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When Wenona had realized she had test subjects that wouldnt sue her, it had led her to take advantage of that with some new inventions of her company. The thing about it was that she always started her disasters the same way:
"This is perfectly safe."
The group had gathered in one of the smaller labs off the main campus building, lured in by Wenona’s promise of a interesting demonstration of... something. Half of them looked bored, the other half mildly suspicious. Damon, as usual, stood toward the back, arms crossed, watching with thinly veiled skepticism.
“Today,” Wenona announced, sweeping her arm dramatically over the strange glass canister on the table, “we are testing one of my labs latest development in behavioral chemistry. A harmless bonding agent designed to increase empathy and prosocial behavior in controlled settings.”
“To clarify,” Tozu added, “it’s... basically supposed to help people get along better during conflict resolution exercises. You know, build trust, cooperation. Very mild.”
Damon raised a brow. “Have you tested it?”
“Well, not... extensively,” Wenona admitted. “But only because I haven’t had the proper social environment to do so. That’s where all of you come in.” Her everpresent smug in her voice.
“That sounds like an absolute crook idea,” Grace deadpanned.
“Shocker,” Damon muttered under his breath.
Wenona waved them off. “Look, it’s perfectly safe. The compound is airborne, but only in microdoses. It’ll dissipate quickly. At worst, you might feel slightly more... amiable for a few hours.”
Kai, standing near the front, gave his usual effortless grin. “Hey, if it helps people stop arguring every five minutes, I’m not complaining.”
“See? That’s the spirit!” Wenona chirped.
She pressed a button on the small machine attached to the canister, releasing a faint mist into the air. It smelled oddly sweet, like fresh-cut fruit mixed with something artificial. The group instinctively leaned back, exchanging wary glances.
“...That's it?” Ulysses asked after a moment.
“That’s it!” Wenona beamed. “Now we just observe.”
For a while, nothing happened. Conversation picked back up, awkward and stilted at first, but soon smoothing out. Wolfgang and Eva were actually talking, which was already unusual. Even mark looked slightly less like she was planning someone’s demise.
Damon kept his distance, studying the others carefully. So far, so good.
That was, of course, until Kai laughed.
It wasn’t anything unusual — just one of his easy, offhand chuckles at something Jett said — but the room shifted as soon as the sound hit the air.
Jett blinked rapidly, turning toward Kai with wide, almost starstruck eyes. “Wow. Your laugh is... really nice.”
Kai froze, his grin faltering. “Uh. Thanks?”
From the corner, Diana added, voice dreamy, “It’s comforting. Like, you could read me bedtime stories every night and I’d never have nightmares again.”
“What the hell?” Kai whispered under his breath.
Ulysses, who normally had the emotional range of a brick wall, tilted their head. “You have excellent facial symmetry. Statistically rare.”
“Oh my god.” Damon’s voice was flat.
Grace shoved her way forward, eyes locked on Kai like a predator. “Obviously I should be the one you spend time with. The rest of these soybeans are beneath you.”
Kai took a visible step back. “Okay, uh—guys—maybe we should all calm down—”
“Don’t be shy, Kai!” Jean practically sang. “You don’t have to play hard to get.”
“This is escalating,” Tozu turned to Wenona.
Wenona’s smile was becoming very strained and fake. “It’s fine! It’s fine. This is all part of the developmental process. Also you guys all signed wavers that agree not to enact legal action before our experiment by the way. Just remember that.”
Damon stared at her, brows furrowed in annoyance. “Why is everyone making heart eyes at kai?”
“That wasn't the original intended effect of this, so I cant say for certain.” Wenona hissed under her breath. “The formula’s only supposed to elevate baseline trust hormones, not trigger romantic imprinting! They're so fired.”
"It does what?!" Kai exclaimed with a screech.
Damon turned to him with a dirty look, a hand to his ear, "loud."
Kai’s gaze shot toward Damon, and confustion flickering behind his eyes. Why wasn't he-?
