The engineering team did not charge immediately.
They waited.
That alone told XH everything.
Engineering was never impulsive. They liked pressure. They liked watching people flinch first. They stood in their dark blue bands like a wall, buckets resting at their feet, water guns lowered but ready. Some of them smiled. Some of them stared without blinking.
KM stood at the front.
He did not shout.
He simply raised his chin and looked directly at Kitty.
Not June.
Kitty.
XH felt the shift in his chest before he understood it.
Kitty noticed too.
She did not react.
She never reacted when she should have. That was her strength and her weakness.
The whistle echoed again, short and sharp, signaling the round was live.
Engineering moved all at once.
Not forward. Sideways.
They split.
Two flanks. One center.
Andrew's voice cut through the noise. "They're isolating. Watch left."
Too late.
A bucket exploded near the left side, water splashing high, forcing health track to scatter instinctively. Engineering surged through the opening.
JP swore loudly and sprinted to block.
TZ collided with someone mid run, water sloshing everywhere.
HS yelped as he got drenched from behind and spun wildly trying to find who hit him.
XH stayed planted.
He did not chase chaos.
He watched Kitty and June.
Kitty was already moving, not away, but inward. Toward June. Toward the core of their group. She grabbed June's wrist without asking and pulled her two steps back just as a stream of water cut through the air where June had been standing.
June gasped, then laughed, breathless. "You're fast."
Kitty replied calmly, "You're loud."
June grinned despite herself.
That moment should have stayed small.
It did not.
KM stepped forward.
He lifted his bucket and spoke, voice clear, confident, and amplified by the sudden hush in the crowd.
"Careful, health track," he said. "You protect each other so much you forget who you're standing next to."
The words were aimed like knives.
XH felt June stiffen.
Kitty's grip tightened slightly.
June turned her head just enough to look at KM. Her eyes were sharp now, competitive fire flaring. "You talk too much."
KM smiled. "You listen too much."
Then he threw the bucket.
Water crashed hard, not at June, but at Kitty.
XH moved without thinking.
He stepped in front of Kitty, shoulder first.
Cold water slammed into his back.
The shock stole his breath for a second.
Kitty gasped softly.
June's eyes widened.
XH did not turn around.
He did not check if he was soaked.
He just stood there.
KM raised an eyebrow. "Heroics."
Kitty's voice cut in, low but steady. "Don't."
XH glanced back at her.
Kitty met his gaze, eyes intense. "Don't do that."
He swallowed. "I'm fine."
June stepped forward then, anger flashing across her face. "You don't get to throw at her."
KM laughed lightly. "I threw at the situation."
The crowd murmured.
Phones were raised higher now.
This was no longer just a game.
THKM shifted uneasily near the stage.
Lola's lips pressed into a thin line.
The Headmaster leaned forward in his chair, interest bright in his eyes.
The whistle did not blow.
No one stopped it.
Engineering surged again.
This time they targeted June.
Not with water alone.
With words.
"You sure he's protecting you too."
"Looks like he already chose."
"Second place energy."
June snapped.
She lifted her bucket and charged.
XH shouted her name but it drowned in noise.
June threw water hard, precise, soaking two engineering guys square in the chest.
They laughed and retaliated.
Water hit her shoulder. Her hair. Her back.
June did not retreat.
Kitty watched, jaw tight.
This was June's weakness.
Once June went forward, she did not step back.
Kitty moved again.
She did not chase June.
She flanked.
She darted to the side, caught an engineering guy off guard, and emptied her water gun into his chest. He yelped and stumbled.
The crowd roared.
Someone yelled, "Kitty!"
Another yelled, "June!"
XH felt his heart pound.
He was being pulled in two directions without moving at all.
KM noticed Kitty's movement and smirked.
He gestured sharply.
Engineering adjusted instantly.
Three of them converged.
Kitty found herself surrounded.
XH swore under his breath.
He sprinted.
JP and TZ followed without hesitation.
Water flew everywhere.
