The Only Rule

Chapter 3a: Bad Guy

“f**k!”

Liam shot up from his seat like he'd been electrocuted, eyes darting between Dominic—and the girl whose name turned out to be Renata—to the utterly stunned crowd. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd like a wave of disbelief. Conversations screeched to a halt, and for a split second, it felt like time itself stopped. The audience didn’t know whether to laugh, or shout, or—

Renata, frozen, blinked in disbelief, her face turning deep crimson. Her friend’s jaw dropped, staring in complete shock at Dominic. Across from her, Tyler’s mouth hung open like a nutcracker doll.

Liam, thinking fast—well, trying to—spun around, voice shaky, stammering as he waved to the room. "He—he’s drunk, everyone—!"

“No I’m not.”

But Dominic didn’t flinch. He stood there, as if daring the world to react—eliciting another curse to come out of Wyatt’s trembling mouth. Tyler panically grabbed Liam by the collar, practically hyperventilating.

"He’s mad, bro! We went too far—! We pushed him too far—!"

Then he swung to face the two girls, hands in the front in resigned apology. "Listen—uh, Renata and—" he stammered as he realized he hadn't asked for the other girl’s name either, face turning desperate, he gave up, "we’re so sorry—this is all our fault, okay—we picked on him too much—ok listen, we know he’s short tempered but we didn’t think he’d detonate in front of the entire f*****g—"

“And tonight!”

Dominic’s voice boomed from the stage, cutting Tyler off like a guillotine. He didn’t know either whether it’s the liquid courage, but he’s feeling the adrenaline rushing through. his. veins!

Spreading his arms wide like he was about to deliver the performance of a lifetime, he roared, "I’ll be singing her a song," pointing a finger at Renata, who was still sitting there, mortified. “Know that song? By that K-pop boy?" he looked around, clearly fishing for the title, before smugly, he tilted his head to hiss, "You know—the one about.. f*****g?"

Liam dropped back into his seat like his legs had given out. His hands slapped over his face, utterly defeated. "I swear to God I’m gonna cry."

Tyler groaned, "We gotta go over there man—" but as he exchanged a look with his other bro, a knowing look flashed between them. In resignation, Cavill dropped on his seat, muttering,

“It’s too late now, he’ll kill us up there. Yes he will.”

Meanwhile, you glanced around, baffled. How the f**k there were still girls swooning at this arrogant—no brain creature?! That’s when the band on stage suddenly kicked in with the intro to ‘Seven.’ Why of course, the band obeyed him. The world is such a misogynistic son of a b***h.

“Weight of the world on your shoulders~ I kiss your waist and ease your mind~”

That same cocky grin plastered on his face the moment Dominic's smooth voice filled the room—and you exchanged a silent look with Talia.

Not. fair.

His voice was annoyingly good, like—swoon-worthy good. No wonder the girls—ugh f**k. If the situation weren’t a complete and utter disaster, you’d both be melting in your seats. Too bad, he turned out to be just like the other male species that you know.

”You wrap around me and you give me life~ And that's why night after night, I'll be f*****g you right—”

You had enough.

Hell nah. You won’t sit here—and let him think he could act like an asshole and get away with anything—

“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday~”

Without a second thought, you stood up and marched to the front. Dominic, still singing the chorus part, raised an eyebrow, watching her approaching him.

“Every hour, every minute, every second. You know, night after night~ I’ll be—“

When you snatched the mic from Dominic’s hand with a piercing glare. He met your gaze, unfazed, a challenging glint in his eyes. His eyebrow arched as if to say, Oh? And as you adjusted your grip on the mic, a slow smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

The audacity in his stance was unmistakable, but you weren’t about to back down. Mirroring his cocky grin, you leaned into the mic and spoke, voice loud and clear, cutting through the tension in the room.

"So you invite me here, thinking you could sleep with me—then you serenade me—to sleep with me? You are too kind. Cute. Putain d'imbécile."