"Who the hell do you think you're speaking to," grace snapped turning protectively in front of kai. Damon’s face flashed a shock expression for a moment before turning cold, the downturn of his lip more pronounced
Kai put a hand on Graces shoulder hesitantly, "um its fine grace, You’re not—uh—feeling weird too, damon?”
“No,” Damon said flatly.
The others weren’t as lucky. Ulysses was already composing some kind of poem aloud, while Grace and Jett were now arguing about who loved Kai more.
The mist hadn’t just made them friendlier. It had made them infatuated. Damon internally cursed ever coming to this god forsaken school.
As Kai tried desperately to dodge the growing storm of attention, his eyes kept darting back toward Damon. The only person in the room not falling apart.
The only one acting like nothing had changed.
The next morning things only got worse. Kai’s footsteps barely echoed in the common lounge before the crowd formed.
Jean was already there, standing tall and proud like he was back at sea, and a ship captain who’d just sighted land. His usual confident smirk was replaced with a soft, almost reverent smile.
“Kai!” he called, voice booming theatrically. “At last, my guiding star returns to port. I have prepared a map charting the constellations of my feelings for you.”
Before Kai could process that, Jean unfurled a large parchment covered in intricate star charts, connecting twinkling constellations all converging on Kai’s name, shining like the centerpiece of a celestial celebration.
Kai blinked, a surprised smile tugging at his lips. “Wow... that’s incredibly detailed.”
Jean bowed deeply. “Only the finest for my North Star. May it always guide you safely home.”
Kai barely had time to smile before Ingrid approached with quiet determination. Her hands emerged from behind her back holding a small blackened steel pendant shaped into a delicate heart-shaped gear, edges polished with loving care. The initials “KM” were etched subtly into its surface.
“For you,” Ingrid said softly, eyes steady and clear. “Like a machine—precise, strong, and reliable.”
Kai took the pendant, feeling its cool weight settle in his palm. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
Ingrid’s lips twitched in a small smile. “It won’t rust.”
The warmth of the gift was immediately cut short as Jett practically skidded into view. His energy was kinetic, almost vibrating with excitement.
“Kai! Check this out!” He pulled off his racing goggles and held them up. They were customized with gleaming decals — flames and lightning bolts in bold colors, but the centerpiece was unmistakable: “Monteago Blaze” painted across the lenses.
Kai’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s... quite the design.”
“Only the best for you,” Jett grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I’ve even practiced a victory lap just for you. Think of it as a... date, but with more speed.”
Kai laughed nervously, glancing around for an exit, but the circle tightened as Wolfgang approached. His gaze was sharp, cold like a courtroom cross-examiner.
“Kai,” he said briskly, producing a thick binder. “I’ve drafted a legally binding exclusivity contract for us. Think of it as a prenup but with emotional guarantees.”
Kai’s mouth fell open. “Wolfgang! No one's signing anything!”
Wolfgang's smile was crisp and predatory. “Not yet... but when the time comes, I’ll be ready.”
The room felt smaller, every breath Kai took heavier. Wenona appeared beside him, holding a tablet with an array of notes.
“The compound’s effects are accelerating,” she said, voice low but urgent. “It’s causing an exponential increase in oxytocin receptors. The emotional bonding is far stronger than my research team anticipated.”
Kai groaned. “So you basically made everyone obsessed with me?”
Wenona nodded, tilting her head in thought. “An unfortunate side effect but I'm glad I found it with you guys. Can you imagine if this got out to the public thank god, I’m working on getting a reversal agent — but it’s delicate. The emotional feedback loops are unstable.”
Kai’s heart pounded unevenly as the others began circling him, each displaying their affection in their own peculiar ways.
Jean hummed a sea shanty, reciting love poems about voyages and safe harbors.
Ingrid meticulously examined Kai’s reactions, her hands twitching to craft more metalwork tributes.
Jett casually flexed his fingers, already planning high-speed races with Kai by his side.
Wolfgang leafed through his contract, muttering legal jargon about joint accounts and property claims.
And then, in the midst of the chaos, Kai found Damon.
He sat apart from the crowd, arms crossed, expression irritated. The only one utterly untouched by the love-compound’s effects. "You guys are all pathetic by the way and I've never letting you live this down." He grumbled rolling his eyes.
