Love or Hate?

Love or Hate?
Killian POV
It happened too fast.
One second—
Silas was standing there, arguing, voice sharp, eyes lit with irritation—
And the next—
He was gone.
“Shit—!”
The word ripped out of me, but it didn’t even sound like my voice.
It sounded distant.
Wrong.
Like it came from someone else.
Because my brain—
My brain hadn’t caught up yet.
All I saw was him..
Slipping.
Foot losing balance.
Body tilting.
Then,
Sliding.
Fast.
Too fast.
“Silas!” someone screamed.
Voices erupted instantly.
Gasps.
Panic.
The entire line broke into chaos.
But I—
I just stood there.
Frozen.
My heart didn’t beat.
Or maybe it did.
Too loud.
Too violent.
Too—
“Killian, what did you do?!”
Jason’s voice hit me like a punch.
Sharp.
Accusing.
Real.
And that’s when it clicked.
I did this.
I fucking did this.
My chest tightened so hard it hurt.
I looked down—
Saw him still sliding, trying to grab onto anything, his body hitting rocks, dirt, roots—
“Help—!”
That sound—
That sound snapped something inside me.
But before I moved—
I turned.
I don’t even know why.
But I did.
And I saw her.
Astrid.
Her eyes were on me.
Not on Silas.
Not on the fall.
On me.
And that look—
God.
That look.
Shock.
Disappointment?
Something deeper.
Something that twisted inside my chest like a knife.
Like she didn’t recognize me for a second.
Like she was asking—
What did you just do?
My stomach dropped.
Hard.
Did I just kill someone?
The thought hit me so suddenly it made me feel sick.
My hands felt cold.
My head spun.
No.
No—no, no—
He can’t—
I didn’t—
Fuck.
“Killian, do something!” Damon shouted.
That was it.
That was all it took.
Everything snapped back into place.
My body moved before my mind could catch up.
I stepped forward—
Then jumped.
No hesitation.
No thinking.
Just—
Movement.
The world dropped with me.
My boots hit the slope hard, gravel shifting instantly beneath me as I started sliding too.
Fast.
Too fast.
The angle was steeper than it looked from above.
“Killian, stop—!”
Voices echoed behind me.
Lecturers.
Students.
Didn’t matter.
Didn’t fucking matter.
I leaned forward, trying to control the descent, digging my heels in, grabbing at whatever I could—branches, roots, anything—
My hands scraped.
Skin tore.
Didn’t care.
My eyes were locked on him.
Silas.
Still sliding.
Still trying to stop himself.
He hit a rock—
Hard.
His body jerked.
A sharp sound left his throat.
My chest tightened violently.
Fuck—
“Hold on!” I shouted, though I didn’t even know if he could hear me.
Wind rushed past my ears.
My body burned from the friction.
But I kept going.
Faster.
Closer.
I had to reach him.
I had to.
Because the thought—
The thought of not making it—
Of watching him fall out of reach—
Of knowing I caused that—
No.
No, I wasn’t living with that.
Not a chance.
“Silas!” I shouted again.
He turned his head slightly—
Eyes wide.
Panicked.
And for a split second—
Our gazes locked.
That fear in his eyes—
That raw, human fear—
It hit me straight in the chest.
And it made everything worse.
Because he wasn’t like us.
He didn’t heal like us.
He didn’t walk away from things like this.
He was already recovering.
Already injured.
And now—
This?
“Don’t you dare—” I muttered under my breath, pushing myself harder down the slope. “Don’t you dare die on me.”
My foot slipped—
I nearly lost balance—
But I caught myself, dropping lower, using my weight to slide faster instead of fighting it.
Pain shot through my arms as I dragged them along the ground to slow just enough—
Closer.
Closer—
Just a little more—
Silas hit another uneven patch—
His body jerked again—
And I saw it—
The moment he was about to lose control completely.
That was it.
That was the moment.
If I didn’t reach him now—
He was gone.
No more thinking.
No more hesitation.
Just instinct.
I lunged forward—
Arm stretching out—
Fingers reaching—
“Got you—!”
And I grabbed him.
Hard.
My hand locked around his wrist just as his body dipped further down.
The force nearly yanked me forward with him.
My body slammed against the slope, a rough grunt leaving my throat as rocks dug into my side.
But I didn’t let go.
I couldn’t.
My grip tightened instinctively.
“Don’t move!” I snapped, breath heavy, heart slamming violently against my ribs.
Silas was breathing hard.
Panicked.
Alive.
Still alive.
For a second—
Just a second—
Everything went quiet in my head.
No voices.
No chaos.
Just—
Relief.
Raw.
Heavy.
Overwhelming.
I swallowed hard, tightening my grip again, anchoring myself as best as I could against the slope.
My arms burned.
My body ached.
But none of that mattered.
Because he wasn’t gone.
I didn’t—
I didn’t kill him.
Not today.
And I wasn’t about to let him fall any further.

Silas POV
I thought… this was it.
It sounds stupid now, but in that moment—sliding, body hitting rock after rock, fingers failing to catch anything solid—I genuinely thought:
So this is how I die.
Not dramatic.
Not heroic.
Just… slipping off a mountain because I lost my footing in an argument.
My chest tightened, breath coming out sharp and uneven as the ground kept dragging me down like it had no intention of letting me go.
I couldn’t stop it.
I tried—God, I tried—but every grip failed, every attempt to slow down just made it worse.
