CHAPTER NINE:THE ACCIDENT
1432 Words
The next morning, Kai made a decision.
He would avoid Adrian.
Not dramatically.
Not obviously.
Just enough to create distance.
Enough to remind both of them that whatever had happened in the stairwell yesterday—whatever that reckless, infuriating moment had meant—changed absolutely nothing.
He repeated that thought to himself as he got dressed.
Nothing had changed.
Adrian was still insufferable.
Still arrogant.
Still the same irritating rival who somehow managed to get under Kai’s skin with a single glance.
And Kai was still determined to beat him.
That was all.
That had to be all.
Yet even as he told himself this, his mind betrayed him.
The memory surfaced uninvited.
The hallway.
The sharp pull of his wrist.
The stunned heat of Adrian’s mouth against his.
The sting in his palm after the slap.
Kai groaned and shoved the thought away.
He had barely slept.
Every time he’d closed his eyes, the moment replayed itself in merciless detail.
Worse still had been the endless stream of messages flooding his phone throughout the night.
Maya’s relentless teasing.
Ethan’s awkward attempts at concern.
Anonymous classmates practically writing fictional relationship timelines for him and Adrian in the academy group chat.
Kai had muted everything.
It hadn’t helped.
By the time he arrived at Ravenscroft, the rumors had evolved into full-scale chaos.
Students whispered as he passed.
A few openly stared.
Some smirked.
One first-year actually turned to his friend and whispered, not quietly enough, “That’s him.”
Kai kept walking.
His expression remained carefully blank.
Inside, irritation churned.
He was halfway down the main corridor when Maya appeared at his side.
She took one look at his face and wisely chose not to tease.
For once.
“You look awful,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
Kai adjusted his bag on his shoulder.
“I’m fine.”
“You didn’t sleep.”
“I said I’m fine.”
Maya studied him carefully.
Then, more gently, she said, “You don’t have to deal with this alone.”
Kai exhaled.
“I’m not dealing with anything.”
She raised a brow.
“Kai.”
“It was a stupid mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Yes.”
Her expression shifted, but before she could respond, movement down the hall caught Kai’s attention.
Adrian.
The corridor seemed to react to his arrival.
Conversations softened.
Eyes followed him.
He moved through the crowd with his usual composed confidence, hockey bag slung over one shoulder, expression unreadable.
And he didn’t look at Kai.
Not once.
No acknowledgment.
No smirk.
No taunting remark.
Nothing.
He walked straight past them as if Kai didn’t exist.
Kai’s stomach twisted.
The cold dismissal should have relieved him.
Instead, it irritated him more than if Adrian had said something cutting.
Maya noticed.
“Well,” she muttered. “That’s weird.”
Kai looked away.
“Good.”
But it didn’t feel good.
It felt unsettling.
---
By afternoon, things had only grown stranger.
Their scheduled library session still stood.
Kai had considered skipping.
Again.
But avoiding Adrian forever wasn’t realistic.
They had the competition.
And despite everything, his scholarship depended on it.
So at precisely four o’clock, Kai walked into the east library.
Adrian was already there.
Seated at their usual table.
Books neatly arranged.
Laptop open.
Pen moving steadily across a page of notes.
He looked up briefly as Kai approached.
His expression remained neutral.
“You’re late.”
Kai frowned.
By exactly thirty seconds.
“Traffic.”
Adrian gave a single nod.
No sarcasm.
No edge.
Just calm indifference.
Kai sat across from him.
An uncomfortable silence settled immediately.
Normally, their sessions began with bickering.
A sarcastic jab.
An argument over methodology.
Some kind of clash.
Today, there was only silence.
Adrian slid a stack of notes across the table.
“These cover the economic case studies.”
Kai stared at them.
“That’s it?”
Adrian looked up.
“What?”
“No insulting commentary?”
“No accusation about my terrible organization skills?”
“No dramatic sigh about how intellectually inferior I am?”
Adrian’s expression remained blank.
“Do you want one?”
Kai opened his mouth.
Closed it.
“No.”
“Then study.”
The simplicity of the response annoyed him.