Kai’s chest twisted painfully at the sight. How was Damon so immune? Why did that feel worse than the chaos swirling around him?
Headmaster Tozu’s footsteps cut through the room like a knife. His sharp eyes swept the gathering. “Enough.”
The noise stilled immediately.
“This compound,” Tozu started gravely, voice authoritative, “has triggered severe and unforeseen psychological effects. We must maintain order. Wenona, your team must prioritize an antidote immediately.”
Wenona nodded. “Yes, of course. I wouldnt allow this to persist when I need to handle my nee business pursuits.”
Tozu’s gaze sharpened. “Kai, you must endure this with patience. Your cooperation is essential.”
Kai nodded, mouth dry. He swallowed hard, his gaze falling once more on Damon — steady, calm, untouchable.
Kai wondered what was different about damon. It’s like hes drowning in a sea of feelings that aren’t for him, while Damon sits on the shore watching, untouched. He was there when the substance was released, everyone else was wrapped around him, declarations flying, and all he wanted was for damon to actually like him. Without some convuluted infractuation gas plot but Damon looks at him with the same impassive look. Does he hate me? Is that why he’s immune? Or is it something else?
He had thought they were good friends even if Damon didn't admit it but maybe he was wrong.
The room began to buzz again as the others recovered, but Kai felt rooted in place, caught between gratitude for Damon’s steadiness and a growing ache of isolation.
Jean was the first to break the silence again. “My captain,” he said softly, “shall I organize a voyage celebration? Perhaps a banquet in your honor?”
Kai forced a smile. “Maybe later.”
Ingrid’s voice cut in, quiet but firm. “I’ll start working on more gifts. Something strong enough to last. Like our love will”
Jett bounced on his toes. “Races, baby. You and me, full throttle.”
Wolfgang, not missing a beat, held up the contract. “Commitment garenteered.”
Kai’s head spun.
“Can we just... not do all of this at once?”
Wenona sighed, looking at her notes.
“I’m afraid the compound has accelerated emotions far beyond initial tests.”
Kai covered his face with his hands.
And from the corner, Damon finally spoke. "Kai let's go," Grabbing his hand and following Damon to the dismay of others let Kai feel like he could breath again, It couldn't be because Damon hated him, it had to be something else.
After losing kai's admirers, they made it to a quiet art room. None of their classes ultimate centered directly around traditional art so it was usually a good place to get away.
Damon’s voice was calm, measured when he spoke up, “This is all manufactured. None of it is real.”
Kai looked up sharply. Kai's eyes started to water. “Yeah. Except it feels real to them. And to me. It's overwhelming.”
Damon’s eyes were steady. “What do you feel, Kai? When it’s just you and me?”
Kai blinked, heart pounding.
Damon’s gaze didn’t waver.
He wanted to answer. Part of him ached to answer. But his stomach twisted, his throat closing before any real words came out.
“I... I don’t know.” The admission slipped out, raw and fragile.
Damon didn’t flinch. His expression was as steady as ever, but there was something softer beneath it. Something patient. “That’s okay.”
Kai let out a shaky breath, his voice barely above a whisper. “This is a lot.”
“I know,” Damon said. “You don’t have to figure it out right now.”
Kai swallowed hard. “But it feels like I should.”
“Then let it feel like that,” Damon murmured. “I'm here for you.”
And maybe damon was affect but suddenly, amidst the chaos of love declarations and obsessive trinkets, Kai felt something else. Something real.
While working on a cure, Kai continued to be woo'ed by his classmates. Kai had been good at reading people. It was part of his charm. He could catch a glance, a smile, a change in tone — and adjust himself accordingly. People liked him. That was how it had always been until of course his title as the ultimate influencer was awarded but now? Now it felt like way too much.
Everywhere he went, there was someone waiting, watching. The lounge had become a revolving door of gifts and declarations, grand gestures and increasingly concerning marriage proposals.
Damon remained like he had been before everything went down. Unaffected, he still let Kai hang off him and even hide in his dorm to get away but he didn't start falling over his feet for him like the others.
