Thick and Thin ✓

Dramatis Personae

A/n

The 'e' is silent in Duante.
(pronounced as doo-aunt)

~~~~

"What's going on here?" A cold, clear voice echoed through the crammed corridor and, immediately, all chatter wound down to a deathly silence. The people, who were earlier watching two guys beat up two juniors, cheering them on chanting "fight, fight, fight," stopped and dropped their eyes to their feet.

The two boys engaged in the fight froze, and looked towards the source of the voice, their eyes burning with rage; ready to challenge whichever mindless fucker dared to intervene.

From the end of the corridor came the four famous students of Kaynhar Uni, the Kings. The crowd parted for them almost in a daze.

In the lead was the young Prodigy of Kaynhar Uni, Aqil Abeer Faiz. Only a year away from being the future Student Union President, he was an undisputed genius who was loved by his peers (secretly hated, of course) and a national level violinist. Almost always seen in a formal shirt and pants, pressed to perfection without the trace of a crease or speck of dirt, no matter how long or humid the days, Aqil was the epitome of every parent's ideal son and every teacher's ideal student.

Beside him stood the Protector, the one feared by every bully in Kaynhar Uni, Duante. Though he was the most approachable of all four Kings, when he wasn't smiling – like right now – it was easy to mistake him for a delinquent, with his long messy hair and the lines and lines of tattoos covering both his arms. The fact that he liked dressing in a rather rebellious fashion didn't help either. But everyone who knew him knew he was the best friend anyone could ask for – loyal to a fault, and ever ready to engage in a fight to protect those in need.

While the Prodigy and the Protector were shooting cold glares at the two bullies, the other two Kings weren't the least bit interested in the high tension that was felt by everyone else present. Those two had come to a halt by their lockers, chatting amongst themselves, unbothered by how their voices reached all ears in that now silent corridor. And though I say they, it was mostly one of them doing the talking, while the other was wordlessly listening.

"... she asked me if I had Justin Timberlake's number, and I was like – girl, if I had his number, do you really think I'd share it?" said Yamata Shohei, aka, the Celebrity. A professional model by the age of fifteen, a philanthropist by the age of seventeen, and the owner of a shamelessly confident personality since birth, he lived the life everyone dreamed of. People everywhere were lining up to either befriend him or date him; after all, who else could rock an emerald necklace with a t-shirt and jeans?

"What's so special about Justin Timberlake?" came a dry reply. Leaning against the lockers, with his hands folded over his chest, was Drayden Hawthorne, the King of the Kings. Heir to one of the biggest business empires in the country, he was the coldest and the most arrogant of the four. Yet, people couldn't help but be awed by him. He was a mystery, in all sense of the word. Reserved yet straightforward with his peers, charming to his teachers, bold and professional for the public, ruthless with his enemies, no one knew what his real face was. The curiosity drove people crazy!

Shohei gasped, "Are you blind?" He pulled out a few books from the locker and frowned at the cover. "How am I going to pass accountancy, Dray? Did you understand anything from..."

Drayden blocked him out, without quite meaning to, as his gaze shifted towards his two friends who were now the center of attention, standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the bullies who must have been their senior.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" One of the seniors, the one with a mohawk and an unkempt beard, shouted before lunging at Aqil, who sidestepped effortlessly and kicked him in the shin, for good measure. The senior fell to the ground with a loud crash.