BOUND BY THE TARGET ( HER FORBIDDEN TARGET)

My eyes were fixed on the teacher’s desk at the front of the classroom. A small golden statue sat on it, shining under the fluorescent lights. I stared at it absentmindedly until something smacked the back of my head. I turned sharply. The YAN boys were laughing. One of them had thrown a crumpled paper at me. My face burned with anger, but I forced myself to look away and stared down at my desk instead. A few seconds later, I raised my head again only to find them still mocking me. “Leave if you know what’s good for you,” I warned coldly. “Oh, the dummy speaks,” Yu mocked, sending the others into another round of laughter. “Leave. Now.” I slammed my fist against the desk. Yu smirked. “And what the f**k do you think you can do, English boy?” A slow smile crept onto my face. I raised my index finger. Suddenly, the three boys screamed in agony. Their laughter vanished instantly as pain ripped through their bodies. I could feel my power flowing through them perfectly. Pain induction was one of the few abilities I had mastered completely. The classroom door suddenly burst open. Mr. Wu stood at the entrance, his sharp eyes scanning the room. The air instantly became tense as he walked slowly to the front of the class. His face looked like thunder ready to strike. “Oh s**t,” I muttered under my breath. “What happened here?” he asked in a voice loud enough to silence everyone. Nobody answered. Mr. Wu’s expression darkened. “No answer? Fine. All of you will be punished.” “Sir,” a girl from the back spoke up. “Crispo used his powers on the YAN boys.” Soo Jie. Of course it was her. “I see,” Mr. Wu said, adjusting his glasses. “English boy, you think having powers means you can do whatever you like?” I stayed quiet. “Get up. Two days in detention. And I’ll be informing your mother.” I didn’t bother arguing. Honestly, part of me felt I deserved it. Still, living in a place full of people who hated Americans made everything worse. Every single day felt like war. I stood up quietly and walked out of the classroom while everyone stared at me. Detention wasn’t completely terrible though. Mike, Jason, and Emily were there too for different reasons, so the two days passed faster than expected. By Thursday, we were finally released. But one thing was obvious. These people hated us Americans. And I was getting tired of pretending not to notice. --- After school, I got home and found Mum buried in paperwork in the living room. She looked up immediately when I walked in. I ignored her and headed for the stairs. “Crispo,” she called softly. I kept walking. “Do you know how rude it is to ignore me when I’m talking to you? I’m your mother.” I stopped halfway up the stairs. “Why ask how I’m doing when you don’t even care about my wellbeing?” Her expression fell instantly. “If I didn’t care, would I bother asking what happened at school?” I laughed bitterly. “I don’t think you do. Everything happening to me is because of you.” The words hit harder than I expected. Tears gathered in her eyes as I turned away and continued upstairs. Part of me felt bad… But another part blamed her completely. If she hadn’t left Dad and brought me here, none of this would’ve happened. I entered my room exhausted, tossed my bag onto the bed, and headed straight for the bathroom. Five minutes later, I stepped out with a towel tied around my waist. I grabbed a singlet and shorts from the wardrobe, changed quickly, then collapsed onto my bed. I plugged my earphones into my phone and played Breathe by Mackenzie Ziegler. The soft melody slowly calmed my nerves while I scrolled through updates online. At some point, I drifted off to sleep. --- I woke up when the light in my room suddenly came on. I blinked and looked toward the switch. Mum. She walked over quietly and sat beside me on the bed. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently. “I’m fine,” I replied, forcing a small smile. She sighed. “I’m sorry, darling. I never meant to put you through all this. I thought bringing you here would give you a better life—” “You don’t have to apologize, Mum,” I interrupted softly. “You were only trying to do what was best for me. And… I’m sorry for earlier. I wasn’t thinking straight.” She smiled sadly and touched my hair. “Shhh. It’s okay. Get some sleep, dear. You have school tomorrow.” She switched off the light and left the room quietly. But sleep never came back. So I stayed awake replying to messages on w******p until morning. --- The next day felt surprisingly peaceful. The weather was beautiful, and for once the campus didn’t feel suffocating. I stopped by my locker before class. “Hmm… I’ll need this too,” I muttered, reaching for my Nine Elemental Powers study book. Suddenly, someone nudged my hand. I turned around and saw Moorie smiling at me. Before I could react, she threw her arms around me in a warm hug. My heartbeat instantly betrayed me. She pulled away slowly but kept hold of my hand as we walked toward class together. “Sorry about what happened,” she said softly. “Just stay away from the YAN boys.” “They came at me first. I didn’t go looking for trouble.” I stopped walking, and she stopped too. “Why’d you stop?” she asked curiously. I looked at her. “I just want to know why your people hate Americans so much.” She stared at me for a moment before smiling. “I don’t think they hate you guys,” she said teasingly. “I think they’re jealous… especially of a handsome guy like you.” God. The way she smiled should honestly be illegal. “Really?” I asked, trying not to blush. She nodded innocently. And somehow that made it worse. --- Later that afternoon, Mike and I headed to the Elemental Haven for training. As we passed the cheerleaders’ dressing room, we froze. The door was slightly open. Inside, several girls were changing outfits. Some were already dressed while others were still in bras and panties, laughing casually like they had no idea anyone was watching. Mike slowly leaned against the wall beside me. “Bro…” he whispered like he’d just seen heaven. I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t deny the view was distracting. Smooth thighs, curvy waists, teasing smiles… it was enough to mess with any teenage boy’s focus. I snapped out of it first. “Mike, let’s go before we get killed.” “Go where?” he asked without taking his eyes off the room. “To training, idiot.” He groaned dramatically. “Sometimes I hate you.” “You better not. Besides, there are cameras everywhere.” That finally got his attention. Barely. The huge bulge in his trousers said otherwise. Before things could get worse, voices echoed down the hallway, forcing us to leave quickly. --- The Elemental Haven was packed with students training their abilities under Mr. Chi’s supervision. I lifted a container of water into the air using telekinesis and spun it around effortlessly. Honestly, I was getting too good at this. Mike, on the other hand, looked completely distracted. The cheerleaders were obviously still replaying in his head. Smirking, I floated the water container above him and dumped it directly onto his body. Cold water soaked his clothes instantly. Mike wiped his face slowly and glared at me. I simply gave him a focus gesture. Muttering curses under his breath, he walked off toward the towel rack. Trying not to laugh, I turned my attention back to training. I focused on several decorative vases lined against the wall, making them vibrate slightly with my telekinesis. Then suddenly— Someone shoved my head from behind. My concentration broke instantly. CRASH! Every vase shattered against the floor. Mike looked horrified. “What the f**k…” “Dude,” I muttered, staring at the mess, “we are doomed.” “Oh God… these idiots broke our vase!” one of the Haven boys shouted angrily. “What should we do to them?” another asked. “We beat the hell out of them.” Five boys started marching toward us aggressively. Then unexpectedly— Three other boys stepped in front of us. The YAN boys. “You guys should leave them alone,” Yunshu said calmly. Mike looked at me in complete confusion. Honestly? Same. “What do you idiots think you’re doing?” one of the Haven boys snapped. “Protecting them,” Naruto replied with a grin. “I’ll give you one chance to move.” “And if we don’t?” Yunshu challenged. The short guy smirked darkly. “Then you chose this.” Electricity exploded around his fist before he launched a lightning bolt straight at us. Au reacted instantly. A glowing forcefield appeared in front of us just as the bolt slammed into it— —and bounced back. The attack hit the short guy directly in the chest and blasted him across the floor. Everyone froze. Then chaos erupted. Some students screamed while others ran for cover. Right on cue, Mr. Chi rushed in to find students gathered around the shattered floor and one unconscious i***t twitching beside the wall. Mike grabbed my arm immediately. “We need to disappear. Right now.” I didn’t argue. The two of us bolted out of the Haven before anyone could stop us.