Later that afternoon Kai sat at one of the courtyards benches, pretending to read. He wasn’t. His eyes flicked upward constantly, stealing glances at Damon, who sat beneath one of the nearby trees, calmly skimming through some dense forensic report.
He looked perfectly composed. As if the school hadn't been drugged for the past 3 days.
No gifts. No declarations. No feverish emotions.
Just... Damon.
Kai chewed his lip.
Maybe he didn’t digest the compound? No that couldn't be it. Wenona said everyone had exposure during the trial run. Everyone else was affected. Damon should have been too. So why is he acting the same?
Kai rose from on the bench. Moving to be closer to damon. His heart thudded — not with the artificial pounding like everyone else, but with something different.
He decided to test the waters.
“Hey, Damon.” Kai’s voice was light, casual. “You’ve been hiding out over here all day.”
Damon didn’t even look up. “Not hiding. Observing.”
“Observing me?” Kai asked, his voice tilting slightly into something more playful. Fluttering his eyelashes in what he hoped wasn't too awkward.
Damon’s eyes flicked up at that, meeting Kai’s for a moment before returning to the report. “Observing everyone.”
Kai’s stomach flipped, but he pressed on, even laying his head on Damon's shoulder. He did it alot but if Damon was affected surely he would react? Damon didn't even change his expression though.
“You know, I was starting to think you didn’t like me at all.” The words came out half-joking, half-hopeful.
Still nothing.
Damon turned another page, his voice even. “I don’t dislike you.”
That wasn’t the answer Kai wanted.
He forced a soft laugh, trying to inject a little more warmth into his tone. “Wow, way to make a guy feel special.”
“You don’t need my validation,” Damon said without looking up. “You have plenty already.” Voice tinted with something Kai must of interpreted wrong.
Kai’s chest tightened.
Elsewhere, the others weren’t getting better. If anything, their obsessive attention had only escalated. Ulysses had organized a full mock ceremony that morning — "just a rehearsal," he said, as if practicing for their wedding day was completely normal.
Jett had created a custom helmet with Kai’s initials encrusted in rhinestones, promising to drive at record-breaking speeds for him.
Ingrid had begun forging matching rings.
Wolfgang had updated his contract to include clauses for child custody. (“For planning purposes, Kai,” he said sweetly.)
And Wenona had just laughed at Damon's question of when the antidote would be ready before starting about “The commercial possibilities!” and “We could corner the market on personalized romance compounds!” Damon had complained to Kai that she was taking advantage of the situation when she should've been helping.
It was suffocating.
When he was back with Damon, Kai tried again.
“You’re really not affected at all, huh?”
“No,” Damon answered simply.
Kai shifted, trying to mask the growing sting beneath his ribcage.
“Must be nice,” he muttered. “Not having everyone constantly falling at your feet.”
There was a pause. Damon’s voice was quiet, but firm. “It’s not as simple as that.”
Kai narrowed his eyes. “Then explain it to me.”
Damon finally set the report down, folding his arms as he studied Kai carefully.
“The others are acting on an artificial compulsion,” Damon said. “Their emotions aren’t their own. It’s not love, Kai. It’s chemistry.”
The words landed heavier than Kai expected.
“I know that,” Kai said softly. “But it still feels nice to be wanted, you know?”
Damon’s brow furrowed slightly, and for a second, Kai saw something flicker across his face. But it was gone as quickly as it came.
“You’re not exactly lacking in attention,” Damon pointed out.
Kai let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, but none of it’s real.”
The admission sat between them for a long, uncomfortable moment.
Why does it bother me so much? Why him, of all people? I’m surrounded by people obsessed with me, and yet... the one person who could actually make my heart race won’t even look at me that way.
Kai’s voice dipped lower, quieter now. “Do you really not feel anything, Damon? Not even a little?”
Damon’s gaze shifted again — sharp, assessing. For the first time, he looked... uncomfortable.
“I don’t need a chemical.” Damon whispered.
Kai blinked.
Wait... what?
