LOVE ME MORE

CHAPTER FOUR:RUMORS

By the next morning, the gossip had somehow gotten worse.

Kai knew it the second he stepped into the main hall of Ravenscroft Academy and felt dozens of eyes shift toward him.

Whispers followed immediately.

Soft at first.

Then louder.

“Did you hear they stayed in the library until almost sunset?”

“I heard Adrian walked him back to the dorms.”

“No, apparently they were arguing the whole time.”

“That’s basically flirting for those two.”

Kai stopped walking.

His eye twitched.

He slowly turned toward the nearest group of first-years, who immediately pretended to be deeply interested in the notice board.

“This school is full of lunatics,” he muttered.

Maya, walking beside him, snorted.

“You have to admit, it’s kind of funny.”

Kai shot her a deadly look.

“There is nothing funny about my reputation being destroyed before first period.”

“Oh, please. Half the school already thought you were dramatic.”

“That is not comforting.”

She grinned.

“At least now they think you’re dramatic and romantically confused.”

Kai groaned and dragged a hand down his face.

“This is your fault.”

“My fault?”

“You laughed at Sophie’s article yesterday.”

“That was because it was hilarious.”

Kai glared.

Maya only laughed harder.

As if summoned by the mention of her name, Sophie Lane appeared at the far end of the hall, notebook already in hand and entirely too pleased with herself.

The moment she spotted Kai, her smile widened.

“Oh good, my favorite academic scandal.”

Kai immediately turned and started walking faster.

“No.”

“Come on,” Sophie called, effortlessly catching up. “I just need one quick comment for today’s follow-up piece.”

Kai nearly tripped.

“Today’s what?”

“Follow-up piece,” she said brightly.

She held up a folded paper.

Printed across the front page in large bold letters was:

ACADEMY POWER DUO: RIVALS, PARTNERS… OR SOMETHING MORE?

Kai stopped so abruptly Maya nearly walked into him.

He stared at the paper in horror.

“She made a sequel,” Maya whispered, sounding deeply impressed.

“She made a what?”

Sophie tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“Personally, I think the second article has more emotional complexity.”

“There should not be a second article!”

“Too late. It’s already circulating.”

Kai looked around.

Sure enough, several students nearby were holding copies.

One girl was whispering animatedly to her friend while glancing directly at him.

Kai wanted the floor to open up and swallow him.

“This is harassment.”

Sophie smiled.

“This is journalism.”

“This is fiction.”

“Ah,” she said, scribbling in her notebook, “defensive denial. Excellent quote.”

“Do not print that!”

She was already gone, vanishing into the crowd like some chaos-loving ghost.

Kai stood frozen in disbelief.

“This school is cursed.”

Maya patted his shoulder.

“Try not to combust before class.”

---

Things only got worse when Kai entered Advanced Literature.

Because Adrian was already there.

And somehow, impossibly, someone had placed a single red rose on his desk.

The entire class was staring.

Kai froze in the doorway.

Then he noticed the note attached to the flower.

It read:

For Ravenscroft’s most compelling academic partnership.

Several students immediately looked between Kai and Adrian.

Someone giggled.

Kai felt his soul leave his body.

“No.”

Across the room, Adrian looked at the rose with complete disgust.

Then his gaze shifted to Kai.

Their eyes met.

And somehow, impossibly, this became worse.

Because Adrian’s expression narrowed as if he suspected Kai had something to do with it.

Kai’s jaw dropped.

“You cannot seriously think—”

“I didn’t say anything,” Adrian said coolly.

“You’re thinking it.”

“You’re unusually defensive.”

“Because this is insane!”

The class was openly watching now.

Murmurs spread.

“Oh my gosh, they’re fighting.”

“This is exactly what Sophie described.”

“Look at the tension.”

Kai made a strangled sound of frustration.

Professor Eleanor Whitmore entered at that exact moment.

Her sharp gaze swept across the room, immediately taking in the rose, the staring students, and the visible hostility between Kai and Adrian.

Her expression didn’t change.

“Fascinating,” she said dryly.

The room went silent.

Then she walked to Adrian’s desk, picked up the rose, examined it briefly, and dropped it into the trash bin.

“If everyone is done treating my classroom like serialized entertainment, perhaps we can begin.”

No one spoke.

Kai silently thanked every known force in the universe.

---

By afternoon, the mandatory study session loomed over Kai like a personal curse.

He arrived at the east library exactly on time.

Adrian was already there, seated at their usual table, books perfectly arranged.

Of course he was.

Kai dropped into the chair opposite him.

Neither spoke.

The silence stretched.

Finally Adrian slid a notebook across the table.

Kai frowned.

“What’s this?”

“A revised framework for our debate argument.”

Kai opened it.

And immediately frowned harder.

“This is terrible.”

Adrian looked up sharply.

