001. the world's worst decision | masterlist | 002.
The corridor outside the science wing was loud—chairs scraping in distant classrooms, lockers slamming like punctuation marks, and the constant stampede of students trying to squeeze out the last bit of freedom before the next bell.
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, flickering faintly in a way nobody ever bothered to report anymore.
Loki was halfway through closing his locker when it happened.
Charles didn’t just say it—he launched it across the hallway like it had weight behind it.
Loki froze for a fraction of a second, then immediately looked around as if the walls themselves had betrayed him.
“Will you lower your voice for one second in your life?” he hissed, leaning slightly closer, his tone sharp but controlled in the way of someone who was actively trying not to make things worse.
Charles didn’t even acknowledge the request. His face had gone full disbelief—eyes wide, brows raised, mouth slightly open like his brain was still catching up.
“She broke up with you?!” he repeated, louder.
Loki dragged a hand down his face, slow and exhausted. “Keep your voice down.”
Beside Charles, Vivian stood a step back, arms loosely folded. He looked shocked too, but in a quieter, more contained way—like the information was still loading rather than exploding.
“She broke up with you?” Vivian repeated, but this time it came out like a whisper that didn’t quite believe itself.
Loki exhaled through his nose. “How did you even find out about this?”
“Juliette,” Vivian said immediately, like it was obvious.
“Of course,” Loki muttered under his breath, already regretting every decision that led to this conversation existing in public airspace.
He paused, glancing at both of them, then said it plainly, like ripping off a plaster.
“You broke up with her?!” they both shouted at the same time.
Loki physically flinched, shoulders tightening. “God—can you two act normal for five minutes?”
Charles dramatically leaned back against the lockers like he’d been struck in the chest. “This is sick,” he declared, staring at him like Loki had personally committed a crime against humanity. “This is actually sick. You broke up with her?”
“No, you didn’t,” Charles shot back instantly, pointing at him like he was cross-examining a suspect.
Loki blinked slowly. “…What?”
“She broke up with you,” Charles insisted, completely certain.
“I literally ended the relationship myself.”
Charles narrowed his eyes, suspicious. “Mm. Don’t believe you.”
Loki stared at him in silence for a beat that felt dangerously close to violence.
“She broke up with—mmfgh—”
Whatever Charles was about to say got physically cut off when Vivian’s hand snapped over his mouth mid-sentence.
Charles made a muffled, offended noise into his palm, eyes wide with betrayal.
Vivian didn’t even look at him. His attention stayed locked on Loki.
“You two actually broke up?” he asked again, slower this time, like if he said it carefully enough it might change.
“The girl you were obsessed with?”
Loki’s eyes flicked up immediately. “I was not obsessed with her.”
“You once drove forty minutes because she said she liked a specific milkshake,” Vivian said, tone even.
“Uh huh,” Vivian replied without missing a beat. “I’m just trying to understand what kind of psychological event led to this outcome.”
Around them, the hallway kept moving—groups of students laughing too loudly, a teacher calling someone’s name in the distance, a door slamming somewhere down the corridor. Someone brushed past Charles and muttered an apology without stopping.
Loki suddenly felt the weight of all of it at once. The noise, the attention, the conversation he should’ve never started here.
“It’s not a big deal,” he said, more tired than defensive.
“Oh, okay,” Charles managed to break free from Vivian’s hand, voice warped and annoyed. “So you ending the healthiest relationship any of us have ever witnessed isn’t a big deal. Got it.”
Charles' free speech was cut short by Vivian, who tightened his grip slightly without looking at him, effectively shutting him up again.
“It wasn’t healthy,” Loki muttered.
Vivian’s gaze sharpened slightly. “Seriously?”
“You broke up over one fight?”
Loki shoved his hands into his pockets, shifting his weight slightly. The hallway felt tighter now, like it had closed in around the conversation. Students passed behind them, voices blurring together, none of them really paying attention—but it still felt like too much.
“It’s complicated,” he said finally.
Vivian didn’t let him escape it. “Okay. So explain.”
Loki let out a slow breath through his nose, jaw tightening. “It’s stupid. Forget it.”
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Charles, still partially restrained, finally managed to force out something muffled.
“Omkay ihf yhu shay sho.”
Vivian tilted his head slightly, considering. “I think he said, ‘Okay if you say so.’”
“Oh.” Loki nodded once, like that settled it. “Right.”
Charles narrowed his eyes aggressively.
“Cahn yhu tahke yhur hand oph my mouf?”
Loki paused, thinking it through. “I think he said, ‘can you take your hand off my mouth.’”
Vivian removed his hand immediately.
But before he could fully remove it, Charles dragged a wet, deliberate lick across Vivian’s palm.
Vivian recoiled instantly, face twisting in disgust. “Eugh—did you just lick my hand?!”
Charles grinned like he’d won something. “That’s what you get.”
Vivian wiped his hand on his shirt with immediate, precise disappointment. “I actually don’t.”
a/n: hi guys Juliette (oc) is Vivian’s sister btw LOL thought I’d have to make that clear. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!! <3