Chapter 49: The Friction of Shadows

Aveline’s POV

The sky was still dark when Kieran pulled his black SUV into the quiet alley a block away from Crestwood Academy. The streets were empty except for the faint sound of traffic somewhere far away. My hands were cold from the morning air, and I quickly reached for the door handle before anyone could see us parked there together.

But before I could open it, Kieran grabbed my wrist.

“Not yet,” he said softly.

His voice was low and rough, still heavy from sleep. I turned toward him, about to remind him how risky this was, how someone could drive past at any second, but the words never left my mouth.

Kieran leaned across the centre console and kissed me.

My breath caught instantly.

One second, I was thinking about school, about Barrett and Silas, and hiding myself again, and the next, all I could feel was him. His hand slid from my wrist to the back of my neck, his fingers brushing through my hair as he pulled me closer. The kiss was deep and slow, warm enough to make my chest ache.

When he finally pulled back, his eyes stayed on my lips for a second too long.

Then he reached up and fixed the crooked collar of my hockey jersey carefully, like it actually mattered to him.

“Don’t let them push you around today,” he murmured. “If Barrett or Silas start anything during drills, let me deal with it. We handle things together now, Aveline.”

A laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

“I’m supposed to be a hockey player, remember?” I teased quietly. “Stop acting as if I’ll break.”

Kieran smirked, and honestly, that smile alone could ruin my ability to think straight.

“I’m treating you like my girlfriend,” he said. “There’s a difference.” The word girlfriend made heat rush straight into my face.

“Now go,” he added. “Before someone sees us.”

I leaned forward quickly and stole another kiss from him before opening the door. The second my shoes hit the pavement, reality came crashing back.

Inside his car, I had been Aveline. Outside, I had to become Asher again. I lowered my shoulders slightly, adjusted my posture, and shoved my hands into my pockets before walking toward the rink entrance.

The locker room was mostly empty when I entered. Only a few lights were on overhead, buzzing softly. I let out a slow breath and headed toward my locker at the far end of the room.

Then BANG. A hand slammed hard against the locker beside my head. I jumped and spun around instantly.

Theo Mercer stood in front of me. Something about him felt wrong immediately. His breathing was uneven, his grip tight around his hockey stick. His eyes looked exhausted and angry at the same time.

“Theo,” I said carefully. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

He laughed bitterly. “My problem?” he snapped, stepping closer. “My problem is that I saw you with Hampton last night.”

My stomach dropped. For one horrible second, panic exploded through me. Did he know?, Did he figure out I was Aveline?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said quickly.

“Don’t lie to me!” Theo shouted, slamming his hand against the locker again.

The sound echoed through the empty room. “Kieran Hampton is straight,” Theo hissed. “Everybody knows that. So why the hell does he look at you like that?”

I stared at him silently. “You think I didn’t notice his SUV parked down the block this morning?” Theo continued. “You came out of his car, Asher.”

Relief mixed painfully with panic inside my chest. He didn’t know I was a girl. But he was jealous, not entirely Something deeper. Something emotional he clearly didn’t even understand himself.

“Theo,” I said firmly, pushing against his chest to make space between us, “whatever is going on between Hampton and me is none of your business.”

His face twisted. “I’m the one who protects you around here!” he shouted.

His voice cracked halfway through the sentence, and I noticed the frustrated shine in his eyes before he looked away angrily.

“He’s using you,” Theo said more quietly now. “Guys like Hampton don’t suddenly care about people like us unless they want something.”

“Kieran isn’t like that.”

The defence came out before I could stop it. Theo froze. That seemed to hurt him more than anything else.

“You actually trust him now?” he asked quietly.

Before I could answer, the locker room doors swung open loudly. Milo and Landon walked in laughing about something, their voices bouncing off the walls. More teammates followed behind them, filling the room with noise.

Theo stepped back immediately. The look he gave me before walking away made guilt twist in my stomach.

The rest of the practice felt tense after that.

Every time Barrett skated too close during drills, Kieran’s attention snapped toward him instantly. I noticed it every single time. So did Barrett.

At one point Barrett smirked at me through the cage of his helmet.

“Relax, mascot,” he muttered while skating past. “You look nervous.”

Kieran nearly slammed him into the boards for getting too close.

Coach Hale blew his whistle immediately.

“Hampton! Control yourself!”

Kieran backed off, jaw tight, eyes still locked on Barrett like he wanted to kill him. And somehow, knowing he was watching over me made my chest warm.

By afternoon, I escaped to the school library hoping things would finally calm down.

No such luck. The second I walked past the study lounge, I heard Milo laughing loudly.

I stopped near the glass wall and looked inside.

Daphne sat alone at a table surrounded by books and papers. She looked stressed already, but Milo and Landon were making things worse by leaning over her desk and bothering her.

“Come on, Sinclair,” Milo teased. “You seriously confessed to the mascot?”

Landon snorted “You could do way better than Carter.”

Daphne’s face turned bright red. “Can you both leave me alone?” she muttered.

“We’re helping you,” Milo said dramatically. “This is charity work.”

Landon reached toward her notebook.

Before he could touch it, a heavy book slammed onto the table so loudly the entire room jumped.

Cassian Thorne stood behind them.

The atmosphere changed instantly. Cassian didn’t say anything at first. He just stood there staring at them with that cold expression everyone at Crestwood feared.

“The library is for studying,” Cassian finally said.

His voice was calm, but somehow that made it scarier. “If you’re not studying, leave.”

Milo raised both hands. “Relax, man. We were joking.”

“I don’t care.” That was all Cassian said.

But it was enough. Landon grabbed Milo’s sleeve immediately. “Yeah, okay. We’re leaving.”

The two of them disappeared from the library within seconds.

Daphne still looked shaken as she stared up at Cassian. Then, to my surprise, Cassian pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. The terrifying expression he always wore softened slightly.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

Daphne blinked. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Thank you.”

Cassian nodded once. “They’re idiots.”

A tiny smile appeared on Daphne’s face.

For a second, Cassian looked completely caught off guard by her smile.

Like he didn’t know what to do with someone being kind to him. “You’re not as scary as everyone says,” Daphne added carefully.

Cassian looked down at the table, hiding the faintest smile. “Don’t spread that around,” he muttered. “I’ve got a reputation to keep.”

Today I saw Cassian Thorne look almost normal.