Found Him

Damien's POV 

The heavy oak doors of the auditorium always felt like a trap. I stood in the back hallway, my hand gripping the leather handle of my briefcase so tight the metal corners dig painfully into my palm. My chest feels crushed under a heavy weight, forcing me to take shallow and careful breaths through my nose. 

A Sterling controls the room, Damien. You do not let the room control you.” 

My grandfather's voice continued ringing in my ears, stiff and demanding. I remember the way his grey eyes tracked the slight shake in my fingers at breakfast this morning while I lifted my teacup. One slip up, one crack in my face, and everything falls apart. 

I force my shoulders back and locked my jaws until it ached. It's a mask I've practiced in the mirror for years, with no sign of weakness.

“Are you going to stare at the door all morning, or are we actually going inside?” Sebastian's voice cuts through my thought. 

I looked over at him, he was leaning casually against the wood, hands shoved deep into his pockets, his hair perfectly messy. He threw me a bright, easy smile. 

My throat tightened, afterall he doesn't have anything to worry about, Sabsatian gets to be the charming Vice President while I have to be the ruthless leader. 

I pushed the heavy double doors open, the exact second the woods parted, the loud chatter inside the massive hall died instantly. The sudden silence made the hairs on my arms stand straight. Hundreds of students turned their heads just to look at me, their eyes locked directly onto mine. 

My throat locked up immediately, a familiar suffocating panic rises from my chest, freezing my tongue. If I try to speak right now, I would surely stammer. 

So I do what I always do, fix my gaze straight ahead, forcing my face into a blank, unreadable expression. I walked down the center aisle with my polished shoes clicking confidently against the floor. 

Just get to the seat, I told myself, my heart thumping hard against my ribs. Get there, sit down, and let the assembly start, then you can relax. I kept moving majestically like someone that didn't have anything to worry about. On reaching there, my gaze naturally drops to my usual spot.

Immediately, my boots froze against the floor, someone was sitting in my chair. My mind went entirely blank, heat started gushing to my face. Nobody sits there, it's an unwritten rule everyone had followed since my freshman year. 

Yet there's a boy sitting dead center in the velvet cushion, his arms crossed over his chest like he owned the chair. 

Around him, the students in the surrounding rows had gone completely still. I could feel the shift in the air, the sharp edge of people leaning forward, waiting for the explosion. They wanted to see me tear him apart like I'd always done. 

I stepped closer, stopping right at his side, staring down at the intruder. He had messy black hair and fierce dark eyes that flare with immediate heat the moment our eyes met. His uniform wasn't like the others; his blazers were made of the stiff, cheap material from the scholarship office. Everything about him smells cheap, very cheap. 

He glared up at me, his mouth set in a hard line. He looks like he thoroughly hates me without even knowing my name. 

The silence stretched between us, I wanted to speak, maybe say something to scare him, but my vocal chords had seized. What do I say? How do I fix this? 

My face hardens into a deep scrowl, my eyebrows drawing together—the only defense mechanism my body knows when the panic threatens to break through.

I was about speaking when my eyes dropped to his hands which were gripping the edges of the velvet seat. The air flowing through my nose trapped somewhere between my lungs and chest. 

Right there, on the pale skin between his thumb and index finger, was a tiny crescent-shaped mark. A fresh smudge of dark ink was stained directly over it. Everything around me seemed to vanish instantly. 

It's him! He's the one!

A violent jolt hits my chest while my heart hammered furiously against my ribs. My eyes kept tracing the exact curve of that mark, I know it better than I know my own self. Out of all the people in the world, out of all the places he could be, he is standing right here in front of me? How could that be?

A desperate, wild heat flares up in my throat. My fingers loosened on my briefcase. I wanted to reach out, I wanted to tell him everything. 

But as my lips parted, my throat completely locked up. My grandfather’s ruthless words slammed back into my head like a physical blow…A Sterling does not show vulnerability, do not disgrace our name.” 

If these wealthy predatory students see a scholarship kid publicly defy me without consequence, they will hunt him down by lunchtime. They will ruin his life just to win my approval. And I can't let that happen, seeing this mark on him, absolutely NO!

So I have to protect him, I have to wrap him in my authority where nobody else can reach him. That's the best thing to do now. 

I forced my voice out, praying it doesn't shake. “You,” It came out gravelly and ice-cold. 

His dark eyes narrowed, the defiance in them burning brighter. “Me” 

“What's your name?” I asked 

“Leo Vance” he said 

Leo. The name vibrated in my chest, instantly shifting the gravity of the room. I kept my expression rigid and angry, hiding the tremor starting in my hands behind my back. 

I looked at him, then down at the plush velvet cushion beneath him. I needed an excuse to get him into my office, something that would satisfy the crowd watching us. 

“You're in my seat, Vance,” I said, my voice flat and dead. 

He doesn't even flinch, he just shrugged, his shoulders moving causally. “It's a seat. Your name isn't written on it, is it?” 

A sharp gasp echoed from the girls in the next row, my stomach dropped into a hollow pit. He had no idea how dangerous this place is for anyone without a bank account. He is painting a massive target on his own forehead. I have to shut this down right now. 

“This academy runs on rules,” my voice turning harsh and heavy “Since you seem to have trouble understanding how boundaries work on your very first day, we are going to have a proper talk about it.” 

Leo’s jaw clenched, a small muscle jumping in his cheek. "I didn't do anything wrong. I just sat down."

"You will report to the Student Council office directly after the final bell today," I commanded, cutting him off before his voice could draw more attention. "Do not be late."

Leo’s jaw dropped, his fierce look fracturing into pure shock and bitterness. The raw resentment burning in his eyes made my chest ache. He thinks I’m picking on him. He thinks I’m an arrogant, wealthy bully using a piece of furniture to stomp on a scholarship kid.

It tears a hole straight through me, but I can't look back. I turned on my heel, my posture as stiff as stone. 

"Sebastian, take my seat. I will sit in the row behind."

Without waiting for an answer, I move to the next row and sink into a chair, finally letting a ragged breath escape my lips. 

From the corner of my eye, I watch Sebastian slide into the seat beside Leo, flashing that effortless, dazzling smile that always makes people feel safe. I see Leo look at my brother, the tense lines of his shoulders relaxing as a wave of pure relief washes over him.

I leaned back, my eyes fixed on the back of Leo’s messy black hair, a heavy, hollow ache settling deep in my chest. He already hates me. I am dragging him into my world just to keep him safe, but all I've managed to do is make myself his worst enemy.