Chapter 34: Losing Control

Kieran’s POV

I don’t know why I lose my senses every time I see Asher hurt or with someone else.

Advancing didn’t matter to me. In that moment, seeing him happy was everything until I saw that he was hurt. Scouts were watching. Reporters kept throwing cameras in my face. Crestwood was one win closer to nationals and my father would probably spend the next week replaying highlights like they were religious scripture, but none of that stayed in my head tonight.

My hands were still shaking from cleaning Asher’s wound in the locker room. When Daphne had burst in screaming at me to get away from him, I’d backed off immediately. But I couldn’t forget how small his wrist felt under my hands or how fast his heart was hammering against his body.

I’m the captain.

I’m supposed to protect my line, not obsess over them.

The nightclub celebration only made everything worse.

I wasn’t the kind of person who drank recklessly, wasn’t even supposed to drink that much tonight.

Normally I stayed careful during away games because my father had spent years drilling discipline into my skull until it became instinct.

But tonight my head already felt too crowded and I was in my feelings. The alcohol in the Boston VIP lounge blurred everything around me. Loud music shook the walls while flashing lights bounced across bodies crowded together on the dance floor.

Everyone around me looked happy. Theo and Milo were already halfway drunk celebrating like the season already belonged to Crestwood.

Maybe they were right, Tonight had been one of our biggest wins. The team was on fire And every single time I looked around the club, my eyes searched for Asher automatically.

He stayed close to Daphne most of the night. Sometimes they laughed quietly together while talking and every single time I looked at them something unpleasant twisted inside my chest I hated the feeling immediately.

Then Percy appeared beside me again. A few months ago I probably would’ve wanted this. Now, all I felt was tired.

“You’ve barely spoken to me all night,” she complained while sitting beside me in the VIP section.

“I’m listening.”

“No, you’re distracted.”

I rubbed a hand over my face tiredly.

“I’m fine.”

She laughed softly. “You keep saying that.”

Before I could answer, Percy grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the booth area toward one of the darker hallways outside the lounge.

The music sounded quieter there.

Blue lights lined the walls while people occasionally passed by laughing loudly on their way back toward the main club.

Percy turned toward me with frustration already written across her face.

“You’re not feeling me anymore.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is,” she snapped quickly. “Every time that boy enters the room, you completely stop paying attention to everybody else.”

My jaw tightened instantly.

“Asher has nothing to do with this.”

But even I didn’t sound convincing Percy looked at me for another long second before suddenly kissing me.

Hard, Fast, and Desperate.

The kiss tasted like vodka and frustrations For one second, I kissed her back without thinking Then reality slammed into me instantly This was a mistake. Even while kissing her, my mind was somewhere else entirely.

And the exact second I pulled away, I saw movement near the hallway entrance Asher...

He’d seen us.

The look on his face nearly destroyed me instantly Pure shattered betrayal flashed across his expression before he turned and stormed out through the club exit.

My stomach dropped violently “Asher.."

But he was already gone.

I pushed Percy aside immediately and ran after him into the freezing Boston night air. Cold wind hit my face sharply the second I stepped outside.

The streets glowed beneath city lights while distant music echoed faintly behind me from the club entrance.

Then I saw him further ahead.

Daphne had caught up to him, Her hands rested on his shoulders while they stood close together beneath the streetlights.

Something ugly twisted hard inside my chest My blood boiled instantly. I stopped walking immediately because the sight in front of me made something feel painfully wrong.

Asher looked emotional while Daphne stared directly into his face like she was trying to say something important.

And for the first time all night, real jealousy hit me fully. Because I knew that look.

I’d seen girls look at me like that before real panic settled inside my chest. Daphne liked him And somehow that realisation hurt more than seeing Percy kiss me.

I watched them for another second before finally turning away suddenly standing there felt unbearable.

Then I walked back toward the nightclub slowly while anger and confusion twisted together inside my head.

What the hell was happening to me , Why did it feel wrong imagining him with anyone else? None of it made sense anymore because I had absolutely no right feeling like this.

But watching them standing there together made my chest burn anyway.

The noise inside hit me again the moment I stepped through the doors: loud music, flashing lights, people laughing aas if nothing mattered beyond tonight. I made it back to the VIP section without really seeing anyone properly. Everything felt slightly off balance, like the floor wasn’t steady anymore.

I grabbed a drink from the table without asking who it belonged to and downed it in one go. It burned worse than I expected. Someone nearby laughed, saying something I didn’t care enough to hear. Then another voice some guy I didn’t recognise, made a comment about Asher, careless and stupid, like it was funny.

Something in me snapped.

I turned too fast. My chair scraped hard against the floor. I don’t even remember deciding to hit him just the impact, the shock in his face, the sudden chaos as people pulled me back. Security moved in late. Someone shouted my name, but it sounded far away.

“Don’t talk about him like that,” I heard myself say, voice rough and low.

The guy was dragged out still laughing, bleeding slightly but acting like it was nothing.

I stood there breathing hard, fists still tight, until Percy grabbed my arm and told me I was drunk.