Before he could say anything, Tozu’s voice rang out over the courtyard speakers, sharp and cold:
“Participants are required to report to the testing wing for compound assessments. Immediately.”
Damon stood without another word, slipping his hands into his pockets as he walked off toward the building, leaving Kai sitting there alone with his heartbeat hammering unevenly in his chest.
That night Kai couldn’t sleep. The others were still under the compound’s influence — some of them camping outside his dorm room now in rotating shifts. Ingrid had left a new set of hand-forged sculptures on his desk. Wolfgang had slipped more paperwork under his door. Mark left a playlist titled “For When We Drift Off Together.”
It was exhausting.
But none of it weighed on him as much as Damon’s words.
"I don’t need a chemical."
The fourth day was worse.
Kai hadn’t slept. Not really. At best, he caught thirty minutes here, an hour there, before the knocks started at his door again.
Ingrid had crafted an entire miniature sculpture garden overnight: steel roses, metal butterflies, little abstract figures of himself standing victorious on coiled wire thrones. Each one polished to a mirror shine.
Jett had built a remote-controlled mini-racer that circled Kai’s bed at 3AM blaring “You Drive Me Crazy” on loop until Kai unplugged it from the wall out of desperation.
Wolfgang had left a full binder slipped under his door, this one titled:
“Preliminary Plans for Joint Estate Planning and Future Assets Allocation (Draft 6).”
Mark had composed a new ballad. He serenaded outside Kai’s window at sunrise, lute in hand, voice echoing through the halls:
“My heart, my compass, my true guiding flame —
For thee I would surrender all my fame—”
Kai had thrown a pillow at the window. “PLEASE STOP.”
And Wenona? Wenona was too busy documenting everything like it was a grand case study in behavioral economics. She kept meticulous charts, noting hormone spikes, attachment behaviors, and — most horrifyingly — calculating potential subscription models if this drug ever hit the market.
“Limited trials show near-total romantic fixation in target groups,” Wenona had announced at breakfast, tapping her tablet. “With proper regulation, the revenue streams could exceed projections.”
Kai slammed his head onto the cafeteria table. “Wenona.”
“Yes?”
“Please, for the love of god, stop trying to monetize my personal collapse.”
She gave him a wide-eyed shrug. “But think of the potential.”
He groaned into the table.
And always — always — there was Damon. There, not falling at Kai's feet but just glaring at everyone.
That stung more than anything.
The others couldn’t help themselves. Their feelings weren’t real — Kai knew that — but at least they wanted him. Or thought they did.
But Damon didn’t even pretend. No offers. No declarations. Not even the faintest hint of attraction. Just that steady, cool gaze. That maddening unreadable stare. As if Kai wasn’t even part of his world. By late afternoon, Kai finally snapped.
They were outside again — the courtyard. Wenona and Tozu had gathered everyone for another compound analysis. The headmaster’s voice echoed like a judge passing sentence:
“We are seeing intensifying symptoms. Subject Kai Monteago remains the fixation center. Ms. Wenona assures me the antidote is progressing.”
Wenona nodded briskly. “Stabilizing agents should neutralize the compound’s long-term effects, but I still need another day to finish my research.”
The crowd of love-struck classmates murmured sweet nothings behind him as Kai stood perfectly still.
Jean tried presenting him with a hand-stitched captain’s uniform.
Ingrid quietly slipped him a new pendant shaped like a heartbeat.
Jett revved the engine on his custom hoverboard in the background, shouting, “For you, babe! Custom neon flames!”
Grace held a laminated copy of their hypothetical wedding guest list.
Kai couldn’t breathe.
And Damon — Damon was seated off to the side, arms folded, eyes unreadable. Watching. Always watching.
Kai’s voice finally broke. Quiet, sharp, bitter.
“Do you enjoy this?”
The entire group froze, but Damon was the only one who recognized the question was meant for him.
Damon blinked once. “Enjoy what?”
Kai stepped forward, voice rising. “Sitting there while everyone else goes insane? Watching me drown in this insanity like it’s some goddamn experiment?”
Damon didn’t move. “You’re not drowning.”