For a moment he looked startled. Clearly intrigued, Dominic looked you up and down like you’re some new plaything he couldn’t wait to unravel. Probably not expecting your boldness—or your flaming pettiness. And.. French? His lopsided grin only grew wider.

“W—what’s your friend doing?” Liam stammered from his seat, hands gripping the edge of his seat as his shirt drenched in nervous sweat.

Talia rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “What? Didn’t think people bite back? God, he’s just too entitled his whole life, huh?” she hissed, raising an eyebrow to Liam and Tyler’s gaping mouth before snapping, “My bad, all three of you I mean.”

Tyler and Liam exchanged panicked glances. "Oh, no no no—we’re not like him!" Tyler quickly defended, as Liam shook his head furiously.

“Hell nah—we’re not like him—” Liam added, looking mortified, as they both practically slumped in their seats, embarrassed beyond belief.

“So, Dominic, right?”

You raised an eyebrow to Dominic, turned to the band while still keeping your gaze on him.. before a smirk formed on your lips, and you declared, “Now let me be the one serenading you.”

The band exchanged surprised glances, eyebrows raised. One of them, a drummer with shaggy hair, nearly dropped his sticks in shock. The guitarist quickly adjusted his grip, stifling a laugh, but his eyes sparkled with anticipation.

From the corner of your eye, you caught the reaction from the crowd. Eyes wide with excitement, they shifted closer to the stage, eager to see what would happen next. Someone in the back even whistled, adding to the tension.

Tyler and Liam, who had been watching from the sidelines, leaned toward Liam, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of disbelief and.. amusement. Talia nodded in smugness, however, not seeming to be surprised. As for Dominic..

He didn’t move. His expression shifted for just a second, something like surprise flickering in his eyes before he quickly masked it with amusement. There was a glint in his eyes—half-challenged, half-impressed—something that hadn’t been there before. Probably he’s taking you seriously for the first time.

You have his full attention now.

“Just give me a short version and I'm done—don’t wanna be near him for too long,” you whispered to the band—who hesitated for a moment.. but nodded, kicking off the intro. As the familiar notes of ‘Bad Guy’ filled the air.. you hummed.

“White shirt now red, my bloody nose~”

And Dominic can’t hide the surprise his face had displayed.

He heard her speak.

It was melodic.

But he hadn’t expected her voice to be this.. polished.

Some people let out little gasps, satisfied, in awe. A few started to clap—but ending up hesitating, trailing off awkwardly.

Too soon, his blue eyes darkened as she moved closer.. tracing her hand down his chest while singing,

“So you're a tough guy, like-it-really-rough guy, just-can't-get-enough guy, chest-always-so-puffed guy—”

His breath hitched as he felt her fingers getting nearer to—and his cocky smile returned as he whispered, “This is just an excuse to touch me, right?”

While still maintaining the mic near her lips, she brushed her lips near his ear.. and muttered, “Nah. Just checking if it’s still functioning—coz your brain clearly isn’t.”

For once, Dominic’s amused expression faltered ever so slightly. The smirk vanished from his face as his expression turned into a scowl.

“I’m the baad guy.”

Now her fingers trailed under his chin. He flinched, though trying to maintain his cool. For a perfect pause, Renata tilted her head and drew a smirk, turned to the crowd to wink—

“Duh.”

Before suddenly turning away from him, causing her heavy curly hair to slap his cocky face. Retracting his head with closed eyes from the impact, Dominic scoffed. And the audience cheered, loving how their once just-chilling hangout became a cheap off-the-cuff sing-off.

From the back of the room, Tyler and Wyatt erupted in laughter. "Oooohhhh, burnnnnn!" Wyatt practically shouted, while Tyler was clutching his chest dramatically.

Talia, glowing with pride, muttered under her breath, "That’s my girl,"

Can’t contain the lopsided grin on his face, Liam blurted, “If they didn’t have so much s****l tension, I’d kiss her myself.”

