"What the fuck are they doing?"

That was the first thing I heard after we left the dance floor and joined Ivy and the group.

"They're baking cakes! Can't you see? " Felix made a sarcastic remark. Ivy frowned and rolled her eyes.

"YOU!? How the fuck did you dare to touch her? All have already been warned to keep the hell away from her. Can't you just put one reasonable thing in your goddamn brain!? " I overheard a new guy yelling at one of the sophomores while clutching his collar.

A sophomore and a black-haired guy got into a heated argument. Many of the students were crammed in close proximity to them. The mood of the party had switched from excitement to intense tension.

"What's going on? Who is he, exactly? " Perplexed, I inquired. I couldn't see the guy's face because his back was to me. He was dressed in a black leather jacket with a symbol of a sports bike on it. It wasn't anything like the one I had seen in the cafeteria.

Sapphire huffed as Austin replied, "He's Xavier Knight, a senior." Oh!

"He's your typical bad boy and a pain in the ass! It's part of his everyday life for him to get into fights and do something like this. " Saphy clarified.

"Why is he fighting now?" Felix inquired more.

"You see, Xavier and Faith used to be friends with benefits, and he's completely into her, but she keeps avoiding him. This drama has been going on since last year, and he doesn't want to see any other guy near her, but Faith doesn't do dating stuff. Typical teenage drama! " Damy ended, letting out a sigh.

"Shut the fuck up, Xavier! It's not my fault she pulled me onto the dance floor, and can't you see she's not interested in you? " The sophomore's words hit Xavier's nerve, as the next thing I saw was a bleeding sophomore on the floor.

A few people gasped, a few smirked, a few were uninterested, and a few were busy filming everything. Someone put a stop to him! During the whole time, Faith didn't utter a single word, as if they weren't fighting for her.

"What about these sports bike signs? Is it some kind of fashion or something? " I inquired, frowning.

"Nah, it's not about fashion or something! He's a biker and racer! I've heard a lot of rumors about him, like: he's the leader of some mafia gang, he does drugs and smuggling, and all kinds of illegal stuff. If it's true, then I wouldn't doubt it! Doesn't he look like all those creepy-ugly men? " Saphy said in a monotonic voice.

"Xavier, how often must I tell you that I am not your possession? We're nothing, and what went down between us was the past. Can't you just put one reasonable thing in your goddamn brain!? " Finally, she shattered her silence, mimicking his words at the end.

Senior Xavier's subsequent words shocked us all: "But you didn't say those words to me last night, darling, when you were snuggled up in my embrace, now did you sweetheart?"

Almost everyone's faces held shock and disdain. Faith's expression was priceless. "Careful with your tongue, Xavier fucking Knight!" That time, it was Claire who backed her up.

We were startled by a loud hitting sound, followed by the clicking of heels. Faith slapped him across the right cheek and stormed out.

Senior Xavier shifted his gaze to the way she had gone. That time, I was able to see his face clearly. As the dim light of this room fell on his high cheekbones, he was tall and muscular, with light silver eyes gleaming with mischief. He had light stubble, as well as a nose piercing. I noticed a few tattoos on his neck when my gaze moved downwards, but I had no idea what they were!

A few boys walked over to his side before screaming, "So, what are you awaiting? C'mon, get out of here! The party's over! "

The crowd began to disappear as everybody returned to their dormitories. We turned to leave as well.

"Well, it was quite a show!" I remarked, gaining the attention of my group. They nodded back in exchange. Finally, the night was over!

It was the weekend, hurrah!

So far, so good!

That's all I had to say about the last few days! I'd spent the first two weeks there, and to tell you the truth, it was both thrilling and draining. Thanks to Mr. Study and Mrs. Assignment for keeping us all occupied these past few days.

When it comes to "us," we had been doing pretty well, aside from the fact that Ivy kept finding new ways to make Austin blush. That girl was a force to be reckoned with! I had no idea what was going on with Felix and Saphy. They kept flirting-blushing, flirting-blushing, flirting-blushing, and it went on all day! To be frank, I found it amusing at times and vexing at others. But who was I to judge?