Someone slipped.
Someone screamed.
Buckets overturned.
XH reached Kitty just as a bucket was lifted above her head.
He grabbed the arm mid swing and twisted.
Water spilled uselessly onto the ground.
The engineering guy stumbled back, shocked.
Kitty stared at XH for half a second, eyes wide.
Then she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down as another stream of water sliced through the air where his head had been.
Their faces ended up inches apart.
Too close.
Too intimate.
The crowd screamed.
June saw it.
The world narrowed for her.
Not because of jealousy.
Because of realization.
Something deep and heavy settled in her chest.
She threw her bucket aside and marched toward them, water gun raised.
"Enough," June said loudly.
The word cut through the chaos like a blade.
Even engineering paused.
June stood soaked, hair plastered to her face, eyes blazing.
"This isn't funny anymore."
KM tilted his head. "Then stop playing."
June's voice did not waver. "You want a show. You got one. You want attention. Congratulations."
She lifted her water gun and pointed it straight at KM's chest.
"But don't talk about choices you don't understand."
She fired.
Water hit KM full force.
The crowd erupted.
KM wiped his face, still smiling, but something dark flickered in his eyes.
The whistle finally blew.
Long.
Sharp.
Final.
Engineering and health track froze.
The Headmaster stood, clapping slowly.
"Well," he said loudly. "That escalated beautifully."
Groans. Laughter. Cheers.
Students collapsed onto benches. Onto grass. Onto each other.
Water dripped everywhere.
XH stood still, chest heaving.
Kitty stepped back slightly.
June stepped back too.
The triangle reformed, awkward and unresolved.
SRM approached with a mocking smile. "That was dramatic."
Thoon laughed lightly. "Almost like a confession."
HTN tilted her head. "Still no official couple though."
June turned on them. "You're obsessed."
SRM shrugged. "Because it's entertaining."
Kitty met SRM's gaze, calm but firm. "Entertainment ends when you stop being invited."
SRM scoffed but did not reply.
The crowd began to disperse as the Headmaster announced a break before the final ceremonial events.
Music started again, softer now.
People buzzed.
Rumors were already being formed.
JP dropped onto the grass. "I'm dead."
TZ lay beside him. "Worth it."
HS sat with his head in his hands. "I think my soul left my body."
NS stood near XH, eyes sharp. "They were testing you."
XH nodded slowly. "I know."
NS glanced toward Kitty and June, who stood a few steps apart now, both silent. "And you're running out of time."
XH exhaled.
Kitty walked toward the water refill station.
XH followed.
She did not look at him until they reached the fountain.
Then she spoke, voice quiet. "You didn't have to step in."
XH nodded. "I know."
Kitty's fingers trembled slightly as she refilled her bottle. "But you did."
"Yes."
She looked at him then. Really looked.
"Do you know what that looks like from the outside."
XH swallowed. "I think so."
Kitty's eyes softened. "Good."
She turned away before he could respond.
June watched from a distance.
Her chest ached.
Not because she felt replaced.
Because she felt exposed.
NC approached her quietly. "You okay."
June nodded, then shook her head. "No."
NC smiled gently. "That's honest."
June stared at the wet ground. "I hate that I care this much."
NC squeezed her shoulder. "You care because you're alive."
June looked up, eyes shining. "What if I lose."
NC's expression grew serious. "What if you don't."
June laughed weakly. "I don't even know what winning looks like anymore."
NC glanced toward XH, then Kitty. "Neither do they."
As the sun dipped lower, the festival lights flickered on.
Water reflected gold and blue.
Laughter returned, but quieter.
Something had shifted.
The water festival was no longer just a festival.
It had become a mirror.
And everyone had seen something they could not unsee.
XH stood between Kitty and June again as the next announcement echoed through the courtyard.
He felt the weight of it all press down.
Not like fear.
Like inevitability.
Somewhere deep inside him, something whispered that this was only the beginning.
That joy could still exist.
But it would never be simple again.