“Oh, really?” Kai laughed — humorless, brittle. “Because it sure feels like I am.”
“You know it’s artificial.”
“That doesn’t make it easier!” The words shot out like venom. “It still hurts, Damon!”
The courtyard went dead silent. Even Jett stopped his hoverboard. Grace blinked at her clipboard. Ingrid froze mid-polishing. Ulysses lowered his lute.
Only Damon kept his voice steady. “Why?"
Kai’s chest heaved. His voice cracked under the strain: “Because you're not affected. You’re the only one who didn’t fall for me. Not even a little.”
There it was. The raw truth. The thing Kai had been trying to shove down for days.
For several long seconds, Damon didn’t answer.
Then, softly — too softly — Damon murmured:
“I didn’t need the compound.”
Kai froze. His mind spun. Heart pounding. “What?”
Damon stood up slowly, stepping closer — deliberate, controlled, but his voice was lower now, rougher. “I didn’t need it, Kai. That’s why I wasn’t affected.”
Kai’s breath caught.
The world tilted slightly as those words clicked into place. “You—” Kai started, but couldn’t finish. His voice was strangled.
Damon’s gaze held his, intense and unflinching now. “Do you really think I’ve been sitting here for days feeling nothing?”
Kai stared at him — his mind was a mess of static.
“You never said anything.”
“Because it was easier.” Damon’s voice was nearly a whisper now, low enough that only Kai could hear him over the stunned silence of the others. “I could control it. I’ve... been in love with you long before any of this.”
Kai felt the world drop out from under him.
He staggered slightly, the weight of it finally cracking his composure after days of exhaustion.
“You...” His voice broke entirely.
Damon’s jaw flexed. His usual calm was slipping now. “Yeah.”
“And you—” Kai’s throat tightened. “You just sat there watching me lose my mind.”
Damon’s voice finally cracked too. “Because you deserve real feelings. Not chemicals. Not artificial obsession.”
Kai’s eyes burned. His chest ached. “But I wanted yours.”
“You’ve always had mine.”
Neither of them moved for a breathless moment.
The others were frozen — wide-eyed, mouths open, as if they’d collectively short-circuited.
Grace whispered, “...Wait, what?”
Tozu finally stepped forward, clearing his throat.
“This... complicates things.”
But Kai didn’t care. For the first time since this insanity started, his chest loosened — like breathing after being underwater too long. Damon was the first to glance away, but not before Kai stepped closer, voice raw but certain. “Don’t run from me again.”
Damon swallowed hard. “I won’t.”
The antidote worked fast once Wenona got it. It came as a mist — sprayed into the air throughout the facility, subtle but effective. Within minutes, the oppressive tension that had coiled around Kai for days like thick rope began to loosen. At first, there was silence.
And then: “What... the hell?” Jett said, blinking as if waking from a fever dream. He rubbed his eyes, looking around in wide-eyed horror. “Why is my hoverboard covered in glitter hearts?”
Wolfgang glanced down at the large wedding binder in his arms. “...I did not authorize this.” She flipped to one of the pages. “Why is Tozu listed as the officiant?”
Ulysses blinked rapidly, rubbing his temples. “I wrote poetry? Publicly? Without proper editing?”
Ingrid slowly set down the steel sculpture still clutched in her hands, staring at it like it had grown legs. “This is... excessive.”
Wenona was frantically swiping through her tablet, reading over her own charts. “Oh no. Oh no no no. This was not how the trial was supposed to go.”
All around him, Kai watched as everyone gradually came back to themselves. He should have felt relief — and in a way, he did — but mostly he just felt numb. The laughter. The declarations. The endless attention. Gone in seconds. It was almost dizzying how fast it shifted.
Tozu stepped forward, voice as cold as always. “The trial is officially concluded. Emotional after-effects may linger temporarily. Ms. Wenona, we will need to discuss the... ethics of this experiment at length.”
Wenona rolled her eyes before responding accordingly. “Understood, Headmaster.” Ulysses had walked up to her side, "As if you didnt all sign up for this," to which the boy just nodded beside her.
The others still murmured among themselves, clearly disturbed by how intensely they’d behaved.