“It is not.”

“It’s rigid, overcomplicated, and sounds like it was written by a machine.”

“It’s structured.”

“It’s lifeless.”

Adrian folded his arms.

“And your ideas are chaotic.”

“They’re creative.”

“They’re impractical.”

“They’re adaptable.”

“They’re messy.”

Kai leaned forward.

“At least I think beyond bullet points.”

“At least I think.”

Kai stared.

Adrian stared back.

The tension crackled.

Then Kai shoved the notebook back across the table.

“This is exactly why this partnership is failing.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

“It’s failing because you refuse discipline.”

“It’s failing because you refuse flexibility.”

“It’s called competence.”

“It’s called arrogance.”

The words echoed louder than Kai intended.

Several nearby students looked over.

One of them immediately whispered something to another.

The second student grinned.

Kai knew exactly what was happening.

They were becoming an audience.

Again.

He hated this school.

Adrian noticed too.

His expression darkened.

“Lower your voice.”

“Why? Afraid your admirers will hear us disagree?”

“At least people respect me.”

Kai let out a sharp laugh.

“Oh, that’s rich.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“You always do this.”

Kai blinked.

“Do what?”

“Turn everything into a confrontation.”

Kai pushed back his chair.

“And you act like you’re above everyone else.”

“Because unlike some people, I don’t make impulsive decisions.”

“At least I make decisions.”

The chair legs scraped sharply against the floor.

Now nearly half the library was watching.

Maya, seated across the room, looked deeply concerned.

Ethan, unfortunately, looked entertained.

“Should we stop them?” Maya whispered.

Ethan shook his head.

“Absolutely not. This is better than the student paper.”

Kai ignored them.

He was too busy glaring at Adrian.

“This partnership was a mistake.”

For a split second, something flickered across Adrian’s face.

Gone too fast to identify.

Then his expression hardened.

“For once, we agree.”

The words landed harder than Kai expected.

A strange silence followed.

Kai’s chest tightened.

He hated that it bothered him.

Hated it even more because Adrian looked equally unsettled.

Without another word, Kai grabbed his bag.

“I’m done for today.”

He turned sharply and stormed out of the library.

---

The evening air was cold as Kai crossed the courtyard.

His frustration simmered with every step.

Why did every conversation with Adrian become a battle?

Why was working with him so impossible?

And why did Adrian’s last words bother him so much

---

His footsteps echoed sharply against the stone pathway as he crossed the campus grounds toward the dormitories.

Every part of him was irritated.

At Adrian.

At the ridiculous gossip spreading through school.

At the useless study session they’d just wasted arguing instead of actually preparing.

But most of all, he was irritated at himself.

Because Adrian had been right about one thing.

Their partnership was failing.

And if they kept going like this, they were going to lose.

Kai shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked faster.

The upcoming championship wasn’t just some school competition he could laugh off if things went badly.

Too much depended on it.

Winning would guarantee the academic scholarship renewal he needed for next term.

Without it…

His chest tightened.

He didn’t let himself finish the thought.

Failure wasn’t an option.

It couldn’t be.

His mother was already working herself to exhaustion to keep things stable at home. Every call with her ended the same way—her insisting she was fine, him pretending he believed her.

The scholarship wasn’t just about pride anymore.

It was survival.

And now he was stuck depending on Adrian Vale.

The one person in the academy he could barely stand.

Kai let out a frustrated breath as he entered his dorm building and climbed the stairs to his room.

The corridor was unusually quiet.

Most students were still downstairs at dinner.

He unlocked his door and stepped inside, dropping his bag onto the floor with more force than necessary.

The silence of the room settled around him.

Usually he liked the quiet.

Tonight it only made his thoughts louder.

He collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

The entire practice session replayed in his mind.

Every disagreement.

Every interruption.

Every sharp word.

And then Adrian’s voice.

For once, we agree.

Kai frowned.

Why had that bothered him so much?

It shouldn’t have.

If Adrian thought the partnership was hopeless, fine.

Kai thought the same thing.

So why did it feel like something heavier than irritation had settled in his chest when those words were said?

He turned onto his side and squeezed his eyes shut.

This was ridiculous.

He was overthinking.

The solution was simple.

Tomorrow, they would meet again, force themselves to focus, and somehow make this work.

They had no choice.

Kai was just beginning to drift toward sleep when—

A sharp knock sounded at his door.

His eyes snapped open.

Three knocks.

Slow.

Deliberate.

At this hour?

Frowning, Kai sat up.

Another knock came.

Louder this time.

Then a voice from the other side of the door.

Low.

Urgent.

“Kai.”

His stomach dropped.

He knew that voice.

Adrian.

And something about the tension in it made every instinct in Kai’s body go rigid.

Then Adrian spoke again.

“We have a serious problem.”

---