Spider's grin wasn't the same anymore. It was too wide, too forced, stretched across his face like cracked paint. Jayden saw it every time he passed—the way Spider's eyes flicked left and right, watching the block, searching for the loyalty he used to own without question.
But the block had changed.
---
Doubt in the Web
At lunch, Jayden heard it in the whispers.
"Spider's slipping."
"Carter stood through it all."
"Maybe Spider ain't untouchable."
They weren't loud, not yet, but they carried. And Spider heard them too. He stood on his usual perch in the cafeteria, trying to laugh, but fewer boys joined in. Some kept their heads down. Others glanced at Jayden when they thought no one was watching.
For Spider, silence was betrayal. And betrayal meant one thing: someone had to bleed.
---
Rico's Anger
Rico took it harder than anyone. His pride had been battered in the yard, and Spider's silence made him meaner. He prowled like a dog looking for a throat.
He cornered Jayden near the showers, voice low but shaking with fury. "You think this ends with whispers? You think beating me once makes you king?"
Jayden's jaw tightened. "Not king. Just not afraid."
Rico's fists curled, but he didn't swing. Not yet. He wanted Spider's nod, Spider's blessing. And Spider wasn't giving it. That hesitation said everything—the strings between them were fraying.
---
The Guard's Slip
That night, during bed check, the crooked guard Spider leaned on lingered at Jayden's cell. His smirk was gone, his voice low. "You're making my life harder, Carter. Spider's bleeding, and when he bleeds, I get cut too. You better watch yourself."
Jayden stared at him, fire steady in his chest. "Maybe you should pick better friends."
For the first time, the guard didn't sneer. He looked rattled, like maybe Spider's strings weren't strong enough anymore.
---
Dre's Counsel
Through the wall, Dre's voice came back strong. "You feel it? He's unraveling. Every time he swings and misses, every time you stand steady, the block sees him weaker. Even his guard feels it."
Jayden pressed his palms to the concrete. "So what now? Finish him?"
"Careful," Dre rasped. "Cornered animals don't go quiet. He'll come harder than ever. But listen—his grip's cracking. Don't waste it. Let him break himself."
Jayden lay back, chest burning steady. For weeks, Spider had been dragging him into fights, forcing him into corners. But now, for the first time, Spider was the one cornered.
And Jayden was ready to watch him break.
---
The Sketch
He opened his sketchbook and drew a spider with legs snapping one by one, web unraveling around it. Above the spider, he drew scissors glowing red, cutting thread after thread.
Underneath he wrote: He's already falling. I just have to keep standing.
---
The block wasn't Spider's anymore. Not fully. And that scared him more than anything.