The fluorescent lights of the high school hallway seemed to hum with an oppressive energy, each flicker mirroring the furious pulse in Serena’s veins. Damon’s laughter, sharp and dismissive, echoed in her ears, igniting a familiar blaze of rage.

“You’re nothing but a bum living off your father’s wealth!” she’d screamed, her voice hoarse, the words cutting through the usual school chatter. Students parted around them, some cheering Damon, others, like her two loyal friends Luna and Cassidy, trying desperately to pull her away from the inevitable explosion.

But Serena couldn’t stop. The fury was a living thing inside her, a beast clawing at her control. Damon, unmoved, merely smirked, his eyes glinting with a maddening amusement.

“Oh, I would love to see what the feisty girl wants to do,” he’d taunted, and Serena, detaching herself from her friends’ grasp, had lunged forward. Her fist connected with his stomach, a satisfying thud that was immediately undermined by his utterly unfazed expression.

“Sorry, what was that? Felt like a tiny ant tickled me.”

The roar of laughter from his cronies, the humiliation, the sheer audacity of him… It was too much. Serena felt a dangerous tremor run through her, a primal urge to unleash something dark and powerful.

“It’s not worth it, Serena, let’s just go,” Cassidy pleaded, pulling at her arm. But Serena was already turning, stomping away, the anger propelling her down the hall and towards the deserted school stadium, the only place she could find a moment of desperate peace.