Bully!

"Well, I can't speak for being drunk, but you're acting like an idiot over here," Mason said with a chuckle as he walked over to Emma's other side and took a seat.

Albie looked at his friend with confusion. "Why are you here?"

Mason didn't bother to turn to look at his friend. Instead, he reached for the cup of coffee that Albie had brought, taking a sip before slowly turning to face Emma. She regarded him with a blank expression as if expecting him to be no different from his other friend. For a moment, Mason felt a pang of guilt, wondering if he and Albie were harassing her.

With a weak smile, Mason raised his hands in surrender. "Don't think too much. I just saw you in class, diligently taking notes. So, I thought you might want to have notes from the classes you missed earlier."

He passed his notebook to her lap, making sure to maintain an appropriate distance between them, unlike Albie, who seemed on the verge of pouncing on Emma at any moment.

Emma glanced down at the notebook. For a second, she hesitated, but despite her reservations, she couldn't detect any malice in these three friends. Taking hold of the notebook, she began to flip through the pages. The more she read, the more grateful she felt. The notes were perfect and easy to understand, with helpful side notes included. She could tell that whoever wrote these notes was a dedicated and skilled student.

She slowly turned to Mason with grateful eyes.

"It's okay, you don't have to thank me. I just thought you might need it," Mason said quickly, smiling faintly to avoid intimidating her.

Emma smiled at Mason's effort. She could see he was worried about making her uncomfortable and was careful to stay within respectful boundaries.

Meanwhile, Albie grabbed the notebook from Mason and started flipping through it. Seeing how detailed the notes were and how happy Emma seemed, he regretted not being better at note-taking himself.

Emma rolled her eyes at Albie's childish behavior and waited for him to return the notebook.

"Albie, you won't be able to dig a hole in that notebook by staring at it. Just return it to her. Next time, make sure to take proper notes to help Emma out, okay?" Mason said casually.

Feeling a bit out of place in this conversation, Emma wanted to tell Albie to stop, but he quickly nodded in agreement.

"You're right. It was my fault I didn't take care of my friend properly. Thank you, Mason, for helping her when she needed iit and I wasn't there" Albie admitted.

"No problem. That's what friends are for, right? If she's your friend, she's my friend too," Mason replied, nodding to emphasize his point.

Emma finally realized why she felt so strange around them. They were unusual, but in a strangely funny and charming way.

Getting up from the ground, Emma voluntarily took Mason's notebook from Albie's hands. Picking up her bag, she turned to Mason and bowed slightly to show her gratitude before leaving the area. Mason watched her go, a small smile on his face, while Albie sighed, feeling a bit defeated but also determined to do better next time.

"Albie let's go. We got lunch meeting to attend." Mason said and also stood up from the ground and Albie followed behind him.

---

Emma's footsteps echoed down the dimly lit corridor, her cap pulled low and a mask concealing her face. She moved with a deliberate calm, heading to her next class. As she approached the lockers, she noticed a group of four girls, Alia, Sania, Clair, and Lily, breaking away from their chatter and moving towards her, forming a tight circle around her.

Alia, the leader of the group, stepped forward with a sneer. "I must say you are one kind of bitch. You already have Kai in your hands but still want to grab other rich and handsome boys in the College" she said, her voice dripping with disdain

Sania chimed in, "Yeah, look at her. The boys haven't got their admission properly and she is here with her open legs."

Clair and Lily stood slightly behind, their expressions equally hostile.

"Such a slut!" Clair abused her directly in front of everyone.

Lily added, "You don't belong with them, so back off. You are got Kai for yourself now don't you dare to even look at them otherwise I will make sure you regret your life you whore!"

The taunts continued, mingling with sharp words and veiled threats. Emma's eyes, sharp and calculating, took in each girl, assessing them silently. Though her mask hid her smirk, the intensity of her gaze was unmistakable. Her eyes were a cool, unyielding grey, and they held a certain amusement that was unsettling.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Clair taunted, stepping closer. "Cat got your tongue?"

From behind a nearby wall, Xavier watched the scene unfold, his jaw clenched. He wanted Emma to react, to say something, to stand up for herself. But there was nothing. He had seen the fire in her eyes before, but now it seemed extinguished as if the person being abused or bullied wasn't her.

Later, he recognized a gleam in Emma's eyes—she wasn't scared, not in the slightest. There was a cold fire there, something that seemed to relish the confrontation without the need for words. It was a silent strength that spoke volumes.

Emma's gaze bore into each of the girls in turn. The air grew colder, and a shiver ran down Clair's spine despite herself. Emma's silence was a weapon, her presence a challenge that hung in the air like a storm about to break. She didn't need to speak; her eyes communicated a level of disdain and control that words could never convey.

"Let's go," Alia finally said, her bravado faltering under Emma's unyielding stare. "She's not worth it."

The group slowly backed away, their confidence shaken by something they couldn't quite name. Emma stood still, her eyes never leaving them until they turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Her heart was racing. She wanted to cut off their tongue with her own hand. If it wasn't about hiding, she would have done it long ago. But she also knows that she cannot create a scene no matter in how much worse situation she got into.