Talia’s head snapped towards him, eyes blazing. “Oh, hell no,” she shot back, already rolling up her sleeves like she was about to sting like a bee. Tyler, seeing this, immediately slapped his hand over his face while Liam quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"Allllright, alright—I get it, I’m backing off," Liam stammered, as Tyler gave him a sideways glance, mouthing i***t.

Back at the front, the two of you were locked in a tense, silent face-off. You narrowed your eyes, before finally blurting, “I am sooo turning lesbian because of you. Understandable, right? If all the male species barely have manners like you.”

Dominic’s smirk never faltered. If anything, it widened. “Ooh, that might be better, love. You can invite one of your friends—”

“You’re gross.”

“What if.”

Dominic’s eyes darkened, but he wasn’t done. With a swift move, he grabbed the mic from your hand and lowered it just so no one could hear the two of you this time. Raising an eyebrow he moved closer.. before he opened his mouth to hiss,

“We make a bet?”

Liam’s face twisted in horror as Tyler’s trauma resurfaced. "Oh for f***s sake—"

Dominic grinned devilishly to you as he continued, “Here’s the deal. If I can turn a hot lesbian like you straight, you’ll stick with me for the rest of your life. Deal?”

This time, his comment elicited a few boos from the crowd, but Dom just raised his hand and said, “Just for her, ladies. I love all my lesbians out there—”

”Seriously. What is wrong with you?”

”Because you’ll look great in my CV, love,” Dominic sneered without missing a beat.

You could only blink, your mind struggling to comprehend the sheer audacity. Not even dignifying him with a response, you spun on your heel and started to walk away, determined to leave this absurd mess behind.

"Hey. Love,"

Dominic’s voice immediately called after you, almost casually. You paused, exhaling the last of your patience, you turned, just enough to give him a scathing look. Only to find him say,

"Wanna make some covers instead?"

Your jaw clenched, before instantly storming back to your table in silent disbelief, scooping up your things while Tyler and Liam scrambled to apologize—practically falling over themselves in their panic.

Cannot hold it any longer, you snapped, slamming your bag onto the table and spun back around—

“Espèce de crétin arrogant! Comment oses-tu me parler comme ça devant tout le monde?! Tu penses que c’est drôle, hein?! Que tu peux faire des blagues idiotes et te moquer de moi? Eh bien, tu es pathétique! PATHÉTIQUE! Et pour ta gouverne, je préférerais vivre sur une île déserte entourée de serpents que de passer une seconde de plus à t’écouter dire tes conneries!”

Dominic? Oh, he just stood there, arms crossed, the corners of his lips twitching upward as his dark eyes scanned your face. “f**k, that’s hot,” he muttered under his breath, clearly enjoying himself far too much.

“W—Wyatt—what did she say?” Tyler stammered, breaking the silence. Wyatt, still wide-eyed and blinking from the scene, didn’t say anything at first—until Tyler shoved him, desperate for answers. “WHAT?!”

The other blonde finally let out a defeated sigh, rubbing the back of his neck before plastering on a small, fake smile. “She said ‘f**k you.’”

Tyler narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Can you be for real?!”

Liam slumped back in his seat, defeated. “Bro. She said ‘f**k you.’ Just—with maaaany bolds and exclamation marks.”

Talia, ready for a fight, stood up next to you, glaring daggers at Dominic—who’s also been walking back towards the group. And just as you were ready to leave, you could hear his low voice whispering in your ear.

"You don’t remember me?"

You froze at his words, body stiffening. Slowly, you turn, face a mixture of curiosity and fury. You scanned his features.

The cocky smirk that hadn’t left his face.. the angular jawline.. the sharpness of his gaze.. His blonde hair gleamed under the dim light—and his low voice—the dark blue eyes—

“What’s your name again?”

Dominic’s smirk deepened. Tilting his head slightly as if she had just walked into a trap.

“Dominic Hunt.”