Anyway, Ivy's elder sister, who was in her junior year, would be seeing us that night! I'd seen her sophomore year photographs. Ivy, too, had told me a few things about her. Let's see what the night had in store for us!

"Why hasn't he shown up yet?" Saphy wondered as she checked her wristwatch. "He'd be on his way..."

"Well, look, he's already here!"

We were currently waiting outside the campus for Damy to arrive. The 'we' also involved Austin. The quiet nerd decided to join us as well! Damy would be picking us up in his car because his house was close by.

A gray Ford came to a halt in front of us. Damy motioned for us to take a seat. We hurriedly piled into the vehicle.

"What place is this?" The car slowly came to a stop after about twenty minutes of driving. We all stepped out. The streets were strangely quiet, isolated, and gloomy. The only point of illumination was a lamp post in the corner.

"Come on, this way!" Ivy exhorted.

"Tell me first, where in the hell are we going, because I'm too young to die too soon." I interrupted her.

"Simmer down, Soph! We're almost there. Just a few meters away. It's safe, I assure you! Believe me, baby! " She exclaimed, a smile on her face. I nervously nodded while they all assured me. Huh, 'Trust' was something I couldn't do!

I saw a ray of blinding white light all around me after a few minutes of walking down those eerie, gloomy, and terrible streets. The shouts and hooting of the crowd were hardly audible. I heard roaring engines.

As we got closer to the spot, I saw a huge crowd cheering and shouting. Ivy took my side and pulled me behind her.

I heard a girl say, "Ivu, here!"

Ivy left my hand and dashed for the teen, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her.

"What's up, sister!" she exclaimed as she pulled away.

The redhead retorted, "Thankfully alive!" As her brown orbs found mine, she inquired, "Where are your mates, Ivu?"

Ivu, a.k.a. Ivy, made a gesture at us as she introduced us all. "Guys, she's Mysie Morris, my one and only awesome sister with a bitch's temper." We laughed as Mysie smacked her head. She was a bit shorter than Ivy, with beige skin and a curvy body.

"Why do people keep smacking me?" Ivy asked, making us laugh.

"Oh, c'mon, the race's about to begin!" Mysie exclaimed, motioning us to join her.

"Which race? What race? Where race? When race? Why race? Whose race? " I asked all of a sudden.

They smirked at me, "You'll see it soon, darling!" Saphy winked.

We worked our way through the crowd, driving the others aside. The place appeared to be a hub, a pub, and a club! Finally, we arrived at the main field, where people were jumping and shouting.

Continue jumping and your legs will be in your hands in a matter of seconds! Long lost brothers of Chimpanzees and monkeys!

The closer we went, the faster I realized where the heck we were! It was a freaking race track. I blurted out the very first thing that popped into my mind, "Is it legal or illegal?"

They exchanged sly glances before sending me innocent smiles. "Of course, it's illegal." Ivy replied so casually, as if I asked—'Is tossing apples at you legal or illegal?'

That time I smacked her, "It doesn't look like an illegal one!"

Mysie interrupted, "Ah! We'll talk about it later. My friends are waiting for me. Now, c'mon, we're gonna miss it! " I obeyed her words, heading towards the spectator's seats.

Mysie seated us in the front row and welcomed us to her friends'. Austin and Damy sat next to me.

"Doesn't anybody ever get stuck around here?" I inquired, Damy.

With a shake of his head, he said, "Nope! New York is famous for four things—the Empire State Building, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, and The Merciless. The Merciless are New York's most dangerous and well-known motorcycle gang. They are the owners of a number of legal and illegal racetracks, including this one. No one has the potential to cross their influence and connections because they are so vast and large. At the end of every month, a grand competition is organized to determine who the best biker is. " Okay, I had figured it out!

