LET'S BREAK THEM

CHAPTER 05: ISOLATION

Step 1: Make them underestimate me.

Step 2: Cut off Ben’s reputation.

Step 3: Take everything Arya has.

Step 4: Make Ben have nobody left but me.

The day after Arya's scandal, the school changed.

The air changed.

No one sat with Arya at lunch.

Her table was empty.

Her "best friends" posted stories with other people from the cafeteria.

Caption: "New circle, new energy ✨"

New circle. Same people. Just without her.

She was ghosted.

Erased.

Like she never existed.

And Ben?

Ben was worse.

His followers dropped from 100k to 73k in 24 hours.

Brands emailed him "We're pausing the collab until this blows over."

The basketball team posted a group pic. He wasn't in it.

His own teammates stopped passing him the ball in practice.

Even the teachers looked at him different.

Like he was guilty until proven innocent.

I watched it all from the corner. Quiet.

Taking notes.

This was Step 4.

That afternoon it rained. Hard.

Sky went black at 3pm.

Everyone ran to their cars. Parents. Drivers. Ubers.

Everyone except Ben.

He stood by the gate, no umbrella. Phone dead.

Hair dripping. Uniform soaked in 30 seconds.

Looking lost for the first time in his life.

The boy who had everything.

Now standing alone in the rain.

I almost kept walking.

Almost.

My feet took one step.

Then I remembered his face on my birthday.

The lights. The cake. The cameras.

"Who are you?"

Like I was nothing.

Like I was air.

So I opened my umbrella and stopped next to him.

Water dripped off the edge between us.

"You gonna stand here and drown, Carter?"

He looked at me. Really looked.

Eyes red. Tired.

Like he was seeing me for the first time.

Not "charity case Kudo".

Just... me.

"Kudo."

"Yeah."

"My driver isn't coming."

"Figures."

A long pause. Rain hitting the pavement. Loud.

The whole school was empty now. Just us.

"Walk with me to the bus stop?" he asked.

Voice quiet. No orders. No smirk.

Just asking.

My heart did something stupid. It skipped.

Traitor.

This was the plan. Get close. Gain trust. Break him.

Make him need me.

"Fine," I said. Shrugged. "But don't get my shoes wet."

We walked in silence for 5 minutes.

Our shoulders almost touching under the umbrella.

The only sound was rain and our steps.

Then he spoke.

"Did you do it? The posts. The videos."

I stopped. Turned to him.

Rain on my face.

"Do I look like someone who has 200k to leak bank statements?

Do I look like someone who knows how to forge transfers?"

He didn't answer.

He just kept walking.

"Look," I sighed. Made my voice soft. Tired.

"I know what it's like. To have everyone turn on you overnight.

To have your name become a hashtag."

That was true.

Two weeks ago that was me.

Ben stared at the ground. Water running off his hair.

"Arya didn't do it. She wouldn't."

"Then who did?" I asked softly. Innocent.

He had no answer.

Because the answer was me.

By the time we reached the bus stop, he was soaked to the bone.

Shivering.

I was dry.

Perfect hair. Perfect plan.

"Thanks," he mumbled before getting on. Didn’t look at me.

"For what?"

"For not laughing."

"For not being like them."

The bus pulled away.

Taillights in the rain.

I stood there in the rain, umbrella in hand.

Watching him go.

Step 4 complete.

He's isolated.

No friends. No Arya. No team. No brand deals.

And I'm the only one who was kind to him.

I'm the only one who shared an umbrella.

Let him get used to that.

Let him start wondering why I’m the only one left.

`Chapter 5.

I gave him kindness.

Now I wait for him to need it.

-K`