Chapter 31: Shared Spaces

Aveline’s POV

Coach Hale’s announcement nearly stopped my heart “The boys will be sharing rooms.”

The lobby immediately exploded with complaints.

Milo looked personally offended by the concept of sharing with fellow gender while Landon argued loudly that sharing a room with Milo violated basic human rights. Theo found the entire thing hilarious. Cassian stood near the elevators, silently scrolling through his phone, as if none of it mattered.

Meanwhile, I stood completely frozen, sharing rooms?

With actual boys? My soul almost left my body.

The coach continued reading pairings while the players grabbed their luggage and room cards from the front desk. I barely heard any of it because panic was already building inside my chest.

Then I saw Kieran walking toward me Immediately I reacted. “I’ll stay with Thorne.”

The words flew out so fast that even I looked shocked after saying them. Several players turned toward me instantly.

Coach Hale frowned deeply. “Everyone was paired from the beginning,” he replied. “Hampton is the only one without a roommate.”

That somehow made everything worse. Kieran stopped directly in front of me now looking exhausted already.

“Unfortunately, you are stuck with me” he said calmly.

“You are the one stuck with me.” I ignored him completely.

Coach handed him the final room key. “Hampton and Carter.”

My stomach dropped.

This could not be happening, We eventually headed upstairs with the rest of the team while my brain desperately tried thinking of ways to survive the night without exposing myself.

The hallway alone looked richer than my entire house. Soft golden lights reflected across polished floors while expensive paintings decorated the walls. Even the carpets looked too luxurious to step on.

Kieran walked ahead casually carrying his hockey bag over one shoulder while I followed behind trying not to spiral into panic.

When we finally entered the room, my anxiety somehow became worse. The place was massive. Huge windows overlooked the glowing Boston skyline while warm lights illuminated the expensive furniture perfectly. A television larger than my bedroom wall sat opposite the beds.

Then I noticed the beds were one large king-size bed not the two queen-sized beds the separate small ones.

I stared at them in horror before the most ridiculous question escaped my mouth. “Are we going to share a bed together?”

Kieran slowly looked toward me like I had genuinely offended him. “You can willingly sleep on the floor?” he asked. “I love my comfort too much for that.”

I immediately looked away embarrassed by my own stupidity. Kieran dropped his bag near the nearest bed before stretching slightly.

Then suddenly something clicked inside my brain My luggage I looked around quickly Then froze That wasn’t my bag My pulse spiked instantly.

“fuck sake”

Kieran glanced toward me while loosening his jacket.

“Why are you shouting?”

“I think my luggage got mixed up with another person’s.”

That immediately terrified me. Because inside my luggage were things nobody should see: the binder, Sports bras. Clothes.

Kieran frowned slightly before thinking for a second.

“I think you and Cassie have the same luggage,” he said casually. “Ask him.”

My entire body went cold Cassian Thorne. Of all people my life is unfair to me at this point Without wasting another second, I hurried back into the hallway with my heart practically choking me alive.

Please don’t open it.

Please don’t open it.

That thought repeated inside my head the entire walk toward Cassian’s room. I stopped outside the door trying to breathe normally before knocking twice.

A few seconds later the door opened. Theo stood there holding a bag of chips.

“What are you doing here, Asher?”

I didn’t even answer him I immediately pushed past slightly trying to look around the room.

Theo blinked in confusion. “Okay... what happened".

My eyes searched desperately across the room until I finally saw it My luggage was pushed carelessly near the side wall untouched Relief slammed into me so hard my knees almost weakened slightly.

Theo still looked confused.

“What exactly are you doing?”

“My bag got mixed up with Cassie’s,” I muttered quickly. “I came to collect it.”

I grabbed my luggage immediately.

The second my hands touched it, relief flooded through me again. It was untouched, no one opened it

Without waiting for more questions, I quickly left the room carrying my luggage as my life depended on it.

Which honestly wasn’t far from the truth.

By the time I returned, Kieran was already inside the bathroom. The sound of running water echoed softly through the room.

Panic returned immediately There was absolutely no way I could use that bathroom after him. I quickly grabbed my essentials from my luggage before slipping back out into the hallway quietly.

The hotel gym sat downstairs near the lobby almost completely empty by that hour. A few treadmills glowed beneath dim lights while soft music played faintly overhead.

The staff member near the entrance looked up when I approached.

“I’m doing an extra night workout,” I lied smoothly while holding my toiletries.

He barely questioned it.

Thankfully the locker room showers were empty. I locked myself inside one of the stalls and finally exhaled properly for what felt like the first time all evening. The hot water relaxed some of the tension in my shoulders but not enough Nothing about this trip felt safe anymore.

By the time I returned upstairs, the room lights were dimmed. Kieran sat against the headboard scrolling through his phone wearing grey sweatpants shirtless

I immediately looked away Then quietly started creating distance between our beds. I dragged one of the large hockey equipment bags between them first.

Then another.

Then I stacked extra pillows awkwardly near the middle like some kind of protective wall.

Kieran watched silently for almost a full minute before speaking. “You know that looks insane, right?”

“It’s called privacy", I wouldn't want to stay up all night staring at your chest

“Normal people sleep shirtless.”

I ignored him completely. Eventually, I climbed onto my bed carefully while keeping as much distance between us as possible.

Surprisingly, Kieran didn’t complain anymore after that. He simply turned toward the opposite side of his bed facing away from me.

Silence slowly filled the room afterwards.

Outside the giant windows, Boston lights glowed beautifully against the dark sky. I thought Kieran had fallen asleep already until his voice suddenly broke through the quiet.

“How do you feel about tomorrow’s game?”

I looked toward the ceiling. “Fine.”

Then spoke about pressure. About scouts constantly watching him, at every game feeling like something that could decide his entire future.

“The team thinks away games are fun,” he muttered quietly. “For me, it feels like somebody is constantly waiting for me to fail.”

Something about his voice made my chest tighten unexpectedly, I genuinely pitied him.

Kieran Hampton carried pressure like it was stitched directly into his skin And somehow nobody seemed to notice because they only saw the confidence.

We spent most of the night talking quietly after that life Nothing too personal but enough to make the room feel strangely less tense.

Eventually, his voice faded off completely.

I turned slightly and realised he had fallen asleep But I still couldn’t sleep the fear of talking in my sleep and saying the wrong thing beside Kieran Hampton