Seriously, the place didn't seem like an illegal one. The track was huge, flat, and oval, consisting of dirt and loosely packed shale. There were two projectors on opposite sides for a better view of the race. So much for illegal race tracks, huh!

I could see the racers preparing for the race. My gaze was drawn to the exotic models of sports bikes that were lined up on the track, their owners riding them. I couldn't see anyone's face because it was concealed under a helmet. They were dressed in black leather jackets with the logo of their motorcycle on them.

There were a total of eight different bikes, each with its own color scheme. Two different bikes captured my interest: the first was a red-colored bike that I saw on Senior Xavier's jacket, and the second was a grayish bike that I saw in the cafeteria that very day.

A shot rang out, startling me as I was about to inquire about the grayish one. I jerked my head in its direction. It signaled the start of the race. All the bikes became virtually invisible in a split second. The crowd was engrossed in chanting and doing their normal stuff. Heck, even my friends, of course, except Austin, were acting as if they were the ancestors of gorillas!

Austin and I exchanged a cringing expression before chuckling. I returned my focus to the racetrack. They were yelling a specific name, Aylwin, I assume.

My eyes tracked every biker's movement as they drove recklessly. It was the time when I wanted so badly to thank my brother for making me watch all those stupid races!

Huh, God save their organs, bones, and muscles!

I was standing next to Austin. "Who are these bikers, exactly? I mean, our university students? "

He nodded, "Not everybody, to be sure. Some are from our university, while the others are from other colleges or are frequent illegal racers. "

"Some of them? " I asked, frowning.

"They all belong to different gangs," he murmured.

I gave him a perplexed smile. "Like—the one with the yellowish bike, is the junior year student. His gang's name is the Toxic Racers. Xavier is the one with the red bike. Sexy Speeders is the name of his gang. " He went on to say more.

"Sexy Speeders, seriously? So cheap! " I remarked. He snorted and shook his head. He went on, "The one with the green motorcycles is from a different university. They're known as the Track Hunters, and the racer on the purple motorcycle is known as the Violet Devils. " Aaah, that was a lot!

"So, what about the grayish one? Who is that? " As my attention was drawn to the mysterious bike that was actually lagging behind, I inquired.

"You haven't heard of him?" Austin's question caught me off guard.

I stared at him, perplexed. "Um... no? Should I know him? "

He smiled and said, "Seems like Ivy hasn't revealed everything about the university. He is, after all, the King of S Racers and the best of all. He, too, is a senior and the sole focus of everyone's interest..." Loud shrieking noises hit my ears before he could finish his sentence.

I quickly turned my neck to the track with widened eyes and a dropped jaw. What the fuck was he doing? Was he crazy or what!? Did I just pronounce the infamous "f" word? Fuck, yes! Oh shit, I again said! What the fuck was wrong with me!? Oh, no! I really needed to stop it.

The same grayish bike that was formerly in the back was then speeding about like a lunatic. Senior Xavier was the first, followed by a yellowish one, and eventually a grayish one. The race was set to finish in less than a minute. The grayish bike accelerated along the smooth oval track's curves. The whole track was clouded by dark clouds of smoke and dust. Overtaking the yellowish one, he did the two strokes... Oh no, fuck!

For a fleeting moment, the audience became quiet. Silent to the point of being deafening! It all seemed to move at a glacial pace. He was on the brink of colliding with the track, and his grip clenched as he struggled to hold his balance. He didn't stop, even though his face was just a mere inch from hitting the dirt. He accelerated his pace again, his bike screaming maniacally as he passed Senior Xavier, and swiftly hit the finish line in a matter of seconds.

It was hard to imagine everything happening in under a minute! Either the clock was ticking too slowly, or he was speeding. Heck, I'd rather go for the latter. That was a reckless pass! Fuck it, he could have died!

The crowd erupted when they learned he was alive and well; as if swept over by a wave of joy, they began screaming and jumping as they chanted his name, "Aylwin!" He was Aylwin, for sure!