ve said Novak. People notice things like that around here.”

I laughed under my breath, but it came out more awkward than amused. “Yeah, I… forgot. Still not used to it.”

Mia gave me a look that wasn’t judgmental exactly, but there was a flicker of something behind her eyes. “You might want to get used to it. It’s easier that way.”

“Easier how?” I asked, half-smiling. “I didn’t think it mattered.”

But the way she hesitated made it seem like it did. She opened her mouth, then closed it, like she was weighing what she could say. Finally, she just smiled again—that same polite, careful smile she’d used when I mentioned the mansion. “Just trust me,” she said softly. “It’s better.”

Before I could push the question, a voice cut through the hallway.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the new kid.”

I turned and saw three boys standing at the far end of the hall, walking toward us with swagger that only comes from entitlement. They were the ones from before, I remembered vaguely. They had been the ones at class who were looking at me with those weird smirks and snickers. And the closer they got, this strange feeling in my gut intensified, like something was about to go very wrong.

The one in the middle had slicked-back blond hair and a smirk that didn’t move even when he spoke. “Didn’t anyone teach you about introductions here?” he asked.

I frowned. “Pretty sure I just did that in class.”

His smirk widened. “Not to us.”

Mia’s shoulders stiffened next to me, and I felt her hand twitch at her side like she wanted to step in but thought better of it.

The boy stopped a few inches away from me, and his friends flanked him like bodyguards. “You’re new,” he said. “Which means you don’t know how things work yet.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Enlighten me.”

He leaned in just slightly, enough for me to catch a faint whiff of expensive cologne. “You pay your respects,” he said. “To us.”

I stared at him for a beat, waiting for the punchline. When it didn’t come, I let out a short laugh. “Are you serious?”

The smirk didn’t waver. “Completely.”

I glanced at Mia, who was watching the scene unfold with a tight jaw. Noah stood a little behind her, eyes flicking nervously between me and the three boys.

“Let me guess,” I said. “You’re the welcoming committee?”

“Something like that,” the blond one replied. “We run this place. Our dads own it, technically. So, new kids?” He spread his arms like he was presenting something obvious. “They play by our rules. Do what we say, when we say it. It keeps things… orderly.”

I couldn’t help it; I laughed again. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

At that, the blond boy’s expression hardened, then smoothed back into that same smug calm. I bet he wasn’t used to people not kissing the ground he walked on. “Watch your mouth, Tanner,” he hissed.

I stiffened a little. Tanner, I noticed. Not Novak. I didn’t know what to make of that, but he’d said it like a challenge, like he knew exactly what he was doing, choosing that name.

The third boy, quiet until now, cracked his knuckles. “Because if you don’t, we’ll make sure you’re gone by tomorrow morning.”

“Gone?” I repeated, taking a step closer. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” the tall one said, leaning in close enough that I could see the menace in his eyes, “you either do what we tell you, or you get thrown out. Simple.”

I gave a small laugh and shook my head. “You guys seriously believe this crap?”

“Watch your mouth, newbie,” the buzz-cut guy snapped. “You don’t talk to us like that.”

I didn’t understand what the hell he was saying, but all I knew was that I didn’t like his tone or the way his eyes lingered, like he knew all my secrets. Which he didn’t. Because who the hell was he to know me, anyway?

I took a small step forward. “And what exactly do you want me to do to ‘pay my respects’? Bow?”

His friends chuckled, low and ugly.

“Nah,” the blond one said. “We’re not asking for much. Maybe just… carry our stuff when we need it. Run an errand or two. Make yourself useful. That’s how you survive here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’ll pass.” I looked at Mia and Noah. “Come on.”

As I tried to sidestep them, one of the boys—the tallest, with dark hair and arms that screamed he spent too much time in the gym—reached out and grabbed me by the shoulder. His grip was rough, tight enough to make my muscles tense.

“Where you going, new kid?” he said, voice low. “We’re not done talking.”

I turned to face him, feeling the heat rise in my chest. “Get your hand off me.”

The blond one tilted his head, studying me like I was a particularly interesting specimen. “You might want to be careful,” he said softly. “This school doesn’t take kindly to people who don’t know their place.”

Mia stepped forward then, her voice sharper than I’d heard it before. “Leave him alone, Erick.”

The blond boy—Erick, apparently—glanced her way, and for a brief second, something like caution or a bit of fear flickered in his eyes. Before I could think too much about it, it was gone already, replaced by that lazy smirk again.

“Just giving him a warm welcome,” Erick said. “Isn’t that what you wanted, Mia?”

“Are we done here?” I grumbled. “Because we have places to be.” Not that I knew fuck-all about this school. I just wanted to get this over with. Seriously, just my luck to get in trouble on my first day in school.

I tried to shrug his hands off me, but he only held on tighter.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said with a cruel glint in his eyes.