Only Damon stood apart, calm as ever. And for the first time since the chaos started — really for the first time — there was no artificial pull. Nothing forcing anyone to feel anything. Which made what Damon had confessed feel heavier now. Real.
Later, after the cleanup began and the others wandered off to decompress from their collective humiliation, Kai found Damon on one of the balconies overlooking the training fields.
The evening air was cool. Quiet. They stood there for a moment, neither speaking. Kai broke first. His voice was soft. “They don’t remember most of it. Or they’re trying not to.”
Damon nodded, arms resting against the railing. “That’s probably for the best.”
Kai looked out at the darkening horizon. “But I do.”
A pause. Kai’s throat tightened slightly as he continued. “I remember everything.”
Damon finally glanced over at him, his gaze gentler now. “So do I."
Kai let out a bitter chuckle. “You know... I think part of me wanted you to fall under it too. Just so I would get to feel like you wanted me at least once.”
Damon’s eyes softened. “I know.”
Kai turned fully to face him now, voice shaking despite himself. “but you didn’t. It felt like you just sat there and watched me fall apart.”
“That wasn’t easy, Kai.”
Kai’s laugh cracked at the edges. “Sure looked easy.”
Damon’s voice lowered, rougher now. “You think watching you get chased by a dozen chemically-induced soulmates was fun for me? I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t protect you from it.”
“You could’ve said something.”
“I was scared.”
That brought Kai up short. Damon rarely admitted fear. His usual controlled exterior slipped just slightly under the weight of those words.
Kai stared at him, voice raw. “Of what?”
“Of ruining it,” Damon said quietly. “Of making things harder for you. Of telling you something you weren’t ready to hear, while you were already overwhelmed.”
Kai’s heart twisted sharply. “You should’ve let me decide that.”
“I know.” Damon looked down briefly. “But I’ve loved you for a long time, Kai. Even before Wenona’s experiment. I didn’t want it to get tangled in all this.”
Kai’s breathing went shallow. The words felt heavy in the air between them. “Say it again,” Kai whispered.
Damon met his eyes fully now, no hesitation even with the redness coloring his cheeks. “I love you.”
The air caught between them. It wasn’t a declaration shouted over chaos. It wasn’t a drug-fueled obsession. It wasn’t performed for anyone else. It was steady. Quiet. Honest. And finally real.
Kai’s throat closed. “I—I don’t even know what I feel anymore. Everything’s been so loud inside my head for so long.”
“That’s okay.” Damon’s voice was steady. “You don’t have to figure it all out tonight.”
“But I don’t want to lose this,” Kai admitted, voice breaking. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t.”
The certainty in Damon’s tone made Kai’s chest ache. His hands shook slightly, his body still unwinding from days of emotional whiplash.
“I was starting to think you hated me.”
Damon shook his head instantly, stepping a little closer. “Never. I was already there before anyone else even noticed.”
Kai blinked at that. “Already there?”
“I’ve been in love with you for longer than I’ve been willing to admit.” Damon offered the smallest, rarest of smiles — not smug, not teasing, just soft. “You’re the one who needed to catch up.”
Kai’s lip trembled.
God, he was so tired. But at the same time, for the first time in days, something inside him settled.
“Do I still get to catch up?” Kai whispered.
Damon’s answer was immediate. “As long as you need.”
Kai moved without fully thinking — just enough to close the space between them. It wasn’t a dramatic kiss or some cinematic moment. It was quieter than that. A press of foreheads. A shared breath.
Their first real contact in days that wasn’t watched, orchestrated, or manipulated by anyone else.
And for the first time, Kai finally let himself relax against Damon’s chest as Damon gently wrapped his arms around him.
Warm. Steady. Real.
“You’re safe now,” Damon whispered.
Kai closed his eyes, voice barely audible. “Stay with me?”
“Always.” And in that quiet, as the moon rose over the campus and the final haze of the compound drifted away, Kai finally felt still again.Not drowning.
Not overwhelmed. Just... finally held.
By the end of the week, the incident was being referred to — unofficially — as The Love Trial.