So yeah…
For a split second—
I gave up.
Closed my eyes halfway.
Braced for whatever came next.
Then—
Something grabbed me.
Hard.
My entire body jerked violently, a gasp ripping out of my throat as I was yanked to a stop so suddenly it sent pain shooting straight up my arm.
For a second, I didn’t even process it.
I just hung there—breathing hard, heart slamming, body shaking from adrenaline.
Then I looked up.
And saw him.
Killian.
Holding onto me like if he let go for even a second, I’d disappear.
I just… stared at him.
Confused.
Out of breath.
“…What the hell are you doing?” I managed, voice rough.
Because no—
No, that didn’t make sense.
Not him.
Not the same guy who looked at me like I was a problem five minutes ago.
Not the same guy who was ready to throw a punch at me.
And yet—
Here he was.
Gripping my wrist like it was the most important thing in the world.
“Don’t move,” he said.
Short. Firm.
Like I even had the option.
I swallowed, trying to steady my breathing as he adjusted his hold, pulling me closer so I wasn’t hanging awkwardly off the slope anymore.
He shifted, repositioning us both until we were leaning against the incline instead of fighting it.
There was a rock nearby.
He nudged me toward it.
“Foot there.”
I didn’t argue.
Didn’t think.
Just did it.
The moment my foot pressed against the rock, I felt the difference—less slipping, more balance.
Still not safe.
But not falling either.
Above us, voices started echoing.
“Are you alright?!”
Killian didn’t even look up.
“We’re fine!” he called back.
We.
I caught that.
Before I could think too much about it, another voice shouted something about sending a rope.
Good.
Great.
Perfect.
Let them take their time.
I wasn’t going anywhere.
…Hopefully.
My chest was still rising too fast when I turned my head slightly, looking at him again.
“…Why did you jump?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Because it didn’t make sense.
None of this did.
“You got a death wish or something?” I added
He didn’t answer immediately.
Just looked at me.
Then—
He spoke up
“…Excuse me?”
“You almost dropped off a mountain,” he said flatly. “And you’re asking me questions?”
I stared at him.
Actually stared.
“Are you serious right now?” I snapped. “I slipped.”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Convenient. Why did you even slip? You are also unaware of your surroundings?”
A dry laugh left me despite everything.
“In case you forgot, you were trying to hit me.”
“Don’t twist it.”
“Oh, I’m twisting it?” I shot back. “You’re the one who jumped after me like a—”
I stopped.
Because that part still didn’t make sense.
“…Why did you jump?” I asked again, quieter this time.
He didn’t answer.
Of course he didn’t.
Instead, his eyes dropped briefly—
To my leg.
I followed his gaze.
And that’s when I felt it.
The sting.
Sharp.
Sudden.
“Ah—shit,” I hissed, looking down.
Blood.
Not a lot.
But enough.
Probably from the sliding.
Or the impact.
Or both.
“Perfect,” I muttered. “Just perfect.”
Killian exhaled through his nose.
“Of course you’re bleeding.”
I glanced up at him.
“Wow. Amazing observation.”
“Shut up.”
“Very helpful,” I added.
A rope dropped down between us.
Finally.
Killian reached for it, testing the tension before looking back at me.
“Give me your hand.”
I frowned immediately.
“For what?”
“I’m carrying you.”
I blinked.
“…You’re what?”
“You heard me.”
“That’s insane.”
“Then stay here and bleed.”
I stared at him.
“You can’t be serious.”
He just looked at me.
Dead serious.
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“You think I’m getting on your back?”
He shrugged slightly.
“Up to you.”
I looked at the rope.
Then at the slope below.
Then at my leg.
Then back at him.
“…If I die,” I said slowly, “I’m blaming you.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Get on.”
“This is crazy.”
“And you slipping wasn’t?”
I exhaled sharply.
“…You’re unbelievable.”
But I moved anyway.
Carefully shifting closer, ignoring the way my leg protested.
Then I climbed onto his back.
Arms wrapping around him.
Holding on.
Tighter than I expected.
“…If we fall,” I muttered, “I’m haunting you.”
He snorted.
“If we fall, you won’t have a head left to haunt me with.”
I paused.
“…You’re not helping.”
“Wasn’t trying to.”
He grabbed the rope.
And then—
We started going up.
And that’s when I felt it.
The strength.
It didn’t make sense.
Not even a little.
I wasn’t exactly light, and yet—
He climbed like I wasn’t even there.
Like gravity didn’t apply to him.
Like this was just… normal.
My grip tightened slightly without me realizing.
“How are you doing this?” I muttered.
“Doing what?”
“Carrying me like I weigh nothing.”
He didn’t look back.
“Maybe you do.”
I scoffed softly.
“Yeah, sure.”
We climbed in silence for a few seconds.
Then—
“…You still didn’t answer me.”
“What now?”
“Why you jumped,” I said.
A beat.
Then—
“You want to ruin my life that bad?”
I frowned.
“What?”
“You die,” he said flatly, “and suddenly I’m the guy who killed you.”
I stared at the side of his face.
“That’s your reason?”
“Part of it.”
I let out a breath.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Yeah.”
Another pause.
Then he added, quieter—
“Doesn’t mean I’m letting you die.”
That…
That shut me up.
Completely.
I didn’t say anything after that.
Just held on.
As he pulled us the rest of the way up.
And for the first time since I met him—
I didn’t think Killian hated me.
I just didn’t understand him.