Kai stared at his notes, unable to focus.
Across from him, Adrian worked with perfect concentration.
His face was composed.
Cold.
As if the hallway incident had never happened.
As if he hadn’t crossed a line neither of them could uncross.
As if he hadn’t kissed Kai in front of half the academy.
Kai’s irritation simmered.
How was Adrian acting so normal?
How could he just ignore it?
An hour passed.
Then another.
The only sounds were turning pages and the occasional scratch of pens against paper.
The silence became unbearable.
Finally, Kai snapped.
“What is this?”
Adrian glanced up.
“What is what?”
“This.”
Kai gestured sharply between them.
“This weird act.”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
“We’re studying.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Pretend nothing happened.”
For the first time, Adrian hesitated.
Only briefly.
Then he leaned back in his chair.
“What exactly would you prefer?”
Kai faltered.
“I—”
“Should I apologize?”
The question caught him off guard.
Adrian’s tone was flat.
Impossible to read.
Kai stared.
Adrian continued.
“Fine. I’m sorry.”
Kai blinked.
That was it.
No emotion.
No explanation.
Just two empty words.
The hollowness of them made his chest tighten unexpectedly.
“That’s not—”
“Then what?”
Kai had no answer.
Because he didn’t know what he wanted.
An explanation?
Regret?
Some sign that it had mattered?
The realization unsettled him deeply.
He looked away.
“Forget it.”
Adrian studied him for a long moment.
Then quietly returned to his work.
The silence resumed.
But now it felt heavier.
Sharper.
And far more dangerous.
---
Over the next week, this became their routine.
They studied.
They exchanged only necessary words.
Kai kept his distance.
Adrian remained cool and unreadable.
At school, they barely acknowledged each other.
The gossip eventually shifted to fresher drama.
The academy’s attention span was short.
Still, whispers lingered.
Every now and then, Kai would catch someone glancing between him and Adrian.
Waiting for something.
They got nothing.
And somehow, that made things worse.
Because beneath the silence, tension coiled tighter every day.
It showed in small moments.
The brush of their hands reaching for the same textbook.
The brief locking of eyes before both looked away.
The charged pauses neither acknowledged.
Each interaction felt like standing too close to a lightning strike.
And neither of them spoke of it.
---
Friday evening brought hockey practice.
Kai usually avoided the arena.
But this time, Professor Hale had assigned research on athletic performance metrics and instructed their class to observe team training.
So there he was.
Seated high in the bleachers with a notebook in hand.
Trying not to notice Adrian on the ice.
Trying—and failing.
Adrian was impossible to ignore.
On the rink, he became something else entirely.
Sharp.
Focused.
Commanding.
He moved with brutal precision, skating faster than anyone else on the team.
Calling instructions.
Correcting plays.
Driving his teammates harder.
There was no trace of the detached coldness he wore in the library.
Here, Adrian was alive.
Kai hated how captivating it was.
“Didn’t expect to see you here.”
Kai glanced over.
Ethan slid into the seat beside him.
“Assignment,” Kai muttered.
Ethan followed his gaze toward the rink.
“Adrian’s intense tonight.”
Kai shrugged.
“Not my concern.”
Ethan was quiet for a moment.
Then, carefully, he asked, “Have things been… weird?”
Kai stiffened.
“No.”
Ethan clearly didn’t believe him, but he let it drop.
Below, practice intensified.
Adrian intercepted a pass and drove hard across the ice.
Then suddenly—
A collision.
Violent.
Fast.
Wrong.
The c***k echoed through the arena.
The entire rink froze.
Adrian hit the ice hard.
And didn’t get up.
A sharp murmur spread through the bleachers.
Kai’s stomach dropped.
Players rushed toward him.
The coach shouted something Kai couldn’t hear.
Still, Adrian didn’t move.
Without thinking, Kai was already on his feet.
His notebook hit the floor.
The arena seemed to tilt.
For one terrifying second, Adrian remained motionless on the ice.
And then—
His head turned slowly.
His eyes lifted.
And locked directly onto Kai.
- Writer