No one wanted to talk about it directly, but they all danced around it with an odd combination of horror, embarrassment, and wild secondhand stories.
Wenona, for her part, had been suspended from using the students as test subjects and her experiments were officially banned temporarily until further “review,” though Kai suspected she'd be back at it once they figured out proper safety regulations.
Jett swore he had no memory of the custom hoverboard serenade, though the videos circulating on campus suggested otherwise.
Grace shredded every copy of the wedding contract. (“I don’t know who forged my signature on those!” he defended, even though everyone knew.
"Just watch yourself," Grace threatened.)
Ulysses attempted to burn his poetry notebooks but Wenona salvaged several copies. ("For blackmail," she explained.)
And Ingrid herself had melted down her metal rose sculptures into a single, abstract art piece she now called “Shame, but Make it Modern.”
Kai, however, was still adjusting. The chaos had faded, but the weight of everything lingered. He felt like he’d come out the other side of a storm — exhausted, rattled, but somehow lighter.
Damon had stayed steady through it all, as usual. Always nearby but never overbearing. Offering quiet support instead of grand gestures.
Honestly, Kai didn’t know what he would’ve done without him. Finally, on one quiet afternoon, they decided to tell the others. Officially.
The group gathered in one of the lounges — neutral ground. Grace, Ingrid, Ulysses, Jett, Cassidy, Diana, Wenona, ect.
Kai sat next to Damon, fidgeting slightly. Damon simply rested his arm across the back of the couch, calm as ever.
Kai cleared his throat. “Sooo... we figured we should, um. Let you guys know something.”
Everyone leaned in. Kai’s face flushed. “Damon and I... we’re together.”
For half a second, there was stunned silence. Then Diana immediately clapped her hands together, beaming. “OH MY GOD, congratulations! Finally!”
Cassidy blinked, head tilting. “Wait. What do you mean finally? You guys weren’t already together?”
Kai blinked. “...No?”
Cassidy squinted like she was trying to do mental math. “That’s crazy. I could’ve sworn you’ve been dating since, like, week four.”
Ulysses nodded thoughtfully. “I too assumed this pairing was already established.”
Eva adjusted her glasses. “Statistically, the proximity indicators and behavioral tells strongly suggested mutual romantic attachment.”
Jett threw his hands up. “Man, I had a whole betting pool going. I lost money because I bet you confessed months ago!"
Kai’s jaw dropped. “You WHAT—?”
“Technically,” Wenona interjected, “I had wagered on this timeline precisely. So I am now owed 350 credits.”
Jett groaned. “I hate you.”
Wenona smiled, entirely too pleased with herself.
Kai looked between them, flustered. “You all seriously thought we were dating this whole time?”
Cassidy shrugged. “I mean, Damon always hangs around you. He looks at you like you hung the moon. And you? You turn into a tomato anytime he so much as blinks.”
“I do not—” Kai started, but Damon, with an utterly unhelpful glint in his eye, quietly added, “You do.”
Kai shoved his shoulder. “Don’t help them!”
Despite the teasing, the atmosphere was warm. Supportive. They were laughing with him, not at him.
And honestly? It felt... nice.
After everything — after being paraded around like some chemically-induced prize — it was oddly healing to sit here, surrounded by people who were finally acting like normal idiots again.
Later, as the group slowly dispersed, Kai lingered behind with Damon. The common room had gone quiet. Only the low hum of distant air vents filled the space now.
Kai exhaled slowly, leaning into Damon’s side. “That went... better than I expected.”
Damon rested his head lightly against Kai’s. “Told you it would.”
Kai smiled softly. “You know... I still feel like I’m waiting to wake up sometimes. Like this might all be part of the side effects.”
Damon turned slightly, voice gentle. “This is real, Kai.”
Kai closed his eyes, savoring the calm weight of Damon’s arm around him. “Yeah. I know.”
He paused, then added with a teasing lilt, “Though you could’ve told me earlier, you know.”
Damon smirked faintly. “I figured you’d catch up eventually.”
Kai huffed, but his smile widened.
He had caught up.
Finally.